The Lives of Hinduism

On May 8th, I visited the temple for the appearance day of Lord Narasimha dev which is the fourth incarnation of Vishnu.

The following information describing the event is from the website:

“Lord Narasimha dev, who is described in the Puranas, Upanishads, and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism as half-man/half-lion, having a human-like torso and a lower body, with a lion-like face and claws, is said to have taken this form in order to save his great devotee Prahlada from demon Hiranyakasipu. Hiranyakasipu had obtained a boon from Lord Brahma that he could not be killed by man or beast, by day or by night, from the inside or the outside, nor by any weapon. After receiving such a powerful boon, Hiranyakasipu conquered the heaven and the earth. Declaring himself to be God, he ordered all to worship him and not Lord Vishnu. His entire kingdom worshipped Hiranyakasipu, but he was unable to stop his own son, Prahlada, from the devoted worship of Lord Vishnu. The demon even tried to kill his son, but with the blessings of Lord Vishnu, Prahlada escaped time and again. Finally one day Hiranyakasipu challenged Prahlada by asking him ‘If your God is omnipresent, is he in this pillar also?’ Prahlada answered, ‘HE is present in the pillar and even in the rust.’ Hearing this Hiranyakasipu slashed hard on the pillar with a sword. Suddenly, Lord Vishnu emerged from the pillar in the form of Lord Narasimha (neither man nor beast) and slew the demon at dusk (neither day nor night), by keeping him in his lap (neither inside nor outside), tearing out his heart with bare hands (without any weapon), thus overcoming all the boons the demon had attained from Lord Brahma. According to Puranas, Lord Vishnu appeared as Lord Narasimha on the chaturdashi day in the month of Vaishakh.”

On this day, devotees fast and donate food to the poor.

I ended up choosing a different temple, closer to home. On their website they describe their mission as:

“Vishwa Dharma Mandalam is an orthodox Hindu church and a recognized nonprofit religious organization, founded by Swami Ramakrishnananda under the inspiration of His Divine Grace Bhagavan Mastarama Babaji Maharaja, and the blessings of His Divine Grace Baba Brahmananda Maharaja of Rishikesa and His Divine Grace Narahari dasa Babaji Maharaja of Vrindavana.

The purpose of the mission is to preserve and spread the message of the ancient Sanatana-dharma religion or Hinduism,  according to the original vision of Swami Ramakrishnananda, the Vishwa Dharma.

The institution has the respect, affection, recognition and broad support from the Hindu community in the United States

Under the direction and with the blessing of our spiritual master, the members of the mission are dedicated to establishing centers, temples, monasteries and ashrams around the world.”

Their goals and objectives:

“The noble objectives of Vishwa Dharma Mandalam are:

1. To preach Hinduism, the Sanatana-dharma religion, on a large scale, and to make efforts towards the preservation and spreading of the Vedic tradition and culture.
2. To preserve and spread the message of universal peace and love of Swami Ramakrishnananda and his vision of Vishwa Dharma or “the universal dharma“.
3. To promote peace, rapprochement between human beings, respect, communication, understanding and harmony among people beyond creed, race, nationality or sex.
4. To spread the glorification of the holy name of the Lord, through conferences and sankirtans.
5. To promote harmony and respect between all the different religions in accordance with the message of Hinduism.
6. To promote the protection of nature, animals, the environment and the planet.
7. To educate the public in general about hatha-yoga and vegetarianism with the objective of creating a more healthy and wholesome society.
8. To teach and educate the public in general about the spiritual wisdom taught by Hinduism and the message of sakshi-yoga, through classes on yoga, conferences on Vedanta and courses on the Vedic scriptures, as well as workshops of Vedic music, dance and art in general.
9. To help humanity elevate itself by promoting the highest moral, ethical, religious and spiritual values of Hinduism.
10. To edit and publish religious literature.”

 http://www.ramakrishnananda.com

     When I had brought up Hindu life in America vs. in India with Swami Yuktatmananda, he was very compassionate toward both. The first thing he discussed with me was his literary studies. They consisted of Confucius, Swami Vivekananda, Socrates, Walt Whitman, Bergson…He is very eclectic from East to West.

