Category Archives: Religion

Sikh Art @ the Rubin Museum

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I’ve been getting lots of tips today about the early Sikh art exhibit opening today at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. Sikh1190b.jpg There is a surprisingly effusive review of the exhibit by Holland Cotter up at the New York Times:

But what about Sikhism itself? Few Westerners have even basic information.

How many people are aware that it was conceived as a universalist, open-door religion?

Or that its view of society was radically egalitarian? Or that its holy book, the Adi Granth, far from being a catalog of sectarian dos and donÂ’ts, is a bouquet of poetic songs, blending the fragrances of Hindu ragas, Muslim hymns and Punjabi folk tunes into a music of spiritual astonishment?

This is precisely the information delivered by the small and absolutely beautiful show titled “I See No Stranger: Early Sikh Art and Devotion” at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea.(link)

All very admirable and correct. The only thing I find a little odd is that the review is less an evaluation of the art in the exhibit than it is a summary of the basic points about Sikhism covered. For Cotter, the art is more a vehicle for acquiring knowledge than beautiful in its own right. Not a great tragedy, perhaps; in fact, even this short article is pretty informative. But still, it might have been interesting to hear more about how or whether this art fits into the broader picture of religious art in the Indian subcontinent during this historical period. (Call me an academic geek, but the question crossed my mind.)

The other slightly odd moment is this:

The painting is paired in the show with the workshop drawing, produced by a master artist, that served as its model. The contrast is striking. In the drawing the prince, far from being restrained, practically levitates from his saddle with ardor and leans toward Nanak as if drawn to a magnet. Mardana plays and sings with fervor of a contemporary bhangra star. It is in the drawing, rather than in the painting, that the Nanak Effect, so evident in poems and songs, comes through. (link)

Bhangra, huh? Not quite, Cotter-saab. Bhangra is secular, festive, and pro-intoxication. Nothing at all to do with Bhai Mardana. This is a forgivable slip; Holland Cotter is a dedicated art critic, and as far as I can tell this is the first time he’s ever written on Sikh-related art.

Incidentally, the Rubin Museum is doing an extensive array of programs to coincide with this show, including Sikh-related film screenings (organized through the Spinning Wheel Film Festival folks) as well as lectures. Continue reading →

A Blogger’s Response to the NYT on Parsis

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By now many readers will have read the admirable article by Laurie Goodstein in the New York Times about the declining numbers of the otherwise highly successful, globalized Parsi community. The main problem seems to be the core community’s reluctance to accept intermarriage of any kind because of a blood-based definition of what makes a Parsi a Parsi, though there are other factors (such as low birth rates, high levels of professionalization, and diasporic scattering).

Of course, there’s an obvious historical connection here that Laurie Goodstein doesn’t make, which has to do with the role of the Parsis before Indian independence. A new blogger called Strange Loops has a well-phrased response:

While I think the article gets most of the nuances and issues facing this very small, but historically significant, community correct, a few further points bear some exposition. First, the Parsi community pre-1947 (and to a lesser extent, afterwards) was undeniably Anglophilic in bent. Exceptions abound of course, including Dadabhai Naoroji, who became the first Indian MP in the British Parliament in 1892, and a father figure to a generation of Indian nationalists. The Anglophilic inclinations of many Parsis were encouraged by the British from early on for pragmatic and ideological reasons. The British sought to cultivate an indigenous elite with a vested interest in the preservation of Empire, and further saw Parsis as more ‘whiteÂ’ … and thus culturally closer to Europeans. Indeed, the British often referred to Parsis as the ‘Jews of IndiaÂ’ (a somewhat ironic statement given the rich history of several Indian Jewish communities). All this made the transition to an Independent India an awkward and stilted affair for many (but by no means all) Parsis in Bombay and elsewhere. (link)

Perhaps the reluctance by more conservative Parsis to accept intermarriage has to do with exactly the kind of internalized racial thinking the blogger (who is not a Parsi him/herself) is talking about. Personally, I’m rooting for the Parsis; I hope the faction that favors allowing people who’ve intermarried to remain in the community prevails.

For more on Parsi-related news, check out Arzan Wadia’s excellent Parsi Khabar blog. Continue reading →

Nightmare job

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While looking through some press photographs I have come to learn of a Hindu diety of whom I was previously unaware. Behold Biswakarma, the Hindu god of architecture and machinery:

Biswakarma, or Vishkarma, was the architect of Dwarka, the city that was built for Lord Krishna. Today he is commemorated all over India, and particularly in the industrial cities, by those who work with tools and factory machinery. [Link]

He seems to be somewhat of an equivalent to the Roman God Vulcan (or the Greek God Hephaestus).

What caught my attention however was the freaky-ass picture you see below. It is of an artist getting things ready for the Biswakarma Puja on September 17th. I’ve actually had a few nightmares that looked something like this.

