Hinduism and Us

For no other reason than the holiday that celebrates the new year in India is near, I am choosing to bring us a little summary of Hinduism on our upcoming New Member Service on May 3rd. Really, it’s kind of a lecture. Nothing you’re not used to from me. I inflict these academic themed services on you from time to time. Ok, probably, truly too much.

Anyway, probably a little more than you know, we as UU’s have at least a little Hinduism in our religious DNA. Don’t get nervous, you didn’t miss this in your UU background. It is just a little. But, it is an important little. Although our primary core is absolutely Protestant,

Unitarianism essentially takes some of its early formative ideas from its encounters with Hinduism and Buddhism. It is part of why we came out a little different than the rest of our fellow Protestant allies.

Founding Father and Pre-Unitarian John Adam’s among other interests, like creating the country, is reported to have had the largest collection of eastern religious writings in the America’s. I bet you didn’t know that.

And as a UU you might be curious to know that the Transcendentalist’s, in particular Emerson and Thoreau enthusiastically read all the Hindu text’s available to them.

In fact, Brahman, Hindu’s name for the most distant and overarching God, the God of the universe you might say, seems to have helped Emerson transform his thinking from the idea of God being the Father figure of his youth and of scripture, to something he came to call “Oversoul.” (Walton UU World).

These early examinations of Hinduism by our forebearers were part of how Emerson and his peers came to believe that there were universal religious truths available in every age, culture, and religion.

Essentially some of Unitarian’s and Universalist’s early commitment to tolerance and pluralism can be connected to their curiosity regarding Eastern religions.

For these reasons, and the fact that immigrants from India are far more common, than ever before, I think warrants a sermon on Hinduism. Truth is, you may understand a lot about the third largest religion in the world, but if your anything like the average American, you probably understand less about Hinduism than any other.

Not that I am feeling defensive about the topic, but if you need a few more reasons for why Hinduism matters to us, here’s a few.

Because in a nation roughly the size of Texas, there are three times as many people as live in the entire US. That’s amazing. I mean, Holy Cow! …Right! Yah! I almost forgot. Right, exactly, cow’s are sacred.

Because Hindu’s largely occupy and run in the world’s largest democracy.

Because their sacred texts have hard to pronounce names, and storylines of God’s that make so little sense to me, that it always gives me a fresh warm invitation, if not challenge to my own spiritual assumptions.



Because Hinduism has a built-in layered tolerance for diversity, we in the west could learn a thing or two from, and.....well… cause…well just cause the indigenous influences we inherit here in the west don’t involve elephants who bring you good luck. Which you have to admit, is pretty cool. And, quite frankly, pausing to listen to the world, is actually an act of healing the world, and today, using the excuse or prompt of the Hindu new year of holiday of Chaitra Shukla Pratipada without particular reason we reach out our minds and hearts to be with them.