David McKenzie

HUMA 2400
Research Paper
4/6/15
Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the many minority religions in America. My research is mainly going
to be on how Hinduism made its way into America. It was however believed to have originated
from India. But I will keep my remarks about Hinduism in India brief and will focus mainly on
how Hinduism originated in America. I will also research some of their beliefs and practices and
touch on how American Hindus differ from Indian Hindus. There is also a question on how well
the Hindus have responded to the diversity that is present in America. Some religions have
responded well to acculturation and other religions would rather that their religion be isolated
from American culture and other religions.
Many historians believe that Hinduism originated more than 5,000 years ago by a group
of Persians who have migrated to India. They settled near a river that they called the Hindu river
and named all of the inhabitants Hindus. (Submahoy Das) The religion would not be established
in America until the early nineteen hundreds. When the first Hindus migrated to America there
was only a small handful that were part of the Hindu Tradition. By 2008 there were as many as
2.29 million Hindus in America. Hinduism is one of the worlds oldest and largest religions. A
study went out and found that there are at least one million Americans that practice the Hindu
tradition, but are not from India. (Hindu American Foundation)

There is not a specific time where Hinduism was originated in America, but the first
North American Hindu Temple was built on January 26, 1970 by a non-profit organization
known as The Hindu Temple Society of North America. Weekly services were held by volunteer
priests and many of the Hindu Rituals were practiced in this temple as well. This temple was
known as the ri Mah Vallabha Ganapati Devasthnam, or the Ganesh Temple. It was said to be
one of the most important Hindu temples to be built in America. The Hindu Temple Society of
North America now has over twenty thousand individuals that are devoted to giving all Hindus in
North America the privilege to worship. Many other Hindu Temples were fashioned like unto the
Ganesh Temple because of its smart architectural design and it is similar to the designs of
temples in India. (The Hindu Temple Society of North America) Hinduism is the third largest
religion in the world. Even through there is not a specific time where the Hindus came into
America we do know that they came in the early nineteen hundreds. The first Hindu temple was
not constructed for another seventy years.
Hindus have many religious practices and ideas. Many of them were practiced thousands
of years ago making this religion one of the oldest religions in the history of the world. Some
individuals have argued that Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion. They have no
common creed or church and it is not based on any specific teachings or text. Many people
believe that the Hindu have at least 330 million Hindu gods to worship. The Hindus however
believe that there is one supreme gad that cannot be fully understood, but Hindus should try to
relate to god in the ways that suits them best. The many gods are said to be manifestations of
god. the three main deities are Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the
destroyer. Some believe that Hinduism is henotheistic and others believe that it is monotheistic.
Many people make the assumption that Hindus are idol worshippers. In reality they are

worshipping a physical representation of god in the form of an idol. It helps them focus on an
aspect of prayer and meditation. Many also believe that Hindus worship cows. Hindus do not
worship cows but they believe all life is sacred. (Mani Basu)
Hindus believe in meditation and seek to come to a realization of their self-duties. There
are religious stages that you acquire through meditation. The first stage is Brahmacharga which
takes place during school years and is focused on acquiring knowledge. The second stage known
as Grastha is the middle years and is focused on worldly pursuits like family, career, and
marriage. The third stage is Vanaprastha which is supposed to happen when a child reaches adult
years. This stage is focused mainly on increasing spiritual focus. The final stage is called
Sannagasu. In the last years of ones life they may abandon the world entirely for a life of
contemplation. Aside from meditation Hindus also practice Ayurveda, an ancient system of
medicine. They also practice yoga. They use many forms of yoga and it is used to either awaken
ones psychic energy or to reach contemplation of ones reality. The Hindus also have many
rituals that they practice like Puja, Sadhu, and temple rituals. (religion facts) Hindus also believe
in the idea of reincarnation. This means that after you die your soul is reincarnated and you come
back as something else. This is one of the reasons cows are treated with such respect by Hindus.
They believe that cows have the souls of the people that did good. Things like insects or other
animals are less important. But all living creatures have a soul and should be treated with respect.
Karma is also a major idea for them. If you do good, good will come back to you, and if you do
bad, then bad things will happen to you.
Hinduism has become increasingly established in the U.S. through a series of encounters
over the past 150 years. These encounters are emblematic of Americans' increasing familiarity

with Indian, and Asian, traditions; of contact between Americans and Indian immigrants, and of
relationships among cultural traditions in a society that is self-consciously pluralistic. Two
distinct forms of Hinduism have contributed to these encounters. In recent public lectures,
Professor Vasudha Narayanan of the University of Florida has classified Hindu institutions in
America today into two categories from Hindu tradition: 1. organizations that promote self-help
practices like yoga and meditation. The other is organizations that provide the means for formal
ritual worship in temples. In Hindu Indian tradition, the paths of self-help and ritual worship are
co-existing classical paradigms and present-day realities. The path of self-help is traditionally
realized in the intense relationship between the guru and disciple; the path of ritual worship is
traditionally realized in liturgical activities in temples performed by priests on behalf of
worshipers. These are not mutually exclusive ways of worship; for example, there is often a
temple at a guru's ashram, and temple priests have personal client relationships with worshipers.
Today, these streams co-exist in America, as they do in India. However, the historical
establishment of Hinduism in America reveals a distinctive pattern, For the first hundred years of
Hinduism in the United States its followers have mainly practiced the self-help approach; during
the last 30 years, building Hindu temples in the U.S. has become a dominant focus. This pattern
is more controversially characterized as Americans representing Hinduism in America on their
own terms during the initial period, followed by Hindu Indians representing Hinduism in
America on their own terms in recent years. Hindu temples have been being built all over the
United States for the last 40 years.
Whether Americans know it or not, weve been embracing Hinduism for longer than
most would guess. America is been very widely impacted by Hindu ideas and practices.
American culture has been pursuing Hindu ideas for quite some time. You cant find a city that

doesnt have at least one yoga class or a spa inspired by Hindu ideology. Today there are more
than 700 major Hindu temples throughout America. Hindus have made a significant impact on
American culture and ideology. It is very clear that the Hindu people have taken advantage of the
idea of freedom of religion in America.
A very well-known Hindu was Mahatma Gandhi. He taught non-violence and was a great
example of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. American Hindus are similar to the original Hindus for the
most part. They grew very rapidly compared to other religious movements in America, and in
terms of religious influence on American culture they have contributed a lot to America.

Cited works page

Hindu American Foundation. 5/30/2014 http://hafsite.org/hinduism-101/hindu-demographics

Subhamoy Das. Theories about the Origination of Hinduism. 8/12/2008

http://hinduism.about.com/od/hinduism101/a/origin.htm

The Hindu Temple Society of North America. https://nyganeshtemple.org/temple-history

Mani Basu. April 29, 2014. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/04/25/9-myths-about-hinduismdebunked/

Religion Facts. http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/practices.htm

Karen Pechilis Prentiss. (The Pattern of Hinduism and Hindu Building in the U.S.
http://www.pluralism.org/articles/pechilis_hindu_temples

Suhag Shukla. (Is Hindu, just like so Much in America) August 11, 2010