-
Notes on the article by David R. Hodge “Working with Hindu Clients in a Spiritually Sensitive Manner”
The article was written first of all for social workers who may encounter Hindu consumers. In order to facilitate a minimum cultural sensitivity Hodge makes an attempt to summarise Hindu cosmology. He explains such central to Hindu religion concepts as dharma, karma, moksha, and the non-self-centred view on life of the Hindu population. He then demonstrates how some traditional Hindu ways of life may be different from the western mentality and, thus, would be often met with prejudice and judgement. For example, the sacred dharma that prescribes different roles for women and men is referred to an “ideology” that serves to “camouflage injustice” while deceiving women into desiring a position…
-
Notes the article by by Sarah M. Whitman “Pain and Suffering as Viewed by the Hindu Religion”
There are many interesting points made in this article, including the whole idea of acceptance and detachment from the outcome of whatever action. The idea of acceptance is central in Hindu religion as is the concept of Karma through which all the life’s misfortunes are viewed. At the same time, the author shows us with the example of several scientific studies, that acceptance-based strategies in dealing with chronic pain have proved to be more efficient than control-based strategies. Bringing these scientific facts to parallel the religion-based approach is very helpful for medical professionals, for whom it may be difficult to grasp this strategy only based on belief. Another interesting parallel…