First ever Hindu tutor appointed at Eton College
Dilip Lakhani, founder and director of the Vivekananda Centre UK, has been appointed as the first Hindu tutor at Eton College.
Eton College was founded in 1440, and is the most famous secondary school in Britain, if not the world. It has produced eighteen British Prime Ministers, and is often described as “the chief nurse of England’s statesmen.â€
April 15th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I’ve turned up this dude’s talks a couple of times: one at King’s College London, and the other at Imperial. They were very good, lively and easy to follow - wish there were more like him.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Agree with the above - he is a good speaker and quite knowledgeable, and he is certainly very proactive, doing some excellent work in bringing Hinduism and Hindu concerns to wider audiences.
However, I have found that he has very defined, limited, restrictive ideas on what constitutes Hinduism, and can be almost fundamentalist in his rejection of anything that lies outwith his personal beliefs and ideas. For me, there is therefore very little difference between his approach and that of the I-Foundation, which was recently so heavily criticised in another discussion in these same fora.
Further, I feel that for someone so narrow-minded to be put in such a position, as an ambassador of Hinduism to the top brass of the young generation of British society, does not necessarily bode well for a rounded, appropriate and representative appreciation of Hinduism amongst the leaders of tomorrow’s Britain.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Satya-
You’re comment is duly noted, but I’m bit confused. In this interview, he mentions something along the lines of “there has been no way of teaching Hinduism that goes beyond a particular sect, so I decided to change that.”
You don’t think he’s teaching about more than one sect?
It seems that he is a bit rooted in Vivekananda, who rejected idolatry and what not, which is a significant part of Hindu society, which might cause problems.
Unless there is someone to represent all of Hindu society, there can be no chance at proper representation.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Keshav:-
This is not against anything else you’re saying but just one point:
You say that Vivekananda ‘rejected idolatry’. I think this is wrong. Take the following quote from him:
“It has become a trite saying that idolatry is wrong, and every man swallows it at the present time without questioning. I once thought so, and to pay the penalty of that, I had to learn my lesson sitting at the feet of a man who realised everything through idols; I allude to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. If such Ramakrishna Paramahamsas are produced by idol-worship, what will you have - the reformer’s creed or any number of idols? I want an answer. Take a thousand idols more if you can produce Ramakrishna Paramahamsas through idol-worship, and may God speed you! Produce such noble natures by any
means you can.”
April 15th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Keshav, personally I feel that Mr Lakhani contributes a great deal - he has a great deal of energy and a tremendous will to push forward an agenda he truly believes in, that of promoting Hinduism both within the Hindu community and beyond.
However, his narrow interpretation of Hinduism and his absolute inability to accept anything that strays from his own (sometimes quite bizarre) ideas concerns me. His teaching is very heavily influenced by certain aspects of Vivekananda’s Vedanta, but he manages to ignore Vivekananda’s repeated messages of universalism, plurality, diversity and acceptance. He also has some quite bizarre notions whose source I cannot fathom but from a Christian, Eurocentric reading of Hinduism dating back to early ‘Indology’.
Having said that, there are few Hindu protagonists in Britain who can combine depth of knowledge, a universalist, truly representative approach to Hinduism, and a passion and an ability to reach relevant target audiences. Hindu Forum of Britain’s Ramesh Kallidai may be argued to be one, Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Girdhari Lal Bhan potentially another. That being the case, perhaps it’s a case of something being better than nothing; Mr Lakhani at least fulfills two of those three criteria, which is still better than many who claim/try to speak for Hinduism!
April 15th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I’ll be honest and say I’ve heard quite a bit about Vivekananda and what he believed. People who are more inclined to believe his more universal values quote his universal quotes and those who talk about his “Hinduness” cite his quotes about his Indian, Hindu pride.
In general, I’ve come to conclusion that he was one of the founders of Hindu nationalism. That is, to codify through his writings and speeches of that idea.
Someone needs to write a comprehensive biography about his beliefs and how that plays into his life.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
This is getting a tad off topic, but personally I find it informative to read The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, published in nine volumes and containing his lectures, essays and talks, codified by various devotees.
A comment that could be made in criticism of Swamiji’s works is that he is often self-contradictory and seems to say different things dependent on who he is talking to; personally, I find this a wonderful thing about his teaching - for him, Hinduism has room for such vastly differing beliefs, ideas and practises. He is therefore entirely comfortable with all the different contexts that he speaks in, allowing each listener and audience to find for themselves a suitable home within Hinduism.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Interestingly, Satya, the truth of Swami Vivekananda is even more complex than can be gleaned from studying his Complete Works.
