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Written by Michele Moritis: May 26, 2003
Outside view of the temple-hall-cafeteria complex, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, a Vedanta[i] teaching center with the only temple in the United States dedicated to Lord Daksinamurti, rests at the bottom of a forested valley hugged by the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania. This place, which can alternatively be described as a place of pilgrimage, a retreat center or a gurukulam, is not exclusive to a few sannyasis and their disciples; it serves a broad public who are interested in learning more about Vedanta, Sanskrit, Panini, Bharata Natyam, classical music, Jotish, Ayurveda, and yoga. Others come for puja, rites and Hindu festivals. Because the primary focus of the gurukulam is the teaching of Vedanta, I explain briefly what is taught and how it is situated historically in the United States. The next part of the paper examines Carl T. Jackson’s (1994) characterization of American Vedanta students based on his study of the Ramakrishna movement. I revise and add to his previous research with my own research on the demographics of participation at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. I focused on who comes to the gurukulam and why. I discovered that there are separate constituencies depending on the activity. Because Vedanta classes have the highest attendance, I end the paper with some preliminary conclusions about why some students at Arsha Vidya are motivated to study Vedanta.
As a rule, italics are used for non-English terms when they appear the first time. Due to practical challenges associated with type facing on the computer I do not use diacritical marks for transcribing Sanskrit and Hindi terms. I have used, as much as possible, the spellings found on the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam Web site and in their brochures. The spellings I have used are sufficient for positive identification of the Sanskrit and Hindi terms used.
Ethnographic Experience
I conducted ethnographic research over four weekend visits in the winter of 2003- February 1-2, 15-16; March 1-2 and 15-16. Two Saturday nights I stayed with a friend in Saylorsburg and two evenings I spent the night in the accommodations at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. Both food and lodging at the gurukulam are supported by donations from students; they are committed to making the wisdom taught by the sannyasis available without restriction to any seeker of knowledge. A strong spirit of volunteerism permeates Arsha Vidya; fundraising is not aggressive and money is generated through good will and reputation.[ii]
The winter months are normally quiet, but Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s presence drew large numbers of students and attentive devotees in February 2003.[iii] He is the elder guru and founder of Arsha Vidya, who has been teaching Vedanta to the public since 1963, and all of the other sannyasis at this location were trained by him.[iv] He resides at Arsha Vidya one-third of the year, dividing his time between his teaching institutes in Pennsylvania, Tami Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, and traveling. In his absence his disciples, visiting sannyasis with their own centers, carry on his teaching.[v] He was forced to delay his annual trip to India because he was recovering from a cardiac procedure. Many visitors were concerned about his health and came to pay their respects before he left to India at the end of February.
I arranged my visits to Arsha Vidya during the times of maximum visitation. During the winter months, the kitchen typically prepares three vegetarian meals for 125 weekend visitors; overnight guest are fewer, ten to twenty people. Larger groups come for short periods of study over holiday weekends and during summer family camps. Saturday, March 1st drew a large number of infrequent visitors because of the Mahasivaratri celebration.[vi] I estimated that over 400 people, primarily of Indian descent, came for the evening rituals, meal and bhajans.
On first and third weekends of every month classes and activities are scheduled. Instruction is given in English with the use of Sanskrit words.[vii] This is different from more regional or sectarian temples such the Sri Guru Ravidas Gurdwara, a Sikh temple where Punjabi is primarily is spoken. Gujarati is used quite extensively at the Vaisnav Temple of New York in Holliswood Queens, which is a regional expression of the theologically influential Vallabh (or Pustimargiya) Sampradaya of north and northwest India.
Inside view of the temple-hall area used for lectures, worship and other activies
While visiting Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, I observed and participated in classes, artis, satsang, meditations and yoga; notes were taken and later written into full descriptions. I collected relevant brochures, books and maps and took pictures. I was delighted to make the acquaintance of the community’s official photographer, who gave me the URL for an online photo-album of the gurukulam. All members of the staff were helpful and interested in my project. Martha Doherty, a Sanskrit teacher at Arsha Vidya, helped me a great deal to begin to understand the teachings at Arsha Vidya. She answered many of my questions by e-mail and has been identified by her real name throughout this paper because she has given me permission to do so. I also conducted hour-long interviews with six individuals, four staff members and two visitors. Three of these interviews were taped and transcribed; the other three were outlined with notations and written into accounts afterward. Any relevant data from those interviews is attributed to pseudonyms in this paper.
I also initiated a broad survey in order to elicit information about people’s experience at Arsha Vidya. I set up a table in a public space at the gurukulam and I distributed a 14-page questionnaire to visitors and staff asking them to return completed forms in a decorated drop box.[viii] In two weekend visits, forty-eight individuals returned questionnaires; and the majority of them had completed all 94 questions. All quotations taken from the questionnaire are reported with a letter designation.
As a white Protestant American with a limited background in Hinduism, I had a lot to learn. My basic questions of my ethnographic study were what is being taught and how, who participates in what activities, when, where, and why? I admit these were broad questions for such a short-term study. I wondered how group composition varied for different activities and classes. I also wanted to understand why participation at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam was so meaningful to visitors and staff. Many of my questions on my questionnaire were modified or copied from an unpublished paper written in 2002 by Ron Grimes’ “Fieldwork in Religious Studies: Guidelines and Forms for the Waterloo Religions Project”.[ix]
Defining the Site
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam was inaugurated in 1986 at the request of Vedanta students in the United States and Canada who wanted to establish a place for Swami Dayananda Saraswati to teach another (then his fourth) long-term resident course. He has been teaching Vedanta to the public in India since 1963 and since 1976 has given lecture tours at many universities in the United States, Canada, England, Sweden, Brazil, and Australia. He has conducted a total of six thirty-month residential courses in Vedanta and Sanskrit, four in India and two in the United States (“Swami Dayananda”, Eck 1997). In a correspondence over e-mail, I was told by a long-time resident teacher at Arsha Vidya:
Swami Dayananda considered doing this at his ashram in Rishikesh, but the facilities were inadequate for Westerners and visas were a major problem for the largely Western student body who were pressing for this course. Having the course in the United States required finding a facility and raising funds, etc. So, to facilitate that, Arsha Vidya Pitham was formed and incorporated as a charitable organization. A property search began, and eventually the Saylorsburg property was purchased and the course was held for about fifty resident students from 1987 to 1990. Throughout this course, a weekend program of study of the Bhagavadgita was offered to the local population. After the long-term course ended, the Gita teachings continued and Arsha Vidya remained a center of learning through this and shorter resident courses. Though Arsha Vidya began as an institute of Vedanta, and that remains the fundamental commitment, over time more cultural elements were introduced to serve the needs of the largely Indian population who frequent the center.[x]
In order to understand the terms in which Arsha Vidya was utilized and experienced by visitors, my questionnaire asked respondents to think about whether this center was a pilgrimage site, a retreat center, an ashram, a gurukulam, or all of the above.
While a few visitors consider Arsha Vidya a pilgrimage destination, the majority of respondents to my questionnaire, about 60% of 43 responses, do not. Of those that do consider Arsha Vidya a place of pilgrimage, six characterized Arsha Vidya as an “oasis”, a place for “self-growth” and “recharging your batteries”. The words “calm”, “quiet”, “solace” and “peace” were also used to describe AVG. These answers focused on the effect of the location as a place of “retreat”, rather than on the process of going there. In fact, no one mentioned the importance of the journey; all visitors came by car, except one who arrived by bus. Only four respondents went to a temple before arriving at AVG, and only one of those responded affirmatively that AVG is a pilgrimage site. This woman’s characterization of AVG as a pilgrimage site was: “It is a place of knowledge”.[xi]
Of 46 documented responses elicited from my questionnaire, approximately 75% individuals consider AVG to be a retreat center.[xii] “A retreat can be defined as a limited time period of isolation during which an individual, either alone or as part of a group, withdraws from the regular routine of daily life, generally for religious reasons” (Lozano 1987:350). Arsha Vidya Gurukulam hosts weekend and weeklong retreats throughout the year that provide time for developing one’s spirituality. The tempo of activities, the demeanor of the staff and the content of the guru’s lectures urge people to contemplate the oneness of God and Self. The location of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, in the splendid natural setting of the Pocono Mountains, also nurtures a reflective attitude. In February snow patches scattered between gravel roads, muddy paths and tall pine trees contribute to the serenity and privacy of the place.