     When it came to spirituality, he said that it wasn’t entirely right to say that Hindus are more spiritual than Americans. I looked at him in disbelief from his voice, and I think he noticed, because he asked me how much attention I was paying to the people sitting around me when I had gone to Buddha’s birthday, because many of them were Americans, and that I had put most of my focus on the words in the service alone rather than the spirituality given off by the different groups of people sitting next to and around me.

     He had told me, “passion is passion from East to West”. With poetry that represents love, if the different languages were removed, Occidental and Oriental love poetry is the same.

     Hinduism has been more established in America than it has been in Europe. There are Hindu cults, such as the Ramakrishna movement, there’s the Oriental cults, partly from Hindu origin, such as Buddhism and Sikhism. There are Hindu cultural movements, professors and students, and their influence on Western thought in thinkers like Emerson.  

     Emerson’s journals show he was reading the Bhagavad Gita and essays on the Vedas. Emerson was strongly influenced by the Vedas, and much of his writing has strong shades of nondualism (things appear distinct while not being separate).

     Swami Yuktatmananda left me with this, which was pretty amazing, because it was something I had my eyes opened to in one of my Lives of Hinduism lectures…”Hinduism in America cannot be completely understood without the knowledge of certain facts relating to the history of past and present achievements.” 

     Think about it. 

Worshipers of any one religion try their best to perform rituals and traditions most closely to the original terms, however this is not always easy. A mother of two young children I interviewed addressed her concerns continuously. This individual aside from being a mother, is also a prominent member of the temple’s organization. She said that it is not easy to raise two Hindu children in an American society, these kids have problems choosing and adapting to standards she and her husband set for their young children. They always question why they must do some things when their white counterparts don’t have to. She says “this is one of the biggest challenges I have have faced.” Explaining the Hindu faith and its small details to a young child is challenging points out Neetu a young mother.

Getting kids to understand their faith at a younger age is much easier than later on in their teenage years. This is one of the main reasons many of the mothers like Neetu stress the importance of visiting the temple for bhagvan’s darshan at least once week. Interviewing the two young children was very interesting, I could in fact relate to the dilemma these kids were in. The older of the two children, complained that he did not care to come to the temple if he wasn’t forced to. He said once in a while its fine, but “sometimes I just want to stay home and relax on the weekends like my other friends.” Unlike her brother, Simi thought differently. Simi enjoyed coming to the temple because it was an occasion for her to sing bhajans and she loved singing. She said even though she didnt really understand what she was singing, she experienced a certain pleasure when singing. Her mother recognizes this as a personal accomplishment, she says that her daughter is on the verge of “becoming one with god.”

Hindu worshipers at the temple I visited believed the murtis were not god but the closest physical contact they can have with the “divine.” The middle aged women recalls herself growing up finding herself more closely inclined in the practice of puja by seeing the murtis which she subconciously associated with the god. She says “it just makes it so much more easier for me to concentrate on my mantras when looking at the murtis instead of the floor, the ceiling or the people walking in and out of the sanctuary.” In my conversation with her I discussed the importance of the murti and if Hinduism would continue to exist if the whole idea of iconic and aniconic forms of meditation would be removed? She replied that in today’s modern society idol worship has become an stronger form of connecting in the activity of puja. She said the murti is the source of physical activity such as arti, but also a way for children and younger individuals to understand what they are worshipping and what they should have faith in.

In America especially when there is a larger opportunity for children to openly choose their faith, or not believe in god at all it is important to keep the younger generation reeled in the whole idea of “hinduism.” It is important for them to find their individual connection to the practices whether it be through, the money and sweets gifted on diwali or the colors and bhang served on holi. Keeping them interested only gives Hindu’s today the hope of Hindu values reaching out to the generations of tomorrow.

Buddha, meaning “the Awakened One,” had his yearly birthday celebration yesterday, the 10^th of May. His real birthday was on the 9^th, the full moon, but the service was celebrated yesterday morning at 11 am at the Ramakrishna Center.

According to Swami Yuktatmananda, “He is born for the sake of all that lives.” The reason the service was held was to acknowledge Buddha coming into this world, as well as the Bhagavad-Gita. We learn of the moment where he was taken away from exposure only to desire, and observes misery for the first time. The Gita wants us to reflect on Buddha’s newfound pain and wants us to be realistic that the body will perish.

