Post I
For my first blog post I would like to share a post from the New York Time labeled as an "India Letter," written by Manu Joseph ("editor of the Indian newsweekly Open and author of the novel 'The Illicit Happiness of Other People.'"). Below is the link to the entire article and three (3) excepts that were the most interesting to me from the article and why they had me thinking extra.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/world/asia/17iht-letter17.html?_r=0
"In a play that opened in New York last week, a Hindu god who drinks wine and uses foul language goes to Nazi Germany to reclaim the swastika from Hitler. The swastika, which for many has become a reminder of chilling human evil, is also an ancient and sacred Hindu symbol that is commonly found on doors and walls in Indian homes, and that women in southern India draw every morning on their porches."
I thought that this was a perfect introduction to this article because of how interesting of a fact is thrown in the readers face right away. It is really interesting to find that the swastika is still currently used as a Hindu symbol and used throughout southern India. I believe this goes to show the real dedication Hinda followers have to their beliefs and how some do not let different interpretations effect their daily routine within the religion.
Joseph then goes on to explain his theory on the differences between Hindus that are born and raised in America and those who were born and raised in India then moved to the United States. The American raised Hindus, according to Joseph, take more offense to Hindus and India in themselves rather then the political side of the challenges in America, like the Hindus born in India.
"It is possible that there are many American Hindus who are not troubled
enough by their cultural displacement to get too worked up about
religion, India or myths of identity. But the most visible Hindus in the
United States are the online fanatics who react instantly and with
conviction to news developments and personalities in India. They are a
part of the middle-class South Asian settlements in the United States
that are growing disenchanted, whether discreetly or overtly, with the
West and thus are becoming obsessed with their roots."
"There [is] a distinction between American Hindus who
were born and raised in India and those whose formative memories are in
the United States. It is those in the former group who feel compelled to
react to Indian politics, she said. The latter tend to be less
interested in politics, but just as passionate about Hinduism and India.
Ms. Shah, who has a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, has been active in the foundation’s “Take Back Yoga” campaign,
which seeks to remind everyone that yoga has Hindu origins and believes
the world should acknowledge this. Among Ms. Shah’s many other
activities is an attempt to nudge Americans beyond “caste, cow and
karma” when viewing Hinduism, and to perceive it as a great antique
philosophy rather than merely a pantheon of paranormal deities."
I believe his is a very interesting concept to choose. As the article goes on to give examples of how connected to the politics of Hinduism some Hindus are, it becomes more clear why the American bread Hindus act differently towards others who do no agree with the religion, the American Culture. While the American Hindus go on to be upset about others who missinterpret their religion the Hindus from India take a seat back and try to just reemphisize what Hinduism is all about and hope to change the minds of as many Americans as they can. The American Hindus seem to miss the point of not trying to convert people, necessarily, but possibly trying to hear the other side and share with the other side the Hindu point-of-view.
Is American Culture really that powerful?
