{"id":13251,"date":"2016-07-26T22:56:32","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T17:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalpress.hinduismnow.org?p=13248&preview_id=13248"},"modified":"2016-07-26T22:56:32","modified_gmt":"2016-07-26T17:26:32","slug":"my-republica-traditional-essence-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/?p=13251","title":{"rendered":"My Republica – Traditional essence at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There isn\u2019t a month better than Shrawan to locate the devotees among us. As the holy month makes its presence felt, we can easily spot them among the masses with their puja tikas, green bangles and henna tattoos. We may be barely a week into Shrawan right now, but we can already hear a lot of talk about fasting commitments, various religious ceremonies and the inevitable Monday trips to the holy Pashupatinath temple.<\/div>\n
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Indeed the month of Shrawan may not rank quite as high as Dashain or Tihar on the festivities chart but the enthusiasm on the streets for it has always been impressive.
\nRegardless of it being monsoon season, this is also known as the top three busiest time of the year at the Pashupatinath site. Further these hordes of devotees don\u2019t only flock the Shiva temples but also the markets. The festive season of Shrawan easily secures some of the highest sales rate in the year. However, despite the immense interest among the masses, many culture experts have expressed their concerns about the waning of traditional values.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have a chat with youngsters, I think it is apparent that most are still unaware of the reasons behind these rituals that we follow and when I say many, I\u2019m talking about 90 percent of them. We can all see so many girls wearing green bangles and sporting henna but this is mostly about fashion for them, nothing else,\u201d explains Prof. Chunda Bajracharya.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the age old tug of war between modernization and traditions. The fear that, with time, we might lose our culture to the changing attitudes and priorities of youngsters is very real. So while festivities like the holy month of Shrawan still seem to hold its appeal, culture expert Govinda Tandon too is suspicious that their popularity is based more on fad rather than cultural or religious significance. It\u2019s a source of real worry for culture experts like him because they can already sense the struggle that lies ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreserving the true essence and meaning behind our culture requires constant effort. There are so many fascinating tales and beliefs behind our traditions. So far, these stories may have been passed down by generations but today, I wonder how many youths can retell the legend of Samudra Manthan (the churning of oceans), for instance. It features heavily in the story of Lord Shiva and why we have dedicated this month to his worship but how many young Nepalis care to learn about it?\u201d asks Tandon.<\/p>\n

Given the concern, this scribe set about asking youngsters around town about the significance of the month of Shrawan and the reasons behind its rituals. Out of the 11 people that I talked to only three could give me a somewhat comprehensive version of the story. Most didn\u2019t even know why Shrawan was considered a holy month. The girls had their palms covered in henna and green bangles jingled as waved their hands but rather than religious beliefs, they confessed they were doing it because it was fun.<\/p>\n

This is the kind of fa\u00e7ade Prof. Bajracharya was referring to. She explains, \u201cI have no problem with girls participating in rituals like wearing mehendi because it is fun. They are allowed to do so but while they are at it, I only wish, they knew the significances of such practice. I wish we had been able to ignite the desire to want to know such facts among our youths.\u201d<\/p>\n

When told about the legend of the holy month of Shrawan, Ashish Sharma, 25, for instance, also confessed that he was hearing about it for the first time even though he and his family have been celebrating the festivities of the month for as long as he can remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince it is the month of Shrawan, I\u2019m trying to be more regular with my Pashupatinath visits. This is what I was taught at home. Every Shrawan, we follow all the rituals, fast and pray, and I enjoy participating in these activities with my family. However, to be honest, I don\u2019t think it is all that necessary. I believe the younger generation is more spiritual than religious. Perhaps that\u2019s why I never asked for the story behind the rituals. I\u2019m not that interested. If I\u2019m good at heart and don\u2019t hurt other people, do I have to perform all these rituals? If I were alone, I probably wouldn\u2019t bother with them,\u201d says Sharma.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the sort of sentiment that further fuels debates of youths today losing their cultural identification. Manju Adhikari, for instance, was also looking forward to carrying out the Shrawan festivities with her US returned daughter. As a mother and a Hindu, she considers it her duty to introduce all these tradition to her 22-year-old but despite having successfully brought her daughter to Pashupati, she revealed she was having problems making her understand their values.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike most women, I thought we too would have fun with henna and green bangles. But when I explained the beliefs behind these practices, about how unmarried girls fast to get good husbands like Shiva himself and married women for the safety and peace of their husbands and families, she didn\u2019t agree with the idea. She says it goes against her feminist values. Hearing about the notion of green bangles being worn to fulfill one\u2019s desire and wishes for a prosperous family life doesn\u2019t make sense to her either. Her reply made me laugh but it has me worried as well,\u201d shares Adhikari.<\/p>\n

Culture expert Tandon though isn\u2019t bothered about such disparity in views. He believes this should be expected. Customs and traditions aren\u2019t like the way they were back in the days of our forefathers thus change is inevitable in the future too. He believes we can actually take this as an opportunity to reform harmful practices and backward thinking which have been disguised as culture. According to him, the real danger is complete ignorance on the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had countless youngsters even in their 30s claim that their generation doesn\u2019t have time or interests in our culture. It\u2019s not something they give a second thought to and I believe that our education system has failed them here. We teach them many different subjects but we don\u2019t emphasize on the importance of teaching them our history and traditions. When you give importance to these things I believe one will automatically be curious about culture and such,\u201d explains Tandon.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, it is about having enough pride in our culture to want to cultivate it and pass it on. Eventually the responsibility to continue with our traditions will fall on the younger generations and unless they understand the deeper implications of our customs and rituals, giving continuity to it will be the least of their priorities.<\/p>\n

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There isn\u2019t a month better than Shrawan to locate the devotees among us. As the holy month makes its presence felt, we can easily spot them among the masses with their puja tikas, green bangles and henna tattoos. We may be barely a week into Shrawan right now, but we can already hear a lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[1184,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}