The “country” or “forest” setting of Arsha Vidya is not unique. Historically, Vedanta centers in the urban United States sought to acquire rural property for retreat centers. In 1946, the San Francisco Vedanta Society acquired two thousand acres of land in Olema right in the heart of Point Reyes National Seashore area to establish a retreat center away from the urban landscape. Similarly, the Chicago Vedanta Society chose a farming town for their retreat center that was auspiciously called “Ganges” (“Retreat Centers”, Eck 1997). Unlike the Vedanta societies mentioned, Arsha Vidya is a retreat center without an urban parent in the United States. It is an independent facility that generates its own funding and it does not report to any outside organization.
In common parlance visitors also refer to Arsha Vidya as an ashram. The meaning of ashram is given in the Oxford English Dictionary (1996) as “a place of religious retreat for Hindus; a hermitage”. Of 43 documented responses to my questionnaire about 67% of individuals considered AVG to be an ashram. Most answers qualified that response by saying it is a place of learning and teaching. Four respondents connected the idea of an ashram with living on the premises. Arsha Vidya does have a few long-term residents: the pundit (resident priest who performs ritual) and his wife, teaching staff, elder devotees, and resident sannyasis. Those individuals are expected to spend their time performing various roles including teaching, studying, saying prayers and helping out. They must observe a vegetarian diet and avoid alcohol, drugs and Cable TV.[xiii]
A view of a few of the property dormitories built with money from visitor donations.
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam serves many people who are fully immersed in mainstream professions and come only for a short period of study. During the winter months, many adults and children stay for only a portion of the day or the weekend.[xiv] Although these visits are short, they are frequent; of 48 documented responses there was a mean of 33 and a median of 30 for an estimated number of visits in 2002.[xv] Much of the learning is cumulative and requires a sustained commitment. During the summer and holidays many families come for weeklong camps; there are age appropriate activities for children planned throughout the day helping parents to concentrate on their study. Short-term Vedanta courses, ranging from two weeks to three months, are also offered to adults. A three-year course with an enrollment of 50-60 students was held from 1986-1989.
In speaking with one Vedanta student, I learned that Swami Dayananda Saraswati deliberately chose to call the Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania facility a gurukulam to imply a more liberal and flexible environment than what is expected of lodgers in an Indian ashram.[xvi] She had lived six years in various ashrams in India and she said that generally those facilities had more austere rules of conduct for long term student residents, meaning that disciples or initiates observe certain disciplines as part of their spiritual learning or religious training. This type of learning center is analogous to a seminary or monastery.
Arsha Vidya Gurukulam cannot accurately be called an ashram in this sense, it is a gurukulam, as its name indicates, because the emphasis there is on teaching. This teaching is made available to everyone regardless of age, gender, caste, race, profession, marital status or level of commitment to Vedanta. Guru means teacher; kulam means family; arsha means of the rsis (ancient sages) and vidya means knowledge”. This teaching is not an outward publicity campaign or proselytizing mission to non-Hindus and non-Vedantists. It is an inward teaching of Vedanta to spiritual seekers through classes organized for the transmission and explanation of this knowledge. Satsang functions as a question and answer forum for clarification of material covered in classes. In addition to Vedanta classes, students are also instructed as to how to properly read and write Sanskrit, pronounce mantras and hold yoga positions. There is also regular instruction in classical Indian dance (Bharata Natyam) and music. These activities are organized and presented in a manner that encourages participation of visitors with various levels of knowledge and commitment. The presentation of lectures and lessons enables even the “drop-in visitor” to learn or understand something new.
The Value Proposition:The Teaching of Advaita Vedanta
The most important activity at Arsha Vidya for participants is the teaching of Advaita Vedanta. An explanation of Advaita Vedanta is excerpted from Martha Doherty’s doctoral dissertation:[xvii]
The soteriological aim in the Advaita Vedanta tradition is the release (moksa) of the individual from an erroneous sense of limitation (samsara). This is accomplished by revealing that the essential nature of the self is whole (purna), in an absolute sense. The revelation occurs through the oral transmission of the words of the source books, the Upanisads. There, the liberating vision is held in statements of identity, or equations, that show the identity of the self with the substratum and cause of creation, Brahman. The entire substance of Vedanta can be reduced to the essential content of these identity statements: That [cause, Brahman] you are, “tat tvam asi”.[xviii]
Of 43 responses documented, 36 individuals said that Vedanta classes were the main reason for visiting Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.[xix] Many people come to sit for satsang with Swami Dayananda Saraswati or one of his disciples. This was explained to me as a “truth session.” It is both a devotional meeting and a question and answer time with the guru to allow for clarification of his teachings. Other forms of group educational efforts organized by Arsha Vidya staff include lectures, workshops, courses and retreats.
I wondered if the American context may have spurred educational efforts directed at a group. According to Kurien, “Both satsang and bala vihars are forms of religious practice that do not typically exist in India. In fact, group religious activity does not exist in ‘traditional’ Hinduism” (1998:42). I asked Martha Doherty to comment on this singe sentence. She disagreed with Kurien’s statement. She said:
Group religious activity has existed in Hinduism as long as there have been temples, or even the sthana (place of installation) of the grama-devata (village diety). Athough much of the Hindu religious life occurs in the home, there have always been public places of worship. In the Vedic society, the fire rituals were (and still are) offered in both the domestic (e.g. agnihotra) and public (e.g. asvamedha) domain.
Satsanga means “association with the good”. Here again, people in the Hindu tradition, at least as far back as the Upanisads, Gita and Ramayana, have sought out the company and counsel of the sages. We see this today in our own institution as people come to seek advice and answers to their questions from our Swamis in informal sessions. There are plenty of “satsangs” all over India –wherever there is a Swami you will find them. Some classical references to santsanga and its benefits may be found in Uttararamacarita 2.11; Niti –Sataka 23 of Bhartrhari…
In the Hindu tradition, children typically learned their heritage from their parents and then, after their upanayanam, were sent to the home of a teacher (gurukulam) where they received further education. We see an early reference to this in the sixth chapter of the Chandogya Upanisad. The teacher may have one or more students. In the Chandogya Upanisad Virocana and Indra are taught together by Prajapati. Krishna, however, seems to have attended the gurukulam with several other students.
When the British separated the traditional institutions of learning from the modern educational institutions, there was an erosion of traditional education (as was, indeed, intended) and children became increasingly distant from their heritage. After a couple of generations, the parents who were supposed to teach their children were inadequately informed about their own tradition, and the children no longer had access to traditional seats of learning, which were rapidly declining. The formation of group settings of instruction, like balavihar, was a response to this. What used to be taught in the home or in the gurukulam was introduced in these settings. Though the venue was different, the content was the same. The traditional instruction that was given in the home or gurukulam began to be given in groups by people who had studied the tradition. Often these were/are parents who have taken the time to learn their tradition.[xx]
At Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Advaita Vedanta is taught through a specific methodology found in the Upanisads.[xxi] “So the guru, the teacher, should have the sampradaya, the methodology for teaching the knowledge of oneself. Because of the peculiarity of the subject matter, for the knowledge of oneself the method of teaching is as important as the subject matter” (Dayananda 1989:82). Knowledge is passed along through pramana, a means of knowledge imparted through oral teacher–student dialogue. It was emphasized that this method follows the teaching of Vedanta, instituted by the ancient sages in India.
The Center for traditional Traditional Vedanta (CTV) is an organization dedicated in part to acknowledging, contextualizing and documenting the traditional teaching at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. It is a collaborative effort managed by Travis D. Webster and informally endorsed by the teaching staff at Arsha Vidya; it has links to their autobiographies and some of their writing. It says the following about the teaching tradition of Advaita Vedanta.[xxii]
Tradition acknowledges the ‘south-facing form’ of Lord Siva, Daksinamurti, as the first teacher of this knowledge. He imparted self-knowledge to Sanakadi rishis – Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata – through silence (Arsha Vidya would disagree with this. Unless a person has studied thoroughly, things like this are bound to crop up, and that is why we can’t claim affiliation.). The Sanakadi rishis taught through an oral tradition which has been passed down through the centuries. The uninterrupted teacher/student succession (guru sisya parampara) of this knowledge is also traced to the rishis Vasistha, Sakti, Parasara and Vyasa who received instruction in the father-to-son lineage. Suka, the son of Vyasa, is regarded as Brahman and is referred to as Sukabrahman. Suka was also a celibate (brahmacarin) so following him the line of gurus is not from father to son but from preceptor to disciple (Webster 2003).
