Religious Experiences in America

The second day of the Hindu Unity Day celebrations at the DFW Hindu Temple, Irving, Texas was one which attracted a small but committed and passionate audience. The sessions today were mostly about the challenges faced by Hinduism on a broader aspect. The three speciality sessions paid special emphasis on the state of Hindu Temples in India, threats to Hinduism from Christian missionaries and Islamic jehadists.

During the session on introduction to Hinduism and its challenges in modern world, the speaker mentioned that Hindus comprise only 14% of the world’s population. I wish we could present this information in the mainstream media, they would probably stop complaining about India’s burgeoning population. The sessions also talked about the rapid rise in Muslim populations in the Indian subcontinental region while the Hindu population has been on the decline. One of the speakers also wondered that it would not be too long before when Hindus will be minority within their own land and within the next couple of centuries we might even be reduced to the fate of being country less wanderers kicked around from place to place.

Some of the information revealed in the presentations were shocking and alarming. It made me wonder what the situation in couple of decades would be, if we don’t take action and unite as one. The plight of Hindus would be like that of Native Americans who have been forced to live in reservations in their own country. And like the animals who are confined to the boundaries of their sanctuary without any freedom.

It is high time that we Hindus get organised and forget about all the divisions such as language, caste, region etc and put up a united front against the forces who are trying to destroy us.