I would HATE to be in this room when they turn off the lights

People worship the implements with which they earn their daily bread and artisans clean their tools and repaint old machines. Shop floors and factories are decorated for the occasion, loud speakers blare out music and the image of Biswakarma and his faithful elephant can be seen everywhere.

Biswakarma is the divine architect of the whole universe, regarded as the supreme worker and the personification of the creative power that holds heaven and earth together. He has four hands, carrying a water-pot, a book, a noose and craftsman’s tools. All the divine weapons such as chariots that are traditionally possessed by the gods are his creation. [Link]

Yes, you guessed it. As professional bloggers we will be worshiping our computers and will have our monkeys re-paint the bunker on September 17th. Continue reading →

That invisible stuff and…The End

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According to an account of the Hindu mythology, Hiranyagarbha, meaning the golden womb, is the source of the creation of the universe. It is one of the Vedic myths which explain the origin and the creation of the cosmos and the universe. The legend states that the Hiranyagarbha floated around in water in the emptiness and the darkness of the non-existence for about a year, and then broke into two halves which formed the Swarga and the Prithvi, and most likely other parts of the universe. It is believed that Brahma was born from the Hiranyagarbha. [Link]

It has been way too long since we have had a nerdy science post to get everyone’s juices flowing. An article this past week in Science Magazine gives us hope that cosmologists are getting closer to understanding where it all came from and where it all might be headed. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory, named for Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, captured images of a smoking gun. Via Science (subscription required):

This composite image shows the galaxy cluster 1E 0657-56, also known as the “bullet cluster.” This cluster was formed after the collision of two large clusters of galaxies, the most energetic event known in the universe since the Big Bang.

A fantastically energetic collision between clusters of galaxies has demolished a challenge to the law of gravity, providing the clearest evidence yet for the existence of intergalactic dark matter.

For decades, astronomers have inferred that unseen matter lurks within and between galaxies. Luminous stars alone, they realized, don’t exert enough gravitational force to explain how individual galaxies spin and clusters of galaxies clump together. Something invisible must be pulling, too.

Some of the extra matter in galactic clusters is just hot gas. But even more mass seems to exist in the form of “nonbaryonic” dark matter, made of something other than ordinary atoms.

A few holdouts have insisted that the observations could be explained by modifying the law of gravity at great distances. But a new result from the Chandra X-ray Observatory satellite offers clear-cut evidence that dark matter really does infuse galactic clusters. “It demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that dark matter exists,” says Sean Carroll, a cosmologist at the University of Chicago, Illinois, not involved in the study. [Link]

I love that there is an invisible physical force (that should be therefore measurable) out there that is stronger than gravity and yet remains invisible to detection by us except by inference. Its just a good mystery (which we all need once in a while). Continue reading →

I for one welcome profiling

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Yesterday someone posted this clip (on our News Tab) of conservative radio host Mike Gallagher’s appearance on Fox News.

GALLAGHER: It’s time to have a Muslims check-point line in American airports and have Muslims be scrutinized. You better believe it. It’s time. [Link]

Today the House Homeland Security Chairman, U.S. Congressman Peter King (R-NY) said the following (thanks for the tip AM):

Declaring that airport screeners shouldn’t be hampered by “political correctness,” House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King has endorsed requiring people of “Middle Eastern and South Asian” descent to undergo additional security checks because of their ethnicity and religion.

Discussing the recent revelation of an alleged plot in England to blow up U.S.-bound airliners, the Seaford Republican said yesterday that, “if the threat is coming from a particular group, I can understand why it would make sense to single them out for further questioning…”

Despite King’s endorsement of such a process, it is a technique that has been widely dismissed as a legitimate law enforcement tool. [Link]

This, by the way, is the same Peter King who said that supporters of Senate hopeful Ned Lamont were “bigots” and the same Peter King who is set to appear with Sen. Hillary Clinton on Sept. 11th at a “National Spirit of Unity” rally.

I have been thinking about this idea for a week now (even before King spoke out) and I fully support it. I think we should single out all arabs, middle eastern looking people, and South Asians. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing and if we play our cards right we can greatly benefit from it. The “Macaca line,” as it were, might actually move faster and more efficiently than the “American line” since brownish looking people are still a small minority in America (unless you count the Mexicans too). We could even lobby for a door to door airport shuttle that was guaranteed to be explosives free and would have dogs on board that we could pet and play with on the way to the airport (once they were done sniffing us). All of our tickets would be stamped with SSSS to ensure 4S service (“S” is like the new “Star”). We would have curbside check-in and our bags would all go through more advanced machinery (the kind airports can only afford one of). So that we wouldn’t get germs from the other passengers, our security screening area could be completely walled off. It seems that every time I travel I catch a cold, and so this would definitely be a perk. The other people would never even have to see us.

