{"id":21123,"date":"2024-07-18T01:35:49","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T01:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/?p=21123"},"modified":"2024-07-18T01:35:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T01:35:49","slug":"american-hindu-parents-are-finding-ways-to-pass-the-faith-on-to-their-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hinduismtoday.com\/hpi\/2024\/07\/18\/american-hindu-parents-are-finding-ways-to-pass-the-faith-on-to-their-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"American Hindu Parents Are Finding Ways to Pass the Faith on to Their KIds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNITED STATES, July 9, 2024 (Religion News Service): Every day since March, 63-year-old Ranjani Saigal has posted a 90-second Instagram reel. \u201cI\u2019m not a social media person,\u201d said Saigal, who goes by \u201cThe Hindu Grandma\u201d on Instagram. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what a reel was, I didn\u2019t know what TikTok was, any of that. Like many other grandparents, I was like, \u2018Social media? I should stay away from that.’\u201d But Saigal, who lives in Boston, was determined to reach the next generation of Hindu children, and she knew social media is where she\u2019d find them. Through short educational videos answering questions such as \u201cWhy do Hindus wear a bindi?\u201d or demonstrating a step-by-step everyday morning prayer ritual, Saigal has become a symbolic \u201cdadi,\u201d \u201cajji,\u201d or \u201cammamma\u201d to over 100,000 followers. \u201cSomehow people seem to like to learn from grandma, and hence seem to listen in more,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople love their grandmas, at the same time they\u2019re kind of missing in their lives. And I don\u2019t know, it touches me a lot, so it makes me keep wanting to go with it.\u201d

To Saigal, who is a trained purohita, or family priest, and a Bharatanatyam teacher, Hinduism is a \u201cstar-studded, gem-filled\u201d tradition that has a real power to connect with youth. For her granddaughter\u2019s first birthday, Saigal was able to gift her a copy of her own children\u2019s book: \u201cMy First Om,\u201d intended for the very youngest of Hindus. \u201cThe more Hindu a teacher you are, the more you should allow for questions,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a religion of understanding and of knowledge, not of faith. And I think that kind of vibes with the modern generation.\u201d American Hindu parents and grandparents like Saigal are reckoning with how to keep their children connected to Hinduism against a nationwide backdrop of decreased religiosity among young people. From Instagram reels to children\u2019s books, summer camps to Sunday school, Hindu adults hope to spark genuine excitement about the Hindu faith among second-generation youth, while offering them a community to belong to.

More at source.
https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2024\/07\/09\/american-hindu-parents-are-finding-innovative-ways-to-pass-the-faith-on-to-their-kids\/
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