Eat Pray Love Hinduism
“I’ve been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting”. Hollywood actress Julia Roberts made these comments to a magazine while promoting her latest movie Eat Pray Love. According to reports she is now a Hindu and like many Hindus she now believes in reincarnation (the endless cycle of birth and death). As a famous and very successful actress her life can be very hectic. But does converting to Hinduism necessarily mean that she is going to have a “quiet and supporting” life the next time around if there is one?
There is a huge spiritual vacuum in North America and Western Europe at the moment. Poor economic conditions, rise of India and China, diminishing role in world affairs and disenchantment with monotheistic religions are the key driving forces behind this growing vacuum (Western Europe is often referred to as a post-Christian continent by American commentators. But America itself is not far behind). Eastern religions and philosophies particularly Buddhism and Yoga based lifestyles are filling this vacuum. America had a love affair with India spiritually in the sixties and early seventies. Forty years later the affair is back on again.
When a high profile celebrity like Julia Roberts expresses interests in Hinduism or other Eastern religions then that news is instantly covered by news organizations all over the world. But for most Americans this is old news. An average Americans perception of India has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Most Americans particularly those who have white collar jobs either work with Indians or interact with Indians in India on a daily basis. This interaction has enriched both Indians and Americans equally (this type of personal interaction is something that is lacking between the United States and China).
This interaction is not limited to business alone. Many strip malls in America today has a yoga studio. The very few yoga studios or spirituality classes that were in existence in the early nineties were often owned by Indian immigrants. But not anymore. A vast majority of these studios are now owned and operated by Americans dedicated to the art of yoga. In fact many new immigrants from the Indian subcontinent are getting introduced for the first time to aspects of their own cultures by Westerners in these classes (American yoga practitioners and studio owners have also strongly opposed patenting certain yoga postures and names by Yoga guru’s from India).
One of the basic fears all human beings have is the fear of death. This combined with our inner struggle to curb our natural instincts and remain part of the “civilized” world is what makes life interesting and at the same time challenging. Religion has a comprehensive solution for this. Be nice and play by the rules (set by the individual religion) and you will have an opportunity to go to “heaven” or be reborn or exit from the vicious cycle of life and death. Heaven and reincarnation are nothing but concepts that our forefathers came up with to soften the finality of death.
I am wondering as a Hindu what would be Julia Robert’s caste? Many Hindus point out that a Hindu does not have to have a caste. I agree since Hinduism after all is a group consisting of hundreds of religions and beliefs. There is no consistent standard or beliefs. But unfortunately the Indian government does not see it this way. In India a Hindu must have a caste and a Hindu does not have the option to choose his/her caste (a lower caste Hindu can know the scriptures inside out but he can never be a Brahman). So the question still remains.
As a Hindu (I am also a non-believer) I welcome Julia Roberts into the fold. Some religious fundamentalists have interpreted this as a victory for Hinduism over other world religions. Others see this as a victory for Indian culture over the Western culture. But I am not sure if either of this is true. I think this highlights the ability of Western culture to be flexible, adapt to changing conditions and absorb aspects of other religions and cultures that it sees as beneficial to itself. We can say the same thing for the Indian culture as well.
I hope that as more Westerners join the fold they help reform Hinduism. We Hindus have totally failed to eradicate the prejudices that exist in Hinduism. Even after 60 plus years since independence we still cling on to the archaic and feudalistic caste based system. This has to end. There is no political leader, philosopher or spiritual leader that I am aware of in India who is willing to take on this enormous task. I guess that this change must come from the outside.
“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying” – Woody Allen
Related posts:
- Is Rajan Zed Promoting Hinduism or Damaging Hinduism?
- Hinduism Needs Reformers Not Leaders
- Thirumala Venkateswara Temple: From Buddhism to Hinduism
- Hinduism: Myth vs. Reality
- Hinduism in India: Originated From Steppes
Category: Culture & Religion
If only solving one’s problems was as easy as changing a religion!
You are absolutely on point Bhagwad.
Caste system is not a part of Hinduism…it is more social but got connected to the religion for it offered the influential castes the whip to be able to force the masses to obey.
