HINDU INSTITUTE OF LEARNING

Two-thirds of the population of India -many millions of people- can read, write, speak and understand Hindi. The other third can at least understand Hindi to a limited degree for Hindi is India's "lingua franca" or working language. Whenever Indians emigrated, they took their Hindi language with them, but only the first and second generations were able to maintain it, because young people tend to be so heavily indoctrinated with the new language of the country they settle in. The third and fourth generation of immigrants largely abandon the language of their grandparents. But now, some Indian parents and younger descendents of former immigrants have decided to learn Hindi in order to keep their cultural history alive, and language is the most basic method for maintaining a heritage. It opens the door to the wealth of literature, poetry, ideas, philosophy, all the arts and understanding of a society and a whole civilization.

These things can only be kept alive in the hearts and minds of people, and language is the key to opening that door. Outside of India, a number of countries have a large population of Indians, especially Hindus. These include Mauritius, East Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, Surinam, and some other countries in the Far East. Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia also have a large Indian population..

In Fiji and Surinam, Indians speak Hindi as their daily tongue. But in some other countries, they learn their spiritual literature and devotional songs through the medium of English or some other language. However, learning in the original mother tongue is best, and so the demand for learning Hindi is increasing outside of India. People can only really enjoy Indian cultural presentations like music, dancing, and movies if they are fluent in Hindi. There are other aspects as well. Religious literature such as the Ramayana, devotional songs (bhajans), and ceremonial chanting are all in Hindi, and so the temples and other organizations are eager to have their devotees learn the language. Over 200 million Indians have emigrated and settled abroad. About 70% of these are Hindi-speaking. Parents are now beginning to realize that their children are fast losing their ancient culture, and that although many practical opportunities abound in the West, the moral and ethical cultures they encounter often leave much to be desired. To keep the old values alive, parents are starting to feel that they ought to learn Hindi themselves, and thus encourage their children, by example, to learn it as well.

Many other persons beside Indians also want to learn Hindi, in order to facilitate travel to India for business, or for other reasons. A lot of non-Indians follow various spiritual paths and wish to be able to communicate with their teacher or guru who probably speaks and understands Hindi. Still others are interested in learning Indian music or dancing, and Hindi is the open channel through which such learning flows. Yoga has now become a universal pursuit, and a knowledge of Hindi makes it easier to learn its terminology and techniques, to "feel at home" in it.

With the world-wide opening up of travel in the last decades, a great many people now have married into Indian families and naturally want to communicate with their new relatives who may or may not speak English. For all of these reasons -and others besides- the study of Hindi is fast becoming an accepted subject in Canadian schools, alongside the more traditional European languages. This reflects the new world in which we all live, and the growing interest in Hindi -and the availability of instruction- promises us all a future and a culture far richer than we have yet known.

Where can one learn Hindi? The Hindu Institute currently offers classes at all levels, in two locations, with two more locations to be added shortly. Credit courses will soon be offered that are affiliated with the University of Toronto, with York University, and with the District Board of Education of Toronto.

Established in 1989 (incorporated as a Non-profit Charitable Organization in 1994) for the Propagation of Indian Languages, Arts and Culture in North America, the Institute conducts classes for adults and children to teach Indian Languages including Sanskrit; Fine Arts such as Music and Dance; Hindu Scriptures such as Gita, Ramayana and Upanishads; Hindu Cultural aspects such as Yoga, Meditation, Hindu Ethics; and Schools of Hindu Philosophy.

As a community service it arranges interesting lectures, informative talks, scholarly discussions, art exhibitions, and social programs. It prints, publishes and distributes books, magazine and literature for the promotion of the subjects it teaches. It also maintains a library for the patrons and a book store for the general public. It is constantly looking for dedicated workers who would volunteer their skills and services for the benefit of the community.