I am a Hindu. Like every other religiously inclined person, proud of my religion. Till a few days back, I was under a misconception that the next generation of Hindus are well aware and know their rich heritage. I even thought my generation knows a fair bit about their religion.
The bubble broke last month, and it shocked me. The next generation was unable to answer simple questions unless they were supported with KBC type options. I then extended this test to friends of the kid and families I know well enough. What alarmed me was the degree of ignorance in my generation. They were hugely ignorant about Hinduism and its understanding.
To most of the ignorant Hindu’s, the Hindu Religion and Hinduism are all about annual Sathyanaryan Katha, celebrating Holi, Diwali, Dussehra and Ganpati, the saath-phera of marriage and few visit to temples. That’s it!
Was I expecting too much? Does following a religion demands you to have a fair bit of knowledge? Or, we have accepted ritualised templates as a surrogate for Religion. WE even do that, because we don’t want people to talk, we want to remain attached and belong to the group to protect and retain our identity?
I re-searched inward in an attempt to benchmark my knowledge. I was in for a surprise and discovered something shocking. I am not bad when it comes to religious knowledge, but I am not good enough.
It was apparent, ignorance of the religion is exponentially increasing with generations.
I and my generation of Hindu’s do not fully know or understand the Religion. Sometimes this ignorance takes on a combative stance. Many times it is rationally defensive in approach. Whatever, it is always contextual to the political-religious climate.
I don’t like this feeling. However, I should not be surprised. I should have seen it coming.
If no decisive action is taken, Religion will metamorph into j a set of norms and become extinct.
What Is The Possible Cause Of This Ignorance?
Is it because of this secularism where the majority got penalised and restricted? Unlike others, Hindu’s have never focussed and were not allowed to teach Religion to its followers. Or were they lured into the comfort of complacency due to original strength of numbers. Something went wrong.
Divergence, flexibility and adaptability have led to a lack of focus.
As a secular Hindu family, we end up worshipping multiple Gods for a diverse set of reasons and blessings. We have not invested in exposing the next generation to its rich Hindu culture, heritage and mythology. The next generation is living in a misinterpreted conceptual bubble of secularism and inclusiveness. They know more about other Religion than their own.
My generation is a party to a crime and part of the problem.
You can’t say the next generation is uninterested. The next generation has decent knowledge of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other religions.
Hindu Religion has not been packaged and presented well enough.
It has remained a confusing pack of rituals, multiplicity and polytheism. Though there is a hierarchical order of Gods in the Hindu system, All other gods are equal. There is a dichotomy in thinking.
Secularism.
Maybe it is a case of over secularisation.
Perhaps Hindu’s have misunderstood secularism as promoting, accepting, mixing, adopting other religions at the cost of ignoring their own.
Maybe it is the case of a spectrum of Gods and associated rituals.
There are far too many gods dominating different parts of a Hindu’s life.
For a perfect harmony in life, the worshiper is expected to maintain an equation with each of the gods. The pooja and rituals need to be followed, mostly without the understanding of their meaning and importance.
No one knows the founder of Hinduism; the oldest Religion in the world.
More than a religion, it is a concoction of different Indian cultures, with diverse roots.
Polytheism To Omni Power.
Maybe multiplicity of God’s, rituals and festivals trivialise it.
Maybe the numerous restrictions and constraints diffuse the interest.
Maybe too many God and Goddesses bring scattered loyalty and reverence.
Maybe the humane gods without controversial debates and discussions do not have the promise and attraction of no blemish messengers and Gods of other religions.
Fragmentism.
Even the ultimate Brahman (OM) the identity of unified, universal power is rarely evoked. At every opportunity, we impulsively fragment the unified into Brahma ( Creator), Vishnu ( Administrator ) and Mahesh (Destroyer).
If that was not enough, we further break them down to spouses, vehicles, and other gods and goddesses. It seems like Hinduism practised departmentalisation much before it was discovered as a management tool.
Need to refocus.
Maybe Hindu’s needs a refocus onto Omni power. Regain the strength of unity and focus on almighty. The celebrated diversity is leading to fragmentism and the reason for the weakening of the Religion.
The richness and diversity of objectivity in life further complicate the situation. Dharma (ethics/duties), Artha (prosperity/work), Kama (desires/passions) and Moksha (liberation and freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth leading to salvation) are all possibilities for a Hindu.
Even if the aim remains the same, the path to follow is flexible and left open interpretations. The guidelines exist, so does the norms, but they are not the rules. This flexibility is confusing. It even makes other people playing with the images easy and acceptable.
Maybe the sheer richness of Hinduism leads to diffused feelings and emotions. It lacks collectivism as there seems to be no one focus.
SCRIPTURES.
There are too many religious books, but none that a Hindu can call the real scriptures. Their accessibility and understanding are restricted to a small subset of people.
People hardly read Vedas, and there are four of them; Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. They further expand into Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads or Vedanta. Or should one focus on Yajnavalkya Smriti or Bhagwat Puran?
