A New Hindu Order
The Kali Yuga[i] is upon us, and unproductive influences are everywhere. Our youths are being programmed to chase superficial goals, and devalue themselves in the desperate pursuit of living up to the standards set for them by the (sometimes vapid) societies we now find ourselves in. In many cases, there is nothing wrong with that, however the spiritual component is mission critical for us to execute on our dharma and has kept many at-risk youths out of the courtroom, jail yard, and mental asylum. In order to do this, we can learn a lot from the Catholic church. The institution has undoubtedly been entrenched in sad scandal in recent decades, however the success of the organization is equally undoubtable, from its membership rolls, the strength of member participation and engagement, impactful charitable works, and its financial health. These are four simple things we are going to copy:
1.1 The New Model: English
Most prayers need to be translated and celebrated in English, because, similar to Italian and Eastern European immigrants that came before us, the language we arrived with will surely fold to English-only for most in the long run as we continue to assimilate. This is already the case with our Caribbean contingent. If kids cannot understand the prayers being recited, they will quickly lose interest and abandon the religion at the first opportunity once they arrive at a state of self-direction and sufficiency. Within the last generation the Catholic church had to do the same with Latin prayers, with very good results.
That said, many rishis agree that Sanskrit as a language was given to us by the Immortals and the sounds and syllables that comprise it are sacred and powerful, so some of our primary avenues there, say the Mahamrityunjaya Manta, Gayatri Mantra, or Sri Rudram, will need to remain in their original form with education and translation weaved into our services, events, Sunday school[ii], and celebrations, so that the sacred knowledge will be preserved, and that our future spiritual leaders will have enough exposure to spark the desire to learn our original languages and achieve spiritual mastery.
1.2 The New Model: Time Limits and Placement
In the old days, some people had a lot of free time and few avenues for entertainment. Religious services became subject to time sprawl, especially in the Caribbean, taking in excess of three hours, early on a Sunday. Today, people’s calendars are about to burst, and there is a limitless supply of high-quality entertainment at our fingertips competing successfully for attention at all times.
In the future, we will take a page from our Catholic colleagues and make services a tight hour, and available later in the day so our youths, especially those who are in their 20s and may have been partying hard the night before, can stroll in bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, learn what they need to learn, and take their blessings like good boys and girls.
1.3 The New Model: Seats
Sitting on the floor makes us seem like rubes and
barbarians at this point, and it’s critically uncomfortable for the elderly and
fidgety youths alike. Let’s get some pews going, watch engagement and retention
skyrocket, and call it a day.
1.4 The New Model: Community
I saved the most important part for the end of this section. One of the
things I love about Catholic services is the social and communal aspect. At the
end of each service, parishioners are encouraged to hug all those around them,
family, friends, strangers, and frenemies alike. A Catholic can jump on a flight
to locations as varied as Mumbai, New York, Toronto, Cartagena, Kuala Lumpur,
Madrid, and Lagos and, like clockwork, find a church and service they can go
to, and have a built-in network and community where they can make connections,
know they are not alone, and feel the warmth that comes from being part of a
religious community.
Our services, for one reason or another, are not like this.
Many families go to the temple, quietly do their own thing, and go home with
little to no external interaction taking place. As part of the structure we are
building, pandits will encourage everyone to mingle and, in particular, welcome
newcomers after each service. What a wonderful thing, to know that you can pick
up and go anywhere, and a loving community is waiting there for you. As digitization
erodes opportunities to form physical, personal connections, and the “epidemic
of loneliness” rages on, the need for this communal aspect is accelerating.
2.1 Sanatan Dharma: Harmony
Why Hinduism, you say? Well, Hindus value harmony and have love and respect for all of Laxmi Ma’s creation, regardless of their faith. That’s not to say that fools and malfeasants alike won’t get clapped when out of line for other reasons per the example of Sri Ram and, well just about the rest of the pantheon; for us this is only done for defense and the maintenance of righteousness.
There has never been a Hindu that has gone somewhere and
tried to force their religion down someone else’s throat. If you really sit
down and think about it, it’s kind of ridiculous thing to do. If someone is
practicing a certain religion, it makes them feel good, and it brings them closer
to their own divine truth, then what’s the big deal? In today’s world where
people are still killing and inflicting suffering on one another under the
pretext of religion, this sensibility is more important than ever. In addition,
folks in Western developing nations are abandoning religion altogether at an
alarming rate, and this will become pernicious if organized religion does not
evolve and adapt to meet the needs of today’s devotees and prospective devotees.
2.2 Sanatan Dharma: God is a Woman
I am most proud to be a Hindu because we worship and adore
the female expression of the Divine. Rather then forcing anyone into bee keeper
suits, limiting their ability to go to school, drive, or do anything that men
can do for that matter, we exalt our women.
That said, I am aware of the fact that, if we want to take
everything literally and dive into the minutia of the archives, all major
religions could be summarily dismissed in light of today’s mores and values. In the most popular
and surviving version of the Ramayan[iii],
Sri Ram was infamously not very nice to his wife in the end, and we know that
many women were coerced into setting themselves on fire under the guise of
religion. I like to think that we have evolved light years beyond that now. As
religious leaders, it is incumbent on us to acknowledge this and promote the
religion in a way that is true to its overarching mission, vision, and duty.
This duty is to glorify women. Paramahamsa Yogananda famously extolled the virtues of societies promoting and loving their women, and of worshipping the Devi. Some of our most prominent deities are female. Bholenath and Sri Krishna doted on, furiously defended, and deeply loved all the women in their life. Parvati. Laxmi. Durga. Sawaswati. Kali. Our champions. Our most famous holiday to Westerners, Diwali, is a celebration of Laxmi Ma. For us, God is a Woman. It’s not just an Arianna Grande song 😉.
Sababhya sabha pathibhyascha vo namo nama
Salutations and salutations, to Him who is one among
the audience, and to He who [simultaneously] presides over the audience.
- Sri Rudram 3.2.8
[i]
In Hinduism, our experience of humanity is divided into specific ages (“yugas”)
wherein certain unique values and mores will prevail in each. The Kali Yuga is the
last age, where virtue escapes most.
[ii]
“Sunday School” will increasingly involve more digital, on-demand content as opposed
to necessarily schlepping kids who want to sleep in or play video games to a
physical location every Sunday morning.
[iii]
There were many competing versions of the Ramayan in our ancestors’ time, and
Valmiki’s version survived. Our beloved Sita was not so mistreated in each version.
If you are interested in learning more, there is a wonderful book called “Many
Ramayanas” by Paula Richman.
Photo credit: bharatcalendar on IG
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