Hinduism started out with pagan worship of natural forces and advocated a balance between them. How and when it became God, is the politics of religion.
Agreed Nalini. I hope that the Indians have the right to chose their own caste. Currently they do not.
The question is , is it necessary to convert from one religion to another to gain what one wants? The good things of one religion can be practiced irrespective of any religion.
I absolutely agree with you that conversion is not necessary. But identity and brand are important for human beings. Religions like Hinduism and Buddhism are seen in the West as religions that have a large tent and this concept is attractive to some of them.
I hope I can find her on shaadi.com.. Caste no bar!
Very funny. You have to be patient. She is currently married.
Hi, first time on ur blog.
Oh! don’t even ask for a religious/spiritual leader, our country mixes religion with politics and a male dominating society makes customs which empower them even more and then, these customs are converted into religion. Its poisonous, its deadly. Whenever a religious leader comes up, he stinks of his political connection..
U know, i am currently reading the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, onthe base of which this movie is coming up. Because of which Julia roberts spent time in an Ashram for shooting. What I got from the book is that in the Ashram, the spiritual practices were followed, in quite pure form – meditation, prayer, dhyan, sewa. But Hindu culutre is more about temples, and pilgrimage and rituals.
Don’t know what to say about why she embraced Hinduism. But certainly, it feels good being an Indian to me.
Very relevant post,
RESTLESS
(http://myworldmyperception.blogspot.com)
Welcome Restless,
I do not think that there is a spiritual leader in India today who can reform Hinduism. Most of the current ones are trying to sell something (like Yoga) or trying to divide people using strict interpretations of Hinduism (this can be said of almost all other religions in India). Religion is also for men by men for the most part. People has as much confidence in religious and spiritual leaders as much as they do in corrupt politicians!!
Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel.
It seems caste system is going to exist in India or Hinduism, recently the group of ministers, agreed for the caste census :(.
You are right Jaya. Caste is going to be there in India for a while. The government clearly took the wrong decision by including caste in our census. Caste and religion should not be part of the census.
Any religion may be divine, for it may be a way of worshipping the Divinity.
In Hinduism, there are certain instances of the gods of Shiva and Krishna indulging in homosexuality. Shiva had sex with Vishnu, while Krishna had had sex with other boys in childhood. At the battleground, arjuna got a hard-on on seeing krishna’s male body. There were other such instances too. The kamsutra and some of the hindu sculptures on the Khajuraho temples connote male homosexual sex.
Anyway,
why talk particularly of hinduism?
Why not talk just of God, the Almighty Himself? He is omnipresent and ubiquitous. Could anyone feel Him yet? Where did the Universe come from: the Big Bang Theory explains that. What caused the Bang itself? Or what were further causes? Nobody could answer. That is mystifying by itself, let alone religions.
As a non believer all this does not make sense to me. If I do not know something (like what caused the big bang or what happens after we die) then I patiently wait until someone comes up with an explanation that is based on logic and reason.
Nice article, but ignorant of hinduism. Hinduism is NOT a religion in itself. Its entirely wrong to equate hinduism with christianity.
The actual bharateeya religions are vaishnavism, shaivism, smartham, skandam, ganapathiyam and sooktham.. etc.. Adi sankara established these sanmathams (6 religions) in india.
So actually julia robert should have converted to any of these .. i think it should be shaivism, as i remember her to have visited shiva temple.. (i may be wrong)
The jaathi system are part of hindu society and NOT any religion.. infact, each jaati itself is a mini-religion, with its own god and customs. During bhakthi movements in india, vaishnavism and shaivism had followers from all castes..
So i request the american indians to have correct perspective of india, and free from the established propoganda among the academic material..
Here, caste is not a bar to convert to vaishnavism or shaivism or the secular smarthism.. once an american converts he would be called a smartha or vaishnavite or shaivite.. Its same for the jaati too.. a person when he undertakes spiritualism, is free from jaati..
Jaati is meant for functioning of the society and NOT for any religion..
Senthil,
Nowhere in the article have I equated Christianity and Hinduism other than the fact that they are considered as “religions” by most people. In fact in the article I state “ …. Hinduism after all is a group consisting of hundreds of religions and beliefs …“. How did you get the sense that this article shows ignorance about Hinduism?
