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orlando
24 November 2006, 12:56 PM
Namaste all.
Now I will copy two chapter from the book Living with Siva, Hinduism's Contemporary Culture
by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

By http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/lws/lws_ch-50.html

Wednesday
LESSON 346
Double Standards

Devout Hindus have a hard time dividing life into the sacred and the profane. It is life, and it is all divine expression. Thus, Hindu art is sacred art, Hindu music is devotional music. Even business, for the devout Hindu, is not just livelihood but a way of serving God, the community and helping mankind.

But we must admit that not all Hindus live the life as fully as they might. There has evolved a double standard in the modern world. There are those who are consistent as Hindus in the temple as well as at home, whose home life is consistent with their behavior in the temple, whether they live in Europe or in an Indian village. There are also those who are Hindus when it is convenient and something else when it is not. A good, hard look at oneself once in a while is beneficial, especially at the time of year when many Hindus send Christmas cards. Do they send greetings to acknowledge the holy days of Islam or Judaism? No. But, having been educated in Christian schools, they feel it's all right to send Christmas cards. Christian on the inside and Hindu on the outside -- it's a double standard. Rice and curry at the temple, a Big Mac beef burger on the way home. Of course, we would always encourage friendly gestures of goodwill and polite exchanges of good wishes with school mates, neighbors, colleagues, business and professional associates or customers who are members of another community, but that can be done without compromising our Hindu identity. There are perfectly neutral and secularized season's greetings cards, devoid of religious expression.

Fortunately, the duplicity is changing. Hindus are getting more confident about living their culture, even in the West. A recent speaking tour in Canada and California brought to my attention an awakening in the older generation (for the sake of their children, they explained), and that is to be one hundred percent Hindu all the time, living the culture at home, in the workplace, the temple and even in dreams. One temple I visited in Toronto had set up a dress code for the devotees: elegant Hindu attire for ladies -- no shorts, slacks, skirts, etc., and only traditional attire for men. Those who don't comply are not admitted. Yes, there was at first some reaction, management told me. Even now, there are some who just won't come to the temple if they can't worship the Lord in T-shirts and tight jeans. But so many others who don't appreciate the double standard and previously would stay away -- because worshipers were dressing so immodestly -- have since replaced the dropouts. The strictness has brought other boons along with it, such as a one-hour, absolutely silent meditation by two or three hundred people prior to the evening puja. The management prides itself on cleanliness, decorum and discipline. My group arrived there shortly after a feeding of several thousand. The kitchen was immaculate. So was the dining room. Similar efforts to bring forward the whole of our tradition are underway in other communities as well.

There is an old saying, "Clothes make the man." And it must be equally true that clothes make the woman. Dress codes are a growing issue in many temples throughout the world, and in ashramas and mathas, too. This is being discussed not only in Hinduism but in other religions as well.

In international airports all over the world we see so many kinds of clothing. Airports are beginning to look like backstage at the opera -- a flamboyant array -- not of actors pretending to be who they are not, but an array of people whose clothing declares who they are. A materialist wears his shirt and tie. The Muslims are elegantly dressed. The colorful African tribals, stately Japanese Shintoists and modest Buddhists are in their traditional garb. Catholics dress demurely; Protestants informally. You can spot an existentialist just like that. And of course, you can never miss the punk rockers or the hippies. A kurta shirt, shawl and loosely fitted pants are definitely Hindu, and go well with the wife's wearing a sari or punjabi.

Thursday
LESSON 347
Upholding Your Faith

The clothing we wear shapes our attitudes, cultural behavior and the friendships we hold. Clothes do affect our moods and emotions and make a declaration of who we are. My recommendation is to be who you are and let the world know it, even in the workplace, unless a dress code does not permit this, of course. This includes wearing the sacred forehead marks and Hindu jewelry, wedding pendant, toe rings, earrings and beads. The message is: don't be afraid to be a Hindu, which includes dressing like a Hindu.

Boldly proclaim your faith to the world. Others proclaim theirs. I will never forget seeing the many spiritual and parliamentary leaders in Moscow at the Global Forum on Human Survival in January of 1991. Many were dressed in Western suits and ties, and it was hard to tell who among them were from the West, or from Africa or India, and harder still to tell who was a religious person and who a politician. But at the Millennium Peace Summit of Religious Leaders at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York in 2000, there were so many, perhaps most, who wore their native dress. I knew instantly who they were, where they were from and what they represented. They carried the stronger message and showed by their clothes that they were proud of their tradition, and that they intended to preserve it. That kind of strength is good to see in a world that has mistaken drab uniformity for security.

This is what temple societies and elders and swamis and gurus are all thinking deeply about -- "Should my ashrama look like a hippie commune, or a serious place of yoga? Should our temples look like advertisements for Levi-Strauss acid-washed jeans?" Many say, "Well, God in the temple doesn't care how I'm dressed. It's how I am on the inside that counts." This is a weak excuse. We cannot be one way on the inside and another on the outside. It's all us, inside and out. Even in elegant restaurants, a coat and tie is required. They will lend these to you at the door. Just as is done today at temples in Bali, we loan wrap-arounds and shawls to those who walk into our temples wearing T-shirts and shorts. Perhaps the way things are heading, one day the Gods in the temples will have the dress of the day: a baseball cap turned backwards, a T-shirt, baggy pants. Perhaps that would satisfy the issue and end the controversy. What do you think?

Women say that they think and act and move differently when they are dressed in a sari than in Western casual clothing. Another point -- men look nicer in the traditional Indian outfit than they do in Western coats, shirts and trousers. But many are shy to wear Hindu clothing, especially the men. They need not be. Last summer a girl we know was scared to death to go to college in her punjabis. But she tried it. Within four days some of the American coeds came up and asked, "What do you call that outfit? We want one like it, too. It's so beautiful." So much for our fears!

Swami Vivekananda noted, "The sari of our women and the choga and turban of our men defy comparison as regards beauty in dress. The tight dresses cannot approach in loveliness the loose ones that fall in natural folds." Hindus dressed like Hindus behave like Hindus. Don't underestimate the power of our dress, how it influences our attitudes, feelings and even the company we keep. This is food for thought, isn't it? Think about it.



Regards,
Orlando.