I already know what some of you are going to say to all of this (haters):

“You can’t tell a Muslim by the color of their skin or their appearance. There are black muslims, Asian muslims, and white muslims. How are we going to figure out who is Muslim so that we can give them this VIP treatment if they don’t want their identities revealed?” Continue reading →

Secular Constitutions: the U.S. and India

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Happy Indian Independence day, everyone!

In the comments of some recent posts at Sepia Mutiny, some readers have questioned why India needs “secularism,” and even just what secularism means in India. Similar questions were also raised in response to Abhi’s “jingoism in the blogsophere” post from a few weeks ago. Since I have researched the issue of secularism as part of my academic work, I thought it might be interesting to look at the Indian and American approaches to secularism in comparison as a thought-exercise. Instead of focusing on recent issues such as the train bombings in Mumbai last month, or almost-current events like the Gujarat riots of 2002, I wanted to back up a little and take a brief look at the texts of the respective Constitutions themselves. I think this comparative exercise might shed some insight on the value and importance of secularism in both countries. Continue reading →

The new Hare Krishnas

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The Washington Post has an article today on the changing face of the Hare Krishnas. No longer are American Hare Krishnas predominately “crazy white people” as many of us had been taught to believe .

What became of the Hare Krishna devotees whose saffron robes and chanting once graced many a street corner? In the Washington area, they wound up in well-heeled Potomac, an appropriately mainstream location for a movement that has been transformed over its 40 years.

In the mid-1960s, when the movement began on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a Hare Krishna service would have been filled with robe-wearing, twentysomething Caucasian converts, who likely lived at the temple or on an ashram.

Today, the typical worshiper is an Indian American who lives in mainstream America and shows up weekly for services, in khakis and with a kid wearing an NBA tank top along with his tilak (the sacred stripe that Hare Krishnas display between their eyebrows, symbolizing the footprint of God). [Link]

I have been to the Hare Krishna temple in Potomac, MD that this reporter visited. At the time (probably like 8 years ago) it was still mostly white with a smattering of Indians (such as my family on that day).

Most notable among the changes are the Indian American faces — 90 percent of worshipers at the Potomac temple, compared with 50 percent in 1980 and 20 percent in 1970s, Dasa said. This is attributable partially to recent Indian immigration to the United States, he said. [Link]

Right now I live on the same block as a Hare Krishna temple in LA. At night when I open my windows I can sometimes hear Hare Krishna rock (imagine Christian rock but with fewer lyrics ). There are devotees all around my neighborhood who go for walks together every evening. In the same neighborhood we have several churches and sometimes you have to park in front of the church to go to the temple (which I find kind of cool).

As the drums and harmonium rocked on, the priests circled the bejeweled brown, gold and white-faced statutes with incense and presented them with gifts of water and orange-yellow flower garlands and peacock feathers.

Soon the room was quiet and people took seats on cushions on the floor for a 30-minute lecture about the nature of happiness and worship.

“This relation between servant and served is the most congenial form of intimacy,” said the acting temple president, Anuttama Dasa. As he spoke, a woman spotted an ant scurrying across the floor, scooped it up with her sari and carried it outside. [Link]

Note to reporter: When writing an article about Hinduism it is not necessary to describe a woman saving an ant. We get it already. Also even better than the article is the video clip with a good commentary that the Post attaches to the article (click picture above).

Continue reading →

A guide to Hindu temples for your coffee table

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A new coffee table book illustrates the architecture of, and the sculptures of deities within, temples across America. The Hindustan Times reports:

There are 53 Hindu temples in 33 American states, says a just published coffee table book that details the history, architecture, deities and other salient features reflecting the growing spread of Hinduism in this country.

Titled Bharat Rekha In America, the book by former Indian management consultant K. Panchapakesan, was released by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, a member of the House of Representatives’ committee on international relations at the Capitol Hill.

Recalling his close personal ties with India and the role he played in the establishment of a Hindu Temple in South Carolina, Wilson lauded the efforts of the author to meet a long felt need of the Indian American Community. [Link]

Very kind of Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) for backing this effort. It is probably a great way to get a good part of the Hindu vote in the next election.

I’m a picture man myself, especially when it comes to coffee table books. As long as the pictures look good who cares about the rest, right? Here is a description of the book from their website:

In the USA anyone can follow any religion by choice. Very secular. So Hinduism found a place in the society many years ago. Did Hinduism arrive 40,000 years ago in the geographic region, which is currently USA? So says an interesting report. Mr.N.Ganesan, a known writer on the subject of History of Hinduism has referred to it in his article in a popular magazine of USA, backing it with data from Text Books of reputed Book Publishers. [Link]

Surely there are reputable Hindu scholars among our audience that can comment on these claims. All I know is that Columbus arrived in 1492.