This description of the traditional oral teaching lineage of Vedanta accords with Arsha Vidya Gurukulam’s own narration, except that Daksinamurti is said to have imparted self knowledge to the rsis through words, not silence.
The CTV webpage distinguishes Advaita Vedanta, which is taught at Arsha Vidya, from other schools of Vedanta in the following way.[xxiii]
Vedanta is a sabda pramana, a means of knowledge through words. However, most representations of Vedanta in America have failed to understand the importance of traditional pedagogy and have, instead, ‘spoke for’ and ‘about’ Vedanta as a philosophy, religion, (meta-) psychology, etc. and more often than not it is described, by modern teachers and swamis, as a doctrine in need of experiential validation. Given these dominant imaginations of Vedanta it becomes necessary to challenge asampradayavits (those who do not know or follow the tradition) in hopes of highlighting traditional Advaitic thought (Webster 2003).
Two schools of Vedanta that are considered incorrect interpretations of the Upanishads by Arsha Vidya teaching staff are Visistadvaita Vedanta (‘Qualified Non-Dualist’ Vedanta) and Dvaita Vedanta (‘Dualist’ Vedanta).[xxiv] My first introduction to Advaita Vedanta, or the ‘Non-Dualist’ tradition of Vedanta, came from Vijay, a staff member at Arsha Vidya. He was my first contact at the gurukulam on an overcast and blustery February day. He walked me to the temple-hall complex where the morning meditation was being held at 10 a.m. Before it began, we stood in front of a painted portrait of Swami Dayananda Saraswati and he explained that Hindus believe that God is everything and that God is within. He compared this to the Christian teaching regarding the body as God’s temple. He said Vedanta teaches that God is within us and the task is to discover the true nature of ourselves as divine. He gave me an example:
God is within us and the task is to discover the true nature of ourselves as Divine… Take this paper cup. To be a cup it has to be paper first. This cup is really only paper. If I rip it, crush it, mush it then it then as an object it can no longer serve as a cup. It is really paper. “Before it was paper, now it is paper and later it will be paper. This is the truth”. If the cup has a sensibility about itself and understands itself as a cup than it will live in fear of being crushed, ripped or otherwise damaged. If it realizes its true nature is paper than it has no fear; it is the same with God.[xxv]
This brief story is a metaphor for the need of knowledge of Self. Advaita Vedanta, a non-dual wisdom tradition, teaches that one’s true nature is God, “uncreated limitlessness” (Dayananda 1989:59). Vijay went on to tell me about Hindusim as we looked at a photograph of Daksinamurti, a name he defined as meaning “the one whose form or truth (murti) is perceived by an enlightened mind (daksina).”[xxvi] He said Hindus do not believe in a pantheon of Gods, but one God who cannot be embodied in any one form. Daksinamurti is just one of the many possible manifestations of God. Vijay stressed that Hindus do not pray to idols or statues; rather, such prayer is a way to channel one’s thoughts. He likened it to a symbol. He explained that men salute national flags not because they are venerating a piece of cloth, but because there is a larger idea behind it. He used this analogy to explain ritual devotion to statues and icons.
Vijay’s statement that Hindus do not believe in a pantheon of Gods is a commonly accepted theology found among Hindus, meaning that deities are not conceived in the Roman sense as limited. His assertion that Hindus do not pray to idols or statues may have been phrased in this way to communicate to a non-Hindu, like myself, the idea that God is not believed to be limited to that object or form. God present in the form of the idol is considered is regarded in Advaita Vedanta as identical with the contemplator’s own spiritual self, because it is said that there is one God, without a second. Everything is a manifestation of God; all that is here is Only God. Similarly, although he likens the murti (deity in statue form) to a symbol, it not considered a representation of something not present. Traditional Hinduism, like that taught at Arsha Vidya, adheres to the teaching of the dharmasastras, which way emphatically that the idol is the deity. At Arsha Vidya Dakshinamurti is an image under worship and is looked upon as the deity present in that form.
Contextualizing the Teachings
Swami Vivekananda, who spoke at the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions during a period when important writers and thinkers emphasized the comparative study of religion, introduced Vedanta into the United States. He was given a warm reception and went on to establish the first Vedanta Society in New York in 1894, which spearheaded the Ramakrishna movement in the U.S. This organizational work followed a speaking tour focusing on the themes of Vedanta knowledge, a critique of Christian missionary activity and the need for East-West understanding. I believe that these themes continue to have significance for Vedantists at Arsha Vidya.
Swami Vivekanada was a young disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. According to Jackson (1994), he was simultaneously drawn to Ramakrishna’s ability to enter samadhi, the highest state of transcendental consciousness, and repelled by Ramakrishna’s worship of Mother Kali and Tantrist practices because of his rationalistic Brahmo Samaj convictions[xxvii]. According to Jackson, Swami Vivekananda was responsible for the Vedantic emphasis of the Ramakrishna movement in the U.S. His lectures stressed the more universal elements of the Hindu tradition. He dismissed sectarianism and believed the essence of higher Hinduism was best expressed in a monistic viewpoint derived from the Upanisads. Swami Vivekananda summarized Vedanta teachings in this way (Jackson 1994:33).
Each soul is potentially divine.
The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal.
Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy – by one, or more, or all of these – and be free.
This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.[xxviii]
Jackson’s assertion that the Ramakrishna movement is “the ‘official’ voice of Hinduism in the West” should be contested (1994:144). Arguably, there is no official voice of Hinduism in the West since Hinduism is an umbrella term that conveniently groups radically different traditions under the same term (“What is Hinduism?”, Eck 1997). There is no overseeing body like the papacy or the World Council of Churches that institutionalized authority to set dogmas or creeds for Hindus. Some scholars such as Hawley (1991) argue that the term Hinduism only took on importance during the period of British colonization. Lorenzen (1999) argues against this; he asserts that it existed in a religious sense, not only in the linguistic or geographical sense, long before the 19th century. Nevertheless, theology and form of worship vary from group to group within Hinduism. My point is that the Ramakrishna movement is one expression of Hinduism and Vedanta among many in the United States.
Another tradition of Vedanta and expression of Hinduism in the West is represented in the teachings and scholarship found at Arsha Vidya. I asked a staff member whether there was any historical connection between Arsha Vidya and the Ramakrishna Vedanta Societies and I was told, “Arsha Vidya has no intellectual or organizational lineage with the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society. In fact, what is taught there, that Vedanta is a theory and that one must practice, i.e. meditate, to ‘realize’, is a modern version of an historical opponent to Advaita”.[xxix] It was explained to me that Advaita teaching tradition is different primarily in method because the teachings are in the form of words; and these words when they are handled by a guru like Swami Dayananda Saraswati are regarded as sufficient means for realization of the Truth.
Swami Dayananda’s understanding of Vedanta came from Swami Pranavananda and later, Swami Tarananda of Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh. Swami Dayananda’s understanding of Vedanta is in the traditional lineage of Shankaracaryas that teach Vedanta as a pramana. This means that the words of the Upanisads, handled by a teacher who has immediate knowledge of their meaning as his own reality, is an independent and sufficient means of knowledge that reveals the identity of the self with Brahman. These spoken words alone release the individual from samsara. Anything else, including meditation, is only preparation to make one equipped to understand those words.[xxx]
Some of the ways Swami Vivekananda’s teachings diverge from Advaita Vedanta are discussed in The Limits of Scripture by Anantanand Rambachan. Another discussion is found in Hacker’s “Aspects of Neo Hinduism”. There, Hacker argues that Vivekananda’s teaching of Vedanta is distinct from traditional teaching because of his emphasis on the practical applications of Vedanta to serve the needs of nation and mankind (1995:240-241).
A historical characterization of a typical Vedanta student
Jackson’s description of the Ramakrishna Mission—or as it is typically called in the United States, the Vedanta Society—provides an interesting comparison to Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. The comparison is important historically, since from its origins at the hands of Swami Vivekananda in the 1890s, the Vedanta Society has come to be “represented by twelve major centers, several branch centers and ashrams, considerable assets and property holdings, 2,500 active members, and many more sympathetic nonmembers” (1994:145).