From Sanskrit translation, Buddha had said, “May my body wither away in this seat. May my skin, bone, and flesh perish. Without releasing the truth, this body will not move from this seat.” It was on this day of the lunar calendar that he obtained Nirvana under his Bodhi Tree after many years in search of truth and the solution to misery.

His Four Noble Truths (existence of sorrow, cause of sorrow is desire, sensation of sorrow, go beyond sorrow), led to the Eightfold Path, which focused on discipline, mediation, and reflection that all led to Enlightenment and the ultimate reality.

Some of Buddha’s main teachings stated that, “passion is the fiercest fire, wisdom is the best weapon, deliverance is the greatest joy, and that ignorance causes the ruining of the world.”

At the beginning and end of the service, Swami Yuktatmananda would say, “OM, peace unto all, peace unto all.” His service went from 1130-1245. No one stood during the service. We were all crammed together and sitting during the entirety of it. When I had walked upstairs to get escorted to squeeze in somewhere, the choir was on the bottom floor all dressed formally, and the entire building smelled of burned incense.

One of the women’s cell phones went off twice during the service. Some of the people dressed very formally for the occasion, got angered and would turn to give her looks until she noticed they were staring at her. There were two people there taking notes when I sat. One man seemed like he did research with this foundation, because he knew everyone who worked there. The other woman taking notes had her small notebook hidden beneath her jacket. The woman who sat next to me was one of the people very adamant about this service, the same woman who gave the cell phone lady stares…She kept watching my pen to paper, either trying to hint I was being disrespectful, or to make sure I was getting everything down correctly without mistakes.

After the service was given, there were hymns and devotional songs sung by the choir. I was stunned when they went from singing a hymn that I didn’t understand at all, to singing “Dust in the Wind,” by Kansas, and “Dreamer,” by Ozzy Ozbourne. I just didn’t envision a place of worship singing songs from traditional pop culture. I was also shocked that we were all still in our seats when volunteers came out with plates of food for everyone. We passed food and water to the people next to us, like we had passed around the donation basket. Some of it was spicy and some was sweet. What was awful was that I’m waiting to go to the dentist to get a wisdom tooth removed, and I could barely eat. But I was watching as every single person sitting there cleaned their plate. No plate went into the garbage with any food on it. So I ate slowly. The cabbage, beans, greens, and rice wasn’t too bad, but there were some variety of cookies that took me a while. It was quite an eating experience. I think my least favorite was the dried prunes in some fruit sauce. My favorite was the sweet cheese and the rice that tasted very much like tapioca pudding. I had tried to talk to the gentleman next to me, who had been taking notes and seemed to know everyone, but he would barely give me the time of day, and only seemed interested in talking to the volunteers there; the ones he knew, anyway. When everyone was eating, they kind of just kept to themselves, and only a select few who came together conversed. More conversation, at least in my opinion, was struck up in between people waiting on line for the bathroom. Everyone was very friendly and willing to talk then. We would ask if this was our first time there, how long people have been coming, how wonderful Swami Yuktatmananda was; just some amiable banter. I had asked two different people who were working there if I could take a picture or two, but they told me it was disrespectful…even though I saw someone taking a picture during the service!

In India, they have what’s called, Purnima. This holiday occurs at the May/June full moon. The Buddha Purnima festival is a triple whammy celebrating the Buddha’s birth, Enlightenment and death all in one. Buddhist sacred sites and temples all over India are inundated with pilgrims. The crowds tend to be made up of more than just Indians, but devotees from all over the world journey to their favorite place for the Buddha Purnima event. The style of celebrations varies across the sub-continent, but all are awesome to be a part of.

All in all, it was a wonderful, new experience.