The USA has Hindu Temples in almost all the States. The number of Temples ranges from one or two in a state to five or six in some others. There are many traditionally built Temples. The Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Pittsburgh is said to be one of the earliest traditionally built Temples in recent times. There are many other Temples built in similar South Indian Style. The Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Lanham, Maryland, the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Peerland, Texas, the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, the Sri Venkateswara Temple of Greater Chicago and the Mahavallabha Ganapati Temple, Flushing, to name a few. There are also Temples of North Indian style. The rest of the Temples are housed in independent buildings. Some of these Temples are being converted to traditional. Appearance with the construction of towers or gopurams. [Link]

As you could probably have guessed, there is no large temple in North Dakota where SM world headquarters is located.

Priced at US$ 49.95 and INR 2500/-, it has the initial print run of 1500 copies and expected to go unto 10,000. However, it will be sold at a discounted price especially at US $ 35 or INR Rs 1200/- during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The publishers are targeting to sell about 10,000 copies in its very first year of publication. [Link]
Continue reading →

Turbans Do Not Equal Taliban

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Everett Thompson.jpg Sometimes, when I mention that I encountered racist spew while growing up in Northern California, I am greeted with extreme skepticism; “No way. Not in CALIFORNIA!”. Yes way, in my beloved golden state. Yet again, someone’s father/brother/grandfather almost died because of ignorance and hate. Via the Mercury News (might require registration) (Thanks, Dave and Kamala):

The day after the stabbing of a Santa Clara grandfather left South Bay Sikhs reeling, prosecutors are weighing hate crime and attempted murder charges against his neighbor, who apparently believed the man belonged to the Taliban.
Iqbal Singh, 40, was waiting in his carport with his 2-year-old granddaughter around 10:50 a.m. Sunday when the suspect approached him and stabbed him in the neck with a steak knife, Santa Clara police Sgt. Kurt Clarke said.
Singh was still in the hospital Monday with serious injuries. The girl was unhurt.

I thank any deity you prefer that Iqbal Singh’s baby granddaughter wasn’t also attacked by this sick @$$#0(#. What is this world coming to, when you aren’t safe in your own driveway? From people who probably know you better than strangers, even if we’re all bowling alone?

Santa Clara police arrested Everett Thompson, 20, of Santa Clara, later Sunday, Clarke said. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and a hate crime, Clarke said.

Perhaps we have an explanation for something so senseless:

There are indications that Thompson, who may suffer from mental illness, believed Singh was a member of the Taliban, officials said Monday. Singh is not.

I love that clarification at the end there, just in case anyone was unclear on the concept that SIKHS ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE TALIBAN.

I’ve always maintained that there is a special place in hell for people who attack others when they are praying (or about to):

When Singh was attacked, he was waiting for the rest of the family to come down to the carport from their upstairs apartment on Agate Drive. They were on their way to worship services at San Jose Gurdwara Sahib, Gurmeet Singh said.
(Sikhism)…promotes peace and understanding.
“We are simply trying to peacefully live, earn a living and practice our religion,” Gurmeet Singh said. “This hate is driven by ignorance.”

Continue reading →

"…then you get tremendous joy"

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Because I can safely be described as a masochist, I am always on the lookout for masochistic stories with a desi angle. This one comes to us as a tip from former SM heartthrob Apul. It seems that there is a race that takes place in New York called the The 3100 Mile Race. Allow me to explain:

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team is proud to offer the Ninth Annual Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race. In this grand test of endurance and survival, a small group of athletes attempt to negotiate 5649 laps of a .5488 of a mile course (883 meters) in the time-span of 51 days- an amazing challenge. This is the longest certified footrace in the world; runners must average 60.7 miles per day to finish within the 51-day limit. The serious athlete must have tremendous courage, physical stamina, concentration and the capacity to endure fatigue, boredom and minor injuries. The predecessor of this very race was the 2700 Mile Race (held in 1996), in which five intrepid runners finished the distance well within the 47-day time limit. In 1997, Sri Chinmoy, race founder, upped the distance to 3100 miles. Two runners finished the inaugural 3100 Mile race in less than 51 days, showing that athletes indeed believed in self-transcendence. Last year nine finished 3100 miles out of 12 starters… [Link]

There are two things that I find particularly interesting about this race. The first is that the founder, Sri Chinmoy, doesn’t appear to have the classic runner’s build. See for yourself:

He looks like he is about to fall asleep

Second, I found the “route” to be sort of mundane. Imagine circling the same city block repeatedly for 3100 miles! After some inquiries in dawned on me that this would also be a great route if you were a pedophile. What am I implying? Nothing. It was just an observation.

Continue reading →