04/21/98 - 1753

Dharma Journal 4-19-98

USA (VNN) - The Electronic Newsletter of the Sanatana Dharma Student Association
(The Hindu student and faculty organization of the University of Wisconsin)


The mystical syllable Om is the bow.
The arrow is the Self.
Brahman is said to be the mark.
By the undistracted man is It said to be penetrated.
One should come to be in It,
as the arrow [in the mark].

Mudaka Upanisad (2.2.4)


Announcements

1) India Night. The Indian Students' Association will be celebrating "India Night", on Friday, May 1st, 6:00 p.m. Come to this night of good Indian food, entertainment and celebrating.

2) Buddhism talk. Colin Oglesbay, the Secretary of the SDSA, will give a lecture introducing our members to the history and philosophy of Buddhism. The talk will be on Sunday, May 3rd at 6:00 p.m. in Union South. Call Colin (608) 256-3458.

3) Sitadevi. Monday, May 4th, will be the Appearance Day of Sitadevi, the divine consort of Lord Rama.

4) Narasinghadeva. Saturday, May 9th, will be the Appearance Day of Lord Narasingha, the incarnation (avatara) of Sriman Narayana.

5) Oshkosh Hindu Community Puja. On Sunday, May 17th, our members will be travelling to Oshkosh for a puja and satsang program at the home of our President, Sumit Ringwala, and his parents. This event is part of the regular weekly puja sponsored by the Oshkosh Hindu community. The satsang talk will be delivered by Frank Morales, the Advisor of the SDSA. Call Sumit (608) 264-0379.

Article

Hinduism and the Media: Let Us Hear Something Good For a Change

By Dr. David Frawley

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world with close to a billion followers world wide. It is also the oldest religion of the world, with its roots going back over five thousand years. In addition it is the largest of the non-Biblical traditions, having a different revelation that offers another perspective on the universe, which Hindus see as permeated with consciousness.

Yet, most importantly, Hinduism is the largest pluralistic religion in the world. Hinduism teaches that "Truth is One but the paths are many." Hindus therefore do not see the need to convert the world to any single belief, savior or prophet. To them this would be as defeating to the purpose of life, similar to making one form of dress or one type of diet compulsory for all.

Aren't we seeking such an acceptance of religious diversity in this new global age of multiculturalism? We can no longer hold that any single religion is only true one for humanity any more than we can claim that any one nation, linguistic group, or race is supreme. Religion like art or science has its counterparts everywhere and no group can claim to own it.

Indeed it has been said that there are more religions inside Hinduism than out of it. Hinduism is a religion filled with every name and form of God, male and female, Father and Mother. Hinduism has numerous scriptures, many Divine incarnations or Sons and Daughters of God, many great saints and yogis and innumerable holy sites. In the twentieth century alone Hinduism has produced a whole galaxy of great teachers, not merely the more well known Mahatma Gandhi but Sri Aurobindo, Paramahansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Anandamayi Ma, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Shivananda, Prabhupada, and Sai Baba to name but a few. Many of these have considerable followings in the West. Hinduism also is no longer limited to India but has spread throughout the world. There are also now about a million Hindus in the United States, mainly immigrants from India of the last few decades. Such Hindu-Americans are not poor or uneducated either. In fact Indo-Americans, of which Hindus are the largest group, have among the highest per capita income and education of any group in America. Hindu Americans are prominent as doctors, teachers, computer scientists, and physicists. Anglo-Americans are more likely to find themselves working for Hindu Americans, than to have them as employees! In fact you will find a sizeable Hindu community in most major American cities, with their own temples, stores and newspapers. They may be your neighbors and if they are you will know that you have nothing to fear from them. A similar size and status group of Hindus exists in England as well. A Hindu influence has penetrated much of the New Age movement in America and Hindu concepts like karma and rebirth are accepted by many people. The new interest in meditation in the West was initiated largely by Hindu teachers. Hindu terms like mantra and guru are now part of the English language. Hindu based Yoga teachings and exercises are taught throughout the country.

However when was the last time you read a positive story about Hinduism in the American news reports? Have you ever read a positive story about Hinduism in the media of this country? Most likely not. Why is this the case? Is there nothing positive worth reporting about Hinduism? Is there nothing of value that Hindus, comprising one-sixth of humanity, have to offer the rest of humanity, even by way of curiosity? If there are positive stories about India it is usually about Indians becoming Western in their ways or abandoning Hinduism, not finding that their religious tradition aids them in life or in understanding the world.