I visited my organization on April 14, this is the day which marks the Tamil New Year’s Day. Tamil people believe that it was on the Tamil New Year’s Day that Lord Brahma started the creation of the world. This was my first experience ever taking part in a South Indian festival. At this joyous occasion did I get the opportunity to be warmly welcomed by a community of people who appreciated flaunting their traditions with the American community who was unaware and wanted to know about them. The environment was extremly friendly and vivacious.
As I stepped into the mandir I was greeted with a phrase I had never heard before, later realizing it was because I was neither a native speaker of Tamil or Telegu, both Dravidian languages. By the end of the night I picked up on the very difficult phrase, “Puthandu Vazthukal.” What I found very interesting was how the pandit ji directed his opening speech to the youngsters in the crowd, he of course spoke in English, just to connect to his particular audience more closely. I think this is a very good way to keep the younger generation in smaller religious communities together, language is a very important asset in the process of socialization. On the other hand, the pandit ji addressed his wider and elder audience in Tamil.
The community of people within the temple are reminded why they have joined together that afternoon, their main reason in paying a visit to the gods is to pray and ensure themselves a bright and prosperous year ahead. What I also noticed was the exhange of small gifts and money envelopes amongst friends and family. A young boy sitting next to me said, kids usually look forward to this holiday, i quote him saying “This is a brown boy’s Christmas.” I just thought it was interesting how this little boy saw this South Indian holiday to be as big as Christmas. As I spoke to the young boy, I was soon introduced to his mother. She is a professional woman who has been residing in Queens, New York for more than 10 years but is still closely in touch with her South Indian roots. She was indeed very friendly and open to answer a few questions I had about the festival.
When I asked her how the festival was celebrated differently here compared to back home in Tamil Nadu, she explained with a laugh by saying “It is completely different!” She went on to say this festival is celebrated with lamps and colors (rangolis) back home. There is so much more excitement and fun involved, here the festival is celebrated with much more simplicity.

I actually went to Ganesh temple in Flushing Queens instead because I found a friend who goes there frequently. When I first entered the temple, I immediately noticed an iconic figure of the deity Ganesh in the center of the temple. The religious figure, who is known as the pundit, was saying a prayer to Ganesh. To the left of the temple was a statue of Shiva and to the right was a figure of Bhrama. Near Bhrama were idols of Vishnu and Laxmi.

The Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of NY is equipped quite nicely with a variety of different seminars, classes, lectures, and services.

On Sunday mornings at 11:00 A.M., Swami Yuktatmananda conducts services and lectures on spiritual topics of great practical importance. Some include Spiritual Transformation, The Message of Self-Knowledge, Guidelines for Mature Living, Harmony of Religions, The Problem of Suffering, Christ and His Message, Buddha and His Way.

Swami Yuktatmananda joined the monastic Order of Sri Ramakrishna in Bangalore, India, in 1978 and was ordained a monk in 1988. In December 2007, after Swami Adiswarananda passed away, Swami Yuktatmananda took over as minister and spiritual leader of the Center.

On Tuesday evenings at 8:00 P.M., Swami Yuktatmananda conducts a class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, and on Friday evenings at 8:00 P.M., a class on the scriptures of Vedanta: The Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, The Crest Jewel of Discrimination, The Works of Swami Vivekananda, The Teachings of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, just to list a few for those interested.

The Center also holds special services each year for Sri Ramakrishna’s Birthday, Holy Mother’s Birthday, Swami Vivekananda’s Birthday, Buddha’s Birthday, Sri Sri Durga Puja, Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. The Choir of the Center performs traditional hymns and songs, both Western and Eastern. All the services and classes of the Center are free and open to the public, a wonder for those who show great interest in these teachings. It’s amazing and worldly of Swami Yuktatmananda to arrange special lectures and seminars at the Center for groups of students from colleges, universities, and other organizations. On special occasions, Swamis from other centers, spiritual leaders of different faiths, community leaders, and academicians are invited by Swami Yuktatmananda to speak at the Center.

The Center maintains a Library and a Bookstall for the benefit of the members and the public. The Library contains a large number of books and periodicals on Vedanta and other philosophical and religious systems of the world.

The Center also maintains the Vivekananda Cottage, a summer cottage at Thousand Island Park, New York, in which Swami Vivekananda lived and taught for eight weeks in the summer of 1895. Usually, it is available during the months of July and August as a place of pilgrimage for devotees.

Swami Vikekananda was an unknown monk of India who suddenly leapt into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, where he represented Hinduism. His vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture and his deep spiritual insight made him an irresistible appeal to many Americans who had met him.

What did come as kind of a surprise to me is that the foundation is so willing to have people who  are  interested in their teachings come in and speak to them or observe, but when I had contacted them over the phone, it wasn’t quite like that. Both times I had spoken with them to come in for informal questions and curious conversation, I was told they’d prefer if I came in for a class or lecture instead to observe and get the information I wanted. I completely understand where they are coming from, and for me, that’s more for me to learn from. They were so kind and insisted I come to Buddha’s Birthday on May 10^th to get a feel for their teachings and asked if I would stay after for refreshments to discuss observations and thoughts. They prefer experiencing the Center by becoming a part of it, rather than just getting a mere glimpse. First-hand experience is the best learning technique.

