Developing Cultural Humility as Immersion Project

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Observation
Dialogue
Critical Analysis
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Cultural humility is crucial to human service providers as it helps to understand the needs of service users from diverse cultures and make ethical decisions. Cultural humility was identified as “a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and critique, to redressing power imbalances… and to developing mutually beneficial and non-paternalistic partnerships with communities on behalf of individuals and defined populations” (Greene-Moton & Minkler, 2020, p. 142). In other words, cultural humility increases care providers’ awareness about the culture of service receivers through self-reflection and introspection. Developing cultural humility is crucial for human service practitioners, as it helps to follow Standard 7 of the ethical standards for human services professionals. The standard states that human service providers should not impose their biases (National Organization of Human Services [NOHS], 2015). Additionally, cultural humility is central for achieving Standard 10, which states that discrimination should be avoided during service provision (NOHS, 2015). The present paper describes an immersion project that aimed to help me to develop cultural humility.

For the immersion project, I selected to observe the Hindu culture as represented by the members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). I selected this culture because I have always been interested in India and its religion. Moreover, my friend, a member of ISKCON, offered me to visit one of the Sunday services in the temple of the society. I also had a chance to interview Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu, the president of the temple, to receive answers to all the questions I had. The present paper briefly describes my experience and provides a reflection on different aspects of the Hindu (or Vaishnava) culture.

Observation

For the observation part of the project, I visited the Sunday service in an ISKCON temple with my friend. The service consisted of several parts, including singing kirtans and dancing to the deities, listening to the lecture, and eating prasad, vegetarian food offered to the deities. In other words, the activities were similar to those of the Christian Sunday services, where people would listen to sermons, sing gospels, and eating communion bread. However, the form of the activities was radically different from those that can be observed in Christian churches. First of all, the majority of people wore traditional Vaishnava clothes (saris and dhotis). Second, during all the activities in the altar room, women were segregated from men by being in different parts of the room. Third, people in the temple were singing mantras repeating after the leading singer. All people were friendly; however, none of them tried to convert me to their faith and were genuinely pleased to see a new person in the temple.

Two things struck me the most during my visit to the Hundi temple. First, males and females danced, ate, and socialized in different groups while being in the same room. As it turned out, all the people in the temple followed the so-called “Vaishnava etiquette.” The core idea behind this set of rules is not to disturb the minds of others. Vaishnavas believe that intersexual communication may lead to unnecessary arousal. ISKCON members genuinely believe that they protect the righteousness of both men and women by following this etiquette. Second, all Vaishnavas worship their Gurus as if they were Krishna. The idea is that by serving their Guru, they serve Lord Krishna through the uninterrupted succession of gurus starting from the supreme personality of God. At the same time, all the Vaishnavas believe that there is only one God, Krishna, while all the other 300 million gods are demigods. The alter room had three deities, which were believed to be incarnations of Krishna and a statue of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON and the main Guru of all ISCKON members.

Dialogue

I had a personal dialogue with the temple’s president, Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu, on one of the weekdays so that there not many people in the temple. I wanted to build the dialogue around discussing the difference between the Hindu culture and the American Christian culture. I also wanted Vrindavan Chandra to answer some of the questions that bothered me the most, including worshiping brass sculptures, thinking that Guru is equal to God, and the caste system. Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu spent almost three hours talking to me, which was a very pleasant experience.

When asked about the difference between Christians and Hindu people, Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu said that there was one core idea that made the Hindu culture special. Vaishnavas and all other Hindu people believe that they are the soul that changes bodies from life to life, while followers of western religions believe that they are bodies that have souls. Understanding that we are not our bodies can explain all the other differences, as Vaishnavas try to control the desires of the bodies (such food, sleep, sex, and defense) and fulfill the desires of the soul. Moreover, Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu said that the material world is a temporary place where we live and where nothing belongs to us. Thus, people should stay away from the concept of “I” and “my” and acknowledge that everything, including their bodies, belongs to the supreme personality of God.

As for the similarities, Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu said that all religions have a common goal, which is to help people rebuild relationships with God. Different religions have different “flavors,” helping people choose the one they like the most. Thus, there should be no war based on religious beliefs, as people do not fight over what they like better, apples or bananas. Vaishnavas respect all religions and do not want to convert people to Vaishnavism, as it would be against the principle of ahimsa (nonviolence). Moreover, there is no need to convert from one religion to another, as the goal is the same for everyone, and people are just taking different roads.