Clearly there are many groups that have had a vested interest against Hinduism. But isn't the world at a stage at which we can no longer let such vested interests dominate the media and educational fields which should serve the cause of truth, not sectarian aims?

What do we read about Hinduism in the media? First very little, just as little about India ever comes into the news either. If Hindu practices are referred to, they are dismissed as crude polytheism, even though monism, the belief that everything is God, is the very basis of Hinduism. While statues of Christ are called icons, those of Hindu forms of God like Krishna or Shiva are called idols. What few stories about Hinduism occur are mainly sensational and negative like wife burning, neglected widows or caste conflicts. We fail to consider that these Indian social problems are not owing to the religion, which teaches us to regard all beings as our own Self and all the world as one family, but simply human problems that have their counterparts in all countries.

What would we in America think if the media of India portrayed Christianity according to American social problems of crime, drug usage, and sexual promiscuity? Or if they called Christian icons idols or referred to the Catholic mass as a strange ritual of human cannibalism. Sound pretty prejudiced. Well that is what Hindus have to face seeing their religion portrayed in the misinformed and prejudiced media of today.

Many Americans think Hinduism is not a religion but a collection of cults that are likely to be dangerous if Westerners take them up. Let them tell that to a Hindu physicist, surgeon or computer scientist living in America. Surely Hindus, while faithfully following their religion, can excel in both economic and educational fields as good as any Christian. Hindus also compare well in family values compared to Christian counterparts and are much less likely to suffer from divorce, adultery, or neglect of children. Take a prime American newspaper like the New York Times, which is supposed to have a strong international sense, and see what we mean. Show us one positive story about Hinduism that the paper has published in the last year. Show us one positive story about Hinduism that it has ever published. Show us even a positive story it has published about India that speaks of Hinduism favorably. We have not been able to find any and we have been looking for a long time. We have, however, found a number of negative stories, generally misinformed.

Now of course one can argue that there are bad things in Hinduism. They exist in all religions, but even Islam, with its recent history of terrorism, militancy, and suicide bombings, gets portrayed in a much more favorable light than Hinduism. Why is Hinduism singled out for a special denigration? Is it because Hinduism is so bad or because Hindus, being largely passive people, seldom challenge these distortions?

All Hindus want is an equal and balanced treatment. If you print what is bad about Hinduism, print also what is good about it. If you can't find anything good about it, contact some Hindus and open a dialogue with them. After all they are human beings and many are intelligent, successful and spiritual. If you can't find something good to say about Hinduism can you claim that you have no prejudice against it?

Hinduism is a religion that promotes many compassionate causes. It believes in ecological responsibility and says like Native Americans that the Earth is our mother. It champions protection of animals, which it considers also have souls, and promotes vegetarianism. It has a strong tradition of non-violence or ahimsa. It holds the worlds largest tradition of the worship of God as feminine and as the Divine Mother. It believes that God is present in all nature, in all creatures, and in every human being regardless of their faith or lack of it. It has beautiful music, art and drama and one of the largest literatures in the world. It has many systems of philosophy and the vast spiritual culture of Yoga and Vedanta. It has the Sanskrit language, by many accounts, the most sophisticated in the world. What is there to fear in all this except perhaps the breaking down of prejudice? Of course you can look at the bad side of Hinduism only, but what would occur with Christianity and Islam if we only portrayed their bad side?

There was a time when nothing positive was printed about religions other than Christianity and perhaps Judaism in the West. We have advanced beyond that point. Even Buddhism is getting some good press and good movies, and it has much in common with Hinduism, being an offshoot of it, much like Christianity arose from Judaism and shares many of its common beliefs. Even Native American beliefs, which like the Hindu were once denigrated as pagan superstition, are being viewed in a more positive light for their Earth and life positive values.

Therefore it is time for this anti-Hindu prejudice to be removed from the media just as past prejudices. Can the so-called liberal media of America rise up to this task?

We Hindus and Hindu groups request that you take up this cause. Otherwise you are denigrating a significant portion of humanity and our global heritage. If you need help let us know. We will try to help you as best we can.