Hanuman Jayanti is observed by Hindus to celebrate the birth of Lord Hanuman. He is believed to be born on the full-moon day of the month of chaitra at exactly sunrise. Many pray to Hanuman as he symbolizes strength and unfathomable devotion; qualities that the devotees seeks to obtain. On Hanuman Jayanti, many devotees dedicate the day to observe fast, meditate on Him and Lord Ram, chanting the Hanuman Chalisa and repeating his glories and adventures. Lord Ram is also praised during this period of time because of Hanuman Ji’s devotion to him. It is believed that nothing can make Lord Hanuman happier than chanting the name of Lord Rama.

The Hanuman Chalisa speaks of the glories of Lord Hanuman and is usually chanted 108 on this day. Chalisa literally means “40 verses,” so accordingly the song is 40 verses long. It is chanted a 108 times because that is the amount of times it will take to be in complete harmony with the universe. This is assuming that you are focusing on nothing but Lord Hanuman when chanting. Chanting it 108 times will allow the devotee to overcome all obstacles that may impede their life.

At mandir, while the Hanuman Chalisa is being chanting many families would offer some kind of food and fruit to the murti of Lord Human. Offering with full devotion and love of Lord Hanuman would result in Him accepting the offerings and in return blessing the devotee and family with health, wealth, happiness, courage, valor and wisdom.

hanuman

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is part of an organization of over 500 temples worldwide founded by Guru Puja of India.  His goal was to spread the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.  He came to New York in 1965 and in 1966 he opened his first New York temple on second avenue on the lower east side of Manhattan.  Gurur Puja passed away on 1977 and left behind a commission of leaders and members to carry on his legacy.

The administrative structure of the temple is made up of volunteer positions.  These positions include cooks, organizers, cleaners and managers.  The highest positions are held by Rama Bhadradas and his wife.  They are the president and vice-president of the temple.  They handle all managerial duties and Mrs. Bhadradas is also the treasurer of the temple. I was told by a practitioner that there is a qualification called “diksha” that one must have in order to perform rituals.  A person receives “diksha” after many years of practice and can be distinguished by a thread that is worn on their shoulder (men).

Regular public services are held every Wednesday and Sunday at 7pm although the temple is open everyday at 7am for prayer and observance.  Daily activities include chanting and reading from the Bhagavad Gita.  Occasionally the temple hosts special events, including weddings where fire sacrifices are performed.  A special event coming up is scheduled for Friday April 3 to mark the birthday of the heroic Ramayana character Ram.  Another is a festival on Sunday April 5 where a storyteller from India will come and speak.  All events are funded by “annadon” (charity of grain) and donations from the congregation.  People give donations in honor of dead loved ones, graduations and weddings.  Allthough the days of practice vary in different countries, these events and ones like these take place in India and all over the world.

As people walked into the temple some greeted each other as they were good acquaintances and others seemingly ignored each other.  But everyone joined in the chants and dances together.  The ages of those present was varied.  I saw people who looked to be as old as 60 years old and others who looked to be as young as 6 years old.  Surprisingly, I saw people from all different ethnic backgrounds present at the temple.  I saw black, Hispanic and white people amongst the Indian faces.

While attending the event held at the temple I observed many things.  As the people walk into the temple they immediately kneel down and place their foreheads on the ground in a bowing position.  Some even proceeded to lie completely on the floor, face down, for about 10 seconds or so.  I noticed that people were carrying different colored pouches (but mostly red colored) around their necks and wrists.  I later laearned that these pouches are called japa and contain 108 rosary beads with which sixteen rounds of prayer are said.  I observed a statue of the founder of the temple, Guru Puja, in the back of the temple and a huge shrine with a statue of Krishna sitting on a throne-like structure.  He was adorned in a lot of gold and colorful objects but I was the back so I couldn’t get a better look.  Someone was sup front lighting incense around Krishna.  They blew horns around him also.  Someone came around the congregation and threw holy water on me and held a carnation up to my nose to smell. I also heard drums and cymbals being played. I later learned that the drum is called a mrdanga and the cymbals are called kartals.

Guru PujaBoy and his drum