Evolution and process of spiritual awakening: A grounded theory study

The present study used a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach to explore, examine and develop a grounded theory (GT) of spiritual awakening conceptualisation and process. The authors used the interview data of 34 eminent spiritual teachers who have written books on spirituality, led spiritual retreats and conducted lectures and trainings on spiritual quest. These participants come from diverse backgrounds (e.g., American, Asian, European and Mexican), trainings (e.g., Buddhism, Yoga, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity and other mindfulness traditions) and professional experiences. The data analysis of the interviews led to the development of the spiritual awakening evolution (SAE) model, explaining the process and evolution of spiritual awakening. According to this model, spiritual awakening evolves through four phases: an initial transient shift in perception, further practice to support spiritual development, surrendering and a continuous journey of spiritual development. As spiritual awakening experiences are transcultural, the SAE model can inform counsellors' understanding of clients' spiritual needs and the meanings of those experiences. Implications for counsellor practitioners, counsellor preparation programmes and research are discussed.     

Promoting spiritual well-being among Hindu children in South Asian,Southeast Asian and African Countries: Bala Vihars of Chinmaya Mission

The main objective of the study is to examine whether the Bala Vihars (BVs) of Chinmaya Mission promote spiritual well-being among Hindu children in different cultural contexts. Deploying a comparative survey design, 1194 BV participants aged 11–15 years, across 13 South Asian, African and Southeast Asian cities comprised the sample and an equal number comprised the comparison group. Email questionnaire was used comprising scales to assess spiritual well-being, operationalised through attitudes to Hinduism, hope, happiness, strengths and self-concept. Results of scale scores, ANOVA and logistic regression showed that BV participants scored better on all parameters and their scores, in turn, were contingent on attendance regularity, self-practice, and the consolidated learning of Hindu culture tenets, life skills and moral values. The BV programme significantly promotes child spiritual well-being, corroborating the extant literature on religiosity, spirituality and children’s spiritual well-being. The programme works best for children who attend regularly, undertake self-practice and claim to get a consolidated package of tenets of Hindu culture, life skills and moral values. This has implications for practitioners in designing consolidated forms of religious programmes for children’s spiritual well-being, giving a simultaneous emphasis on regularity of engagement and self-practice.     

Divine Appetites: Food Miracles,Authority and Religious Identities in the Gujarati Hindu Diaspora

Research of the Gujarati Hindu communities of the United Kingdom and New Zealand has uncovered an extraordinary diversity of belief concerning the miraculous consumption of devotional food offerings by murtis. Devotees of certain traditions have experienced these events first-hand, but many Hindus believe the process is more subtle. Others suggest that such claims are attempts to gain spiritual authority among Hindus in the diaspora, some dismiss them as simply fraudulent. This article examines the appetite of the divine and how it is understood and contested by various Gujarati Hindu traditions in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand. It will assess the significance of food miracles and how they strengthen ideas of religious identity and spiritual validity as well as their role creating a palpable tension between traditions as to who authoritatively represents Hinduism in the diaspora.     

Hinduism and cyberspace

Hinduism is thriving in cyberspace. In this article I consider the suitability of this environment for Hinduism. This can indicate both whether various forms of Hindu religious expression online are valid and whether Hinduism needs to undergo any radical changes as a result of its presence in cyberspace. In order to investigate this issue I consider the nature of cyberspace and then discuss a number of key aspects of Hinduism in the light of this. I conclude that, overall, cyberspace appears to be a highly suitable environment for Hinduism.     

Numbers in Nirvana: How the 1872-1921 Indian censuses helped operationalise ‘Hinduism’

A debate has recently re-emerged about whether Hinduism in India is a colonial invention or antedates European colonialism. Drawing on the Indian censuses of 1872-1921, I argue that Hinduism is both. It has complex linkages both to European colonialism and to indigenous Indian culture. Traditions like Hinduism are better conceived of as a negotiated territory between factions instead of solely being the creation of one dominant group.     

From Sanātana Dharmato Secularism: Hindu Identity in the Thought of Swami Rama Tirtha and the Swami Rama Tirtha Mission

The speeches and writings of the neo-Vedantin Swami Rama Tirtha (1873–1906) and his followers show an ongoing concern with discussion of Hinduism, Vedanta, and religion in general. Although a constant in this discussion is the basic understanding of Vedanta as the core, essential truth of all religions, the presentation of Vedanta has changed in differing social and political situations. This paper examines how one Hindu community has sought to define Hinduism and construct its own sense of identity over time, focusing particularly on the ways in which the definition of Hinduism has been modified since India became an independent, secular state.     

