This
page contains the bottom line answer to the question:
What
is the minimum we have to transmit to the next generation Hindu?
To transmit the culture of
Hindu worship to the next generation just teach them how to say:
just
a few names of God, with
because
vaideeSvara
of Vaideesvarankolil in Tamilnadu
may be the deity traditionally
worshipped on all auspicious occasions in your family. Or you may say
because
the Lord of the
because
you have never seen your father or grandfather doing religious ceremonies
without invoking the Lord dattAtreya.
Thus all names which are
subjectively very important to you or to your spouse, personally, should be included.
But don’t overdo it, either, for, more than fifteen to
twenty names will be counter-productive as far as the passing on of the
religious torch is concerned. Thus
make a list of such names which is entirely your own.
Don’t worry about their small number. Worry only about the feeling you can
generate in the name being worshipped. And most of all, when you expect the
child to say these things, ensure that both the parents are also there to say
the same thing.
The addition of
even
if you yourself do not understand much about it.
It is nameless but still
the scriptures refer to it as brahman.
Everything starts with it
and everything ends with it.
To learn more about
At the end offer some
fresh eatable to God, as a naivedya. Whatever you are going to eat may be offered,
provided it is not a left-over. If there is no fresh cooked dish offer a fruit.
Even a few raisins would do. And conclude everything with an Arti, with or without an arti
song or prayer. In this way you would be following the hoary traditions of
Hinduism but at the same time you would have cut your observances to the coat
of your reduced availability of time. By giving this type of discipline instead
of the conventional
rote method of recitation of some stotras,
we would be achieving the following:
· Each child
will get a customised instruction,
that befits the family and the particular environment and traditions in
the family.
· The child
would understand the meaning then and there. We are only paying a homage and
obeisance to the particular deity named.
The different names of god should be justified by appealing to the
variety always inherent in Hinduism and the fact that the glories of God are
innumerable and therefore also their names.
· The child
has an infinite variety of possibilities of expanding this prayer routine into
as long a one as anybody wants, as and when the child is ready for it. For, they have only to resort to various ashtottaras, sahasranamas and the
like, which are abundantly available in the literature (even on the internet) –
provided there is the motivation and the willingness to spare the time and the
effort.
· By taking
care to include
Those who worship That with
the word ‘namaH’ would have their desires falling at
their feet.
· The
child would not have to murmur all sorts of unintelligible mumbo jumbo, which
in any case would all vanish into nothingness when we of the previous
generation are no more on the scene.
· The child
would have learnt the core of Hindu bhakti, which is
very authentic, and this almost at no cost.
Of course, more
fundamental than all the above, is the need for the present generation elders
to believe in this, rather than simply make it a preacher’s sermon. One should
be able to teach by example rather than precept.
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Copyright © V. Krishnamurthy