By Pt. Balram Persad, Director, Swaha
Hinduism is currently being featured specifically on the news and on the tongues of many, for its teachings, inclusive philosophies, practices and general outlook, which have incited leaders and followers of other faiths to ask: Are we all Hindus Now? The world is grappling with the silent and peaceful movements of yoga, meditation, mantra jaap, along with one of its positive and interactive festivals of Holi or Phagwa, celebrated by all cultures and in most countries of the world. Yoga is being performed in Times Square, New York and Holi is being celebrated in large numbers. Karma, reincarnation and Hindu philosophies are being adopted by people of the West. The global flow of Hinduism is inciting leaders of other faiths to incorporate into their sermons, Hindu teachings and practices to be able to keep their following.
Lisa Miller, in her article, “We are all Hindus now”, in Newsweek magazine states, “A million-plus Hindus live in the United States, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, our selves, each other, and eternity.”
People are not falling prey to false dogma anymore, Miller continues, “Americans are no longer buying it. According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65 percent of us believe that “many religions can lead to eternal life” – including 37 percent of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe that salvation is theirs alone. Also, the number of people who seek spiritual truth outside church is growing. Thirty percent of Americans call themselves “spiritual, not religious”. The fact that spirituality is the primary focus and not mere “religiousness” is the sole reason that Hinduism is being accepted. She continues, “Here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe in reincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we’re burning them – like Hindus – after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America, up from 6 percent in 1975. “I do think the more spiritual role of religion tends to de-emphasize some of the more starkly literal interpretations of the Resurrection,” agrees Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard. So let us all say “Om”.
In the wake of Indian Arrival Day and the sacrifice and struggle of our ancestors to keep our religion, traditions and culture alive; Hinduism is being carried around the globe and into the future as the truth. As there are Hindus and professionals, the cry goes out that we must become professional Hindus and ascribe to our teachings and traditions. It is not necessary to validate Hinduism based on western assimilation; however, it is important to accept that only the truth can dissolve the lies; only light can illuminate darkness and so too, only Sanatan Dharma can survive. Satyamev Jayate!
