We all know India as a primarily Hindu nation. Did you know India also has the second largest Muslim population in the world? They also have Christians (mostly Catholic), Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Jews, Parsis' and a smattering of other faiths. So even though it is a Hindu nation, the Prime Minister is a Sikh and all of the other religions are represented at all levels of government within the country. Pretty diverse huh?
By the numbers there are 855m Hindus, 178m Muslims, 25m Christians, 20m Sikhs, 8m Buddhists, 4.5m Jains, and 8m in the smaller groups.
I was very familiar with all of these faiths except for Jainism. Jainism teaches that every human is responsible for his/her actions and all living beings have an eternal soul or jīva. It insists that we live, think and act respectfully and honor the spiritual nature of all life. They are the original vegans and practice non-violence. Although small in numbers, they've had major influence on India. Gandhi adopted his non-violence approach from them. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. adopted it from Gandhi, and thus Jainism had a major impact on the U.S. civil rights movement. I bet you didn't know that?
In Hyderabad it is very common to see Muslim women in the full head to toe black outfit with only their eyes showing walking next to a Hindu woman in a sari. For men, you see some Muslim men dressed in traditional clothing and some (very few) Hindu men wearing the male equivalent of a sari. If you work for a large Indian or MNC office, women are allowed to wear the traditional sari but men are required to wear "modern" clothing. A bit of a double standard, but no one seems to mind.
The hotel bar manager happens to be a Catholic. He asked me if Catholics in the U.S. practiced the same rituals and had the same beliefs. He seemed genuinely surprised when I told him yes and recited a few examples. That bit of Catholic knowledge got me a free beer!
Thank you to Father McGovern, wherever you are. I did actually learn something in CCD after all.
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When's the company airlifting you out of the world's newest "hotzone"? Insist on a military style chopper, big style points. I also hear that Mo Clarrett has a "only slightly used" bullet proof vest that he's putting up on Ebay? The ad says it slightly smells of pepperspray, so it going cheap...
When's the company airlifting you out of the world's newest "hotzone"? Insist on a military style chopper, big style points. I also hear that Mo Clarrett has a "only slightly used" bullet proof vest that he's putting up on Ebay? The ad says it slightly smells of pepperspray, so it going cheap...
Insert Michael Jackson joke here (as this is a good follow up to a Catholic Priest reference):
Q: Why did Michael Jackson go to JC Pennys to shop?
A: He heard that boys pants were 1/2 off.
That is family emailing Sean. Be careful what you ask for....
Sean I learned a lot in your post - probably not as much as you did in CCD.....
Sean, I learned a lot from you post. Probably not as much as you learned in CCD. Hey....Free Beer!
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