Obama Lights White House Diwali Lamp

[Guest guest]

co-founder, Hindu American Foundation

Aseem Shukla

Associate Professor in urologic surgery at the University of

Minnesota medical school. Co-founder and board member of Hindu

American Foundation.

 

Obama Lights White House Diwali Lamp

The Dow Jones reached a significant milestone yesterday, and news

outlets were abuzz with excitement. Olympia Snowe's vote for the

Baucus bill was plenty fodder for the 24-hour news cycles. But, for

Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists in the United States, an epochal

event transpired at the White House afternoon that should not slip

notice.

 

Lead me from Untruth to Truth.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality.

(from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad -- I.iii.28)

 

As the ethereal sounds of a Hindu priest's chanting of this Sanskrit

prayer from ancient Hindu scripture filled the East Room, President

Obama lit the ceremonial White House diya --and he used this Sanskrit

word for lamp--with dozens of Asian, Indian and Hindu Americans in

attendance. Never before had a sitting U.S. President personally

celebrated the Diwali holiday, and with that one gesture, two million

Hindu Americans felt a bit more like they belonged--one more reason

to feel at home. Maybe that cliche' that all of our diversity adds

unique patches to the American quilt is not as tired as we thought.

 

Diwali is among the most widely celebrated festivals in India and

spans all of the Dharmic religious traditions. Rows of diyas, or

earthen lamps, line the homes of celebrants as prayers are offered,

and for many, a New Year on Hindu calendars is marked. For the

seeker, the spiritual significance is clear: the lamps symbolize the

quest for knowledge and goodness that mimics the inner Divine and

eradicates the darkness of ignorance and false values. As the

President said in his address, of course, one does not forget the

joyous merriment Diwali celebrations entail: fireworks light up the

dark skies of a new moon night, gifts are exchanged and sweets

savored.

 

Jains mark the holiday as a time of contemplation when the last of

their Tirthankaras, the great teachers of dharma, attained

liberation. Sikhs celebrate Diwali as the day that their sixth

founding Guru, or teacher, was released from the captivity of a

Mughal emperor five centuries ago.

 

The White House Diwali celebration tradition began during the George

W. Bush Administration. And while the day was always a boisterous

affair, despite years of requests, President Bush never attended the

event, consigning the task to cabinet members or close assistants.

But for President Obama, hope was high that he would attend the event

this year--and he delivered.

 

Of course, Hindus do not need a President to validate their

traditions or feel more American. The religious pluralism of this

nation may be under attack at times, but strong advocacy, thousands

of temples and rising prosperity testify to a community's confidence.

But the Hindu American journey to the White House mirrors the path

that all major faith traditions took towards real integration into

this country's religious landscape. From Preeta Bansal to Neal Katyal

and Kal Penn to Vivek Kundra and Rajiv Shah, high profile Hindu

Americans have reached the highest echelons within the Obama

Administration. This year's Diwali ceremony surely happened because

of their efforts, and may be interpreted as a nod to their religious

heritage. There is an understanding that now at two million, Hindu

American is a marginal demographic no longer.

 

The Hindu American Foundation, of which I am a part, indeed felt

honored and privileged to celebrate in the East Room with President

Obama yesterday, and pushed hard two years ago as both chambers of

the U.S. Congress passed a resolution recognizing the significance of

Diwali. The spirit of that resolution was signed, so to speak, by the

President. And in the future, when the next woman is sworn in as a

Supreme Court Justice, here's hoping that no one will care that she's

Hindu!

 

" We're going to run out of things to be bitter about, " someone posted

on a blog popular with young Indian Americans last night, and I knew,

at least for a moment, our President and his Administration had done

right.

 

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/aseem_shukla/2009/10/presid\

ent_obama_lights_white_house_with_diwali_lamp.html