I hope you also know that Christianity itself is a combination of many different religions and beliefs. Most of the various texts that make up the Holy Bible were at points independently used by various sects including the Jews and the gnostics.
You state that an American can convert to Vaishnavism or Shaivism or secular Smarthism. This is a generous offer. I wonder when an Indian who is a tribal or belongs to SC or ST can convert to the priestly class :)
Hari,
The contents of the bible may be sourced from different paganic religions that christianity engulfed.. but it has established itself as a separate religion with a single god and a single holy book.. Most christians identify themselves as christians and NOT with any paganic religions..
However, hinduism is an identity given by westerners.. The original identities of our religions are the “Sanmathams” or 6 religions, established by sankara.
Hope, you are aware of the bhakthi movements which spread as vaishnavism or shaivism and NOT as hinduism..
/** You state that an American can convert to Vaishnavism or Shaivism or secular Smarthism. This is a generous offer. I wonder when an Indian who is a tribal or belongs to SC or ST can convert to the priestly class :)
**/
An american can convert to vaishnavism or shaivism.. but they cannot become a priests. so as, any BC or MBC or even FC, leave alone SC/ST..
Every temple has its own agamas and its code of life style to be followed.. Even among brahmins, only a certain group of people can be priest in respective temples.. NOT all brahmins can become priest..
So, the very basis of argument is flawed..
However, there are divesities even in vaishnavite temples.. many SC communities have vishnu temple as their kula temple and the priests are sourced from within their community.. one SC community will not allow priest from another SC community..
Temples of Bharatheeya religions should not be confused with churches.. Church is a congregation place for public.. they want to convert everyone and hence allow any one inside whereas temples in india bleongs to different communities.. The big temples belongs to kings, and the brahmins who maintain it.. whereas other communities build their own community temples..
We have our own kula temple and its reserved only for us..
There are lot to be understood about the so called Hinduism..
Senthil,
I am not sure where you are trying to go with your arguments. Most of what you have stated about “Hinduism” so far is well known to the average reader.
If what i have stated has been known to you, the your article would have been different.. you would not be equating hinduism with caste, nor hinduism with abrahamic religions..
Whether you want to believe it or not Hinduism is associated with the caste system today. The government of India recognizes it as such. If you are a Hindu the government wants to know your caste. Both Hinduism and Christianity are religions. I have clearly stated in my article that Hinduism incorporates many other religions and philosophies. So do not put words in my mouth.
You have answered yourself.. it is first the british government, which created the official religion called hinduism.. it is the british which associated caste with hinduism..
But the native people do not identify themselves as hindus..
If government asks for caste, then its the fault of the government and NOT the fault of the bharatheeya religion..
/** I have clearly stated in my article that Hinduism incorporates many other religions and philosophies. So do not put words in my mouth.
**/
Hinduism does not incorporate anything.. dont propogate anything without understanding.. its just collection of bharatheeya religion and hinduism is NOT a religion in itself..
It is budhism and sikhism which had incorporated from prevailing bharatheeya religions..
It seems you dont want to even listen to anything that opposes your view.. that’s not matured way of debating..
Senthil,
I do read every line of what people write to me. Feedback from readers like you is what keeps this blog going. I do not take this aspect lightly at all. But I do believe in engaging the readers and challenging their beliefs.
You use the words “collection of bharatheeya religion” to describe Hinduism. I mean the same thing when I say in the article that “Hinduism after all is a group consisting of hundreds of religions and beliefs”. Please read one of my latest articles named “Hindusim: Myth vs. Reality” if you want to get a better idea of what my thoughts are about Hinduism.
I think most of us know that caste system was prevalent in India long before the term Hinduism became popular. But the various groups that practiced the caste system to varying degrees now fall under the umbrella of “Hinduism”. It is not easy to separate Hinduism from the caste system today. In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna talks to Arjuna and explains the origins and the real reasons for what we call today as the caste system. Bhagavad Gita is considered as “Hindu” scripture (I do know that the caste system as explained in the Gita is slightly different from what is practiced today). So we “Hindus” own the caste system (directly or indirectly) and we have the responsibility to fix it!!
