SELF HATING (Indian Americans). Loving HINDU TEMPLES. AUNTIES & UNCLE GUTS.

If Hinduism is such a DOPE OPENMINDED INCLUSIVE faith……then…

WHY DO SO MANY INDIAN AMERICANS GROW UP WITH SELF-HATRED, MAKING FUN OF HINDU RITUALS / PRACTICES, DEITIES, INDIAN ACCENTS, FOOD, DRESS ETC. & CONFUSE BEING “INDIAN” (WHICH IS A NATIONALITY/RACE) WITH BEING A HINDU (A FAITH THAT ANY PERSON OF ANY NATIONALITY/RACE CAN PRACTICE) ???

activism, activist, appreciation, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, childhood, classical traditions, compassion, create the change, cross cultures, culture, cultures, desi american, design, distinctive, diversity, educate, education, faith, friendship, global cultures, global, hindu, hindu temple, hinduism, history, holiday, hometown, impact, inclusion, indian american, inspiration, interfaith, love, new york, music, my story, nyc, oneness, prayer, reflections, religion, religions, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil nadu, tamil american, temple, tamil, unique, unity, world religions, unityindiversitysangeetha kowsikDecember 19, 2022hindu, hinduism, hindu temple, temples, temple, temple worship, spirtiuality, spiritual, spirituality, india, inspiration, southindian, south indian, south india, south aisa, indian, indian arts, indian classical music, music, history, sanathana, sanathanadharma, santhana dharma, dharma, sanatana dharma, educate, education, educateyourself, break stereotypes, stereotypes, faith, interconnectedness, interfaith, international, sanskrit, worship, ritual, growing up, american, tamilamerican, tamil american, desi, desi american

Interconnectedness, Hate, Love, & Ahimsa (Non Violence)

As a lifelong practicing Hindu who adheres to the principle of Ahimsa, which means “nonviolence” meaning not to harm any living creature with your words, thoughts, or physically.

it boggles my mind that the 3 great Abrahamic faiths of the world Christianity, Judaism, and Islam lived in relative peace and unity, and gave the world beautiful art, architecture, and an interconnected culture before someone drank CUCKOO juice, and decided to fill their minds/hearts/brains/souls with hatred and expelled Jews and Muslims, which led to the bloody Spanish inquisition of 1492!

These are my reflections of the interconnectedness, unity, inspiration, and beauty, I saw through religion, faith, culture, and art.

activism, activist, appreciation, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, classical traditions, create the change, cross cultures, culture, cultures, design, diversity, distinctive, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, graphic design, hindu, hinduism, history, impact, inclusion, holiday, inspiration, interfaith, islam, language, languages, museum, my story, music, oneness, painting, religion, religions, prayer, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, travel, unique, unity, unityindiversity, travel diaries, reflections, world religions, islamic art, racism, Islamophobia, anti semitism, love, compassion, new york, nycsangeetha kowsikAugust 31, 2022art history, art, design, designs, designer, history, museum, the metropolitan museum of art, truth, hate, love, compassion, islam, islamicarchitecture, architecture, reli, faith, interfaith, islamic, judaism, jew, jewish, christian, christianity, fatima, prophet, spain, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, portugal, heart, one love, true love, mystory, my truth, jesus, interconnectedness, international, unity, unityindiversity, community, communities, travel, travelling, instatravel, travel blogger, travels, granada, cordoba, castle, seville, allhambra, pilgramage, typography, stereotypes, gratitude, activist, activism, racism, change, bethechange, connected, colonization, culture, crosscultural, cultural diversity, cultures, ancient traditions, tradition, traditions, world, oneness, one world, oneneww, global, global culture, global cultures, antisemitism, phobia, hatred, peace, understanding, educate, education, educateyourself, blog, blogger, non violence, ahimsa, gandhi, india, dharma, sanatana dharma, sanskrit, southasia, southasian, southasianartist, southasianart, south aisa, south asia, south indian, south india, together, unique, ancient cultures, beauty, shrine, prayer, worship, pattern, repeat pattern, islamicart, islamic art, islamic pattern, andorra, iberian, Iberian Penninsula, spanish, sephardicComment

Hindu/Religious VS. Spiritual/Dharmic/Vedic - Gym, Puja, Design

Since when did the word “RELIGION” or “RELIGIOUS” start to freak people out? It boggles my mind.

If a Muslim says they are religious they are immediately branded as a “Terrorist”, If a Christian says they are religious they are immediately branded as a “Bible-thumping, right-wing, Trump lover”
If a Hindu says they are religious they are immediately branded as a “Cow piss drinking, right-wing, Modi lover”

Becoming Chaplain was the first time I ever spoke up about “Being Hindu”. It was never an identifying mark for me, not something I went around proclaiming, I’ve always lived my faith, I just WAS, Gym, Puja, Design, every single day!

appreciation, california, art, artwork, change, change in thinking, childhood, classical traditions, create the change, cross cultures, cultures, desi american, design, diversity, educate, education, faith, friendship, global, global cultures, hindu, hinduism, history, inclusion, hometown, holiday, inspiration, interfaith, islam, language, oneness, religion, religions, south asia, spiritual activism, spirituality, tamil, tamil american, tamil nadu, unity, unityindiversitysangeetha kowsikFebruary 28, 2022hindu, hinduism, hindu temple, spiritual, spirituality, inspiration, dharma, sanskrit, sanatana dharma, india, south indian, southindian, south india, southasia, south aisa, southasianart, southasian, faith, interfaith, interconnectedness, puja, pujaqueen, ritual, prayer, meditation, journey, mystory, temple, hindustani, islam, islamicart, islamic, muslims, muslim, racism, partition, experience, my experiences, mytruth, my story, my life, my everything, authenticity, authentic self, truth, true love, love, gratitude, understanding, educate, unity, unityindiversity, compassion, community, communities, temples, hinduarchitecture, cultures, culture, museum, the metropolitan museum of art, fashion, design, designer, art print, artist, art

Fashions of the Deities

I've always admired how much effort, thinking, planning, it takes to dress a deity, it's almost like a runway production after every puja!

My heart would leap in joy every time the doors would open and I could see the deities!!

This naturally made me want to study fashion design and art in general!

But Alankaram isn’t a “superficial” display of gorgeous garments, flowers, and jewelry. There is a deep spiritual meaning behind everything in Hinduism. South Asia and what is now called India was once an extremely wealthy and agriculturally rich landmass. Back in the day folks would express gratitude to the divine by offering flowers, gold, garments, food, etc.