Can NZ Hindus kick start a social revival?
Last month, a large group of committed and passionate community members assembled in Auckland’s Mahatma Gandhi Centre to brainstorm social and cultural challenges facing the Hindu community in New Zealand.
At an interactive workshop organised by the Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA) Forum on February 20, 2011, the diverse group of personalities from leading Hindu organisations, temples and associations that work to serve the community sought ways to streamline co-operation.
The workshop was hosted by the New Zealand Hindu Temple Society, and facilitated by Member of Parliament Dr Rajen Prasad.
Dr Prasad said the purpose of such workshops must be to seek common ground with mainstream New Zealand society rather than to create community islands. “We have chosen to live in this country and we Hindus should continue to offer our values to the great New Zealand melting pot, as we have done in the past,” he said.
The workshop consisted of two main sessions. In the first session, the participants broke into four groups, and each was tasked with the following issues.
• Challenges before Hindu Dharma in New Zealand.
• Social issues concerning Hindu society in New Zealand.
• Promoting Yoga, Ayurveda and Meditation in New Zealand.
• Engaging Hindu youth in New Zealand.
One subject on which virtually all participants agreed on was that Hindu organisations and temples should become more closely involved with the community in social and family issues. Would institutionalised community support have prevented the Ranjeeta Sharma case, for instance? Who knows? But if Hindu organisations are able to provide culturally appropriate advice to families, there’s a very good chance to amicably resolve problems in Hindu families, as compared to the intrusive and discordant approach that culturally insensitive organisations may take.
There was broad consensus on the Hindu principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) and in particular that temples should promote Hindu values, as there is no disconnect between modernity and Hindu Dharma. This would especially benefit the youth. In fact, a bunch of youth initiatives were discussed, such as involving Hindu youth in Yoga and meditation. Such activities have already been happening in AROGYA (a division of the Hindu Council of New Zealand) led Yoga classes.
Introducing Yoga in school curriculum and hospitals was another proposal. Similar provisions exist for sports and tai chi, which primarily aim for physical fitness. Yoga, as practiced in the Hindu tradition, aims towards a healthy body, mind and spirit/soul. Also, with an increasing number of American church groups trying to hijack yoga by conjuring up weird names like Christian yoga, it is imperative that such cultural theft not be allowed on New Zealand soil. On the other hand we have the example of Malaysia, where Yoga practice is considered officially un-Islamic.
Hindu organisations could also make a key impact in handling immigrant settlement issues. They could soften the cultural impact of immigration and ease integration into New Zealand.
Finally, there’s the question of image. A slew of articles and programmes in the New Zealand media seem to have conspired to paint a very unflattering picture of Hindus in collaboration with certain “Indian” leaders, ignoring the tremendous progress India has made in the past couple of decades. It was suggested that organisations such as the Hindu Media Watch should take steps to counter misrepresentation by certain elements of the New Zealand media.
The list of participants and the organisations they represent is worth mentioning here because it shows community leaders are indeed passionate about jointly working to improve cooperation between diverse groups.
The list includes, but is not limited to, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, New Zealand Thirumurugan Temple, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Temple, Soni Samaj, Gaudiya Math, Manukau Indian Association, Auckland Indian Association, Waitakere Indian Association, Hindi Elders Foundation, Hindu Youth New Zealand, Swami Narayan Temple (ISSO) Papatoetoe, Sri Chinmaya Mission, Auckland Ramayan Sanstha Trust, Yogi Devine Society and Muth Tamil Sangam.
As India grows into its role as a global superpower it will face immense challenges, especially in the social and cultural spheres. Coming from a more liberal society, New Zealand Hindus are well placed to offer solutions that will help guide their ancient republic to its rightful destiny.
(Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a features writer at New Zealand’s leading media house. He has previously worked with Businessworld, India Today and Hindustan Times, and was news editor with the Financial Express.)
