Hinduism summer camps for Indian children in America
via Indo-Asian News Service - New York published on July 25, 2007
Parents send children to know their identity and learn ancient traditions
Their eyes on the acharya, or teacher, the Indian origin children chant prayers in Sanskrit. Many can recite passage from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita. For, these US-born children of Indian American parents have been sent to summer camps and weekend schools to learn about ancient Indian religious traditions and maintain their identity.
Take, for instance, the Chinmaya Mission in Virginia . They focus their attention on Swami Dheerananda, the mission’s Hindu teacher, or acharya as they call him. Together they chant prayers in Sanskrit.
Afternoons in the mission are devoted mostly to traditional songs and dances that mix Bollywood with religious tales. Hundreds more attend Sunday school classes during the school year, the New York Times reported.
“In California alone, over 10,000 children attend some sort of Hindu or Indian instruction on the weekend, especially during summers,†Shana Sippy, an Indian American doctoral student in religion from Columbia University , said.
Explaining Hinduism to Americans is a challenge, one that is leading to the homogenization of a faith that in India is characterized by a variety of local beliefs and worship practices, some scholars and Hindus believe.
“It has to be homogenized at some level because if I ask my daughter, she does not know the difference between the practice of Hinduism among south Indians and Bengalis,†said Sanjeev Chatterjee, whose eight year-old daughter, Maya attends the Chinmaya camp. “There has to be dilution at some level because there hasn’t been a critical mass of us, though that may be starting to changeâ€.
According to Harvard’s Pluralism Project on religious diversity, there are two million Hindus currently living in the US , a tiny fraction of the approximately one billion Hindus worldwide.
Welcome to Haindava Keralam! Register for Free or Login as a privileged HK member to enjoy auto-approval of your comments and to receive periodic updates.
Latest Articles from World Focus
- US Body ICHRRF officially recognizes the Kashmiri Hindu Genocide
- Competing with the Dragon – Part 4
- Eminent Hindu Warrior, Dr Babu Suseelan Passes Away
- World Hindu Congress- A celebration of Hinduism and its core principles
- What do Western Atheists feel about Hinduism?
- Reunification of Hindustan
- Bangladesh – Jihadi Attack on Temple Caretaker
- From Bangladesh to Jihadidesh, Another Hindu Priest Murdered
- Terror in the name of God?
- 2nd Murder Since Ramdan Started,Hindu Monastery Servitor Hacked to Death in Bangladesh
Responses