You are going to Hindu Hell!

Neither am I cussing / cursing anyone nor am I showering profanity on some timid soul. This title was bestowed upon me by one of my very good non-Indian friend. In fact, quite a few of my cronies agree with this friend’s prediction; they just have found different phrases to coin their postulation and predict my life when I am six feet under.:-)

Disclaimer: I’d like to think of myself as a liberal Hindu (pardon my French, but it translates to “pain in the ass” for the religious pundits and people who consider religion to be their only source of vigor and support).

Here is the good part: I appreciate the concepts of temples and home shrines and the fact that we have idols to worship. I, for one, function better if I can add a face to a name. However, I loathe Hindu pundits, or as I like to call them “the kings of banal mumbo jumbo”. See, I abhor how they instill fear in people using superstition as a tool. “If you don’t perform this “puja” at 6a.m., your son will be born with pigeon feet” or something equally inane. If they really had the ability to predict change, they wouldn’t really be living such a proletariat life. It’s time they realized that no bad deed goes unpunished. Plus, I don’t see why I need a mediator or pundit to have a conversation with God.

Going to Hindu Hell part: I acquiesce halfheartedly with most Hindu traditions, though I am a firm believer in the “Law of Karma” and adulate our festivities. I accede that religion gives you an identity and sense of self, but I feel that the patriarchal structure of Hinduism gives “man” an identity and takes away a “woman’s”. Even if the core of the religion isn’t all about men; the religious pundits and adage are all about “the Hindu man’s beatitude”. You basically just pray and fast for all the men in your life – father, brother, husband and son. Not just that, but you are also expected to cook sapid, festive meals on an empty stomach as you pray for their well-being. Hmm…. So, do people really think that’s what women do while slogging inhumanely in the kitchen pouring every ounce of their remnant energy into scrumptious comestible?

B.R. Ambedkar (Founder of the Indian Constitution) once said, “In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development.” With age and time, my brain and body can’t digest the premise of my religion or at least they way it’s practiced. Are they salubrious to mankind? Isn’t religion about humanity and not the other way round? I’d love it if someone could help me shed my Hinduism – related neuroses. I feel the religion hasn’t been able to keep up with the changing times or maybe it’s the people who expect you to follow it. We live in a day of logic and explanation and “do it because I say so” doesn’t really work anymore.

Copyright © 07.27.2007

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