Religion Class

[Indra]

Namaste,

Christians and Muslims have Religion Class and Religion Teachers (Priests, Imams, etc.) in school. Do hindus have something similar? Who teaches the hindu kids religion? Is there a authority in hinduism like the priest or imam in christianity/islam? Does hindu "priests" exist? What is the function of a hindu guru, is he like a bishop or a saint?

[TatTvamAsi]

Namaste,

This is the crux of the problem with Hinduism these days. Almost ALL the "scholars", teachers, interpreters, and other 'experts' on Hinduism are NON-Hindu! It is the most ridiculous thing ever and in fact, you should read the book "Invading the Sacred: Hinduism Studies in America". This book clearly explains how for other religions, especially the Abrahamic faiths, ALL of the scholars/teachers etc. are practicing and are of that particular faith. No wonder Hinduism is trashed all the time! Nobody native to the religion is in a position of power to disseminate the correct and truthful information about the religion! In fact, in the case of Hinduism, you have so-called 'scholars' and 'experts' who are blatantly biased and prejudiced against Hinduism!

This is very apparent outside of India. However, in India, it's worse! All Indian history books glorify the mlecchas (muslims/christians etc.) and ridicule Hindu culture! It is so saddening that anyone who is curious about Hinduism is turned away from it once and for all!

Subham.



Namaste,

Christians and Muslims have Religion Class and Religion Teachers (Priests, Imams, etc.) in school. Do hindus have something similar? Who teaches the hindu kids religion? Is there a authority in hinduism like the priest or imam in christianity/islam? Does hindu "priests" exist? What is the function of a hindu guru, is he like a bishop or a saint?

[Sahasranama]

I am bumping this treat, very good points were made by TTA.

One major problem in the western education of Hinduism in schools and colleges is that the teachers have very limited knowledge of the subject, but still are appointed as scholars and professors. Their job is basically to deconstruct Hinduism, turn it into obscure sects that have no connection with each other, that emerge from conflicting ideologies comming from invaders to heretics.

A reading of the Nasadiya Sukta clearly shows the vedic origin of the philosophy of the Buddhist Nagarjuna. "नासदासीन् नो सदासीत् तदानीं नासीद् रजो नो व्योमापरो यत्." (Then even nothingness was not, nor existence). Many ideas from the vedas have been the forming ground of both theravada and mahayana Buddhism. Attempts from the Buddhist schools to seperate themselves from the vedas, were purely based on semantics. I am not saying that they are the same, but Buddhism clearly borrows a lot from the vedas and upanishads. Unfortunately, academics who see "Buddhist" ideas in Hindu text automatically assume that the text must have been a post-Buddhistic work, disregarding the vedic origin of these ideas entirely.

Similarly, pseudo scholars try to prove that Hatha yoga did not originate in India. But a closer look at Hindu texts proves that hatha yoga and tantra was always a part of Hindu dharma, even patanjali mentions the navel chakra. The problem with westerners is that they don't understand that many Hindu texts are highly specialised works (e.g. the yoga sutras) while others are more encyclopedic in nature (e.g. The Mahabharata). Just because something wasn't mentioned in one text doesn't mean the author of the text was unaware of or opposed to it. Bad logic like this though is widely used in western(ised) academia. Some effort has been made in India to research the origin of the yoga asanas, 900 postures with many variations and applications have been linkend to traditional yoga texts. Many of these texts are only available in manuscript and hence not available to the western academians.

One must also realise that in the past many gurus taught their students directly and that people didn't start writing down the teachings until much later times. Many old manuscripts have been burned down by muslims or were lost because the leaves started to decompose, some rare manuscripts on specialised subjects are still hidden from the main public and handed down from teacher to pupil.

If you are going to study Hinduism, you'll have to be careful for these traps set by eurocentric Chrsitians and pseudo secularists who pose as scholars of Hinduism. You don't become a scholar of Hinduism by doing an indology major, studying Hinduism is a life long pursuit. Only a true Hindu would be motivated to study Hinduism in depth. Think about it, people who hold negative views about Hinduism, would not spend their days and nights contemplating the true meaning of the Bhagavad Gita and the Rig Veda or practicing its principles. Hinduism is something that can only be learned from true Hindus.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: It is the DUTY of parents to teach their kids, especially in the west. Some temples do have children's classes, but once a week for an hour doesn't really cut it. its very very tough in the west to meet such lofty goals of religion. My friends from Sri Lanka memorized most of the Tirukkurral. Where? In school. Here you get a bunch of western biased garbage.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ramakrishna]

Namaste,

Great points by everybody. In regards to teaching children about Hinduism, some temples do have "Sunday school" type classes. My temple has different classes for different age groups. But I agree that above all, it is the parents that have to teach their children about Hinduism and help them grow in the faith. But a lot of the time that doesn't happen since the parents themselves are semi-practicing or even non-practicing Hindus who don't care much about Sanatana Dharma.