Jackson (1994) wrote a profile of American Vedanta students based on testimonials written by Ramakrishna followers in the United States and supplemented with some ethnographic research. He concluded that American Vedantists were predominantly middle- or upper-middle-class, female, adult, spiritual seekers, Protestant and foreign-born. This characterization of American Vedanta students does not describe most students at Arsha Vidya who are of Indian descent.
Cafeteria
According to Jackson, up until the 1960s, most Vedantists were white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant by background (1994:142). There were blacks, Jews and Hispanics studying Vedanta, but their participation was minimal. A shift in demographics was apparent after the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act. This legislation eliminated a quota system based on nationality and permitted Indians to migrate to the United States in significant numbers for the first time. Consequently, American- and Asian-born Indians have only recently emerged as the dominant followers of Vedanta in the United States. Jackson speculates as to whether this change in clientele will decrease the attraction of Hinduism for non-Indian Americans “if the latter begin to view the Vedanta societies as ethnic enclaves” (1994:142).
Although Arsha Vidya might be viewed by some as an “Indian” place, it is a multiethnic and polyglot site. It is not a self-contained Indian community; it is a crossroads, a place of meeting for people from all over the country and world. While most of the year the traffic flow is “local”, drawing Indians from the tri-state area, the “Indianness” they represent is itself heterogeneous. Here, I invoke Shukla’s point that it is necessary to recognize that there is “not one but many diasporas” (2001:563). “Diaspora” is a term used for a population with strong ties to a homeland other than the one in which it currently resides (Vertovic 1997). In order to avoid reifying Indian culture it is necessary to investigate the distinct and/or overlapping notions of Hindu and Indian identity that exist at Arsha Vidya.
Current Demographics of Arsha Vidya
Two primary questions guided my inquiry during my field research at Arsha Vidya. Who comes to the gurukulam? And to what extent are there separate constituencies for different activities?
In an interview with Aman, an Arsha Vidya staff member, I learned that there is no formal membership to the gurukulam and that visitors are not required to sign in. The gurukulam’s records include registration for summer retreats, overnight lodging and donor lists (name, address, date, amount). Aman spoke of three groups of participants at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam: on-premise residents (comprised of sannyasis, teaching staff, and operations staff), long-time visitors, and newer arrivals. Further discussion with staff members and observation revealed demographic patterns in participation of activities at the gurukulam. Although mixed adult crowds attended all activities, the yoga and meditation classes primarily attracted a white, middle-aged female audience, with a few Indian woman and a few men (both Indian and non-Indian). Indians and Indian Americans were the primary students of Bharata Natyam, general Sanskrit and Paninian grammar (also Sanskrit). They showed up in greatest numbers for Vedanta classes and the various Hindu festivals celebrated throughout the calendar year. During the weekends I attended Vedanta lectures, there were approximately 75 people in attendance with an equal distribution of men and women. Based on my observations from only four weekend visits, the audience was predominantly Indian with some whites. I did not see any African Americans or Hispanics, although I was told there are some visitors from these backgrounds.
I have a strong impression that Arsha Vidya is an open and accepting community. When I visited the gurukulam I felt comfortable and welcome. I do think, however, that my own personal status as a fair skinned, red-headed, freckled twenty-six year old aroused interest and produced assumptions. Probably as a courtesy, I was shown where the non-spicy food was in the kitchen. Some visitors and staff members I spoke with at Arsha Vidya also took it upon themselves to talk about Hinduism with an explicit comparison with Christianity. I experienced this treatment as the process of orienting a newcomer.
As a social scientist, I find it hard not to affirm that constructions such as race, ethnicity and gender frame perceptions and identity, influence social formations and underlie differentials in power. On the questionnaire I asked “How important are the following things?” I listed race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, region from India, caste, profession, marital status and age, and I asked participants to check whether these were very significant, significant or not significant. The majority of respondents checked that these kinds of categories were “not significant”.[xxxi] Arsha Vidya is very catholic in its composition and I found the people there very open-minded and accepting. The swamis’ lectures emphasize our common humanity. This may be why at least two people took offense that I asked about these demographic categories. One man wrote, “These are very inappropriate questions.”[xxxii] Did I dredge up colonial categories that he deemed to deserve being left behind in India? Was he concerned that his anonymity might be compromised? Did he fear my questions might reveal social tensions? Or did he feel these questions were not the important ones to ask when trying to understand Arsha Vidya Gurukulam? I do not know: I can only speculate.
At the gurukulam, men and women freely mix. There is no gender segregation observed during eating, classes or worship. Except for the role of priest, which is restricted to males, women participate equally with males in the life of the gurukulam. There are a few women teachers on staff, including a white female resident sannyasi. Although there are fewer women on the executive board than men, women are active in the decision making of the gurukulam. Not only do they serve on staff and committees, but a few also interact with the broader public as official representatives of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.
; An area that deserves further study is whether or not caste constructs and categories factor into interpersonal relationships among Hindus in the United States (Jasper 2001:15). As already mentioned, one of the questions I asked in the lengthy questionnaire I distributed at Arsha Vidya conderned the significance of various categories, including caste. These were to be ranked as “very significant”, “significant” or “not significant at all”. The majority of respondents said that caste was not significant or important at Arsha Vidya. [xxxiii] Only six respondents of 43 respondents said “significant,” but I have no way of clarify what these respondents meant. Several adults at Arsha Vidya were visibly upset that I asked about caste and said to me that it does not matter and it should not matter. Three children filling out the questionnaire in near proximity to me did not know what caste meant or designated. On a separate day, I complimented an eleven-year-old boy on knowing his slokas well. He said, “I don’t know them well enough, because I am a Brahmin. Priests are suppose to know them all”.[xxxiv] Twenty of 35 questionnaire respondents indicated Brahmin as their caste/jati. Two people wrote Hindu and one person wrote Jain.
Indians
Based on conversations with staff, I learned that most Indian visitors are first-generation Indian immigrants or are second-generation Indian Americans.[xxxv] I did not make the acquaintance of any twice-migrants[xxxvi], but I was told that there was one Arsha Vidya instructor from Trinidad and a sannyasini from Guyana. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam is not a regionally specific institution. In a small sample of 34 people, individuals were also from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala. The most heavily represented state in the sample was Tamil Nadu, Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s home state. When Swami Viditatmananda came, a staff member pointed out that more Gujaratis were represented at the gurukulam. Arsha Vidya serves Indians who have settled in dense numbers in the Tri-state area. According to 2000 United States Census estimates the New York metropolitan area has the largest number of Asian Indians in the country: 170,899 in New York City alone and 251,724 in New York State.[xxxvii] Of 48 visitors who answered my questionnaire, 41% were from Pennsylvania and 47% were from New Jersey. I was surprised that among questionnaire respondents only one person was from New York and one was from Connecticut.[xxxviii] I wonder if New York City residents are served by temples located in the boroughs and by organizations such as New York City’s Vedanta Society. The Harvard University Pluralism Project Directory reports that as of 2003 there were 84 Hindu temples and centers in New York State. Only nine of these were located outside of New York City—in Albany, Monroe, Buffalo, Syracuse, Getzville, Rochester, Richville, Rush, Thousand Island Park and Stone Ridge.[xxxix]
Westerners
The term used for non-Indians by many Arsha Vidya staff and visitors is “Westerners.” It must be a fluid category, but whites are frequently referred to as Westerners and several white Americans and Europeans used this to designate themselves. I asked a “Westerner” about what this term meant and he explained it not in geographical terms, but as reflecting an intellectual or philosophical stance that contrasts to what is typically “Indian”.[xl] Doherty said that mostly Westerners attended three year courses taught in the United States, while the ones in India had more Indian students. Indians were also the majority in attendance for short-term courses given in the United States. She also said, “Though there are very few Western students who come here for Vedanta, many of them end up studying in depth and attending longer courses”.[xli] There are also a number of white Americans who are full-time staff members, including the bookstore and library management, a yoga teacher and a Sanskrit teacher; all are committed to studying Vedanta. They are accepted and respected by co-workers and visitors to Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.
