Making Hindu temples the center of re-vitalization of the Indian civilization

My first Guru was Swami Dharmanand Jain, the caretaker and Director of the “Adhyatma Sadhna Kendra” in Chattarpur, New Delhi. Sometime around 1995 is when i was introduced Yoga and Meditation, by him, which was held free-of-cost for one-hour each, every morning 365 days in a year. The guided ‘Preksha Meditation’ at 5am was almost every day led by him personally, while for the Yoga sessions he had several trained teachers living on and off the campus. For years, sometimes for months together with tough discipline, i used to show up for either or both. Thousands of people have been benefitted by these Yoga and Meditation programmes under the aegis of the Adhyatma Sadhna Kendra — an initiative of the Jain community.

Why cannot Hindu temples become the center of revival of the Hindu society? Why can Hindu temples not make Yoga and Meditation central to their daily practices? Imagine the transformation that would be possible in the health and well-being of people around — across all religions — if temples brought alive Yoga and Meditation for all the practitioners of their religion as well as open it up to people across other religions.

A whole new generation of Yoga teachers could be trained. Generations of children in villages, urban villages, and cities would get an opportunity to adopt Yoga and Meditation into their daily lives.

With the communities increasing participation this initiative could/would evolve into introducing non-formal schooling for underprivileged children, introduce classes for Indian classical music, engage the youth (both men and women) in sports such as Volleyball, engage the community in water conservation by reviving temple ponds and engaging in tree-plantation, and perhaps even a re-introduction of Sanskrit teaching. Introduction of charity (or low-cost) clinics based on Homeopathy and Ayurveda and other traditional systems of healing such as Accupressure could be introduced.

Teachers and volunteers from each of these fields might come and join the temples as volunteers or on a honorarium, perhaps even full-time employed by temple trusts just like the priests or archakas.

What is absolutely critical is that these temples open this community engagement to include their Dalit practioners of Hindu faiths — there is no worse thing that has been perpetrated on the Hindu society than to outcaste Dalits from it. Infact in these non-religious activities — clearly Yoga and Meditation are rooted in Hinduism (and other Dharmic/Indic religions) but are not religious activities themselves — temples must reach out to people from other religions including Muslims. Only the orthodox can keep calling Indian classical music or Yoga as Hindu activities and prohibited in their religion; Hindu temples must however must open themselves up to embrace them.

If there is one de-centralized institution via which the revival and revitalization of the Hindu community (and as a result the larger Indian civilization) can be achieved, then it is the temples where we must look.