Last month, a large group of committed and passionate community members assembled in Auckland’s Mahatma Gandhi Centre to brainstorm social and cultural challenges facing the Hindu community in New Zealand.
At an interactive workshop organised by the Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations...
Last month, a large group of committed and passionate community members assembled in Auckland’s Mahatma Gandhi Centre to brainstorm social and cultural challenges facing the Hindu community in New Zealand.
At an interactive workshop organised by the Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA) Forum on February 20, 2011, the diverse group of personalities from leading Hindu organisations, temples and associations that work to serve the community sought ways to streamline co-operation.
The workshop was hosted by the New Zealand Hindu Temple Society, and facilitated by Member of Parliament Dr Rajen Prasad.
Dr Prasad said the purpose of such workshops must be to seek common ground with mainstream New Zealand society rather than to create community islands. “We have chosen to live in this country and we Hindus should continue to offer our values to the great New Zealand melting pot, as we have done in the past,” he said.
The workshop consisted of two main sessions. In the first session, the participants broke into four groups, and each was tasked with the following issues.
• Challenges before Hindu Dharma in New Zealand.
• Social issues concerning Hindu society in New Zealand.
• Promoting Yoga, Ayurveda and Meditation in New Zealand.
• Engaging Hindu youth in New Zealand.
One subject on which virtually all participants agreed on was that Hindu organisations and temples should become more closely involved with the community in social and family issues. Would institutionalised community support have prevented the Ranjeeta Sharma case, for instance? Who knows? But if Hindu organisations are able to provide culturally appropriate advice to families, there’s a very good chance to amicably resolve problems in Hindu families, as compared to the intrusive and discordant approach that culturally insensitive organisations may take.
There was broad consensus on the Hindu principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) and in particular that temples should promote Hindu values, as there is no disconnect between modernity and Hindu Dharma. This would especially benefit the youth. In fact, a bunch of youth initiatives were discussed, such as involving Hindu youth in Yoga and meditation. Such activities have already been happening in AROGYA (a division of the Hindu Council of New Zealand) led Yoga classes.
Introducing Yoga in school curriculum and hospitals was another proposal. Similar provisions exist for sports and tai chi, which primarily aim for physical fitness. Yoga, as practiced in the Hindu tradition, aims towards a healthy body, mind and spirit/soul. Also, with an increasing number of American church groups trying to hijack yoga by conjuring up weird names like Christian yoga, it is imperative that such cultural theft not be allowed on New Zealand soil. On the other hand we have the example of Malaysia, where Yoga practice is considered officially un-Islamic.
Hindu organisations could also make a key impact in handling immigrant settlement issues. They could soften the cultural impact of immigration and ease integration into New Zealand.
Finally, there’s the question of image. A slew of articles and programmes in the New Zealand media seem to have conspired to paint a very unflattering picture of Hindus in collaboration with certain “Indian” leaders, ignoring the tremendous progress India has made in the past couple of decades. It was suggested that organisations such as the Hindu Media Watch should take steps to counter misrepresentation by certain elements of the New Zealand media.
The list of participants and the organisations they represent is worth mentioning here because it shows community leaders are indeed passionate about jointly working to improve cooperation between diverse groups.
The list includes, but is not limited to, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, New Zealand Thirumurugan Temple, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Temple, Soni Samaj, Gaudiya Math, Manukau Indian Association, Auckland Indian Association, Waitakere Indian Association, Hindi Elders Foundation, Hindu Youth New Zealand, Swami Narayan Temple (ISSO) Papatoetoe, Sri Chinmaya Mission, Auckland Ramayan Sanstha Trust, Yogi Devine Society and Muth Tamil Sangam.
As India grows into its role as a global superpower it will face immense challenges, especially in the social and cultural spheres. Coming from a more liberal society, New Zealand Hindus are well placed to offer solutions that will help guide their ancient republic to its rightful destiny.
(Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a features writer at New Zealand’s leading media house. He has previously worked with Businessworld, India Today and Hindustan Times, and was news editor with the Financial Express.)
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