Dispelling the newcomer myth

This year America turns 250, and if you’re curious what the country’s focus will be, all you have to do is visit the official website of the US Semiquincentennial Commission. There, on its landing page, if you scroll down just a little, the first paragraph lays out the guiding vision:

“On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The journey toward this historic milestone is an opportunity to pause and reflect on our nation’s past, honor the contributions of all Americans, and look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond.”

Not bad, right? Most might feel so. It does have the good-vibe elements of kumbaya and inclusivity. If we’re being real, however, inclusion works only for those who have been duly recognized. And that, for some communities, hasn’t come easy.

Among them are Hindus, and before you roll your eyes thinking, “Here we go again, another minority group looking to cry foul,” relax. We know the US has been good to us. Indians, after all, stand as the country’s highest-earning immigrants, and the reasons span beyond just hard work and education.

Yet, it’s because of such success that Hindus are often mischaracterized, othered as outsiders who showed up later in America’s history to reap the rewards of its prospering culture. The point here isn’t to complain but to shed a little light on this glaring misconception.

To start, Hindu influence didn’t originate with the modern-day yoga industry, nor with the Indian gurus and philosophies that gained wide popularity in the 1960s. It also didn’t begin when Swami Vivekananda made his trailblazing speech at the first Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893, nor with the Transcendentalists of the 1830s. 

No, Hindu influence goes back much further, all the way to the country’s very creation. This may seem far-fetched, considering Protestant values were so widespread and prevailing, until you realize how much of the American project was actually anchored in Deism. 

Deism was a developing worldview that prioritized what it called natural religion and the observable laws of the universe beyond those of any doctrinal sects. By invoking “Nature’s God” in the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers sought a theological foundation that could transcend the religious wars of Europe and provide common ground for all humanity.

The Hindu blueprint for a pluralistic society

Of course, this may sound somewhat utopian. Perhaps the Founders might have thought so as well. But they weren’t hopeful idealists acting on theory alone. They had a real-world model to validate their convictions. 

This came from the people of India, whose teachings contained elements strikingly akin to Deism. While several examples from the Founders’ era highlight their exposure to this fact, one of the more impactful was “A Code of Gentoo Laws,” the first digest of Hindu law translated into English.

Published in 1776, the same year as the Declaration’s signing, it presented an ancient legal system that supported social order and stability among Hindus based on rational, universal morality. It showed that a sprawling civilization, home to myriad traditions — including Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism — could flourish under an ethical framework, regardless of one’s beliefs.

Thus equipped with this proof-of-concept, the Founders deliberately wove a similar brand of pluralism into the DNA of their new republic, making explicit efforts to include Hindus as well. A powerful testament to this can be found in Thomas Jefferson’s autobiography, where he recounted the denial of an amendment to the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom that would have limited the law’s protection to Christians:

“The insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.”

Now, there are those who would say, “So what? So what if the Founders drew inspiration from some archaic Hindu laws, or envisioned Hindus as part of American culture? What does that have to do with the here and now? What evidence is there that Hindus still uphold their ancestors’ ‘ideas of universal morality,’ and what tangible benefit has that brought to our society today?”

Traditionally, this hasn’t been easy to answer — at least not with hard data at a national level. Fortunately, though, that is no longer the case. Faith Communities Today, a multifaith research coalition, has recently conducted the largest countrywide survey of religious congregations ever in the US, and the results regarding Hindus have been rather illuminating.

Out of 48 Hindu temples, over 67% reported active involvement in their local communities, while roughly the same percentage said they placed an emphasis on community service.

Hindu temple initiatives in action

Needless to say, the survey has its limitations, as there are upwards of 1000 temples in the US. Still, the sample gives a solid picture of the general ethos of temples when it comes to their communities. Hindus have a strong culture of seva, or selfless service, as part of their dharma, or intrinsic desire to give back. And if you have any doubts, there are many initiatives that prove it. 

The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), for instance, operates over 100 temples in America, where tens of thousands give millions of hours annually to service projects, including nationwide walkathons, disaster-relief endeavors, and environmental cleanups. 

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), with approximately 50 temples across the US, is well known for its food programs, such as Krishna Lunch in Gainesville, Florida, which distributes hundreds of plates daily to students, the elderly, the homeless, and the disabled.

Chinmaya Mission, which has more than a dozen temples in the US, engages in similar work, organizing food drives every year through its local chapters — like the one in New York around Thanksgiving. 

And then there’s the Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam (better known as the Flushing Temple), which isn’t part of a wider network, but embodies the Hindu spirit of service all the same. There, in the oldest traditionally designed Hindu temple built in America, devotees host an annual health fair for the community, offering free checkups, screenings, and specialist consultations.

So, in case anyone tells you differently, remember — Hindus do contribute to America. We did at the very beginning, and we will be going forward. As Dr. Uma Mysorekar, the Flushing temple’s president and driving force, said:

“Hindu values guide us every step of the way. Service is the motto. It’s something that gives inner peace and satisfaction, which no amount of money can buy.”