I observed that white adult females were in greatest attendance for yoga and meditation classes. On Saturday, February 1st there were 11 middle-aged white women in attendance for meditation, one Indian man, and myself. Two weeks later, the attendance was more mixed in terms of Indian and non-Indian, but three-fourths of the class was female. The one yoga class I participated in was led by a white, middle-aged woman; in a group of eleven participants, there were seven white, middle-aged women. [xlii]
Ten non-Indian Vedantists, male and female, I spoke with at Arsha Vidya were self-described “spiritual seekers” and they conform to Jackson’s statement that “Almost without exception, the future member comes to Vedanta only after a period of intense and sometimes prolonged search among various alternatives” (1994:98). The white, middle-aged Vedantists had a similar story. Most of them were from Judeo-Christian backgrounds, but found themselves unsatisfied with their doctrines and creeds. Some had ceased attending church in their twenties and began searching for answers outside the American religious mainstream. Some of them continue to practice Christianity, Judaism, Taoism, Wicca, Transcendental Meditation, Sai Baba devotionalism, Tai-Chi and Sufi Dervish dancing while studying Vedanta. Nearly all the individuals I spoke with had first read about Vedanta or heard references to the Bhagavadgita and Upanisads before encountering these in life.[xliii] Jackson cites the “critical role played by printed materials and published books in the American discovery of Vedanta” (1994:103).
The life story I heard from David seems to represent something like a typical path of attraction among those non-Indian white adults I interviewed. David said he “fell out of pace with his Roman Catholic upbringing…It didn’t seem to be the place to find answers.”[xliv] Searching for deeper meaning, he read widely on anything otherworldly, metaphysical and spiritual and listened to yogis, swamis and gurus.[xlv] He withdrew from mainstream pursuits in order to discover the Truth, which he described as “trying to find a needle in a haystack.”[xlvi] During these early years of his life David was consumed with the question, “What binds us together as humanity?”[xlvii] He heard Swami Dayananda Saraswati speak for the first time in August 1976 in California and “something rang true”. David wanted to know why he felt alone in the world, even though he recognized that he had some connection to everyone else. He pleaded, “Someone please help resolve this for me!”[xlviii] Swami Dayananda Saraswati helped provide the answers, so David continued to take classes on Vedanta for the next six years. Over twenty-years ago, he followed two three-year courses with him, one in California and one in India. Many non-Indian whites at Arsha Vidya have taken at least one long term Vedanta course, typically a three-year course.
Attraction/Appeal of Vedanta
Of 40 respondents who identified themselves as visitors and not staff, 33 respondents said that Vedanta classes were the main reason for visiting Arsha Vidya Gurukulam.[xlix] I also observed that of Vedanta, meditation, yoga, Sanskrit and Panini classes, Vedanta classes had the highest attendance. Because Vedanta classes had the highest attendance, I wanted to better understand visitor’s motives for studying Vedanta. I asked a few staff members in semi-structured, taped interviews how they first learned about Vedanta and why they found it meaningful. I also asked non-staff persons in my questionnaire:
What is appealing to you about Vedanta?
Does coming to Arsha Vidya fulfill a need? Please explain.
What actions do you consider reprehensible?; and
What values taught at Arsha Vidya and which ones are most important to you?[l]
These questions yielded answers that helped me arrive at generalizations about why Vedanta is appealing to those who study and teach it. I coded sentence-length responses to open-ended questions by grouping respondents’ answers into seven categories by subject. Adult, non-staff visitors said that Vedanta is intellectual; universal; non-proselytizing; non-doctrinal and spiritual. A few adults said that Vedanta was also a part of their childhood.[li] A seventh reason given for the appeal of Vedanta is its oral teaching tradition.
There is a connection between what I found to be appealing about Vedanta and what Jackson regarded as the attraction of Vedanta (1994:88-108). According to him the greatest appeal of Vedanta for Americans was its “perceived breadth and universalism.” The other reasons he listed included: “practical, experiential approach,” “psychological power,” contribution to reconciliation with Christianity, guru-discipline relationship, and in some instances, the phenomenon of a “guru cult” (1994:101-2). He arrived at these conclusions after consulting collected works and reminiscences, official histories and biographies, expositions of Ramakrishna and Vedanta teachings, articles in Vedanta society journals, writings of Western devotees, and outside scholarly evaluations. He supplemented these literary sources with conversations and interviews with Ramakrishna movement officials, swamis, and devotees both in India and the United States (Jackson 1994:171).
I thought it would be appropriate to search for the answer to why Vedanta is appealing in the data I collected because the Ramakrishna Mission’s Vedanta is different from that which is taught at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam and because Jackson’s conclusions are now slightly dated. I arrived at general list of reasons for the appeal of Vedanta by identifying repeated themes in conversations, interviews and questionnaire responses of visitors to Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in March of 2003. Because I draw these conclusions from a small, haphazard sample they are not valid generalizations for the entire Arsha Vidya community.
Reason 1: Intellectual
Although there is a resident priest (pundit) at Arsha Vidya and arati is held three times daily, the gurukulam teaching staff emphasizes study (understanding) over ritual or worship (practice). One instructor said:
The purpose of the religious aspects, society, is to prepare the mind only. There is no other purpose. So that’s why any form of worship can be done, because it is only to prepare the mind. Once the mind is prepared, then the knowledge is ready. So that is something.[lii]
In pursuit of knowledge and truth about God students at Arsha Vidya listen to the words of a guru, like Swami Dayananda Saraswati, and study the Upanisads, Brahma Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita, from which the prasthana traya, the three standard authoritative scriptures for Vedanta. Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s commentaries are also highly regarded by students.[liii] Of 36 documented responses, 35 respondents value the study of these texts and twenty individuals make study an important, regular activity in their lives.[liv] A few Vedanta students choose not to pray in the temple or perform ritual. I was told that sannyasis may freely abstain from temple ritual, but they frequently participate to encourage others.[lv]
The sannyasis and the teaching staff have impressive credentials of many years of study and scholarship of Vedanta and Sanskrit. This is why one student referred to Arsha Vidya as “The Ivy League of Spiritual Teaching”.[lvi] Four individuals who had graduated from Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s three-year Vedanta course said that they feel unqualified to teach Vedanta because they lacked knowledge of Sanskrit.
Five respondents to my questionnaire said that Vedanta is appealing because it is logical, reasonable, intellectual, objective and scientific.[lvii] As I spoke informally with visitors at Arsha Vidya about Vedanta many of them said that it really made them think. One middle aged non-Indian woman I interviewed said Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s teachings were more meaningful than others she had encountered in India because original texts were taught in a systematic way. She found his teachings to be rich in their analytic power to examine the human condition in depth. She appreciated the manner in which he encouraged her to examine things with a spirit of inquiry from all perspectives. She felt encouraged to use her mind, and challenged to examine all of the previous filters that she had in place.[lviii]
Clearly, the study of Vedanta is intellectually and emotionally challenging. Jackson concluded that Ramakrishna Vedanta followers tended to be “better educated, better traveled, and better off economically than a typical member of America’s mainstream churches” (1994:97). My general impression based on the difficulty of reading materials, the level of oral participation, and class/lecture attendance is that visitors at Arsha Vidya are well educated and intellectual in their approach to Atman and Brahman. Yet, scholarly knowledge of the scriptures is not just an intellectual exercise; it is deeply personal.
Reason 2: Universal
What does it mean for Vedanta to be “universal”?[lix] The sannyasis teach at Arsha Vidya that Vedanta is universal because it is applicable to all people at all times. It deals with the human condition, which is prone to judgement and a view of oneself as deficient (Dayananda 1989:15). This leads to a preoccupation with gain or purusartha; these are four goals human beings struggle for: dharma (ethics), artha (securities), kama (pleasures) and moksa (liberation) (Dayananda 1989:1).
A second way that Vedanta is understood as universal is captured in the following quote, “Vedanta is elegant, rigorous and complete. It reconciles the various facets of Hinduism”[lx] Arsha Vidya Gurukulam staff teach that the “the jnanakanda, the second section of the Veda, called Vedanta…deals with the adequate, limitless self that everyone wants to be” (Dayananda 1989:100). Vedanta is understood to be the ultimate knowledge, while everything else, “dharma, artha, and kama, ethics, security and pleasures” is articulated as necessary but informed by a larger vision. “The viveki understands that the limitlessness which he seeks can only be gained through knowledge, not by any kind of action”[lxi] (Dayananda 1989:102).
