I was answering one of the questions on Quora, “Are Hindus ashamed of their rituals and culture?”

I do not think all Hindus are ashamed of their rituals and culture. But, I believe that our belief system has diluted more than the extent we should have held our stitches together. There is a well designed ecosystem surrounding this mirage called “atheism”.

I have tried to enlist the issues why the belief system has diluted more than it should have.

Pluralism or the garb of it?

I think Hindus, deep down know how pluralistic the faith is and they are generally appreciative about it. It is true their faith is pluralistic which says all paths lead to God, if one is committed to dutifulness, remain an eternal student, shrug off lethargy and seek the true knowledge.

In the garb of pluralism, dilution of faith has happened almost irreversibly, disparately and by varying degrees. The basic reason why tenets of core sanatana dharma today suffer from disunity is that they are not assimilated and disseminated well. Ghar Wapsi of Hindus themselves is cardinal for saving our faith.

Poor or superficial understanding of the significance of worship and rituals:

In my own experience, rituals are performed mechanically by most. Parents/ grandparents hardly know or know superficially, why certain rituals are performed in the way they are, what is the significance of installing a pratima/ Kalasha/ preparation of the place of worship / rituals using flowers, tulsi, etc. Thus, dissemination of this knowledge down their lineage fails.

Now, rituals are broadly performed on festivals or important events like jaata shoucha of new-borns, homa’s/ havans during important occasions like the thread ceremony (upanayana), wedding and many other occasions. One needs to understand the significance of these rituals. If people do it out of peer or societal pressure or superstition, kids see through these gaps and quickly grasp them to be hollow rituals.

The years of adolescence can be the most tumultuous times in one’s life as adolescents do not like to be called kids anymore and simultaneously, are not grown up enough. When kids grow up, they tend to be influenced by circles they tend to choose.

Influence of Westernized Education and lifestyle:

Our books of history and literature was designed based on the recommendations of T. B. Macaulay in 1835, who believed that the languages and the dialects spoken by Indians were neither literary nor scientific and were “moreover so poor and rude that, until they are enriched from some other quarter, it will not be easy to translate any valuable work into them”.  He suggested “an intellectual improvement of those classes of the people who have the means of pursuing higher studies can at present be affected only by means of some language not vernacular amongst them”. Macaulay further added that since he was not familiar with Sanskrit and Arabic, English should become the medium of education in India.

The English education system itself had a good side, but it was imbued with cultural invasion so much so that Christian ideology, leftist ideas made way into Indic education system.

Fast forward, our school history text books mostly written by left leaning / leftist ‘intellectuals’. History is famous as told by the triumphant. Luckily, in India, those who lost too, have found voices not just within their sphere but outside as well. Academicians are regarded ‘progressive’ and ‘revolutionary’ for making mockery out of such parallel history. Our mainstream English, some Hindi and regional media too are peppered with such individuals.

The teachers and professors merely peddle those text books, without critically approaching those hagiographies and opening the minds of children and young academics to the true and unabridged history.

Verbose, linguistic and articulative superiority still easily puts vulnerable minds into a sort of trance. Extraneous polish, mere sophisticated outlook overtakes the truth and corrupts intellect into accepting fallacies and fabricated lies.

These minds have worked well and overtime to drill holes of insecurity, fear, malice, disdain and hatred in the hearts of such vulnerable minds. They question the actions of Gods in our discourses/ epics in the most disdainful manner. They believe that it mocking the roots of conservatism is a stepping stone to ‘revolution’.

Disdain and the fear of “Brahminical oppression”

As a result, greater portion of our populace call themselves agnoistic/ atheists. They know very little about the strength of the tenets of our great faith. While, they always seek a professor (guru) for researching/ learning those sciences/ domains they seek a livelihood out of, they do not endeavour to find reason why they should seek a guru to learn the core teachings of our religion. Seeking a Guru for learning/ interpreting our dharma is called Brahminism by such people.

Our film industry:

Two potbellied Brahmin priests wearing only dhoti, wickedly and toothily grinning at a new-found and charming ‘Swami’ Raju, the Guide in the movie “Guide”, challenging him to translate the Sanskrit Verse “Om Poornnam-Adah Poornnam-Idam Poornnaat-Poornam-Udachyate…” and failing miserably when he utters something in English challenging them back to translate in retaliation.

A well-to-do landlord-cum-money-lender wearing sandalwood tilak and vermillion on his forehead entices the flood-ravaged widow of a deceased farmer to sleep with him in the movie ‘Mother India’.

A Hindu fanatic mistakenly murders his own friend, while the latter tries to protect a budding cricketing protégé who happens to be a Muslim, in retaliation to murder of his parents in the burning of Godhra train in 2002. This was in “Kai Po Che”.

A boy sitting in a havan questions a priest who chants a veda while performing a sacrifice, the meaning of the veda in the movie “Oh My God”. There is no harm in asking questions, but the boy goes onto ask “tell meaning of one line and take away dakshina of Rs. 100. Tell one more line and take away another Rs. 100”.

And many more…..