Although caste system is associated with Hinduism today most Indians also know that caste system is also practiced by certain Muslim and Christian groups in India as well. So just equating Hinduism with the caste system is not fair and I understand it.
I read your other article.. i agree with it partially..
Its an official fact, that the word “Hinduism” is first used by Britishers, for official classification when they dominated india.. they classified all cultural and religious sects that does not resemble their abrahamic faiths in to a common identity called Hinduism..
Till they came across india, the idea of religion they had is of single god, single holy book, and prophets.. when they came to india, jainism, sikhism and budhism revolved around single personality and had their own religious books..
But the common amman workships, devi worship, muruga worship, tribal form of worship all are uncomprehensible to them.. and they found some sort of similarities to these religions, which were already interlinked by bhakthi movements, through puranic stories.. So they put everything else under the identity Hinduism..
So, we cannot even equate Hinduism with christianity or islam..
Hinduism is same as using the term “Abrahamic religions”..
Next coming to caste system.. bhagawat gita mentions about kulam and kula dharma.. jaathi is different from kulam, and has a different context..
Our traditional society was role based.. each jaathi performed a role for generations.. the social order was highly stable..
As and when required, people from one jaati detached and pursued new profession and formed a new jaati around that profession.. that’s how, we had so many jaatis..
There was no centralised repository of jaathi setup before britishers.. people of one jaathi can change their identity, by moving to a different area or different empire..
However, when britishers started surveying indian society, they could not understand the functional aspect of jaathi.. the did not understand the interdependance of the jaathi.. what they knew in european society are the tribal and racial caste groups..
So they classified each and every jaathi in to a frozen form and converted in to a racial group..
Earlier, people of particular jaathi can detach and form new jaathis.. but after british enumeration of jaathis, they could not do so.. Even if they did, officially they would referred as per former jaathis..
To say, that caste system existed even before hinduism is incorrect.. the caste system of today are entirely different from jaathi setup before britishers came..
I have done research on this, based on ground realities.. if you are willing to listen, i can explain further..
Btw, please do read dharampal’s works at http://www.dharampal.net ..
He spent around 30 years reading british archivals in london musuem, and found that most of BC and OBCs were once rulers of india..
His works were compiled in to 6 volumes and is available for download at http://www.dharampal.net under publications section..
I hope, you would atleast read the introductory section of those books..
Thank you. I will check out the book when I get a chance.
the author of this article is obviously educated in the western christian missionary school, where they erase the hundred years of indian oppression, where they erase the famines caused by British government to divert and price out food to Europe. This author has no regard for the truth, when she states that indians have no idea of reform does she not know that BOTH ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIANS used, created and promoted the caste system for then it was control, control of an empire, they NEVER ever tried to erase caste system in fact IT WAS THEY who abused the caste system it was they WHO stole from the castes, it was they who used divide and conquer policy on india…SO PLEASE ignorant writer understand the logic and reality of such a system before you go attacking. Without knowledge of peasant revolts across Europe that lasted hundreds of years, without knowledge of the slave system imposed by Islamic and christian forces YOU have no right to attack the caste system without looking into the entirety of the situation, you so casually attack. This author wants the capitalist, slaver trading empires to return to India and improve the system they degenerated..THIS WRITER IS LIBERAL FOOL..secularism is the tool of capitalism, where money men sell secular religion to replace all religious morality and teachings and replace then with a secular void that allows capitalist to then sell short mini skirts and see through tops to young girls and call it democracy . Its this AMAZING Ignorance that this indian English educated person who has been raised in a system where her educated openly questions her lands beliefs, a British system of education designed by Thomas Macaulay to shake the Indians faith and culture. IT GOES TO SHOW HOW GOOD THE BRITISH WHERE IN DECEIT AND LYING…….this writer is the evidence of her British schooling in India and the result is indian in color, but British in taste and opinion.When indian Sikh, Hindu, buddist and Jain leaders during the 18th and 18th centuries were