Bhaktisandesam / Hindu Youth - Part II

[Guest guest]

Bringing Up Hindu Kids

from Dr. Frank Morales

 

A Lesson for Parents

When we make the sentimentally comforting, yet unthinking, claim

that " all religions are the same " , we are unwittingly betraying the

grandeur and integrity of this ancient heritage, and contributing to

weakening the philosophical/cultural matrix of Hinduism to its very

core.

 

No Radical Universalism, Please!

Each and every time a Hindu upholds Radical Universalism, and

bombastically proclaims that " all religions are the same " , she does

so at the dire expense of the very Hinduism she claims to love. To

deny the uniqueness and greatness of Hinduism leads, in turn, to a

very unhealthy psychological state of self-loathing, a sense of

unworthiness and a schizophrenic confusion on the part of anyone who

wishes to consider themselves Hindu.

 

Why Kids Lack Interest

This is especially the case for Hindu youth. The effects of this

debilitating inferiority complex, coupled with the lack of

philosophical clarification, that result from the denigrating

influence of Radical Universalism are the principal reasons why Hindu

parents find their children all too often lacking a deep interest in

Hinduism and, in some cases, even abandoning Hinduism for seemingly

more rational and less self-abnegating religions.

 

Who, after all, wants to follow a religion in which it is claimed

that the very basis of the religion is to exult the greatness of

other religions at its own expense?

 

The Answer is One

If we want to ensure that our youth remain committed to Hinduism as a

meaningful path, that our leaders teach Hinduism in a manner that

represents the tradition authentically and with dignity, and that the

greater Hindu community can feel that they have a religion that they

can truly take pride in, then we must abandon Radical Universalism.

 

If we want Hinduism to survive so that it may continue to bring hope,

meaning and enlightenment to untold future generations, then the next

time our son or daughter asks us what Hinduism is really all about,

let us not slavishly repeat to them that " all religions are the

same " .

 

Let us Teach Them Sanatana Dharma

Let us instead look them in their eyes, and teach them the uniquely

precious, the beautifully endearing, and the philosophically profound

truths of our tradition…truths that have been responsible for keeping

Hinduism a vibrantly living religious force for over 5000 years. Let

us teach them Sanatana Dharma, the eternal way of Truth.

 

 

 

Jai Shree Krishna !