Cultural Impact over Hinduism in the UK - Article Example

Cultural Impact over Hinduism in United Kingdom Name: Class: Roll No: Subject: Teacher: January 4, 2008 University Background of Indian Migration to UK: Migration has been a problem for all developed countries like America and UK for the past few decades. More and more people have been migrating from their countries, mainly because of unemployment. UK has also seen an increased rate of migration for the past few decades. Most of these people are of Indian origin. The following essay is about the problems likely to be faced by a Hindu family of six, which has migrated to UK from India. Hinduism: Hinduism is the major religion of India. It is one of the oldest religions of world. Hinduism is, in a sense, similar to Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. But most Hindu people do not accept that the three religions are somehow interconnected, and tend to believe that Hindu concepts are different from all other religions of the world, and the similarities are because these religions have been derived from Hinduism itself. (Tannen, Deborah 1991) There are many different schools of thought in Hinduism; the main one being that a Hindu is that person who is looking for spiritual and ethical knowledge is a Hindu. Hinduism is based on the Dharma concept. Norman Desoza Crowe, (1989), stated that Dharma is a word taken for right ethical action, morality, and spiritual knowledge. In fact, the main similarity between Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism is the concept of Dharma.(p464)1 The most intellectual school of thought in Hinduism is Vedanta, more commonly known as Brahman. Hindus belonging to the Brahman school of thought mainly believe in three deities; Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. In fact, Brahma is the main originator of Brahman school of thought in Hinduism. Other mainly worshiped Hindu deities are Shakti and Ganesh. Brahman, in Hinduism, may also choose to come to Earth in the form of an Avatar. The most famous Avatars of Vishnu are Rama and Krishna. (Wilson, Elisabeth -2001) It should be mentioned that Hindus can choose any deity they like, ranging from Vishnu, Shakti, Kali and Brahma to Ganesh and Shiva. Hindus show devotion to their deities in a number of ways including chanting, worshipping and pilgrimage to sacred sites related to their particular deity. Hindu worships are all grouped under a separate Hindu philosophy, which is known as Mimamsa. It normally consists of following forms of worship: 1. Nitya; concerned with daily actions 2. Naimittika; concerned with special occasions and the actions performed at that time 3. Kamya; Voluntary actions, rooted to the desire of worshipper There are three types of rituals used to fulfill these actions: 1. Yajna; involving fires and sacrifices 2. Puja; involving offerings like food and flowers 3. Dhyana; involving meditation Yajna takes place at special occasions like marriage. During Yajna, a fire is started and things of sacred value are sacrificed in it. Puja can be performed either in a temple, or at home by the head of the family. It involves the offerings of incense, food and flowers at a statue or picture of the diety, followed by singing, chanting and waving lamps in front of the image. (Wilson, Elisabeth -2001) Dhyana can be carried out anytime or anywhere with or without any special occasion. Many sacraments are used for the punctuation of life cycle in Hinduism, their number ranging from a maximum 40 to minimum 2. The number of Sacraments, or Samskaras, mainly evolves around the gender and varna of the person. These samskaras are carried out at occasions like birth, death, marriage, etc. Problems that may be faced by a Hindu family residing in UK: Norman Desoza Crowe, (1989), mentioned it goes without saying that Indian, especially Hindu, culture and religion are very different from the culture and religion of UK that is Christianity. This causes a great cultural lapse for people of Indian origin settled in UK. Apart from that, they may have to take drastic measures in order to stay devoted to their religion and culture. (p 465) Following are a few problems faced and the steps taken to solve them by a Hindu family of six, including grandparents, their son, his wife and children. The project, after careful analysis, sheds light on the problems that might be faced by this hypothetical family of six, residing in the UK:2 Language: The main language of India is Hindi, followed by other languages like Urdu and Sanskrit. Also taking in view the fact that a great number of people in India are illiterate, English is a language not understood and fluently spoken by many. Thus, the first problem faced by the family in UK, will be language. Even if the family is educated, the grandparents may not be able to socialize in the new atmosphere because of their inability to understand and speak English. (Wilson, Elisabeth -2001) If we suppose that the whole family does speak good English, it still isn’t their native language, and may cause them to feel socially