Then there are 18 Maha Purans and 18 Upa Purans covering diverse subjects. However, even they are not holy scriptures.
Ramayana is a story, and the Ram Mandir a dream. Mahabharata is part of the Smriti and itihasa, a mythological. Gita just a narrative on life!
I am a practising Hindu and still don’t know of what is being a Hindu and what is the Hindu equivalent of a Bible, Quran or Guru Granth.
AVATARS, SYMBOLS, RITUALS.
Their avatars further accentuate the multiplicity of gods. It also creates more confusion and fragmentation.
The female power is Shakti, but then which of the Devi or the Goddess do you follow. Parvathi, Kali, Saraswathi, Durga, Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshwari, Indrani, Kumari, Varahi, Chamundi or many others.
Which of the Dasavatars ( 10 incarnations) do you follow? Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and yet to come, the tenth avatar- Kalki. Or are another 12 avatars of Vishnu; Chatursana, Narada, Nar-Narayana, Kapila, Dattatreya, Yajna, Rishabha, Prithu, Dhanvantari, Mohni, Narshima, Vyasa, Krishna, and Garuda.
Or do you focus on the oldest God Rudra or the Tandav Shiva or Kailashpati?
Maybe it is better to look towards the immortals Markandeya, Bali Chakravarthi, Hanuman, Kripacharya, Parashurama, Vibhishana, Vyasa and Ashwasthama.
The true one god reached by different approaches philosophy is now lost. It is replaced by many gods, one God for every new approach and ‘My God’ attitude. The internal rivalry, fragmentation within sects and ‘my God better than your’ approach is evident all over. There is no unity. It needs a cause to unite.
PILGRIMAGE.
Unlike other Religion with limited pilgrimage, Hindu’s have a multitude of pilgrimages. The Char Dham Yatra of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath. Then there are the Jyotirlingas spread across the nation. The darshan of rivers like Ganga, Godavari and Narmada. The parikrama. The Kumbu. The Shakti peeth. The mutts. The ashrams and the new age acharyas and holy gurus. This is listing from an ignorant, proud Hindu. I can safely bet, for every region, there is another equally sacred ritual.
Unfortunately, unlike other Religion, every Hindu does not have the same urge to complete these Yatra’s or visit the Holy places.
ICONOGRAPHY AND IDENTITY.
Or the rich iconography creates unbridgeable differences. Tilak, Yajnopavita, Rudhraksha, Vibhuti, Swastik, Om, Shank, Diya. And the identifiable vehicles, consorts, weapons and symbols for each one of the God and Goddesses.
HUMANISED GOD.
Is this mu defocused state a result of the chink in the amour of every God? They are as human as followers. There is no perfection but a lot of idealism in niche areas. They demonstrate greed, sly, anger, irritation, impatience and commit many known sins. Is that the reason Hindu’s can’t focus and fight internally?
It is not that other religions don’t have differentiated sects based on interpretation and beliefs. However, at some stage, that belief synchronises and aligns with one identified source of faith and confidence.
HINDU.
We shield our ignorance by pushing Hinduism as more than a Religion.
We present it as a culture, a way of life, and a code of behaviour.
We tend to become the Sanatana Dharmi, the path of eternal faith, or the way of truth.
And we don’t know Who is a Hindu?
Is Hindu geographical citizenship or religion with rituals?
Or who is not a Christian, Sikh, Muslin, Buddhist or a Jain is a Hindu.
Will Hindus be identified by rejection or by selection.
Or we will continue to suffer as we do are old and do not have a recognised founder like some of the newest religions.
Can you take responsibility?
There is no doubt that the responsibility is always of the current generation. We must not shy away from it. What the generation before did or not is immaterial. What this generation does with the next is important. Just pause, Analyse, Absorb this fundamental and move on.
I propose for self.
I am going to ensure the next generation in my direct ecosystem is aware of their culture and religious teaching.
No, I do not want militant Hindus or people who get polarised.No, I don’t want soft targets that fail to protect their identity and heritage. I want Hindus, who understand their Religion and are proud of it.
I must first teach myself a lot about the Hindu Religion before trying to blame the next generation for lack of it. Hence recently, I narrated Ramayana to the young ones who helped me discover and understand the situation.
IT IS A TOUGH TASK.
And then it strikes me, the vastness of culture, symbolism, mythology, scriptures and epics. This richness itself has become a barrier to the passing of knowledge and understanding.
Maybe one life is not long enough for touching every aspect of Hinduism.
Perhaps what one needs is selective focus and unionisation of power concepts. I know I am talking of fragmenting. It is required, as the attention span decreases.
The rearrangement of the scriptures and knowledge needs to be served as a content the new generation would love to consume.
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The author, as a secular Hindu respects every other Religion. The above is an inward-looking re-search which has thrown alarming cues. If you practice the Hindu religion, then what d you feel about what I have experienced and stated.
………… BLOG/49/2020…..
