Guyana adaptation

Practice and methodology changed.

sunday satsangh

One of the most obvious was the adopting of “Sunday Satsangh” a foreign concept in India when it relates to Sanatana Dharma. But when living outside of India, it has its place. It provides community, shared identity and a way to keep together.

Standardization

The more complicated answer was the unifying of Hindu practices through the formation of the Sanatana Dharma Mahasabha. They codified practices and created Mandir’s into “branches”.

bhakti

Source: TW

Also the role of “Bhakti” needs to be examined. In the Vedanta space in North America, the focus is on philosophical aspects which is at times lacking in emotion. “Bhakti” in its rawest forms has a huge role to play.

I think 2nd gen immigrants haven’t arrived there yet. i was lucky in that my Indo-Caribbean upbringing has that imbibed through music (Bhajans, kirtans – I myself am a tabla player).

Criticisms

This of course is not without its criticisms and is pointed out in great detail by Ramesh Gampat’s book “Plantation Hinduism” (he speaks of the Guyanese experience but there is a lot of similarity).