I love my extended family very much. I'm lucky that there is no one in my entire family that I dislike. I'm always excited to spend time with them all.
This weekend my boyfriend and I are in North Carolina, celebrating my brother graduating from college.
I was thinking about having a confrontation with my mom and my dad's extended family here about the Hindu stuff by wearing a bindi, but I called to ask my brother how he felt about it and he asked if I could please not cause drama over his graduation weekend. So that idea is post poned.
I did talk to my dad about it briefly a week or so ago. He accknowledged that he hasn't seen me as a Christian in years, but he still thought of me as an Advaitan. I told him that I am an Advaitan. Advaita is a branch of Hinduism. He's concerned that I'm being too narrowly focused and I need to see the Advaita within Christianity. I just can't do it anymore. I know it's there, but it is burried so deep that I don't see why I shouldn't just follow a religion that has Advaita (non-duality) right on the surface. I know that he doesn't want to deal with his mother finding out about all this. I told him it's going to have to happen at some point (in my mind knowing that that point will probably be when my boyfriend and I decide to get married).
Yesterday I had some alone time with one of my dad's sisters. She is one of my favorite people in the world and someone I really aspire to be like. I realized that I almost never interact with my dad's family without a filter from my mom. She is always there at the same time, and telling me not to say certain things and not to rock the boat. When I was talking to my aunt alone I discovered that some of the things mom has been insistent that I shouldn't talk about, she actually doesn't have a problem with.
I was tremendously tempted to tell my aunt right then and there about my religion. I converted almost seven years ago now and my extended family doesn't know. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I'm afraid that it will hurt her and confuse her. This is an area where it is pretty hard to imagine someone being not Christian. In fact, I was talking to my brother's Jewish girlfriend about it and she said when she was growing up here, kids at school didn't know what Hannukah was and asked her if her people were "the ones who killed Jesus." There just isn't much diversity. My family here is quietly and happily Lutheran and I don't know if they've given it much thought.
I decided that I need a reason to bring up this topic with my family and also I promised my brother not to cause trouble during his time. So, my boyfriend and I agreed that when we get engaged, we'll make a trip to North Carolina without my parents and talk to my family here about my conversion and the fact that the wedding will be mostly Hindu (though not completely).
It pains me a lot to think of the years that I might have talked honestly with my beloved aunts and I didn't have that chance because of my mother's fears about what they might think.
A christian can never be an advaitin
ReplyDeleteIn abrahamic religions ,there is a huge gap between the creator and the creation and man is above the rest of creation
In advaitinism and other parts of Hinduism
The creator, creation and man are one
Which is why taking of any life including animal life is a sin
The universe itself is god and is similar to the deistic approach
That is why it would certainly be very challenging for a Christian to be an Advaitin. My parents believe it is possible, but they interpret Christianity vastly differently from how churches do!
ReplyDeleteAdvaitinism does not need jesus for salvation, and anyways Hinduism is your pre-xtian religion
ReplyDeleteIt true, Advaita does not need anyone but oneself for salvation. Again, though, I will say that different people understand Christianity differently and my parents do not believe in Jesus as salvation. They see him, as they taught me to see him, as an avatar, like Krishna.
ReplyDeleteWhile the solid proof for the existence or non-existence of Krishna is still to be determined
ReplyDeleteThere is in fact solid proof for the non-existence of Jesus and how can a non-existent person be an avatar
The Roman Census happened in 6 AD, King Herod died in 4 BC and the town of Nazareth did not exist until 300 AD
On the contrary, there is solid independent proof of the existence of John the Baptist and his followers the Mandeans still exist in Iran
There is also solid proof of the existence of Rabbi Hillel who lived at the same time and whose teachings are very similar to the New Testament
Josephus the noted jewish historian 10-80 AD, lists every event and almost every important personage but has no mention of Jesus and Nazareth, except for a later papal forgery that adds Jesus to the Josephus document - Antiquities
I'm not interested in debating the merits or lack there of of Christianity. I am a Hindu. I am not an expert on Christianity. However, I respect my parents' right to be Christian and to interpret it and understand it however they believe. They believe in Jesus as an avatar and I fully respect their ability to do so. I have no interest in Christianity and will not continue to debate it with you. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteamba, lets handle your family and wedding first. There are hindus who have ahd 2 separate weddings. One christian the other hindu on 2 separate days. If you like your family and your husbands family a lot, as a fellow hindu I advice you, to get married in typical CHRISTIAN way. But your husband must accept your wish to go to a temple or other place to get married by a hindu purohit. Iam not sure how many guest you will be able to manage to bring to your hindu wedding. But who cares, the sanskrit slokas, the saree and bindi will do the trick for you and hopefully for your husband. Some foreigners like Israeliswent to India and got married there traditionally in a hindu way.
ReplyDeleteAdvaita is unique and currently is repackaged and resold as concsiousness by all western thinkers and that includes deepak chopra, who calls himself a vedaantin but not a hindu. suryaa, chicago