Bharat Mata Ki Jai, by Sanjitchohan1, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>

Thinking Like Free People

Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D.

--

I immigrated here from India forty years ago and I have only experienced Hinduphobia once, when I first moved here. I was in a park, and some lady and her daughters looked at me in a funny way. Also, don’t you think that the reason we experience Hinduphobia is because we don’t behave properly? I was in the airport once and I heard a loud commotion. Some people were talking and laughing very loudly — it was disturbing everybody else, it’s not how you should behave — and when I went to see who was making the noise, it was a group of Indians. They were behaving very rudely. Don’t you think this is the reason why there is Hinduphobia? Because we don’t behave well?

I am co-leading a breakout discussion during a webinar on Hinduphobia and it takes at least five ujjayi breaths to settle my nervous system so that I can respond thoughtfully and compassionately to this elder. I believe he is authentically engaging in the conversation — he is just not able to make sense of…

--

--

Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D.
Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D.

Written by Indu Viswanathan, Ed.D.

Mother | Daughter | Immigration & Teacher Education | Dharma | Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Responses (3)