A Hindu Perspective by Balliram Chadee. M.Hin.

www.thehanumanmission.com. bally@thehanumanmission.com or Bally 416-992-2487.

This is the 25th in a series of articles by Dr. Balliram Chadee and Hotshots Newspaper to bring a Hindu Perspective to educate our community. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

  Question: What is the Teaching and Learning Process of Hindu practitioners?

Ans: A common scenario which Hindus face on a regular basis has to do with the Teaching and Learning Process of education. One of the most controversial situations also is when we are faced with questions such as where do we get the information which we practice? Who said so? Where is that written? Who is right? Who is wrong? Heard these before, right? Practicing Hindus from different countries sometimes find themselves arguing, fighting, defending or challenging Hindus from other geographic locations because of their own experiences. Hindus find themselves in “tough spots” when required for dialogue or discussions, why? How is it that we cannot substantiate our history as a religion through the process of teaching? This is not a straightforward point and it depends on who you speak to; the opinions and answers will differ. Hindus from Fiji , Mauritius , Guyana , Trinidad and Suriname make up the bulk of Hindus outside India , based on history, considered to be the Indian Diaspora. So where do Hindus and Hindu Leaders, including Pundits get educated? How do they get trained? Where does their training originate? How can we validate the Hindu Teaching and Learning process? All questions you have heard or asked yourselves before, right? What is the answer? Today we will attempt to answer this dilemma.

Unlike other religions and denominations, Hinduism was not founded by a leader nor are we controlled by a leader who stipulates what we do and how we do it. Sanatan Dharma (eternal religion) is govern by the Vedas, as the primary source of principle, ethics and teachings, substantiated by other sacred texts which deals with various aspects of life, death, discipline, rituals, rites, conformances etc. (Ramayana, Gita, Puran etc) Therefore our dictates are executed in accordance with the sacred texts, not by any man, then or now. However, when we look at the practices today by various leaders, pundits or hindu spiritualists, we see drastic variations in how things are done; remember funerals, weddings, pujas, satsanghs etc, to name a few? Hindus do not have a School of Theology where practitioners are trained in divinity, chaplaincy etc. There is no structured academy of Hindu teaching and learning, comparable to other religions for an aspiring practitioner. So then how does a hindu practitioner get trained? Educated or learn? The Hindu system of Guru-Shisya / Guru-Chaylaa (teacher-student) relationship or Paramparaa (traditional practices) is what dictates how Hindus or Hindu practitioners are trained and get educated. Due to the absence of many documented works which are practiced in Hindu rites, rituals and samskaras (sacraments) today, an aspiring practitioner must have a “Guru” or teacher to guide him/her in the pathway of spirituality or religious education. Many of the mantras (prayer verses) which are used by practitioners today, cannot be found documented anywhere. Is this good or make sense? I am not sure but what I have learnt is that due to our personal education of hand-me-down teaching and learning process , this has been the model used for centuries. One of the main beliefs is that in such a teaching model, there are personal interactions and guidance where through the process of knowledge transfer, the actual experiences of saints and sages from centuries ago, would be passed down to those gifted to spread the word of God, as it was revealed to man.

Whether we agree or disagree with the process, this model of teaching and learning was and is the model adopted by Hindus for centuries. Varying practices today emanate from personal choices made by practitioners, be it from their country of origin, their personal teachers or the Hindu organization to which they belonged before. Irregardless of where the training originated, the practices and religious doctrines, re the tenets of Hinduism has to be the same. We use the same texts, same materials and same process of rituals, maybe practiced differently. What is amazing is the contentions which arise by those who know or those who believe they know, condemning each other or each others practices, whether they can substantiate those practices or not. I personally have studied various process, various practitioners from many countries, various texts and continue to do so. I believe teaching and learning is an ongoing process and must be re-evaluated constantly. Some of our practices are documented in sacred texts such as Ramayana, Gita, Purans, Vedas etc, while others are through traditional practices not documented anywhere, because they were passed down through a guru. Based on this model then, can we claim to be right or wrong if it is not documented to be confirmed? I do not think so but YOU be the judge!