On Tuesday, April 7th, Hindus across the world will celebrate the birth of one of the most beloved figures in the tradition, Hanuman, the devoted servant of Rama. In Hindu homes, his many deeds of service will be recalled. His praises will be sung through the recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa, a forty-verse composition of the saintly poet, Tulsidas (ca. 15th CE), and arguably the most popular prayer-text in the Hindu tradition. In our current context of fear and anxiety, many more will turn to Hanuman this year for the blessings of protection and security.
Read MoreOn Thursday April 2, Hindus around the world will celebrate one of the most popular events in the religious calendar, the birth of Rama, revered as an embodiment of divinity on earth. In normal times, our temples will come alive with joyful sacred songs, music and rituals of honor. Under the conditions of our current pandemic, however, temples this year will be empty and silent, except for the chanting of dedicated priests who will perform ceremonies of adoration for the baby-Rama. There will be no worshippers, however, to join voices in song, to receive the sacred flame, to share the food-offerings made to Rama and to sip the drops of water offered at his feet.
Read MoreThere are several posts circulating on social media commending certain Hindu practices that include avoiding physical contact with others, not sharing eating utensils, baths after touching others etc. Some of these practices are helpful in limiting the spread of a virus like Covid-19.
Read MoreThere is an ancient and vigorous tradition of debate and dissent within the Hindu tradition. Religious teachers contested each other’s understanding of the nature of ultimate reality (brahman), brahman’s relationship with the world and the meaning of liberation. They disagreed about the interpretation of sacred texts. Shankara and Ramanuja, for example, understood, quite differently, the meaning of the famous Chandogya Upanishad sentence, “Tat Tvam Asi (That Thou Art). The Arya Samaj founder, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, rejected the worship of the divine in murti-form, affirmed the absolute authority only of the Samhita section of the Vedas, and rejected conservative understandings of the caste order. The point is that arguments about the meaning of Hinduism and Hindu identity are not a recent phenomenon. These matters were debated even before the term Hinduism was coined. Such disagreements continue to our present day.
Read MoreThere is an unfortunate misunderstanding about living liberation and the liberated human being in the Hindu tradition. Regrettably, this confusion is too often perpetuated by Hindu teachers who are regarded by their supporters as liberated individuals.
I am referring here to the belief that the liberated person (jīvanmukta) becomes all-knowing and thus infallible as a teacher in all matters. We witness Hindu teachers in public and private settings questioned and offering, often flawed and questionable, opinions on every conceivable subject. I am yet to hear a teacher in such a setting admit that he/she has no expertise or training in a particular area of study, whether this is in the humanities, social or empirical sciences.
Read MoreGratitude
For the hands that first caressed me
The fingers that first fed me
The shoulders that first nestled my head
The body that first comforted me with warmth
The eyes that first shed a tear for me
The ear that first listened to my cry
The lips that first kissed my cheeks
The voice that first sang me a tender song
The love that first awakened my love
In a beautiful section of the Ayodhyākāṇḍa of Tulasīdāsa's Rāmacaritamānas, Rama, who is exiled from Ayodhya, journeys to the hermitage of the poet, Valmiki. He requests the help of Valmiki in finding a suitable place to build a hut where he could reside with Sita and Lakshmana. His one stipulation was that no forest-dweller be disturbed by his presence. As the prince of Ayodhya, he could choose any place to build a home, but he does not abuse this authority.
Read MoreGandhi, whose 150th birth anniversary we recently celebrated, has much to teach us. In a time when leaders, across our world, publicly shame and humiliate those who question their actions and policies, Gandhi's attitude to criticism is refreshing.
Read MoreIn the Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Upanishad), the teacher urges his graduating students to never neglect study and teaching (svadhyaya pravachanabhyam na pramaditavyam). This advice is of perennial value for Hindu teachers, and teachers of all traditions. The order of the teacher’s words is crucial. There is no meaningful teaching without diligent and continuous study. In fact, the greater work is always the study and deep reflection that precedes teaching. Those who strive to be good teachers know the countless hours, often in solitude, that go into the preparation of a worthwhile public lecture.
Read MoreIn his popular version of the Ramayana, which tells the life story of Rama, Sant Tulsidas writes of an ideal community in which “there is no premature death or suffering of any kind; everyone enjoys beauty and health. No one is poor, sorrowful or in want; no one is ignorant.” This community is also free from violence and nature flourishes. “The trees in the forests,” writes Tulasidas, “bloom and bear fruit throughout the year; the elephant and lion live together as friends; birds and beasts of every kind are no longer hostile and live in harmony with one another.”
Read MoreEchammal was 25 years old when she lost both her husband and her only son. She visited the great teacher, Ramana Maharshi, seeking comfort in her grief, and became his disciple. With Ramana's permission, Echammal adopted a daughter. When the time was appropriate, she arranged a marriage for her daughter and named her grandson, Ramana. Tragically, one day, Echammal received the news, by telegram, that her daughter passed away. She raced up to Ramana with the telegram. He took it from her and read its contents with tears in his eyes. After the funeral of her daughter, Echammal returned to Sri Ramana and placed her grandson in his arms. He held the child gently to his bosom and and again wept with tears.
Read MoreA Prayer for the celebration of Shivaratri (The Night of Shiva)
Aum tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ puṣṭivardhanam urvārukamiva bandhanānmṛtyormukṣīya mā'mṛtāt (Rig Veda 7.59.12)
"We offer worship to the fragrant, three-eyed Lord Shiva, who enhances prosperity. May he liberate us from the bondage of death like the water melon; may he not let us turn away from immortality."
Read MoreAs a Hindu-American scholar, the sacred text that I think of at this time of political transition is the Bhagavadgita and its call to work always for the universal common good (3:20 and 3:25). Consideration for the common good is what makes a person unselfish and wise and what should drive our public policy. After all, the state should exist for the promotion of the common good, not the interests of any particular group.
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I am convinced that prayer and action has much to contribute to the wellbeing of children and to their flourishing. Prayer can awaken compassion, and a profound understanding of the unity of life. It can be the source of a powerful and sustaining energy for justice and for the overcoming of suffering.
Read MoreOne can speak about religion and peace only from a place of profound humility and self-criticism. Although our traditions commend peace as an ideal, and offer valuable resources for peace-making, these traditions are also sources of theological interpretations that have been used and misused to justify violence. As far as peace is concerned, the gap between ideal and reality in our traditions is a vast one. Our commitment to peace requires us to acknowledge the reality of violence, past and present, in the structures and practices of our traditions. Such discernment requires a willingness to be less defensive and more self-critical and to hold our traditions accountable to their highest teachings.
Read MoreHindus are about to observe a special fortnight in the annual Hindu calendar, known as Pitṛ Pakṣa. It is a time when we turn our thoughts to the past and remember with loving gratitude those whose labor and generosity continue to bless us. We remind ourselves of our immense debt to them and of our dependence on those who have gone before us. We are reminded also of our own mortality and our need to give more abundantly than we receive
Read MoreThe Kena Upanishad, which belongs to the Sama Veda, cautions us in a series of verses (1:4-8) about the dangers of mistaking the finite for the infinite and of worshiping the finite. In a series of five verses, the teacher differentiates the finite from the infinite. In each verse, he instructs that the infinite is not a worldly object, even one that worshipped by people (nedaṁ yad idam upāsate- not this that people worship). It is a classic criticism of idolatry, understood here as the error of substituting that which is finite for the infinite. The Kena Upanishad regards such idolatry as having it roots in ignorance (avidyā).
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