It is officially Dussehra.
This Hindu festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil - an image of the evil god Ravana is posted high on a stake and burned in almost every sector of the city of Delhi, and some version of this reenactment is performed everywhere throughout India. Buildings are decorating with twinkling lights, vendors peddle their gods and Hindu-approved god-pleasing offerings side by side on the street.
Other religions, such as Sikhism, who also would like to partake in the fun of the Indian festival, have adapted their own reasons for celebrating on this day. This seems really really ridiculous to me, but then I thought - it's like saying,
"I have an opposing belief with Christianity, but I really like that Christmas is so much fun. Maybe I'll come up with another reason to join in - an image I can associate with the day and post everywhere for my own good..."
That's right, i just called Santa Clause an idol. Deal with it.
ANYWAY, This morning I've been up for an hour, and during my chai drinking and housecleaning, about every five minutes i hear firecrackers going off, and the response of shrieking girls immediately afterwards.
Every festival here seems to be celebrated to the fullest: brightly colored tents being erected - to the point of blocking entire roads - people rolling out in droves to attend worship, beautiful outfits, family gatherings, firecrackers, loudspeakers, songs, drums, dances... i could go on and on, as the natives of this land have no qualms about doing so.
Honestly, I can see why this is an attractive facet of Hinduism. Feeling united with an entire Nation in happiness, purpose, and a general excuse to rest and enjoy yourself? It seems like something almost anyone would get behind.
During my English course, I had a one-on-one conversation time with each of my students to help them improve their casual English. I had a list of set questions to ask them, and one question was "Were you raised in any certain religion?" This led into my next question: "What do you like about that religion?"
A good majority of my students were raised in Hindu homes, and they looked at me a little sideways when i wanted to know what they liked about being raised Hindu. I think they expected me to ask a question that would make them doubt their faith, as some of them always get a little bristly and defensive when we turn to subjects of religious substance. So, when i asked them about why they liked Hinduism, they raised their chins, glanced thoughtfully at the ceiling, hunched their shoulders, and thought for a minute about how to frame their ideas in a new language. And then, almost every single one of them answered in the same way.
Not, "It helps me to feel I'm doing good."
Not, "I am able to do the right thing, and be blessed for it."
Not, "I have never really thought about it."
Not, "I believe in these gods, and that i must pay homage to them."
All of these answers were along the lines of what i expected. But the answer i got from the vast majority of my Hindu students was more like this: 'I love that I can celebrate and worship together with my whole family and the people that I care about. We love to all worship together, we love to feel like a part of something big because we are with everyone who believes the same thing we believe.'
Hinduism is hardly their religion. It is their lifestyle, it is their culture; Hinduism is their family. And because of the collectivistic nature of the culture of India, Hinduism is an outworking of everything an Indian individual holds dear. Hinduism promotes and embodies everything that is central to an Indian individual's inborn and long-cultivated value system.
At first, this was enlightening and intriguing to me.
Now, it makes me want to cry for them. it makes my heart hurt so deeply.
Hinduism is not mindlessly integrated into these people's lives by way of their longstanding heritage and culture as I have always thought. They do not question the spirit or truth of their practices because they do not worship in spirit or truth. They worship in this way because it expresses them as people. This means that i cannot uproot anything they believe with apologetics. i cannot cause them to think about the comparative truth of god or the love of god, because that is not why they worship. in order to make a Hindu stop and think, "that might be valid," I have to be the better family to them. Because in order to choose anything other than Hinduism, they have to give up their favorite aspect of their life: their togetherness with their culture. In order for me to ask that of them, i'd better haves something much, much better to replace it with.
(INSERT: Obviously, I'm not saying that I think Indians are mindless or even unintelligent. But I do think that this is the driving force of their reasoning when it comes to religion.)
it makes me think that in order to reach them we have to show them that their hardwired nature is wrong (as everyone's, everywere, is), that we have a Father who is enough; and that that is worth more than togetherness. That we have a Family who will love them, truly if imperfectly. That we have a Love that allows us to be part of something longer standing than their heritage, bigger than the Hindu faith, and with more members than the entire population of India.
We have to be family to them.
He has to be everything to them.
I am longing to embody this by any means necessary. I am committed to learning what it means to be a true family, and to do what it takes to show that off to a watching nation. I left to learn these things. Here i am; now i will practice them.
Love from Delhi,
Julie: your sister.