When it comes to teaching about Hinduism in academia, it is a whole other story. I am sick and tired of watching Hinduism being denigrated in academia. Once I get my degree I will begin writing a book about Hinduism that is specifically designed to be taught in schools and universities. When I took an "Asian Religions" class in college, the book was complete thrash. It presented the garbage AIT as complete fact, flat out called lingam-worship as worship of the phallus, called Hinduism discriminatory because of the caste system, and the list goes on and on. The class was taught by a western convert to Buddhism, and I do give her credit for going out on her own and saying that in "recent years" there has been new theories countering the AIT, and that it is controversial and not 100% fact like the book presents. Still, I communicated to the professor all of my concerns, and her reply was basically that this was the best and most unbiased book about Hinduism that she could find and that it was well-suited for the classroom.

A lot of foolish people would object and say that it isn't fair to have a Hindu teach about Hinduism or to use a book in the classroom that is written by a Hindu, since it would be "biased". What these people don't realize is that nearly all of the people who teach about the Abrahamic religions are themselves Abrahamics and nearly all the books and materials used for those classes are also created by Abrahamics. But I guess those aren't biased...:rolleyes:

It is indeed even sadder that this same kind of thrash goes in in Indian academia. But I suppose that is primarily because of the same problem that the west has, and that is because there aren't many (or any) good unbiased books about Hinduism that are specifically designed for schools. Sure there are books out there that portray Hinduism in a positive light, but schools and universities really do look for books that are specifically designed to be taught in schools, like textbooks.

There probably already are books like this out there, but even when a very good, unbiased, school-designed book about Hinduism is written, the schools and universities will try not to use the material, lest young people find out about the brilliance and beauty of Sanatana Dharma. But that is another struggle. For now, Hindus need to work on finding and/or creating books and material that are specifically designed to be used in schools. We can also write to schools and universities about this. I know the Himalayan Academy and maybe HAF have done things like this in the past, but this is an ongoing and continuing struggle. It saddens and angers me when I think of how many people walk away from some religion class in a school or university thinking of the AIT as fact, or that Hindus worship the phallus, or that Hindus are a bunch of racist and discriminatory people. But this is what happens when Sanatana Dharma is systematically denigrated and belittled in academia around the world. A good start would actually be in India. Have young Indians be proud of their faith and culture instead of having them fed western Abrahamic-biased garbage. Then the movement can concentrate fully on western academia, where it would no doubt be more difficult.

Jai Sri Ram

[Onkara]

I agree, this is a good topic, because it is quite hard for people not raised with exposure to understand Sanatana Dharma.

I should add that misrepresentation is not always deliberately malice. As pointed out above by Sahasranamaji, the intent is to deconstruct it to try to understand it. The problem then become what is repeated or understood. Without clear and accessible guidance this can lead to misunderstandings and limited conclusions.

Take the topic of murthi for a clear example of how this is instantly misunderstood due to background bias, intentional or not. The depth of logic supporting them is not considered or swept aside as 'over complicated'.

So then, is there room for clear intentional guidance today? As the world and internet becomes figuratively smaller, should you and I be making the step to try an assert or teach better understanding of Sanatana Dharma, or is that leading to just more issues and restrictions?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Another thing that some devoted Hindus who are also decent orators do is to volunteer as a guest speaker at high schools, and colleges. Then when studying a comparative religion class, if the teacher has his wits about him/her, they will invite you in to their class for an hour or so. The quality about Sanatana Dharma would be so much better then. As a former educator, I've often deliberated on doing this here in my province. Whats holding me back is a fear of the commitment it might eventually become. The provincial or state authorities can provide you with a list of schools, and then its just a matter of drafting a nice introductory letter with some background, and the cost of a few stamps.

Some boards of education also keep lists of guest speakers and topics.

Aum Namasivaya

[Onkara]

That is a nice idea EM,
Have you considered broadcasting yourself via youtube, for practice as much as to help students?

Is there a benchmark with which we can compare ourselves as say "Yes, now I can go forth and educate"? :)

My impression is that there is no real authority, which is why there is concern above about misrepresentation in SD and why we often find so much inter-hindu debate. I am not suggesting that isn't good and liberating, but it goes back to why things may come across as book-based bias, as Ramakrishna raises as a concern above.

