Amit Mehta
Hindu Voice UK, May 2008

A Hindu family of four, living in Greater London, suffered a terrible bereavement with the unexpected death of the father, who was the only earner in the house. As can be expected, this put a large strain on the family, both emotionally and financially. This was compounded by the fact that the widow, a recent immigrant and mother of two young children, had no extended family in Britain.

The family had been fairly frequent visitors to their nearest temple. However, the temple administration, apart from offering condolences, did nothing to alleviate the problems faced by this family. The widow did not ask for help, as most people do not in such situations. But a caring community should not wait for one who is in a problem to ask for help before offering it.

When questioned by me about this at a later date, the temple committee said that they believed their job was to provide a place where people could come and worship, and that it was not within their duty to go around helping people with their personal problems.

I, however, strongly disagree that the function of a temple should be solely to worship. Hindus can worship at shrines in the home, but a temple also provides a focal point for the community, and an opportunity to put our beliefs into practice together. One of the important functions of a temple should be to have a support system to help vulnerable sections of our community in their times of need.

It so happened that the family were approached by members of a Church who had learnt about their problems. The church gave considerable help – for example looking after the youngest child while the mother found herself a job to make ends meet.

The widow stopped attending the local temple, and instead started attending the Church, although she has not formally renounced Hinduism, she is somewhat estranged from the Hindu community, and her children are brought up as Christians.

This is one example of a monumental failure of Hindus in Britain to provide for our collective needs. Service of people and helping each other in times of hardship is an important aspect of Hindu dharma as I understand it, forming one of the “Five Yagnas” which are suggested as a duty for all Hindus. We should perform it on a basis of compassion. In addition, if we do not incorporate such functions, it will definitely serve to disintegrate and erode our community.

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