The Encyclopedia of World Religions

Hinduism in America S 203

the B HAGAVAD -G ITA . Although their writings used Hindu-sounding concepts, such as the “over soul,” their understanding of Hinduism was not profound. At the end of the 19th century, Hinduism gained considerable visibility in North America as a result of the World’s Parliament of Religion, held in Chicago in 1893. Most of the participants in the Parliament were Christian. But a representative of Hinduism named V IVEKANANDA , a follower of the Bengali SAINT R AMAKRISHNA , made a strong impression on partici pants and observers. Soon after the Parliament he founded the V EDANTA Society, which taught Hindu philosophy in many American cities and attracted some high-profile adherents, including the writers Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood. Until the 1960s, Hinduism in the United States was mostly limited to an interest in certain aspects of Hindu philosophy. That was not true of other places in the Western Hemisphere. For example, during the 19th century indentured servants were brought from India to the West Indies. They brought their religions along with them. An early novel of V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr. Biswas (1961), gives a portrait of their community. In the mid-1960s, the United States changed its immigration laws. The number of people of Indian descent living in the United States began to grow. As a result, the practice of Hinduism as a religion supplemented the earlier interest in Hindu philosophy. Public attention often focused on missionary efforts directed at North Americans of non-Indian descent. Many young Americans tried meditation techniques purveyed by traveling gurus. The Inter national Society of K RISHNA Consciousness, an off shoot of Krishna worship in the Bengal region of eastern India, became highly visible. Founded in 1965 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON instructed its followers to adopt traditional Indian dress, distributed literature, conducted devotional singing in public places, and founded communes and restaurants. The practice of Hinduism by Indian immi grants received much less public attention than did the Hinduism of American converts, but it

Society. It is a branch of a movement founded by Vivekananda (1863–1903), a disciple of the Ben gali saint R AMAKRISHNA Paramahamsa (1836–86). At regular meetings members of the Society listen to talks about such themes as BRAHMAN being the ultimate reality of the universe and of all beings within it. Two movements devoted to simpli fied versions of Hindu MEDITATION are Transcen dental Meditation (TM), founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (b. 1917), and the Rajneesh Foun dation, founded in 1974. Both groups are no lon ger as popular in the United States as they once were. Another group that stresses meditation, the Brahma Kumari or “princess of B RAHMA ” move ment, founded in 1937, is notable for the leader ship roles that women assume. One feature of Hindu new religious move ments that often troubles outsiders is the manner in which participants are often expected to treat the teacher or GURU . Followers of Rajneesh, also known as Osho, were expected to consider him as a god incarnate. Similarly, followers of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who teaches the unity of the world’s reli gions, worship him as an AVATAR of god and a lov ing deity. Both have been accused of sexual mis conduct by former followers. There is certainly room for caution in assess ing anyone’s claims to special status. At the same time, claims to divine status do have precedents in Hinduism. For example, the Swaminarayan move ment, founded in 1801, is prominent among Hin dus from Gujarat and very active in social relief activities. Its members consider themselves devo tees of God, but they also revere their founder, Swaminarayan, as Lord. Hinduism in America Interest in and practice of the traditional religions of India in the Western Hemisphere, especially North America. Interest in H INDUISM among European North Americans began in the 1830s and 1840s. At that time New England Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) and Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) studied selected writings of Asian religions, includ ing Hindu scriptures such as the U PANISHADS and