Monday, March 07, 2011

Hindu Pride.... Abysmally low....

Throughout my short life I have come across people of many religions. What makes everyone different from people of Hindu faith is the pride of followers or lack thereof. I have come across very few Hindus who are proud of their religious identity... more so if they are from India or those born in the United States. This is ironical because everything that has come from Hinduism is trendy, cool and sought after in the United States. Even in the so-called Bible belt of US Yoga is popular, meditation is trendy, Kirtan, chanting of Sanskrit mantras are popular.

When it comes to identifying oneself as a Hindu, there is a huge gap. People from India would rather identify themselves by their regional, linguistic, national, or caste identity rather than their larger religious identity. This is perhaps why even Europeans who have gotten attracted to Hinduism's philosophy are hesitant to say they are Hindus but say they like "Eastern Philosophies" better than "Western ideologies".

I wonder when Hindus will start taking pride in their religious identity?

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