isolated. The English accent also cannot be developed just by practice and/or learning. Birth sacraments Different traditions are followed by Hindus at the time of birth of a child. These sacraments are somewhat unknown and different to the English society the family is abiding in. there are a total of four Samskaras or sacraments that occur at the birth of a child until it starts studying. Firstly, a ceremony is arranged to welcome and bless the child, then after some time occurs the naming ceremony. After that, a sacrament is observed when the child takes first solid food, followed by a sacrament in which head of the newborn is shaved. Another ceremony occurs when the child starts studying from a Guru, and receives a sacred thread and chants a special prayer. After the study is complete, the head is shaved again. Such types of samskaras, if performed in UK, may cause the children to come across opposing Christian views which may also be offensive. (Encarta-2007) Wedding ceremonies A Hindu marriage ceremony consists of many steps, which are performed over many days. Marriage ceremony also consists of many samskaras. The final part consists of the tying of the bride’s and groom’s garments, after which they are made to walk around a fire that is burnt for sacred purposes. The fire is actually made to burn as a witness to the vows exchanged between the bride and groom. (Wilson, Elisabeth -2001) After this, a special prayer is recited. Hindu weddings are normally very noisy; with drumbeats, loud music, dancing, and a wide display of firecrackers. These things are rare in UK, and the family might have to conduct marriages with difficulty due to lack of such resources as drums and huge quantity of firecrackers. Even if they do find these things, they might cause disturbance for other people residing near them. Death sacraments Hindus also observe different sacraments at the death of a person. If, for instance, a Hindu relative of the family dies, they may face problems in carrying out the cremation and other samskaras. As per Hindu traditions, the dead body is first burnt at a funeral pyre, after which the collected ashes are carried in an urn and deposited either by the bank or inside a river. The family offers balls of rice to the deceased since ten days after his death. The rice balls are offered for the person to dwell in because if they are not offered, the person will have to wait in the world of ghosts till his next birth. These sacraments may seem odd or even gruesome to Christian people, especially those residing in a society where bodies are buried, not burnt. Another difficulty faced by the family may be the finding of a suitable place for burning the body. Religious teaching “A Hindu family would prefer their children to get religious education before or while they start going to school. The education mainly consists of the Vedhas, and in olden times, was acquired by a pupil while he stayed at his guru’s house. After the education is complete, the pupil shaves his head and is ready for marriage. Such Gurus are normally found in India and places where there are many temples or Hindu communities. Finding a suitable Guru may be difficult, if not impossible, for the family in UK.” (Encarta -2007)3 Fewer temples to pray in There are mainly two forms of Hindu puja; either at home or in public described Jones & Bearley, (2001). As a matter of fact, puja at home came into being as a result of contempt shown by people of other religions which sometimes also proved fatal. In many temples, practices such as waking up a deity at dawn, giving it food, and putting it to sleep at night shows the way in which Hindu people love their deities. They treat them as live beings in many temples. (p 17) Still, the Hindu family being of religious type, they will face problems in finding enough temples for worshipping. Even if the family does find a temple, there are pretty good chances that the temple be far from their residence. This will pose conveyance problems for the family. Cultural problems The Hindu culture is a lot different then Christian and English culture. Many things that are considered bad in Hindu culture are common in UK. (Wilson, Elisabeth -2001) This might make the family concerned about the impact of these things on their children and grandchildren. They might have to impose certain restrictions on their children to prevent them from straying from their own religious and cultural values, causing a tense, uncomfortable and restricted atmosphere at home. The grandparents, who are less comfortable in the atmosphere, and prefer there own cultural and traditional values, may restrict their grandchildren to certain clothes and other norms. (Norman Desoza Crowe - 1989) Different opinions about Politics etc Hindu people have different views about politics and other affairs in the country. Their views and opinions about law, economics etc. may differ from the people residing near or working with the family living in UK for a generation. This may cause arguments or light quarrels to come into being. This will greatly affect the