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Re: Future Generations (was: Re: Artha Shastra)
In article <4f6e6t$en7@babbage.ece.uc.edu>, Sankar Jayanarayanan <kartik@Eng.Auburn.EDU> writes:
|> > I've already seen the same sort of sentiments among some of my Indian
|> > friends, especially the younger ones. It's a desire to have your
|> > religious beliefs fit into an already existing belief system, rather
|> > than looking at the beliefs independently. I assume that this trend
|> > will continue faster in the west, since we're a little more detached
|> > from Hindu culture. Would anyone like to predict what Hindu temples
|> > in the US will look like 3 generations from now?
|>
|> What is the "hindu" temple that you are talking about?
Actually, it doesn't matter, because I have a feeling that
this trend toward "custom made" religion is going to be
growing, and that at such time when American-born Hindus
outnumber Indian immigrants, these are the temples which
will grow in popularity.
Garry B. Trudeau, noted Hindu philosopher, once described a
Christian church where the minister lists off what [secular]
activities will be taking place at the church every night, and
then when a congregation member asks "so, are we having a
worship service", the minister replies that it had to be
canceled due to lack on interest. This event was described
in his ongoing epic, Doonesbury.
Call me a pessimist, but I think that we'll be seeing more and
more of this with coming generations, since I already see
religion becoming less of a guiding principle, and more of
a checklist item. Usually, around the time of marriage, people
suddenly have to recall what religion they are to make sure
that they find a proper spouse.
It's not uncommon today to find people who tell pujaris what
ceremony they want, how they want it done, and how long they
have to do it. The pujari then, rather than being an instructor,
is relegated by these people to a service profession. That's
why I asked if anyone would like to predict what Hindu temples
in the US will look like 3 generations from now.
-Vivek