This Hindu festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil - an image of the evil god Ravana is posted high on a stake and burned in almost every sector of the city of Delhi, and some version of this reenactment is performed everywhere throughout India. Buildings are decorating with twinkling lights, vendors peddle their gods and Hindu-approved god-pleasing offerings side by side on the street.
Other religions, such as Sikhism, who also would like to partake in the fun of the Indian festival, have adapted their own reasons for celebrating on this day. This seems really really ridiculous to me, but then I thought - it's like saying,
"I have an opposing belief with Christianity, but I really like that Christmas is so much fun. Maybe I'll come up with another reason to join in - an image I can associate with the day and post everywhere for my own good..."
That's right, i just called Santa Clause an idol. Deal with it.
ANYWAY, This morning I've been up for an hour, and during my chai drinking and housecleaning, about every five minutes i hear firecrackers going off, and the response of shrieking girls immediately afterwards.
Every festival here seems to be celebrated to the fullest: brightly colored tents being erected - to the point of blocking entire roads - people rolling out in droves to attend worship, beautiful outfits, family gatherings, firecrackers, loudspeakers, songs, drums, dances... i could go on and on, as the natives of this land have no qualms about doing so.
Honestly, I can see why this is an attractive facet of Hinduism. Feeling united with an entire Nation in happiness, purpose, and a general excuse to rest and enjoy yourself? It seems like something almost anyone would get behind.
During my English course, I had a one-on-one conversation time with each of my students to help them improve their casual English. I had a list of set questions to ask them, and one question was "Were you raised in any certain religion?" This led into my next question: "What do you like about that religion?"
A good majority of my students were raised in Hindu homes, and they looked at me a little sideways when i wanted to know what they liked about being raised Hindu. I think they expected me to ask a question that would make them doubt their faith, as some of them always get a little bristly and defensive when we turn to subjects of religious substance. So, when i asked them about why they liked Hinduism, they raised their chins, glanced thoughtfully at the ceiling, hunched their shoulders, and thought for a minute about how to frame their ideas in a new language. And then, almost every single one of them answered in the same way.
Not, "It helps me to feel I'm doing good."
Not, "I am able to do the right thing, and be blessed for it."
Not, "I have never really thought about it."
Not, "I believe in these gods, and that i must pay homage to them."
All of these answers were along the lines of what i expected. But the answer i got from the vast majority of my Hindu students was more like this: 'I love that I can celebrate and worship together with my whole family and the people that I care about. We love to all worship together, we love to feel like a part of something big because we are with everyone who believes the same thing we believe.'
Hinduism is hardly their religion. It is their lifestyle, it is their culture; Hinduism is their family. And because of the collectivistic nature of the culture of India, Hinduism is an outworking of everything an Indian individual holds dear. Hinduism promotes and embodies everything that is central to an Indian individual's inborn and long-cultivated value system.
At first, this was enlightening and intriguing to me.
Now, it makes me want to cry for them. it makes my heart hurt so deeply.
Hinduism is not mindlessly integrated into these people's lives by way of their longstanding heritage and culture as I have always thought. They do not question the spirit or truth of their practices because they do not worship in spirit or truth. They worship in this way because it expresses them as people. This means that i cannot uproot anything they believe with apologetics. i cannot cause them to think about the comparative truth of god or the love of god, because that is not why they worship. in order to make a Hindu stop and think, "that might be valid," I have to be the better family to them. Because in order to choose anything other than Hinduism, they have to give up their favorite aspect of their life: their togetherness with their culture. In order for me to ask that of them, i'd better haves something much, much better to replace it with.
(INSERT: Obviously, I'm not saying that I think Indians are mindless or even unintelligent. But I do think that this is the driving force of their reasoning when it comes to religion.)
it makes me think that in order to reach them we have to show them that their hardwired nature is wrong (as everyone's, everywere, is), that we have a Father who is enough; and that that is worth more than togetherness. That we have a Family who will love them, truly if imperfectly. That we have a Love that allows us to be part of something longer standing than their heritage, bigger than the Hindu faith, and with more members than the entire population of India.
We have to be family to them.
He has to be everything to them.
I am longing to embody this by any means necessary. I am committed to learning what it means to be a true family, and to do what it takes to show that off to a watching nation. I left to learn these things. Here i am; now i will practice them.
Love from Delhi,
Julie: your sister.
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