Schizotypal personality traits and attitudes towards Hinduism among Balinese Hindus

The study explored the relationship between schizotypal personality traits and attitude of Hindus towards their faith. A total of 309 Balinese Hindus responded to the Santosh–Francis Scale of Attitude towards Hinduism, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief, and a number of external indicators and religious practices. Attitude towards Hinduism, frequency of prayer, and temple attendance had a rather weak positive relationship with each other, while prayer behaviour exhibited negative low-to-moderate relationships with schizotypal traits. A hierarchical multiple linear regression model identified the disorganised elements of schizotypy as the primary predictor of the attitude towards Hinduism. Finally, age showed negative associations with schizotypy and positive ones with Hinduism, while women were less schizotypal and had more positive attitude towards their faith than men. These findings suggest the presence of both underlying cross-faith elements and the strong influence of faith- and culture-specific forces on the relationship between religiosity and schizotypy.     

Inclusivism and the spiritual journey of Marie de Souza Canavarro (1849–1933)

Every age has its share of religious seekers, but during some periods of spiritual crisis greater numbers of seekers seem to appear. Marie de Souza Canavarro, an American advocate and interpreter of Asian traditions, was a paradigmatic seeker in an age of religious wandering. Along the way, she embraced Catholicism, Theosophy, Buddhism, Bahá'í, and Hinduism. In this article I offer an interpretation of her life and work, drawing on her novels, poems, letters, lectures, articles, and autobiography. I argue that amidst the diversity of views she affirmed, there was some continuity. Canavarro longed for rest from her ceaseless wandering, and she hoped that religious and gender inclusivism might bring it. She, like others of her age, yearned for a tradition that elevated women and reconciled religions.     

Hindu Leaders in North America?

Abstract. “Are there Hindu leaders in North America”? Can there be leaders of a purportedly invented or imaginary religion that has no shared doctrines or beliefs? This provocative essay offers answers to these and related questions about the nature of Hindu leadership in North America. Three ideal types are examined: Ritualists, Guides, and Administrators. Their roles and responsibilities, though relatively clear in India, have become complicated in their current incarnations in North America. The difficulties are further enhanced when combined with a drive to derive a syncretic form of Hinduism, a pan‐Hinduism that never existed before. This article challenges the leaders of Hinduism in North America to confront and perhaps even jettison their invented identity as a way of becoming better leaders.     

Religion and mental health among Hindu young people in England

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between mental health and attitude toward their religious tradition among a sample of 330 young people attending the Hindu Youth Festival in London. The participants completed the Santosh–Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism together with the abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire which provides measures of neuroticism and psychoticism. The data indicated that a more positive attitude toward Hinduism was associated with lower psychoticism scores but unrelated to neuroticism scores. There is no evidence, therefore, to associate higher levels of religiosity with poorer mental health among young people within the Hindu community.     

The Dharma of Ethics, the Ethics of Dharma: Quizzing the Ideals of Hinduism

This paper is divided into six parts. The first presents a rudimentary definition of ethics based on Western philosophical theories, particularly their concern for articulating universal moral principles. The second examines the assumptions anchoring Western moral philosophies, and raises the question: are the philosophical presuppositions of modern Western philosophy consistent with the presuppositions of Hinduism? It concludes that the two are not entirely in agreement, particularly on the issue of personal and social identity. The third section locates areas in Hinduism that discursively concur with the concerns of Western ethicists, and explores the limits of the semblance. The fourth identifies problematic areas, and raises the question: should the idea of universal ethics be abandoned for Hinduism? The fifth section concludes that such abandonment would be hasty, and initiates a searching look into the Hindu epics for concepts that, while not identical with may still be parallel to some Western notions of ethics. The sixth looks at the content of normative Hindu morality, and generalizes on the basis of this content about the nature of “Hindu ethics”.     

CLIMATE CHANGE,LAUDATO SI', CREATION SPIRITUALITY,AND THE NOBILITY OF THE SCIENTIST'S VOCATION

This exploration into spirituality and climate change employs the “four paths” of the creation spirituality tradition. The author recognizes those paths in the rich teachings of Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si' and applies them in considering the nobility of the scientist's vocation. Premodern thinkers often resisted any split between science and religion. The author then lays out the basic archetypes for recognizing the sacredness of creation, namely, the Cosmic Christ (Christianity); the Buddha Nature (Buddhism); the Image of God (Judaism); the “Primordial Man” (Hinduism), as well as the premodern universal teaching of “God as Beauty.” He addresses the subject of evil which deserves serious attention in the face of the realities posed by climate change and the resistance to addressing them. In the concluding section, the author speaks of a new Order of the Sacred Earth that was launched in fall 2017 to gather persons of whatever spiritual tradition or none to devote themselves to preserving Mother Earth.     

PANENTHEISM,NEUTRAL MONISM,AND ADVAITA VEDANTA

It is argued that when it comes to the hard problem of consciousness neutral monism beats out the competition. It is further argued that neutral monism provides a unique route to a novel type of panentheism via Advaita Vedanta Hinduism.     