social lives of the parents if they are working, and even the children. Atmosphere not thought of as proper for children The Hindu family, being a religious one, may not think it nice to have their children grow up in a Christian environment, fearing that the children might adopt Christian ways or opinions. This forces the parents to impose restrictions on their children, and not be able to give any particular reason about it, causing a generation gap. Things that are considered improper for Hindus common in UK Many things that are considered improper by Hindus as per their religion are very common in UK. For instance, the Hindu family is a vegetarian family. They may find it hard to live with the increasing popularity of meats of different kinds. If they are a family of the sect of Hindus who consider the cow sacred, it may be difficult for them to live comfortably in a society where cows are slaughtered and eaten in many forms. Their restricted views about different things may cause them to become a bull’s eye for contempt thrown by Christian extremists and people of other religions, especially those who are non-vegetarians. (Jones & Bearley-2001) Holi, Diwali and other religious festivals Hindus celebrate the festival of Holi at the start of spring. This event is celebrated in either February or March. Encarta describes that to celebrate the arrival of spring, people throw colors at each other and squirt colored water and paints over each other. This represents the colors of spring and people forget the miseries of winter in these days. Another such event is Diwali, commemorating the event when Rama got victory and returned home with his wife Sita. These festivals are often celebrated with hoo-hah and are celebrated by people in large groups. The celebration of these events and many other events of religious importance including Ganesh-Chaturthi, Dolayatra, Pongal, Onam, Shiva-ratri and Rakshabandhana, may not be possible. The family might find it difficult to enjoy these events as much as they could in their own homeland. (Microsoft-2007) Conclusion: In the present age, as the world is getting closer, many new problems are coming into existence. Jones & Bearley, (2001), one of these problems is the protection of your religion and culture especially when you are living in an atmosphere that is different from the atmosphere you used to live in. Many religious conflicts have taken root and practicing a religion at a place where it doesn’t already exist is becoming a real difficulty. (p 13) With man new happenings in the present century, apart from getting closer, the world is getting in more and more involved in religious and cultural clashes. This is perhaps the most common thing that is ripping different cultures and religions apart. Hinduism is a religion that focuses more on spiritualism than on other things. It is a religion that studies and promotes faith in the creator and that all things had same creators. Some beliefs of Hindus are different too, including the belief in Incarnation, that is, the belief that all human beings have seven lives before actually ceasing to exist. (Norman Desoza Crowe - 1989) It focuses more on enlightenment than on conversion. It has several beliefs that may seem different and strange to people form other religions. This is a thing that should be given special thought by countries like UK. (Wilson, Elisabeth -2001) More temples should be allowed to be built in such places where Hindus are present but temples are not. People who use offensive terms for people of other religions should change their thinking and awareness should be created among people not to offend people whose religions and cultures are different, so that people who have migrated to other countries and in new people who belong to different cultures and religions do not feel a threat to their religion and culture. References: Norman Desoza Crowe, (1989), Conflicts and Reliability ,Chap 25, p 464-7, copyrights University Church Press Canada, 1989 [Conflicts and reliability is the famous book Canadian Indian living who lived in UK for 10 years as well. He gave elaborative study and identified different methods and ways cross culutrurism incubates in multi ethnic environment] Tannen, Deborah (1991, May). How to close the communication gap between cultures McCall’s Culture Magazine, 99-102, 140. [Tannen described different reasons and logics of growing cultural dynamics and give her views on the living difficulties Asians, specially non-christian Asian face while living in European countries like UK, Germany, France and Italy.} Wilson, Elisabeth(2001). Organizational Behavior Reassessed: The Impact of Gender. London, GBR: Sage Publications, Incorporated, 2001. p 71. [Organizational Behavior Reassessed is a valuable contribution of Wilson making bench mark understanding and conceptual understanding about changing roles of society in European region] Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation. [The most famous and recognized encyclopedia of the modern time, containing various article on the topic] Read More