“When your goal is to educate people who are wholly unfamiliar with a tradition or a philosophy or religion, you have to meet them where they are,” said Shukla. “The words that might have some resonance for Christians is a good starting point.”
Anantanand Rambachan, a Hindu theologian and author of “Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue,” says that, while it is not incorrect to say Hindus worship one divine being, practitioners should not shy away from explaining that this one being has infinite names and forms. The faith is neither polytheistic nor monotheistic, he says, but something entirely more complex.
“In communicating our tradition, we should not be afraid to be different,” said Rambachan. “To reduce the murtis (idols) only to a symbol, is not to be faithful to centuries of a very sophisticated theology.”
As the first non-Christian chair of the Religion Department at St. Olaf College, a Lutheran school in Minnesota, Rambachan has faced his share of backlash from critics who insisted he could not serve a largely Christian student body.
“Communicating the Hindu point of view in all of its richness and its integrity is possible, but it takes time,” said Rambachan. “Those who are formed and steeped in an exclusive theological position — it is not easy to open their hearts and minds.”
While Hindus have overwhelmingly voted Democrat, some in the community say they are disappointed with the party for not standing against anti-Hindu hatred they say is rampant.
For Desai, a leader of USIRC, Ramaswamy’s battle against what he calls “woke-ism” and his embracing of young voters is enough to sway his vote. He points to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the UK and a member of the Conservative Party, as an example of someone who has held his Hindu faith on unapologetic display.
“I always believe that those who respect their own roots are respected by others,” said Desai.
Whether Hindu Americans will be voting for Ramaswamy in the upcoming primaries has yet to be seen. However, Desai and Shukla agree that Hindus need stronger political institutions that educate Hindus about the political process for future generations of Hindu candidates to join leadership positions.
“As a Hindu American, I never envisioned a future, at least not in my lifetime, that we would have candidates running for any office that would be so proud of their heritage,” said Shukla. “And that the teachings and values that they have inherited could serve as inspiration for their public service.”
This article originally appeared here.