Predictors of university students’ willingness in the USA to use clergy as sources of skilled help

This exploratory study investigated U.S. university students’ perceptions (N = 186) and the predictor variables associated with their willingness to use clergy as a source of help. In the final regression analysis using the predicted variable of willingness to use clergy as a source of help (R = 0.816, R ²= 0.665, Adjusted R ²= 0.650), there were seven significant predictor variables: (a) trust of clergy, (b) empathic ability of clergy, (c) having previously sought help from clergy, (d) respondents’ dominant/minority cultural identification, (e) attendance at religious services at least once a year, (f) believing that spiritual counselling is as effective as psychotherapy, and (g) receiving religious/spiritual education as a child. An eighth variable was retained in the final regression model because of its proximity to significance (Friendships between clergy and people, p = 0.051). Accusations against clergy and the belief that clergy are held to a higher standard did not predict willingness to use clergy as a source of help. A general linear model (F = 125.696, df = 10, p < 0.001) revealed that those who self-identified with Protestant Christianity, Catholic/Orthodox Christianity, and Judaism were more likely to consider seeking help from clergy than those who self-identified with another religious tradition (Hinduism, Islam, or Buddhism), or adherence to spiritual not religious belief. Further, those who self-identified as Jewish or Christian were also more like to perceive clergy as trustworthy and empathic. Finally, African American/Caribbean Black respondents were more likely than either Latino/Latino American respondents or European American respondents to seek help from clergy, to perceive clergy as empathic, and to believe that spiritual counselling is as effective as psychotherapy (F = 1495, df = 12, p < 0.001).     

Negotiating the spaces: exploring issues of human rights in an Indian text

This article is an attempt to negotiate the spaces between a number of problematic positions concerning Hinduism and human rights through the close study of one particular text, the Rājadharmaparvan of the Mahābhārata. By examining safeguards and provisions for subjects articulated in the text’s discourse of kingly duty, it engages with some of the arguments forwarded in the theoretical literature on human rights. Here it interrogates, in particular, the idea that Hinduism is distinctively incompatible with these norms in a way other historical or cultural traditions are not. The article concludes by asking whether it is possible to counter Eurocentric tendencies in global debates without furthering illiberal agendas within local ones. Discussing the appropriation of ‘Raj dharma,’ and the texts that deal with it, by the Hindu Right, it briefly outlines some recent moves in human rights theory that help facilitate the reclamation of a rich and plural textual heritage.     

Disentangling the neural mechanisms involved in Hinduism- and Buddhism-related meditations

The most diffuse forms of meditation derive from Hinduism and Buddhism spiritual traditions. Different cognitive processes are set in place to reach these meditation states. According to an historical-philological hypothesis (Wynne, 2009) the two forms of meditation could be disentangled. While mindfulness is the focus of Buddhist meditation reached by focusing sustained attention on the body, on breathing and on the content of the thoughts, reaching an ineffable state of nothigness accompanied by a loss of sense of self and duality (Samadhi) is the main focus of Hinduism-inspired meditation. It is possible that these different practices activate separate brain networks. We tested this hypothesis by conducting an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. The network related to Buddhism-inspired meditation (16 experiments, 263 subjects, and 96 activation foci) included activations in some frontal lobe structures associated with executive attention, possibly confirming the fundamental role of mindfulness shared by many Buddhist meditations. By contrast, the network related to Hinduism-inspired meditation (8 experiments, 54 activation foci and 66 subjects) triggered a left lateralized network of areas including the postcentral gyrus, the superior parietal lobe, the hippocampus and the right middle cingulate cortex. The dissociation between anterior and posterior networks support the notion that different meditation styles and traditions are characterized by different patterns of neural activation.     

The Truth of Dharma and the Dharma of Truth: Reflections on Hinduism as a Dharmic Faith

International Journal of Hindu Studies - This article discusses what it might mean to characterize traditional Hinduism as a dharmic faith in relation to the concepts of truth (satyam) and its...     

Blood in the Mainstream: Kālī Pūjā and Tantric Orthodoxy in Early Modern Bengal

A consideration of how Kālī Pūjā enters festival contexts in early modern Bengal can suggest new ways of thinking about blood sacrifice in Hinduism. In this case, it appears that we may have underappreciated the impact of sectarian conflict. Through an exploration of the traditional origins of public Kālī Pūjā, I argue that its promotion with the attendant sacrifice by Brāhma?a aristocrats such as Rāja K???acandra Rāya of Nadīyā (1710–1782) can be read as a claim on public space for the Tantric yet socially and theologically conservative Smārta Hinduism favored by the upper castes over and against the comparatively egalitarian, sacrifice-averse ethos of the local Gau?īya Vai??ava movement.