[Eastern Mind]

That is a nice idea EM,
Have you considered broadcasting yourself via youtube, for practice as much as to help students?

Is there a benchmark with which we can compare ourselves as say "Yes, now I can go forth and educate"? :)

My impression is that there is no real authority, which is why there is concern above about misrepresentation in SD and why we often find so much inter-hindu debate. I am not suggesting that isn't good and liberating, but it goes back to why things may come across as book-based bias, as Ramakrishna raises as a concern above.

Vannakkam Onkara: Good questions indeed. One problem is that many Hindus are naturally humble, and don't raise their hands to volunteer. So even though someone might be well versed and a good dynamic speaker, they simply may not want to.

A pundit from local temple, or anyone with the blessings of a bona fide temple or Guru of a traditional heritage would be their authority, I think. Otherwise it might just be some dude with a big ego. I think the educators who invited you would want some credentials. We certainly don't want anyone misrepresenting us, do we?

When I do it, (usually comparative religion classes from the local university or colleges on a field trip to our temple) I try to speak from the commonalities of the vastness, so topics like ahimsa, karma, reincarnation, are covered because those things are pretty well common to all of us. I think its important to stress the diversity, and if there is some specific question pertaining to your own practise, then make sure you state the answer is just your POV from with many POVs within Hinduism. But yes, its a tough deal. Nobody would be a true representative, and have the blessings of all the Hindus around, and some speakers, especially those from the older educational systems, are quite frankly, just plain dry.

Aum Namasivaya

[Onkara]

Vannakkam EM
You make a valid point on having some bona fide temple or Guru lineage. The question will become, which and how?

Quite often I think this is why people publish books, it gives them a more formal voice (although some may dispute that).

[zenvicky]

In Hindu religion there are so many festivals, rituals, Gods to worship with their associated stories, united family influences. Most of the us has received religious education informally in passive manner over the years. Most of the parents don't recite religious books to their kids, but pass on vital religious information and dos & don't in the same manner they have learnt from their parents.

[Lakshmidevi]

Namaste,

In terms of Hinduism in academia, I have taught many university courses on Hinduism and it is atrocious what I have seen coming from other "scholars". I and one tenure professor in my department were Hindu and yet the department offered courses covering Hinduism that are way too many in number for the two of us to cover. Instead we had people who were scholars of Christianity and Islam teaching Hinduism! I had a colleague of mine shocked when I told him that Advaita was not the only important philosophical school and the Aryan Invasion Theory is wrong.

I also had students who would come take my class after having Hinduism covered in other courses who told me they were shocked because they were taught that Hinduism is just idol worship and the caste system.

It's stomach turning to think that this is what passes in many academic circles. The truth is, there are very few schools in the west with solid Hinduism programs for their M.A. and Ph.D. students. So students are taught incorrectly and then they go out in the world and teach new students incorrectly.

A friend of mine goes to university in Canada and has taking a few courses in Hinduism. Recently he told me about the conduct of one of his professors (a Christian) it was appalling. She denigrated Sri Devi into the categories of demonic killer or sex addict and went on to teach how women are discriminated against and abused in the Hindu world.... I thought to myself. "that's odd, I don't feel abused or discriminated against." lol.

When I was finishing my graduate degree I had a well respected professor approach me and say "hey you know all of those stories about the gods and goddesses are fiction right?"

This is what happens when people are so tied up in their own religion. They should not be allowed to teach other religions. Could you imagine if in one of my cultural anthropology or world religions courses, I told my students that Christians are all murderers or Mohammad was a pedophile. I would surely be fired and never have another job in academia again. And yet, when the opposite occurs, these people get promotions.

Ultimately it is up to us to educate our children through the stories we tell, the rituals we do, and the ways we interact with each other and the world.

I think too, it would be nice to see more native born Hindus in the higher ranks of religion and anthropology departments.

[Onkara]

Namasté Zenvicky
It interesting point you make, as often what is passed on is a feeling or understanding that cannot easily be captured in books, would you agree? I feel people are lucky to have exposure to the festivals, rituals and passive education and still feel it their religion is correct for them. :)



In Hindu religion there are so many festivals, rituals, Gods to worship with their associated stories, united family influences. Most of the us has received religious education informally in passive manner over the years. Most of the parents don't recite religious books to their kids, but pass on vital religious information and dos & don't in the same manner they have learnt from their parents.