Sunday School

"It is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, while the brain is impressible, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason," Charles Darwin wrote in "The Descent of Man."

Judith Warner quoted this in NY Times today and it once again got me thinking about religious education of my children. In my opinion a strong sense of one’s roots is important for growing up a mature adult. A tree with strong roots can stand up to strong winds, and may twist with the wind, but doesn’t easily lose its ground. This is illustrated very well by the Rumspringa tradition of the Amish. My children will have the freedom to rebel, but they do need to know what they are rebelling against. Just as, to be able to improvise in music, you first need to learn the classical form, if the girls choose to not be Hindus when they grow up, it should come from an understanding of the religion and not because they are embarrassed by the caricatures of it in the western media.

Herein lies my dilemma. Neither my husband nor I am overtly religious, and vary of committing our children to formal religious education. However, we are definitely spiritual and consider ourselves Hindus. That is to say that we do not take religious teachings literally but consider them abstractions or “storification” of concepts. I don’t believe that there is, in flesh and blood, a God of destruction, Shiva, who lives on a mountain in the Himalayas with his wife, the goddess of strength, and their son, the lord of auspicious beginnings. However, I do think that this is a way to explain the concept that whatever is created eventually dies, and post that destruction you need to partner with strength to create a new beginning.

I cannot deny that my religion is closely tied to my culture which I really value, and believe it is impossible to separate one form the other. Growing up Hindu in India, one doesn’t need to undergo formal religious instruction in the form of Sunday School to understand one’s religion. Hinduism is a way of life and is not tied to overt practices such as regularly visiting the temple or praying. My children are not growing up in that culture, and because we do not indulge in overt practices, they are growing up in ignorance of their roots which is unacceptable to me. I Think it might be time to enroll them in formal Hindu religious instruction. I might disagree with what they teach there, but at least it will help start a conversation about religion in the house.