Fairfax Station Temple Holds Hinduism Summit

Members of Durga Temple in Fairfax Station held a Hinduism Summit to show the community about their faith and to answer questions about what it means to be Hindu.  

“The Durga Temple is quite keen to get to know its neighbors and them to get to know us,” said Sant Gupta, past president of the temple’s executive board, via e-mail.  

The June 18 event in the temple’s Cultural Hall included speaking and video presentations by temple members, and a brief question-and-answer session for about 20 attendees. Bhavna Shinde, Durga Temple ’s Hinduism education coordinator, said the event is held about once every two years.  

Shinde spoke at length about the issues faced by Hindus worldwide, including how ancient Hindu temples in India are being desecrated, and the deities inside being destroyed. She said the Indian government is taking over the desecrated temples without keeping them in use for religious purposes.  

She also addressed a concern that young people raised in Hindu families were leaving the faith at “an alarming rate.”

Though some youths may take on another faith on their own or through marriage, their new religions won’t preach the same tolerance as Hinduism.   Another issue addressed at their summit was the application of science with faith.

One video presented showed how even the handwriting of a still-living Hindu saint, when viewed with a special camera, showed a markedly different set of characteristics – proof of the man’s exceptional levels of divinity, Shinde said.  

“They must think that it’s mystical, it’s all beautiful and colorful, but there is so much science,” she said. “It’s so rich in science. Hindu sages were the greatest, scientists, really. And we are just stumbling upon those discoveries, one-by-one.”  

One of the goals of their conference is to re-introduce their faith to American culture. That can be a challenge, however, because it’s such a broad religion with endless topics of discussion, Gupta said.

Hindus should have a unified message when talking about their religion with those who are unfamiliar with it, he said.   Gupta also said the next generation of Hindus in their temple will be born and raised in America, and will have a unique perspective of their own on how their faith fits into their lives as Americans.

He also said that the temple offers many programs, several of them free, including yoga classes, Boy Scouts, classes on spirituality, educational classes like remedial math and English, and Indian cultural classes. 

Jay Kansara, associate director of the advocacy group Hindu American Foundation, is one of those American born Hindus. His group aims to see that Hindus are represented adequately and effectively in the public sphere by working with media, educational programs, public policy and interfaith dialogue.  

“As a faith-based community, this is not an area that we have not been very successful at, and we have a lot of ground to make up,” he said. “These types of events are great because it gives context to Hinduism in America for Americans. The immigrants have adopted this country as our homeland. This is great. Hopefully these (events) become more popular and effective.”