Hinduism in America
Source -
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/lws/lws_ch-51.html
Hinduism In America
Namaste to each and every one here at this Cultural Center
tonight in California. We invoke Lord Ganesh's blessings to
guide us through our evening together. We are glad to see
you all sitting on the floor on these beautiful carpets in
the traditional way. You are obviously taking pride in
bringing more and more of the great heritage of India to
America.
Tonight we are going to discuss an issue that is essential
to the future of Hinduism in America, I would even say in
the world. It is a complex matter, but in brief it may be
defined as the relation****p of Hindus to Hindus, of
Vaishnavites to Shaivites, of northern traditions to
southern. I call it Hindu solidarity, and I can assure you
that there is no single more challenging or significant
lesson that we as members of the world's oldest religion
have to learn. If we can achieve this, and we can, many of
our problems will be solved, and Hinduism will take a new
place of pride in North America.
Hindu solidarity is not a new idea. Mahatma Gandhi
literally gave his life to religious unity. Of course, his
greatest efforts were focused on the more serious conflicts
between Hindus and Muslims, but he was a man for whom unity
-- but not uniformity -- among Hindus was the rock upon
which harmony between members of all religions must be
based. To him this goal was considered a prerequisite for
freedom and for prosperity. Gandhi took religious harmony
so seriously that it became for him the fulfillment, the
"ultimate triumph of Truth." Of course, from the 1982 film
shown in major cities around the world, you know that
Gandhi faced many disappointments, many setbacks. Yet he
never despaired. Though we, too, encounter obstacles in
this effort, we must not lose heart, but carry on with
courage and determination.
Gandhi did not force his will on others, but used humility,
penance, prayer and purity to convey his ideals to others,
to awaken in them the same love, the same tolerance, the
same dependence on God. Gandhi followed Swami Vivekanand in
impressing America with principles of tolerance,
understanding, forbearance and nonviolence -- all Hindu
ideals. While Swami Vivekanand became known to relatively
few here in the West, Gandhi captured the imagination and
hearts of all Americans, if not the whole world. He is
really a hero in this country, and our own freedom
fighters, Martin Luther King and others, took their
guidance from him. When he failed, Gandhi would say, "Let
us ask for help from God, the All-Powerful, and tell Him
that we, His tiny creatures, have failed to do what we
ought to do. We hate one another. We distrust one another.
We fly at one another's throat, and we even become
assassins. Let us ask Him to purge our hearts of all hatred
in us. Let us ask God in all humility to give us sense, to
give us wisdom."
The people of America sincerely want the Hindu religion
here. And all the Asian Hindus who have come to America,
now numbering in the millions, also want the Hindu religion
here. They are not all in agreement as to what it is; nor
do they even understand the deeper tenets of Hinduism. But
the general feeling among them is, "We want Hinduism here
in America." In a recent publication, I believe it was U.S.
News and World Re****t, statistics were given showing that
in American today one person in twenty-five is associated
with Hinduism, yog or meditation. Of course, we have
millions of other Americans who are atheists, born without
any religion at all. There are tens of millions who are
Jews, Muslims and Buddhists. Buddhism is very popular in
the United States, and Islam is the fastest growing
religion. You can see that we are not really a Christian
country. We are a mosaic of all races, all religions. The
Founding Fathers of America arrived seeking a new world, a
new hope, freedom from unenlightened European monarchies.
They consciously did not create a Christian nation. Their
freedom of religion policy was for all the religions of the
world. Much of their symbolism and thinking was derived
from the Masonic Lodge and the Deist movement of the times.
Thomas Jefferson himself said that the freedoms were to
extend to the Hindus, the Muslims and others. He wrote in
his autobiography, "[When] the [Virginia] bill for
establi****ng religious freedom... was finally passed, a
singular proposition proved that its protection of opinion
was meant to be universal. Where the preamble declares that
coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of
our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the
words Jesus Christ, so that it should read 'a departure
from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our
religion.' The insertion was rejected by a great majority,
in proof that they meant to comprehend within the mantle of
its protection the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and
Mahometan, the Hindoo and infidel of every denomination."
End of forwarded article from:
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/lws/lws_ch-51.html
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