Good Writer 64 | - ✏ Freelance Writer
Oct 07, 2014 | #1
Abstract
The East Indian culture has markedly specific values, many of which stem from a uniquely Eastern, Hindu worldview. Familial structure, including rigid, gender and generational roles, is as paramount to East Indian culture as the perceptions of an individual's place within the greater, collective society. Cognizance of the differences between Western and East Indian culture is critical to preserving the integrity of the client-counselor relationship.
Integral to contemporary, counseling ethics is the demand for cultural competency, including awareness of stereotypes and the multiplicity of ways in which culture could inform the client-counselor relationship. The East Indian culture, in particular, differs sharply from Western culture in terms of worldview and spirituality, familial and gender relations, and communications including conflict resolution; in all of these capacities, the East Indian culture is unique. The following inquiry serves as an in-depth exploration of this culture, with a critical eye for elements of East Indian culture that would impact the counseling experience.
The American Counseling Association cites within its standards that "counselors do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, or sexual orientation and that they attempt to increase their personal awareness, sensitivity, and skills with regard to counseling diverse client populations..." (Kress et al., 2005, p. 97). Delivering one-size-fits-all care to all individuals, regardless of culture, is undoubtedly problematic in this age of globalization and subsequent surge of diversity that is taking place in national populations around the world. Relinquishing the Western tunnel vision for world perceptions, values, and ethics is crucial to delivering culturally sensitive care to populations of Eastern dissent; even if they have lived in the United States for generations, important remnants of the native culture exist.
The sense of how one's world is organized, and the ways in which people related to each other, is molded by one's cultural experience (Bacon, 1996). In his text entitled Life Lines, Bacon describes worldview as follows: "to the extent that people share a cultural milieu that surrounds and delimits their particular experiences of language, religion, caste, gender, family, education, work, and politics, they share the worldview constitutive of their common cultural background" (1996, p. 17). For immigrants, the worldview remains that of the nature culture and slowly grows more greatly informed by the new culture.
In India, like in other Asian societies, the predominant difference between the Western worldview and that of the native country is that individuals are not perceived in precisely the same way. The Western tradition holds autonomy as paramount, and the will of the individual as the most critical manifestation of freedom (Bacon, 1996). In contrast, the Indian worldview focuses heavily on the collective nature of society, with society being not a conglomerate of separate entities but a functioning, fluctuating organism of which individual people are merely a part (Bacon, 1996). Individual people, then, are born with innate characteristics which indwell them with a purpose for furthering their collective society.
The cultural strengths for coping and adjusting, by extension, stem largely from Indian people's perceptions of strong bonds between social life and family life in conjunction with their history and spiritual beliefs (Bacon, 1996; Medora, Larson, and Dave, 2000). The family represents the strongest, support network during times of crisis, but the network of friends, temple members, and other acquaintances of similar, ethnic dissent act as a vehicle for social validation, particular within first-generation immigrant families (Bacon, 1996; Medora, Larson, and Dave, 2000). The formidable sense of morality affords the culture with a distinct notion of right and wrong, to which decision-making is closely linked.
The Indian Independence Movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, led by Mohandas Gandhi, continues to markedly impact the Indian worldview, as the genuine concern with unity and collective interest asserted so fervently by Gandhi demands that individuals support one another (Bacon, 1996). There is a sense of responsibility within families and social networks for each other's well being that does not exist in Western societies; his has been birthed over time from historic events as well as spiritual values.
Many of the values, thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes integral to Indian culture stem from Hinduism, the dominant religion for most of the nation's substantial population. Hindu philosophy is now inextricably bound to the teachings of Gandhi, who professed non-violence and non-conflict in his teachings (Rambachan, 2003). A polytheistic religion, Hinduism holds a range of deities, both male and female, and its adherents personalize the religion with their own rituals, offerings, and perceptions depending on their primary deity. Common to the religion, however, are the notions of dharma, samsara, and karma. Dharma refers to one's duty in life, such as career or familial role, while samsara and karma correspond to reincarnation. Hinduism is deeply entrenched within the Indian worldview in that one's dharma is largely innate, predetermined through one's karma from previous lives, and thus one is not completely autonomous in terms of choices; in this way, social conformity is ensured through the spiritual beliefs of East Indians, as the most important thing a person can achieve in his or her lifetime is to fulfill his or her dharma and deviation from the path laid out by familial ties and social status is perceived inauspiciously.