In Christianity, in Hinduism, in any religion, there is always that dynamic that God is Santa Claus. Pray to God to get things and I have to be good so God can see me being good and then I can get. I don’t care what religion it is that element is always there. It’s the Santa Claus relationship. Now this person who comes to the teacher in the Upanishads has grown up out of that. I don’t just want to have to believe what God is and have do according to what I am told, I want to know the Truth. Who is God? What is God? Who am I? What is the truth of everything? It is a humongous quantum leap of maturity in thinking to have that question. That is the beginning of spirituality.[lxii]
I asked “Are some religions better than others?” Most respondents–66%–answered “no”.[lxiii] One person elaborated, “everyone who practices any religion is exactly where they need to be in this janma (life, incarnation).”[lxiv] One student of Vedanta who completed a three-year course with Swami Dayananda Saraswati said, “Everyone has some way of focusing on the inner person, which is permanent”. [lxv] He went on to explain how various religions contact or connect with the Lord differently, describing how Muslims don’t like to see deities and bow their heads to the carpet and Christians worship the cross and hang crucifixes in their cars instead of Ganesha. Another individual, Aman, told me in an interview:
Religion we don’t question. We don’t care what is their background religion, because knowledge, self-knowledge transcends religion. We believe that you can pray in any form. Muslims can pray to Allah, Christians can pray to Christ, Jews can pray to their own, their own belief system, because self is the same and it transcends your body, mind, and self. You have to know about the self. There is no Christian self or Jewish self. Self is pure consciousness”[lxvi]
Some people did say in their questionnaires that certain religions are better than others. One person characterized as a superior religion “any religion that enhances one’s growth and does not talk about unknowable places and [does not] present a childish view of God”. Two other people asserted: “Hinduism is the best.” and “Vedanta is the ultimate truth.”[lxvii] The following response contains an inclusive affirmation of other religions: “Hinduism confirms all religions. I consider it the mother of all religions.”[lxviii] Arsha Vidya Gurukulam welcomes students from all different religious paths. Although Hindus are the predominant group studying Vedanta, the gurukulam maintains that Vedanta is a knowledge tradition and is open to all. As already mentioned, several people I met at Arsha Vidya continue to maintain their own distinct religious tradition while studying Vedanta, Sankrit, meditation and yoga.
Reason 3: Non-Proselytizing
A central value articulated at Arsha Vidya in conversations, lectures and answers to my questionnaires was tolerance, expressed particularly in reference to other religions. Proselytizing and conversion were denounced. I asked a general question on my questionnaire, “What actions do you consider reprehensible?” This elicited answers such as “violence by action or words”, “murder, rape, etc.”, “terrorism”, “meat eating”, and “jealousy.” But the activity most frequently cited as “reprehensible” was conversion and religious intolerance. It appeared in 39% of responses to an open-ended question about morality.
At Arsha Vidya Hinduism was described as a non-proselytizing religion.[lxix] It was said to me several times that a “Non-Hindu cannot be converted to Hinduism”.[lxx] When I asked Aman, a staff member, if an American like myself could become a Hindu I was told:
You see, even to say I am a Hindu is no title, because Hinduism is a way of life…There are no defining characteristics. There is a defining characteristic, you can say, well, the thread ceremony…there is no conversion. Hindus never go out and try to say we are Hindus; we want you to become Hindus. There is no such thing.[lxxi]
I asked the same man if Swamini Amritananda was a Hindu. She is a 51-year-old female, born and raised in Hawaii who has Puerto Rican, Hawaiian, Irish Scotch and English ancestry. She took the vow of renunciation, which involves donning an orange cloth, after studying in India under Swami Dayananda Saraswati. She was a resident sannyasi for seven years at AVG. Aman characterized her as follows:
She’s a Westerner, right? She knows the wisdom. From your standpoint people can look at her and say she’s a Hindu. From our standpoint we say she follows the Vedas. Because we don’t have categories and there is no ritual or any ceremony that now we are converting her from Christian to Hindu. There is no such thing. But she came; she wanted to study and she started attending the classes. After some time, she became very interested, she said I am not interested in anything else. I want to dedicate my life to this, so then she went to a ritual to take orange cloths, which is the same rituals given to Hindus. Then we call her Swamini…[lxxii]
I asked Swamini Saralananda if she was a Hindu and she replied:
Am I a Hindu? Yes and no. I am a Hindu because I am living in this culture, in the crib of this culture, and so I am accepted and taken as a Hindu swami because swamihood belongs to a Hindu culture. But I will answer this question. This was answered once in India by one of Swami-ji’s Indian boys from the Caribbean. When this question was put to him, “Why are you a Hindu?,” he said, “I am a Hindu because Hinduism teaches me I am not a Hindu.” Because the end of the Veda teaches you. You’re not man. You’re not woman. You’re not Hindu. You’re not Indian. You are just pure being. So that is the end of the trail. [lxxiii]
Reason 4: Non-doctrinal
Another appeal of Vedanta is its lack of a formal creed. My limited ethnographic research does not allow me to assert whether there is uniformity or standardization of what is taught and believed at Arsha Vidya, yet this question deserves further attention. This emerged as a question for me when I learned that although there are formally no doctrines in the Ramakrishna/Vedanta teachings, over the years swamis of the Ramakrishna Order have routinely prepared summaries of the basic Ramakrishna/Vedanta concepts.[lxxiv] Jackson reports that Swami Satprakashananda, head of the Vedanta Society of St. Louis, reduced the body of teachings to seven principal tenets.[lxxv] This summarization of Ramakrishna’s teachings is now interpreted by some to be a set of doctrines (Jackson 1994:68-69).
Visitors and students at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam feel free to think, believe and practice what they want, but most have a degree of interest in learning Vedanta. Most visitors, 92% or 36 of 39 individuals who responded to my questionnaire, answered that they are not required to subscribe to a formal belief system at Arsha Vidya.[lxxvi] All but one of the 39 respondents said that they do not experience social pressure to conform to a formal belief system when visiting or staying at Arsha Vidya.[lxxvii]
Reason 5: Spiritual, not religious
Vedanta was described to me as a spiritual path (higher knowledge of the divine) rather than ritualistic religion. “Religion is a matter of blind belief, rituals and ceremonies, even though it may involve an inner practice of moral and spiritual discipline” (Joshi 1997:1273).
The distinction between spirituality and religiosity was one that I had never made, although I know that some people consider spirituality an inner relationship with God and religion the organizational or outward expression of faith. One woman I interviewed said that she considers herself religious because her relationship with God is primary.[lxxviii] This is how I understood the term religious until I encountered Bob and he told me about his search for Truth. While I was listening to him I interpreted his autobiographical narrative as a search for a religious path until he said, “I have never been religious. I guess I have always been a secular person…”[lxxix] A religious person, in his mind, was a devotional person who worshiped in the temple, sang bhajans and participated in rituals.
Swamini Amritananda delivers what she considers a very important talk titled “Religion vs. Spirituality and Discovering God Without Faith”. She showed me the flyer for a talk at the University of Texas, Austin and then elaborated on what this difference means to her:
The ancient roots are the Vedas and Veda just means knowledge. Now, it is important to make the distinction between religion and spirituality because if you look at any religion in the world, including Hinduism, religion is characterized by belief systems…You usually inherit it. Here is a system of constructs for you to believe …
Now this person who comes to the teacher in the Upanishads has grown up out of that. I don’t just want to have to believe what God is and have to do according to what I am told, I want to know the truth. Who is God? What is God? Who am I? What is the truth of everything? It is a humongous quantum leap of maturity in thinking to have those questions. That is the beginning of spirituality. And spirituality is in our cultures in various forms, such as the Twelve Step Programs; the reason is that it is not a belief. It just says relate to your higher power in whatever form you choose to see it, but have a relationship…
Now that is grass roots spirituality because to me spirituality is you are trying to get to your own spirit and God’s spirit. And the word spirit, as I understand it, means formless. So God and I are one in spirit I accept that. That is what we teach in Vedanta; and even Christ said it although no one understood it.[lxxx]
Swamini Amritananda expressed a view that spirituality is a higher or more mature relationship with God than religion because it is not “blind belief” but realization of Truth. The Advaita Vedanta tradition emphasizes knowing God. Believing in God, fearing God or worshipping God are considered religious relationships with the Lord, rather than having full knowledge or understanding of God as Absolute and featureless.