The Ramakrishna Mission have actually edited out bits of his speeches and letters which were too staunchly Hindu nationalist to be politically correct in Nehruvian Indian.
Messed up, I know.
PS. Ram Swarup and later Koenraad Elst documented the altering done by the RKM to Vivekananda’s works.
April 18th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Dangerous, I’ve been told that before by Koenraad Elst as well - though I’ve never actually read either his or the late Ram Swarup’s work on it. What do you make of the whole thing, having read their work? How robust is the evidence for the allegations of deliberate editing, and what is Ramakrishna Mission’s position on it today?
April 18th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I feel in todays situation, ISKCON trained Hindu monks are more pure and devout and have more borad knowledge about Vedic Sanatan Dharma than Hindu monks trained by RKM or other missions. Again, its my opinion.
Bharat
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April 19th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Satya, Dangerous -
Could you provide a link to the omissions?
April 21st, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Congratulations to Dilip Lakhani.
Satya, I find it hard to put Ramesh Kallidai and Dilip Lakhani into the same category when it comes to positive Hindu representatives. You also said “but he manages to ignore Vivekananda’s repeated messages of universalism, plurality, diversity and acceptance. ” … if you go to his talks then that’s pretty much what he goes on about.
April 25th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
My congratulations to Dilip Lakhani.
My experience with Hindu youngsters is that in this day and age of 21st cent. what they simply want to know is what is Hinduism and what would they need to believe in to call themselves Hindus and remain Hindus.
Think this should be the first task for Mr Lakhani.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Satya:
I’m certain that it’s true that the Ramakrishna Mission have altered the Complete Works of Vivekananda. I know its good to have your own proof, but personally I have faith in the intellectual rigour and honesty of both Koenraad and Ram Swarup. I don’t know whether the Ramakrishna Mission have ever had an official position on this, however it would not suprise me considering they once launched a court case trying to classify themselves as a non-Hindu sect.
Keshav:
I was looking through some of my old Voice of India books to try and pin point the examples I was given - but I couldn’t find them in the time contraints I had. I’ll give it another shot some time. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a link.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Dangerous, I do have a certain amount of sympathy for the Ramakrishna Mission’s campaign some years ago to be considered a non-Hindu sect. Indian policy gives so many benefits to minorities that it is highly beneficial to be declared non-Hindu; one cannot blame them for wanting a piece of that action.
As for the Complete Works, I was not trying to cast any doubt on the academic honesty and ability of Elst or Swarup, both of whom I admire greatly. However, having not read their reports myself, I was hoping you could perhaps share some of your knowledge on the topic that you have gained from your readings of both their work and that of Ramakrishna Mission.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Congrats to Dillipbhai Lakhani,
He is a big character in the Hindu community, so he may have his own views of certain things which I found was different to many Hindus.
However, much credit must given to him for the gcse courses in Hinduism, which has been my first step to looking at Hinduism academically.
I wouldn’t even be here looking at this Hindu Voice website if it wasn’t for inspirational folks like him that had set up schemes that I could embarks on, like many other Hindus in my childhood.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Congratulations to Dilipji. A great achievement for Hinduism.
Just to acknowledge that Dilipji is working very hard to present a comprehensive image of Hinduism in UK and beyond. Hindu community is very proud of him. He is a great example and inspiration to all of us and our children. It is good to see that his endevours in removing mis-conceptions about Hinduism that exist both within the Hindu community and outside it are bearing fruit. His appointment to Eton is a great testament to the recognition that Hinduism is starting to receive in British Society as a result of Dilipji’s endeavours and shear hard work.
Students at Eton are indeed priviledged to have the opportunity to learn Hinduism from someone of Dilipji’s caliber and passion for this subject. It should be pointed out that same privillege is also available to many Hindu parents and children to learn Hinduism at many of the UK temples where Dilipji has been the inspiration in starting the GCSE and GCE A level classes in Hinduism. Let us hope that more temples will follow this lead by making the opportunity available to more parents and children by starting more classes next year. May be parents should become more pro-active in raising the need for Hinduism Classes both with their temple authorities and with their school heads. After all Hinduism should not be for the priviledged few at Eaton.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am
I’d like to congratulate Shri Dilip Lakhani on his new, important post. This will help with the understanding and assimilation of the principles of Hinduism into mainstream Britain.
Best wishes,
Maneesha, London.