In the course of our lives the things which we experience bring us to realize things about ourselves and the world which we had never previously conceived. These realizations can come in a mater of seconds or over a period of years.

An important realization for me came after looking at the various classes, languages, castes and geographic locations that Hindus come from. Upon looking at these distinctions I realized that whilst we should be proud of our specific ancestral heritage, ultimately we should consider ourselves Hindus first.

It seems that every time I meet someone of Indian origin they instantly ask me about my background, and often become annoyed when I simply reply 'Hindu' in a proud tone.

"No but which part of India?" is the usual response. To placate them I often end up having to placate them - telling Gujaratis that I have some Guajarati blood, and Tamils that I have some Tamil heritage from my South Indian Gurudeva.

Now I hear you think - what is the big deal anyway, shouldn't one be proud of their regional identity. Punjabis are proud of their Punjabi origin, Gujaratis are proud of theirs, so what is the commotion about?

Well, that's exactly it, why should it matter which region I originate from within India. Why should it be India only? What about Nepal or Sri Lanka? Are we all not sons and daughters of the same holy land?

Like many others, my ancestors sacrificed their lives as brave Kshatriya soldiers to defend the whole of our motherland from the foreign invaders, not just Bengal or Gujarat.

Why are Indians stuck with this rhetoric of giving importance to regions and creating divisions and distinctions about where they come from? Respect to an individual should come without the need to associate the individual to a certain region (or status). Ninety nine percent of the time regional distinctions have caused prejudices against one another. Especially those narrow minded regional bound groups who limit themselves to a specific place or village they come from.

British Hindus normally restrict their Hindu-ness to regions of India or just India themselves. They are limiting themselves to see the universal view of Hinduism. They are placing boundaries on themselves and on society to practice this universal Hinduism; which of course originates in India but is global. A good example will be different groups within one Hindu community split up because of caste and village difference; the other split because of language and culture difference.

One can be born in any part of Mother Earth and yet live as a Hindu; seeing the divine within all and practicing the great Sanatana Dharma. The divine energy of our supreme reality is everywhere.

There is a lot to rebuild and a lot to experience and fulfil. Hindus must unite and work towards re-establishing lost connections and ties with each other. Not for the individual pride but for the betterment of the Hindu Society. Meditation, yoga and invocation of the deities will help us become stronger and better Hindus to help stop the persecution that Hindus are facing around the world. What good is it that the Hindus are fragmented and are limiting themselves to only the boundaries of modern India's diverse cultures and languages. Appreciate the diversity and richness and lets work together make us and other Hindus stronger to propagate and defend Hinduism when needed.

Of course I am not stating that we should disown our great regional cultures that we originate from and drop all signs of the glorious traditions that we have been practicing. What I am saying is that these should not become divisive factors. We Hindus need to stop limiting our practices to language, culture and tradition only. Profound truths have come from seers of all Indian regions. Languages are great, and we should be enjoying the richness of all languages, even if they are not closely linked with Sanskrit.

Sharing the global worldview will help these fragmented groups of Hindus to become stronger, re-establish and create a harmonious co-operative network among all Hindus and indigenous native groups. If you view it spiritually, most regional groups have a lot in common with the festivals, traditions and spiritual practices. They all are connected to the Veda and the idea of the divine being present in all, worshipping the divine in nature, welcoming seasons working with the self. We Hindus have a duty to mother earth and its people. We need to stop stigmatising one regional group and see the greatness that Hindu Dharma is and start living by the Dharma itself and experiencing the fullness of that which is everlasting.