preaching that we are all the same and caste needs to be erased WHO WAS PUSHING, ESTABLISHING AND ABUSING THE CASTES….the British governess thats who. It was they who took billions of wealth from India, destroying indian industry, food, land and culture to where it is today. And those indian people who seek to bring back balance and culture and respect are classed by the SAME WESTERN INDIANS WHO HAVE BEEN EDUCATED OUT OF THEIR CULTURE AND RESPECT..WHO now call their brothers saffron terrorist.They do this because the education they receive from birth was dictated to them by the British empire..an education system designed by 18thcentury racist occupiers produce pieces of ignorant and fictional account of history.LIKE THIS SO CALLED WRITER….wasn’t it India that gave the parsi Jews a home, wasn’t it India that allowed other faiths to exist and preach, wast it India that never promoted or pushed conversions on people….so this writer can overlook western slavery, genocide, dive and conquer rule, looting of other land but one thing it can never take is the spiritual journey that india has taken……even if this writer she is being liberal but liberal people in the 18thventury were made to convert to Islam and Christianity..your viewpoint is FLAWED.beacuse if your mindset existed in that time where british were killing and abusing indians left right and center a person like you WOULD HAVE NEVER STOOD UP FOR JUSTICE, FOR HONOR, FOR RESPECT…..you would have converted and then taken the cause to inflict that damage on the rest of your brothers because inherently YOU DONT KNOW WHO YOU ARE. You being an athiest people would think that india is the only land that’s achieved proper wisdom, where an athiest can live and work and play…..would that have been possiblein 18th europe? no….at any time in islam ??..no….would it have been allowed in india….YES. and that says it all. Brothers when you see an indian attackin his or her faith and culture ask yourself was the education she received a christian western missionary school who preached god by attacking others…does she not remeber the famines during british occuptation that killed upwards of 30million people. The same total that both world wars had resulted……..this writer is a user pure and simple. what about the peasant revolts of europe????..that lasted hundreds of years, where the rich brutalise the poor,…..what about the lsave trade that killed millions???…what about the forced converiosn in to their faith???….what about the caste system of india, it made india the richest land on earth…..it was only a system of governance that was ABUSED by both islamic and christians to LOOT, to suck every last penny they could by deceitfully playin a game of divide and conquer…….so please get educated before you post an opinion.If the wealth looted by britiain was given back overnight…..every single indian would have a saving of plus $40,000. Just imagine where indian soceity would have progresed..would we have a caste system possiblly, just like in europe today where its a CLASS SYSTEM…which is the exact same, but india if that money was not taken away and the land not raped for 150 years even the poorest caste would have been richer than their european counterparts. Every single european writer who went into india before britain was able to manipulate and loot it said the same thing…..a rich, healthy, happy, working land that was far superior than anything that europe had to offer. This writer of the post needs to be RE-EDUCATED.
Arjun,
You speak and write in English. You have “xxxx@hotmail.co.uk” email ID. Your IP address points to Nottinghamshire region of United Kingdom. In spite of this you are the “Paul Revere” trying to warn Indians about Western Christian educated people, Indian English educated people, secularism and British colonialism after probably having a few rounds of Johnny Walker!! This is the height of hypocrisy.
This article is not about who is responsible for the caste system or its history. The caste system dates back to thousands of years and we cannot put the blame on Britain or any other European colony. They took advantage of it as any occupying power would.
Most Indians would agree that caste system as it exists today needs reform. Mahatma Gandhi and almost all authors of India’s constitution fought for and wanted to see this reform happen. So I am not alone and nor is it a liberal agenda.
You have written a lot of things in order to project yourself as a defender of India. But the words that you used to describe fellow Indians who may be liberal, secular, Western educated or educated in Christian schools etc. shows that you do not believe in the things that you wrote. You are just a platform orator just like most of our politicians.
I do not need to be re-educated. Education is a life long process and in that sense I will always be a student. But I definitely think you have to look at yourself in the mirror and ask why is that you have such hatred towards other human beings who hold views that are different from yours.
/** You speak and write in English. You have “xxxx@hotmail.co.uk” email ID. Your IP address points to Nottinghamshire region of United Kingdom.
