A Hindu Perspective by Balliram Chadee. M.Hin.

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

This is the 17th 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: Is it possible to observe traditional dharmic practices and yet remain a Hindu in the modern western world?

Ans: The correct answer is YES! However the REALITY of the situation though, is that it is very DIFFICULT and poses many challenges to the modern Hindu, especially in the Western world. This dilemma has become more realistic to me after studying the various principles and practices of Hinduism. Being born a Hindu and raised according to more traditional practices of Sanatan Dharma (whatever that means) for most of us in a third world multi racial, multi faith and multi-social environment, this challenge brings its own fair share of difficulties emanating from society, politics, competing faiths and other external factors. We live in a country like Canada or North America and for many of us, who emigrated by personal choice, we “walked” with our version of Hinduism when we came here. With growing problems of education, social, economical and personal life here in the western world, outside of the Indian Diaspora and India, this situation has changed the lives of many, caused problems for others and left some confused, as to where to draw the traditional line.

The question then remains, “What is a Hindu? and what is categorized as a Traditional practice?” Adherence to Sanatan Dharma brings re; traditional practices, while living as a Hindu in today’s world brings about a sense of accomplishment and success when it is carried out in the manner which has been passed down to us by our forefathers, hundreds of years ago. Many of the practices and cultural traits being followed today are results of tried and tested principles under various conditions, elements of external factors and which survived the test of time for generations. They still stand tall today and still raise the bar for many to follow, especially in this modern world of Kaliyuga in which we live today. However, changing lifestyles, social conditions and climatic adjustments have forced us alter some of the traditional practices in the western world, but this does not mean the deep symbolic meaning of the traditions should be altered. We have heard before “the messenger has changed but the messaged remained the same!”

Some of the traditional practices though must be taken into realistic consideration due to climatic conditions, living conditions in the modern developed world, environmental concerns, and legal implications. Practices such as Havan (with open fire), disposal of puja items into running water, lighting of deyas, disposal of ashes after cremation, hardi and wedding ceremonies in the open air outside the house etc. are but a few examples of some practices which we cannot realistically follow, for reasons as explained above. However, the practices we do have control over, can be followed in the modern western world, where we can do what our Dharma prescribes and where we can follow the requirements of the law and still can remain good Hindus. A “good Hindu’ is a very general term and can be argued by millions; for years and a correct might never be agreed upon. So for practical common purposes, we would agree that a good Hindu refers to a person who as best as possible follows the tenets and doctrines of the Hinduism; abides to ethical principles, moral standards, and conditions of virtues and who live by mutual respect for themselves as well as others in the situations that the have control of in today’s modern world.

Traditional practices however varied or restricted, in most cases can still be followed in the modern world but it is up to the Hindus and the followers of the Hindu faith to keep their commitments and disciplines. Too often we hear a million excuses why we cannot do this, could not do that, it is not practical for this etc. all because of excuses. Many of us misinterpret what tradition and religion is and we try to justify our conformance or resistance to same. It should be noted that religion is a documented process with prescribed doctrines, and requirements with specific mandates for us to follow. Traditions and traditional practices however are more subjective, with accommodation for adjustments to include place of origins, family history, political exposure, availability of traditional items in country of origin etc, before migration to what we call a the modern world in which we now live.

Hinduism has strayed today in this so called modern world from some of the most basic traditional practices because of us, as followers, not because of the religion. We only have to look at our behaviors as Hindus and we can conclude how far we have strayed and how non-conforming we are. Even though we have remained Hindus, for being followers of the religion, performing pujas, observing fast, going to temples etc, our attitudes, conduct and behaviors are unacceptable in so many cases, relative to traditional practices. If we look closely at the media, radio stations, television stations, temples and some of our leaders, we can see some of these trends. Disrespect, disunity, competition, unethical practices etc. are some of the most common reasons, which various people would tell you, convince them of non compliance or non following of many of our traditional practices. Many of us have imbedded in us through our family heritage, country of origin, religious disciplines etc, deep traditional practices, such as honesty, ethics, morality, respect, selfless service etc. to name a few. Can you honestly say, these basic practices can only be followed correctly if you are a Hindu? Definitely NOT! You can read the entire Ramayan page to page, pray seven days a week, and perform Havan 24 hrs a day, drink water for your entire life and this still would not make you a better person, a good Hindu or categorize you as following traditional practices.

In summary, I would like to say that as Hindus; tradition is integral to our lives, especially in this modern world, than the deep ritualistic requirements we must abide with. We are today exposed to so much legal options, caught up in the world of political correctness, striving for success in everything which we do, that more often than not we seem to forget the basic fundament values, which we have inherited and which traditional dharmic practices have actually made us proud of who we are. Whether we are Hindus or not, our tradition and traditional practices is the pinnacle of our successes, which we can pass on to our future generations in the modern world. Remember the days when elders, irregardless of who they were, COMMANDED not demanded our respect? Remember the days when a person’s word was “good as gold”? and we did not need a contract? Remember the days when we had respect for our colleagues, community leaders and religious guides? I am sure we all remember some of the challenges faced because of our discipline to follow our traditions, I am not advocating it has always been easy, but equally important, I am sure we all would remember a few situations where, if we had complied, conform or stick to our traditional dharmic practices, we would have made some better choices, commanded more respect from some people, felt better with ourselves and overall, could go to bed better at nights. The dilemna between being or remaining a Hindu in this modern world, while conforming to traditional practices has always been a challenge and would continue to be so for generations. However as Hindus, we can only do our share to make ourselves, our parents, our forefathers and most of all, our religion of Sanatan Dharma re; Hinduism very proud. We have choices in many not all situations and therefore it is left upon us as Hindus to make the choices of following our traditional practices where, when and as best as we can. The benefits are endless, feeling of self satisfaction is great and we would do ourselves a great service as Hindus to this modern world, with tried, tested and successful traditional practices.