When asked about why Vaishnavas worship Gurus as brass sculptures, Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu said that it is among the most frequently asked questions. The idea behind worshiping the sculptures is that God is everywhere and can be anywhere. Thus, the devotees ask the Supreme Personality of God to enter the sculpture to help them concentrate their minds on him, as it is difficult to concentrate on abstract things. As for worshiping Gurus, the president of the temple replied that Guru is seen as a postman who delivers the message of God without any changes. Thus, we reply to God by giving our words of prayers back to the postman so that he can deliver them back to God, as we have no other contact with Him other than by means of the postman. Finally, when speaking about discrimination and the caste system, Vrindavan Chandra Prabhu said that people still demonstrate qualities of one of the four basic castes. However, the caste system cannot exist as it was five thousand years ago, as people began to exploit each other and discriminate. In earlier times, everyone was equal before God, and the caste system helped to determine what was the best way to serve Him using the talents and skills. However, this system is no longer functional without significant adjustments.

Critical Analysis

Description of Culture

Hindu culture is very closely connected to religion. Thus, even though I was unable to talk with real people from India, I acquired a deep sense of the Hindu culture at the ISKCON temple. Hindu culture lies upon the idea that we are not our bodies, and we should be ascetic to disassociate ourselves with our bodies. At the same time, people take good care of their bodies and everything around them, as they see everything as God’s gifts. The core of Hindu religion is dharma or the right way of living. Dharma of a dog is to bark, the dharma of a snake is to bite, while dharma of a human is to rebuild its relationships with God. One can judge that something is dharma if it adheres to the five principles of dharma, including knowledge, love, dedication, patience, and justice. From the outside, the culture can be distinguished from others, as the wide majority of Vaishnavas are vegetarians, they wear traditional Indian clothes, and stay away from intoxications, including tea and coffee. People from this culture like to cook prasad and give it to all the friends and relatives. Thus,

Values and Beliefs

Unlike western cultures, Hindu culture does not think that money and material things are important. If in western culture, the greatest person is the one who has the most, the Hindu culture believes that those who need the least are the greatest. Traveling monks that have no possessions are believed to be the greatest. However, this does not mean that everybody has to give away their possessions and become traveling monks. Hindus condemn people who do not perform their duties even if they preach about Krishna. The dharma of a married man is to take care of his family and children to serve Krishna, the dharma of a soldier is to kill enemies to serve Krishna, and the dharma of a businessman is to make money to serve Krishna. Everyone should perform all their duties perfectly and use the talents to serve the supreme personality of God. Thus, ascetic people who perform their duties in the name of God without complaining are most valued.

Social Interactions and Language

Hindus follow special etiquette, which regulates social interactions between people of different ages, gender, and social classes. For instance, it is not considered desirable that a man and a woman talk to each other without other people in the room. Moreover, it is preferred that women do not address men directly if they are married and vice versa. In Hindu culture, people talk very respectfully to each other. The central idea of communication is not to bother the feelings of the person one is talking to. When speaking to a man, Hindus call them “prabhu,” which means “master”, while women are addressed as “mataji,” which means “mother.” Hindus believe that men should treat all the women who are not their daughters and wives as mothers, as no person would ever be disrespectful to the mother. It is always considered desirable to bow to each other when meeting someone to show respect. Moreover, serving each other is considered a great virtue; thus, everyone asks how they can serve another person. Vaishnavas say that by serving devotees, they return to the mindset of a servant, which is crucial to step away from the concepts of “I” and “my” and become ascetic.

Religious Beliefs

Vaishnavas believe that Krishna is the supreme personality of God, and all the people are his eternal servants, who fell to the material world because they wanted to become equal to God. There are more than 300 million gods in Hinduism; however, all these gods are considered demigods who help Krishna to rule the material world. Even though Krishna does not need their help to do so, he allows them to do so as a sign of His grace. However, not all Hindus believe that Krishna is the supreme personality of God. Others think it may be Shiva, the god of destruction.

Roles and Expectations

In Hindu culture, everyone has a strictly identified role she or he needs to follow. For instance, women are not expected to work to earn a living. It is the role of the father or husband to provide all the money for the family’s needs. However, women can work if they want, and all their duties are taken care of. Women are expected to raise the children, do all the housework, and serve their husbands. Apart from gender roles, Hindus believe that all the people are naturally divided into four varnas, including Brahmans (scientists and monks), Kshatriyas (warriors and politicians), Vaishyas (businesspeople and farmers), and Shudras (servants). People are expected to act according to their varna, as it is the best way to serve God.

Conclusion

Hindu culture differs from the traditional American culture in numerous ways. After visiting a Sunday program in the Vaishnava temple and talking to the president of the temple, I realized that there were two core differences between these cultures. First, Hindus believe that the spiritual soul wears the body as the body wears clothing, while Christians believe that bodies have souls. Second, western cultures value material goods and measure success in money and power, while the Hindu culture believes that ascetics are the most successful. Thus, the project allowed me to acquire a deep understanding of the Hindu culture, which I will use to become a better human service practitioner.

References

Greene-Moton, E., & Minkler, M. (2020). Cultural competence or cultural humility? Moving beyond the debate. Health Promotion Practice, 21(1), 142-145.

National Organization of Human Services. (2015). Ethical standards for human services professionals. Web.

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