Reason 6: Their childhood
While many individuals choose to study Vedanta after encountering it as an adult, for others Vedanta was part of their childhood. From a small sample of answers of those who answered my questionnaire, 30% (14 of 47 recorded answers) said they had grown up learning about Vedanta as a child from their families.[lxxxi]
Educating youth is one of the main educational objectives of Arsha Vidya. While many of the lectures and discussions on Vedanta are quite advanced for young children, children are not excluded from any activities. In fact, they are welcome as long as they are not disruptive. Frequently young children cling to their mothers and fathers during lectures and the older ones dash in and out to check in with their parents before going off with friends. Some adolescents accompany their parents to satsang with the swamis, chanting class, Sanskrit class and lectures. Arsha Vidya tries to provide parallel activities for the children, so that parents can fully devote themselves for a few hours to study and contemplation. During the school year, children’s classes are held on alternate weekends for Bharata Natyam, classical music, the Vedas and the culture of India. Parents who encourage their children to participate in these activities want them to learn more about Hindu practice and Vedic heritage.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati with young Bharat Natyam student dancers
To facilitate the teaching of value and cultural education to children, two disciples of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Sunita Ramaswamy and Dr. Sundar Ramaswamy, have published materials for the Vedic Heritage Teaching Programme. These materials include eleven books consisting of three teaching manuals with audio cassettes, seven age-appropriate workbooks, and a puja and prayers book. A brochure on the Vedic Heritage Teaching Programme briefly summarizes the program which can be divided into three parts. Volume 1 addresses children in grades 1-3 and includes stories from the Ramayana, the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata as well as selected prayers and instructions for puja. Volume II was designed for grades 4-7 for teaching commonly observed ritual disciplines and cultural forms. There are also lessons on samskaras or rites of passage, and fourteen-fold Vedic knowledge. Students are encouraged to think about their values and to reflect on the unity among the diversity seen among the people of India and their customs. Volume III was written for teenagers designed with the intent to facilitate discussion about developmental and identity issues. It also has study material on Vedic literature and applied systems of knowledge, the Bhagavad Gita and Sanatana Dharma. This curriculum represents one educational outreach meant to help meet the dilemmas Indian immigrants face.
Many Indian immigrant parents in the United States want to transmit what they perceive as Indian identity (language, food, values, religion, etc.) to their children. One man I spoke with at Arsha Vidya was concerned that many Indian American girls were choosing to marry non-Indians. There are several interracial and interethnic families that appear to be comfortably integrated into the Arsha Vidya community. It is interesting that this man attributes marriage with non-Indians to female, not male, choices. Part of of his anxiety may be due to a feeling that European and American norms are diametrically opposed to Indian standards of modesty, chastity, respect and preservation of Hindu values (Rukmani 1999). Many families seek to inculcate their children with Indian values. “Thereupon they seek the assistance of like-minded people in raising their children, often through the establishment of religious study groups and organizations. Sunday schools, summer camps, youth groups, and annual national conferences are adaptations to the American scene that help parents maintain some continuity of culture and religion with their children,” (Williams in Moag 1999:253). Programs such as Arsha Vidya Gurukulam’s Vedic Heritage Programmesupport some parents’ efforts to teach their children Indian traditions.
Even if parents have adopted many values prevalent in American society, there are still challenges in raising Hindu youth in an American society dominated by a Judeo-Christian ethos. Hindus, both young and old, are repeatedly asked to explain their faith, beliefs and practices to others (“What is Hinduism?”, Eck 1997). In my opinion, this increases self-reflection regarding their past and present religious or spiritual practice. The Vedic Heritage curriculum taught at Arsha Vidya enriches the lives of those who learn it and makes it possible for children and their parents to more confidently explain Hinduism to others who may have a single and rather stereotyped view of it.
Reason 7: Tradition of teaching
As already indicated, the greatest appeal of Arsha Vidya is the instruction and personal guidance that its informed and caring teaching staff provide. Many visitors, who also regularly visit other Hindu temples near their residences, like to come to Arsha Vidya for the learned exegesis of scripture. They appreciate personal interaction with the sannyasis teaching staff which allows them to get their questions answered.
Before Swami Dayananda left for India at the end of February, he was available throughout the day for satsang. He only withdrew from the company of others for rest, food and personal hygiene. Great respect is shown to this man and devotional behaviors are performed in his presence such as removing shoes, performing pranams and receiving prasad. Some devotees may pray to him as God, since Advaita Vedanta teaches that Atman and Brahman are one. Others are respectful to him because he can assist them on their path to spiritual enlightenment. One Vedanta student explained:
We do pranams and go to the feet of the teacher here, that’s out of respect. But you don’t really worship the teacher like he’s an avatar. You respect him because he helps you in a lot of different ways. He watches you grow up. He’s like a father and a mother…[lxxxii]
Like Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the other visiting sannyasis believe their primary responsibility is to teach. Consequently, they make themselves available for questions and discussion. Arsha Vidya does its best to create an environment that encourages inquiry and reflection.
Conclusion
I have amassed an interesting collection of data about who comes to Arsha Vidya, but the circumstances under which I gathered the information have their limitations. The data I gathered were very seasonal, being based on weekend research at Arsha Vidya in February and March. Visitation is much lower in the winter than in the summer, when the ashram sponsors long weekend retreats and week-long camps. My questionnaire sample was small—48 people—and was not a random sample that could be statistically generated. Because I handed out questionnaires on March 2, 2003, during the weekend of Mahasivarati, this haphazard sample may have included more non-regular Indian visitors than it otherwise would have done. Although I handed out questionnaires after one yoga class and one meditation class, I did not do the same for Vedic Chanting, Sanskrit or Paninian grammar classes. This may have skewed the data. With more time, for a proper demographic study it would be necessary to collect data throughout the year. With regard to my question about the appeal of Vedanta, it would have been more effective if I had reduced my research question to this single line of inquiry.
Despite these limitations, however, I believe my questionnaire helped clarify some important features of participants’ experience at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. The ashram is a valued resource for Indians and non-Indians, young and old, because it works so hard at maintaining itself as center for the traditional teaching of Vedanta in the United States. The center functions as a site where individuals can pursue spiritual growth and a place where Hindu families can come to maintain Indian cultural traditions and transmit them to their youth. It is accessible to many people living in the tri-state area and it has been successful in maintaining an educational environment without becoming commercialized.
Arsha Vidya’s catholic composition reflects the appeal of Vedanta and the sannyasis’ ability to reveal meaning and develop understanding in their listeners. Arsha Vidya is not only a spiritual space, but also a social space. There is a conscious building of a family or a community at the gurukulam. Because most of these Vedanta students are Indians, they are further cemented in specific kinds of social relationships due to special ties to the history, geography and culture of India. They share a common experience of identifying and living between two cultures. This kind of duality of consciousness is an “awareness of decentered attachments,” of being simultaneously “home away from home” or “here and there” or Indian and something else (Vertovec 1997:282). The classes and teachings of Arsha Vidya help students to be grounded both in their societies of origin and in their host societies. But the ultimate goal of the sannyasis and staff is to aid students in their goal to develop understanding that there is Only God.
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[i] “The word Vedanta literally means “end [anta] of the Veda, “ that is to say, the concluding part of the apauruseya, or revealed Vedic literature, which is traditionally believed to comprise the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. Vedanta thus primarily denotes the Upanishads and their teachings. Metaphorically, Vedanta is also understood to represent the consummation or culmination (anta) of the entire Vedic speculation, or indeed of all knowledge” (Dandekar 1987:207).
[ii] Aman. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam 15 February.
[iii] This contemporary guru shares a name with the historical figure Swami Dayanand who in the late 19th century founded the influential Arya Samaj, a major Hindu revivalist organization that championed the Vedas while trying to purge them of their unessential elements (Doniger 1991:33).
[iv] Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s disciples in the United States include: Swamis Viditatmananda, Tattvavidananda, Patyagbodhananda, Saralananda and Tadatmananda. Sixty percent of the individuals who responded to my questionnaire travel to other locations, primarily in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to hear Swami-ji’s disciples teach. In particular, Swami Tadatmananda has established a center in Cortelyou, New Jersey and a majority of respondents (27 of 48 documented, 55%) have visited his center.