The family unit within East Indian culture embodies rigid gender and generational roles. Attitudes toward the family, marriage, and education stem largely from the aforementioned dharma, with marriage and education almost always viewed as necessary for one's dharma to be fulfilled. In their empirical study of East Indian perceptions of family, authors Medora, Larson, and Dave contend that "in India, the family is the most important institution that has survived through the ages. India has a documented heritage of stable family life and structure which has been able to withstand the vicissitudes over the centuries.... The Indian family, like most families in Oriental cultures, is considered to be strong, well knit, resilient and enduring" (2000, p. 407). From a Western perspective, however, the role of women in Indian society is comparatively restricted.
In India, women are primarily wives and mothers. Marriage is viewed, for both sexes, as an essential ritual for becoming socially refined. For women, marriage is viewed as a sort of rebirth, a highly celebrated rite of passage. While a married woman is given quite a lot of responsibility, even being charged with the family finances in some instances, an unmarried woman, even a widow, is perceived as socially broken (Menon, 2000). In her article entitled "Does Feminism have Universal Relevance?" Menon writes that "a married woman embodies her conjugal family's, fund of auspiciousness, and she holds in her palms its future. If she is irresponsible in her management of its resources, the family is ruined; if she is promiscuous, it disintegrates. Spendthrift habits and sexual promiscuity attract repeated misfortunes, guaranteeing a family's final destruction" (2000, p. 77). Married women, in many ways, have the weight of the entire family's well-being on their shoulders.
Elderly men and women are valued in some ways and socially eschewed in others (Menon, 2000). In the multigenerational household that is typical in both India as well as in Indian immigrant families, the elderly are often accepted as having fulfilled their social purpose, existing as the ineffectual deliverers of sage advice and intermittent caregivers of children. Children, ironically, are viewed similarly, having few responsibilities as they prepare to fulfill their future roles.
The immense, Indian population has led to a myriad of dialects for the Hindi language, many of which are quite dissimilar from one another. Immigrant families often maintain their native language within the household for generations after arrival in a new country (Bacon, 1996). Nonverbal communication, much like other elements of East Indian culture, is heavily informed by Hinduism.
Conflict resolution, for instance, is typically done very non-violently and avoided whenever possible (Bacon, 1996). Arguably, there is no nation in the world where such a diverse population of people could exist as peacefully as the Indian people exist, with little civil unrest.
Because families are widely viewed as microcosms of greater society, and men are the decision-makers and patriarchs, there is little opportunity for conflicts to arise that cannot be resolved through conversation. While women may be unwittingly oppressed by the patriarchal structure of the family and slighted during the conflict resolution process, their opinions are critical, particularly during instances in which the children are concerned.
Summation
The greatest intergenerational issue of East Indian families stems from the infusion of Western values into a quintessentially Eastern culture, particularly for immigrant families. The worldview that values the collective nature of society, the importance of the family unit, and the individual's role in life as informed by his or her dharma persists for generations after immigration. By extension, crucial is it for the contemporary counselor to understand the interworkings of East Indian culture for not only first generation immigrants but even second and third generation Indian Americans. Overall, the most essential elements of Indian society are those directly informed by Hinduism. In particular, the generally peaceful nature of the people is beneficial to the counseling relationship, as is the formidable support network afforded the individual by family and community. A salient hindrance to the counseling relationship might be rooted in circumstances in which the well-being of the client somehow opposes the well-being of the family, such as if a mother needs long-term, in-patient care to overcome her illness but the family unit would suffer in her absence. Counselor cognizance of the potential for such instances to arise, however, is beyond crucial to circumventing culture-specific problems and ensuring a high level of care for East Indian clients.
References
Bacon, J. Life Lines: Community, Family, and Assimilation among Asian Indian Immigrants. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kress, V. E., Eriksen, K. P., Rayle, A. D., & Ford, S. J. (2005). The DSM-IV-TR and Culture: Considerations for Counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83(1), 97-108.
Medora, N. P., Larson, J. H., & Dave, P. B. East-Indian College Student's Perceptions of Family Strengths. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31(4), 407.
Menon, U. Does Feminism Have Universal Relevance? the Challenges Posed by Oriya Hindu Family Practices. Daedalus, 129(4), 77.
Rambachan, A. (2003). The Co-existence of Violence and Non-Violence in Hinduism. The Ecumenical Review, 55(2), 115-119.
