It’s sometimes hard for me to remember that Hinduism can seem extremely strange, foreign, or confusing to people who aren’t familiar with it. Maybe they’ve heard the word, they know it’s associated with India, but that’s it. In America there are a lot of times when you find yourself in an interfaith dialog. People ask you what Hinduism is and you’re at a loss to sum it up or people want to open a pathway to encouraging you to convert... Read more
What is it about collecting things? It seems like human beings just love to gather and collect sets of things. I see the video games and board games I play take advantage of this instinct. There’s something so satisfying about having a selection of related things, whether for a practical purpose (like those head scarves we’ve been talking about this week!) or decorative. I enjoy gathering things, putting them together, planning for new things to add. It makes me feel... Read more
Okay, now that you know my deep dark secret, that I am terrifically fascinated with religious head covering, here’s an interesting question… Where is the line between regular thing you would put on your head and a religious expression? I find that I have lines drawn in my mind, but I’m not sure that they are accurate or where exactly I have gotten the rules from. Example: hats are fine. We all wear hats in cold weather. Doesn’t say anything... Read more
It’s always fascinating to me how many concerns and issues are the same across different religious communities. I enjoy reading the essays and stories of other young people who are religious, whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or something else. The other day I ran across this great blog written by a Jewish woman who covers her hair. She has a number of posts talking about visibility as a Jew. She wears a head covering that is distinctly Jewish and... Read more
Personally I don’t feel that me dressing like a Hindu, behaving like a Hindu, and generally living like a Hindu is at all appropriative. I am a Hindu, so I think it’s appropriate! Sure, there aren’t particular clothes that are labeled as Hindu, but there are clearly clothes in which you fit in during Hindu worship and clothes in which you do not. I’ll tell you what is entirely inappropriate of me. I covet some of the religious expressions of... Read more
I’ve always felt a bit self-conscious at my dance classes. Bharatnatyam, a classical South Indian dance, is often taught to young girls (occasionally boys as well). It’s a lot like ballet is in mainstream American culture. Little girls, and sometimes little boys, learn it. They start to drift away as teenagers and only a few keep up with it to teach or become professional dancers. I started learning Bharatnatyam when I was 23. From that time on, I’ve always been... Read more
There is an entire genre of blogs that are often known as the “Gori Wife Blogs.” Gori is a Hindi word for white person and it can be derogative. Some people decided to sort-of “take back” the term and apply it proudly to themselves. Others would fit into the category but don’t like to use the word “Gori.” However, the word itself isn’t my point today. The “Gori Wife” blogs are written by non-Indian women who marry Indian men (Not... Read more
Do you like my upworthy-style title? I’m not great at writing enticing titles, but those upworthy titles really do work. They get you to the page, anyway. But seriously, I do fully believe that you are going to get a lot out of this simple exercise I learned in SES. Whenever you see anyone or interact with anyone, I want you to say a word in your head. If you see someone who is a lady who is older than... Read more
We are doing a scripture study together: reading along through some scriptures and discussing the passages. Today is the second post on the Kena Upanishad. The previous scripture was the Isha Upanishad (find all Scripture posts here) Here are a few different translations of the second section of the Kena Upanishad… 1) Chapter II 1 The teacher said: If you think: “I know Brahman well,” then surely you know but little of Its form; you know only Its form as... Read more
When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, it was the birth of political correctness. We learned to try to include everyone, appreciate diversity, and be sensitive to other’s feelings in our words. Shopkeepers who used to say “merry Christmas” to all the people in the store began to replace it with “happy Holidays” to include more people. I still think that’s a great thing. Today there is a backlash against political correctness. Why can’t we say what... Read more
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