**/
Its only colonial slaves who can speak like this.. the hotmail, IP address, speaking in english are all common for all countries.. that doesnt mean we have to imitate everything that the white people does.. You dont seem to understand the difference b/w business and life.. such has been the colonial slavery that you are exhibiting, vouching so much strongly for britishers inspite of the fact that they sucked up india from prosperity to utter poverty..
one third of bengal’s population perished within 100 years of british rule..
You seem to have lofty view of christianity, britishers, white people.. and hence anything they does appears high for you.. there is no better travesty than this..
It is only in india, that the version of history created by an enemy country is being hailed as true history..
Education is the one that shapes a man, his like/dislinkes, his thought process.. and it is common sense, that christian education has imparted you a western values that makes you think everything negatively about india..
Please accept this truth before accusing others of hypocrisy..
/** This article is not about who is responsible for the caste system or its history. The caste system dates back to thousands of years and we cannot put the blame on Britain or any other European colony. They took advantage of it as any occupying power would.
**/
There is no mcuh subversion of truth than this.. THe jaathi system before britishers is dynamic and had both upward and downward mobility.. Shivaji was a shudra, who rose to become a king of a great maratha empire.. and there are kshatriyas who later reduced to shudras..
The jaathi system is our social arrangement, that had a functional value.. there may be drawbacks, but it is NOT evil..
When britishers took over, they just **** up everything, and converted dynamic profession based jaathi in to a frozen racial caste system..
and you are denying this reality.. because you dont know the actual history.. because you were christian educated..
The christian schools will teach you all forms of manipulated facts about caste system.. but they wont teach you about the most brutal inquisition that their missionaries inflicted all across the world.. particularly in india, the GOA inquisition happened for more than 300 years..
But you heart wont feel anything for it, because you are educated in christian schools, and your ideals are based on western values, and more importantly, you think all those western are right..
I too was educated in such macaulite system.. and i realised it when i am grown up and discarded all those bullshits i learned about india.. i unlearned what they taught, and relearned our true history..
And i can very well challenge your views with facts..
So dont cover up british atrocities, british colonial exploitation, just by using caste system..
The jaathi setup was one of the greatest strengths of india, which enabled indian society to survive the brutal assault of the muslim invaders for 1000 years.. otherwise, you will be doing namaz five times in a mosque without even a bit of freedom to think and talk like this..
Senthil,
You should watch your language. You throw around words like colonial slaves to describe fellow Indians. You show the same amount of intolerance towards people from India that the colonist that you supposedly hate did.
In India I have the right to question anything that I feel like until I find answers that satisfy me. We live in a democratic society. As a prominent Indian Buddha himself said “do not believe something because somebody else said so or because it is in our scriptures”. I do not want to believe your explanations of the caste system just because you say so either.
You have a hatred for Christianity, Islam, Christian educational institutions and things that are Western. I do not. There are a lot of things that we can learn from them as much as they can learn from us. Christians and Muslims are as much Indians as you and me. India does not belong to the Hindus alone.
I did not at any point justify colonial exploitation of India. But you make unsubstantiated claims like “So dont cover up british atrocities, british colonial exploitation, just by using caste system”. I look at the issue of caste system in India today as an Indian. I might come to different conclusions than you but that does not make me any less of an Indian than you.
Since I am not dependent on people like you for information I was able to find out more about the caste system than I probably would otherwise. There are many genetic studies done to understand the caste system in India. A 2009 study by Harvard Medical School, MIT and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad) shows that the caste system is thousands of years old. I have written an article about it earlier this week.
The upper castes have predominantly Ancestral North Indian (ANI) DNA and the lower castes have predominantly Ancestral South Indian (ASI) DNA. This division happened thousands of years before the Europeans colonists arrived in India (the ANI DNA has European markers). So the claim that the caste system was based on occupation and that there was great “upward and downward” portability of caste until the Europeans arrived does not hold water. What DNA tells us is that human migration into India from other parts of the world has more to do with the creation of the caste system than simplistic theories that it was created by Lord Krishna for division of labor based on skill set.
Thank goodness for “Western” discovery of the DNA and DNA sequencing. Otherwise we Indians would have to depend on spin masters like you with preset agendas for information.