It is said in the movie ‘Drishyam’ that visuals leave a lasting impression on the minds of people. Absolutely true!! These visuals/ movies/ dramas are so intelligently crafted, enacted, edited, engineered and marketed to entice more viewers, that people fall for their packaging easily. It’s all in the game of earning money.

I do not stereotype all movies as bad. There are certain genres and other movies which are very good, educative and have positive messages in them.

However, in most mainstream movies, Hindus are systematically shown as aggressors, wicked, conniving, murderous and terrorizing. All priests are stereotyped as half naked, pot bellied, hungry for alms and money. A man sporting a tilak on his forehead, holding a saffron flag is generally shown sporting angry and carrying murder in his heart. It’s a winning ticket for movie producers and directors to earn money, but inadvertently, they have created another powerful ecosystem to distance oneself/ hate passively the faith.

Time Constraints and convenience orientation:

In reality, Hindus should seek the four purushaartha’s: Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha; follow eternal sanatana dharma of seeking true knowledge, pursuit of spiritual and materialistic prosperity, practice pursuing happiness in spiritualism and dutifulness, and attain salvation by continual karma and commitment to the first three purushaartha’s.

I think that the theists among Hindus, rather like to digress away from the faith in a form that they think is easier for them to practice. Its turns more convenience-based.

Most among Hindus who are employed have to allot significant portion of their time to their familial responsibilities. They have to stick to everyday routine during weekdays. By the time weekend arrives, they are physically and mentally exhausted. Weekends are used to connect with children, friends and other family members, which is essential too.

It is equally essential for them to commit to the pursuit of purushaartha’s.

Influence of other faiths

While, inadequate understanding of our own faith, westernized education system and inconvenience in performing worship or rituals distance people away, there are opportunities for people to turn proximate with divergent beliefs/ practices or other faiths while they are at workplace. Hindu entrepreneurs have different and sometimes, even bigger challenges. People choose their ecosystems to which they identify with.

I firmly do not believe that missionaries/ faiths that promulgate conversions are entirely responsible for conversions unless it’s forced. It is the ecosystem created around people which makes them see our rituals as superstitions or worse, waste of time or any other excuse they deem fit to call it. As such it does not give them anything that gives them materialistic pleasure.

The Solutions:

People need to develop a sense of belonging to dharma. Hindus are perhaps the most logical beings who believe in science rather unlike people from other faiths who still are made to believe earth is flat. It’s hard for them to find a sense of belonging as such because the very faith never makes it prescriptive.

Thus, ecosystems need to be created, nurtured, strengthened, mainstreamed and sustained for them, to find a belonging to the faith.

The first step should be at a nascent stage. Children have to be taught our epics in the form of plays/ dramas, motion pictures, documentaries on lives of our revered seers.

Some solutions are listed below: Leaders among us have to:

1. Organize and consciously create an ecosystem fit to our disparate cultures - may be like gondhal in Maharashtra, or Yakshagaana in South Canara,
2. Conduct computer examinations or essay competitions or story-telling competitions on Mahabharata/ Geeta/ Interpretation of Veda’s. dance programs and mono-act enactments, drama competitions on subjects like Ramayana/ Mahabharata during Ganesh festivals/ dahi handi/ Navaratri/ Dashera/ Baisakhi, Deepavali, etc. This could be done for different age-groups.
3. make accessible, stories from Mahabharata/ Bhagavata/ Ramayana/ Vishnu Puraana, etc., with particular emphasis on philosophy/ morals, retold in the form of comic books for younger children and books for adolescents.
4. conduct interactive sessions between learned gurus and people during weekends inside societies, which should be aimed at making faith easier to accept and practice.

Social media / WhatsApp groups should be created with the sole aim of informing likeminded people, on

1. history of Hindu faith,
2. why certain festivals are celebrated the way they are,
3. why and how certain rituals are performed,
4. what the significance of sacrifice is,
5. what type of food is to be offered to God as offering/ naivedya,
6. Why one should do shraddha/ pitru paksha, etc.

Today’s common man wants instant gratification (isme mera kya hai- what is in it for me?) and is driven by materialism.

The perception of the common man towards dharma can be shaped through visuals. New age pandits should therefore, use all social media extensively without fearing slander, and disseminate Hindu philosophy, spiritualism, dutifulness (karma) and commitment to remain eternal students. A bit of fun in these memes won’t be unmissed. People will connect to them more.

In discourses, the tenets themselves are actually so endearing that people will indeed be attracted if the pandits are articulate and have the skill to capture the attention of listeners and means to make the general populace to understand them. Disdain and attacks should be dealt with reason, equanimity, compassion and reflection. That’s where the maturity of pandits comes into play.

Real ghar wapsi would be when our own Hindu brothers and sisters find time in pursuit of our purushaartha’s and practice their own rituals, perform worship in disparate manners. I have had people asking me over social media how one should do certain rituals, what food is to be prepared on a shraaddha kaarya or a pitru paksha, what the method for performing a certain ‘vrata’. One must follow their dharma guru’s and/ or knowledgeable elderly family members who may be aware of the procedures because, people belonging to each region have unique practices, methods and approaches to perform worship.