[v] Twenty-three individuals of 48 that answered my questionnaire have visited either of the Coimbatore or Rishikesh Indian gurukulam, six having visited both. Except for five individuals who have studied at one location for several months (1 for over a year), the visits ranged between three days to a week. Michele Moritis. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire. Unpublished survey, Department of Anthropology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University.
[vi] At Arsha Vidya this important holiday was celebrated by continuous chanting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. of the Akahnda Nama Japa mantra, which repeated the name of Lord Siva, followed by Mahabhisekam to Lord Daksinamurti and a talk by Swami Pratyagbodhananda. After the puja, dinner was served and bhajans were sung from 10:30 pm until midnight.
[vii] T is different from more regional or sectarian temples such The Sri Guru Ravidas Gurdwara is a Sikh temple where Punjabi is primarily is spoken. Gujarati and Hindi are used quite extensively at the Vaisnav Temple of New York in Holliswood Queens, which is a regional expression of the theologically influential Vallabh (or Pustimargiya) Sampradaya of north and northwest India.
[viii] The questionnaire designed for Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (Moritis 2003) copied some questions in full from: Ron Grimes. 2002. Fieldwork in Religious Studies: Guidelines and Forms for the Waterloo Religions
Project. Unpublished Paper, Wilfred Laurier University.
[ix] Ron Grimes teaches at Wilfred Laurier University. This unpublished paper was made available to Prof. John S. Hawley’s Spring 2003 “Hinduism Here” class, Barnard College.
[x] Doherty, Martha. 2003. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis, 28 March.
[xi] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 22, response a.
[xii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 23.
[xiii] Aman. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[xiv] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 1.
[xv] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 2.
[xvi] Candice. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 16 February.
[xvii] Martha Doherty, a disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati since 1978. She earned a doctorate in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University and followed a three-year residential course taught by Swami Dayananda Saraswati in Piercy, California from 1979-82. She currently teaches classes at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam and part-time at Lehigh University. A brief biography on Martha is posted on the Center for Traditional Vedanta Web site.
[xviii] CTV Web site, http:///www.pramana.org/ctv.htm, Accessed March 22, 2003.
[xix] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 31.
[xx] Doherty, Martha. 2003. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis, April 11.
[xxi] “We see one-one dialogues as in the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad where Yajnavalkya teaches his wife Maitreyi or in Katha Upanisad where Lord Yam teaches Nachiketas” Doherty, Martha. 2003. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis April 11.
[xxii] The CTV Web site, http:///www.pramana.org/ctv.htm, is aligned with the research effort of Travis D. Webster, B.A., M.A. (Hindu Studies) who founded Vedanta Shala, Inc. and directs the Center For Traditional Vedanta. His efforts are currently focused on documenting the teaching tradition of Arsha Vidya and Swami Saraswati. He also maintains CTV resource archives, Center For Traditional Vedanta On-line and is editor and moderator for the Pramana-Vada Forum.
[xxiii] An article that discusses “traditional” and “modern” interpretations of Vedanta is chapter on Neo-Vedanta in Halbfass, Wilhelm. 1988. India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding. Albany: State University of New York Press.
[xxiv] Doherty, Martha. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis March 28.
[xxv] Moritis, Michele. 2003 Fieldnotes: Documentation of ethnographic research at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, 1 February.
[xxvi] This particular definition of Daksinamurti is from Arsha Vidya Gurukulam’s Kumbhabhisekam booklet. A Kumbhabhisekam is a consecration of an idol for it to become an altar of worship.
[xxvii]Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1824 and the leadership advocated adoption of Western conceptions and practices such as congregational services. It took an intellectual approach and denounced the inflexibility and dogmatism of orthodox Hinduism (Jackson 1994:3-5).
[xxviii] Swami Vivekananda. 1974 The Complete Works of Vivekananda. Vol. I:124 Calcutta: Advaita Ashram.
[xxix] Doherty, Martha. 2003. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis, 28 March
[xxx] Doherty, Martha. 2003. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis, 28 March.
[xxxi] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 35.
[xxxii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 35, response h.
[xxxiii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 35.
[xxxiv] Moritis, Michele. 2003 Fieldnotes: Documentation of ethnographic research at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, 25 May.
[xxxv] “The persistence of various homeland identities, such as Indianness, within differently articulated social formations abroad testifies to the difficulty of decoupling the national from the international, or the local and the global, in diasporic forms (Shukla 2001:554).
[xxxvi] This term ‘twice-migrant’ is a reference to multiple migrations. It can apply to people who come to the USA or England via East Africa or Fiji. It is also used to designate people of Indian descent who migrated or emigrated from countries where the first migration occurred when their ancestors were brought from India as indentured laborers to Caribbean, Latin America or East Africa.
[xxxvii] The category “Asian India” first appeared on the United States census in 1980 (Sylomovics 1995:157). This term is ambiguous; it is not clear to me whether or not Indian twice-migrants from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean selected this census category as a racial or ethnic descriptor for themselves, or if its usage was limited to people from the Indian subcontinent.
[xxxviii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 18.
[xxxix] For U.S. Hinduism statistics at the Pluralism Project website of Harvard University: http://www.pluralism.org/resources/statistics/tradition.php
[xl] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Fieldnotes: Documentation of ethnographic research at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, 25 May.
[xli] Doherty, Martha. 2003. E-mail communication to Michele Moritis, 7 April.
[xlii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Fieldnotes: Documentation of ethnographic research at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, 1 February and 15 February.
[xliii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Fieldnotes: Documentation of ethnographic research at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, 1, 2, 15, 16 February, 1-2, 15-16 March.
[xliv] David. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[xlv] Some Hindu gurus who taught in America in the 1960s include A.C. Bhaktivedanta, (Hanson 2003);
[xlvi] David. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[xlvii] David. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[xlviii] David. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[xlix] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 31.
[l] Moritis, Michele 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire. The questions which are listed are numbers 8, 33, 90 and 91.
[li] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 8.
[lii] Aman. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[liii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 87.
[liv] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 88.
[lv] Swami Amritananda-ni. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis . Tape Recording, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, February 16.
[lvi] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 86, response n.
[lvii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 8.
[lviii] Candice. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. March 16.
[lix] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 8, response a.
[lx] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire question 8, response v.
[lxi] The viveki is “the person with discrimination who understands the basic human problem and knows that dharma, artha, and kama, ethics, security and pleasures – cannot solve that problem” (Dayananda 1989:102).
[lxii] Swamini Saralananda. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 16 Feb.
[lxiii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 89.
[lxiv] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 89, response uu.
[lxv] Neilly, Bob. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 2 February.
[lxvi] Aman. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 Feb.
[lxvii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 88, response u and w.
[lxviii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 88, response p.
[lxix] The Hare Krishna movement is viewed by some as a proselytizing Hindu group.
[lxx] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 34, response g.
[lxxi] Aman. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 15 February.
[lxxii] Aman. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording, 15 February.
[lxxiii] Swamini Amritananda. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording, 16 February.
[lxxiv] It is important to ask whether trends in the United States to summarize and abbreviate the complex and multi-hued tradition is part of the compromise of a religious community living in the diaspora (“What is Hinduism” Eck 1997).
[lxxv] Seven principal tenets: 1) The fundamental Reality is Pure Being-Consciousness-Bliss. That alone exists. 2) The phenomenal existence is an appearance; it disappears when knowledge of the Reality is gained. 3) Transcendentally one without a second –formless, feature-less, attributeless-the Supreme Being-Consciousness-Bliss, immanent in the phenomenal existence as its one all-pervasive Self, is the creator, preserver and absorber of the universe, the God of love, goodness and grace worshipped by the devotees, and the indwelling Spirit in all beings. 4)Man is essentially That 5) To realize the innate divinity is the supreme end of life. 6) Methods of God-realization vary according to the aspirants’ tendencies, capacities and conditions. 7) Different religions are so many ways leading ultimately to Godhead (Hatcher 1999:69).
[lxxvi] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 83.
[lxxvii] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 84.
[lxxviii] Jennifer. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 16 February.
[lxxix]Jason. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Notes. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 2 February.
[lxxx] Swamini Amritananda. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 16 February.
[lxxxi] Moritis, Michele. 2003. Arsha Vidya Questionnaire, question 7.
[lxxxii] David. 2003. Interview by Michele Moritis. Tape recording. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, 2 February.