The East Indian culture has markedly specific values, many of which stem from a uniquely Eastern, Hindu worldview. Familial structure, including rigid, gender and generational roles, is as paramount to East Indian culture as the perceptions of an individual's place within the greater, collective society. Cognizance of the differences between Western and East Indian culture is critical to preserving the integrity of the client-counselor relationship.
Culturally Sensitive Counseling: The East Indian Culture
Integral to contemporary, counseling ethics is the demand for cultural competency, including awareness of stereotypes and the multiplicity of ways in which culture could inform the client-counselor relationship. The East Indian culture, in particular, differs sharply from Western culture in terms of worldview and spirituality, familial and gender relations, and communications including conflict resolution; in all of these capacities, the East Indian culture is unique. The following inquiry serves as an in-depth exploration of this culture, with a critical eye for elements of East Indian culture that would impact the counseling experience.The American Counseling Association cites within its standards that "counselors do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, or sexual orientation and that they attempt to increase their personal awareness, sensitivity, and skills with regard to counseling diverse client populations..." (Kress et al., 2005, p. 97). Delivering one-size-fits-all care to all individuals, regardless of culture, is undoubtedly problematic in this age of globalization and subsequent surge of diversity that is taking place in national populations around the world. Relinquishing the Western tunnel vision for world perceptions, values, and ethics is crucial to delivering culturally sensitive care to populations of Eastern dissent; even if they have lived in the United States for generations, important remnants of the native culture exist.
The East Indian Worldview
The sense of how one's world is organized, and the ways in which people related to each other, is molded by one's cultural experience (Bacon, 1996). In his text entitled Life Lines, Bacon describes worldview as follows: "to the extent that people share a cultural milieu that surrounds and delimits their particular experiences of language, religion, caste, gender, family, education, work, and politics, they share the worldview constitutive of their common cultural background" (1996, p. 17). For immigrants, the worldview remains that of the nature culture and slowly grows more greatly informed by the new culture.
In India, like in other Asian societies, the predominant difference between the Western worldview and that of the native country is that individuals are not perceived in precisely the same way. The Western tradition holds autonomy as paramount, and the will of the individual as the most critical manifestation of freedom (Bacon, 1996). In contrast, the Indian worldview focuses heavily on the collective nature of society, with society being not a conglomerate of separate entities but a functioning, fluctuating organism of which individual people are merely a part (Bacon, 1996). Individual people, then, are born with innate characteristics which indwell them with a purpose for furthering their collective society.
The cultural strengths for coping and adjusting, by extension, stem largely from Indian people's perceptions of strong bonds between social life and family life in conjunction with their history and spiritual beliefs (Bacon, 1996; Medora, Larson, and Dave, 2000). The family represents the strongest, support network during times of crisis, but the network of friends, temple members, and other acquaintances of similar, ethnic dissent act as a vehicle for social validation, particular within first-generation immigrant families (Bacon, 1996; Medora, Larson, and Dave, 2000). The formidable sense of morality affords the culture with a distinct notion of right and wrong, to which decision-making is closely linked.
The Indian Independence Movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, led by Mohandas Gandhi, continues to markedly impact the Indian worldview, as the genuine concern with unity and collective interest asserted so fervently by Gandhi demands that individuals support one another (Bacon, 1996). There is a sense of responsibility within families and social networks for each other's well being that does not exist in Western societies; his has been birthed over time from historic events as well as spiritual values.
Many of the values, thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes integral to Indian culture stem from Hinduism, the dominant religion for most of the nation's substantial population. Hindu philosophy is now inextricably bound to the teachings of Gandhi, who professed non-violence and non-conflict in his teachings (Rambachan, 2003). A polytheistic religion, Hinduism holds a range of deities, both male and female, and its adherents personalize the religion with their own rituals, offerings, and perceptions depending on their primary deity. Common to the religion, however, are the notions of dharma, samsara, and karma. Dharma refers to one's duty in life, such as career or familial role, while samsara and karma correspond to reincarnation. Hinduism is deeply entrenched within the Indian worldview in that one's dharma is largely innate, predetermined through one's karma from previous lives, and thus one is not completely autonomous in terms of choices; in this way, social conformity is ensured through the spiritual beliefs of East Indians, as the most important thing a person can achieve in his or her lifetime is to fulfill his or her dharma and deviation from the path laid out by familial ties and social status is perceived inauspiciously.
Familial and Gender Relations in East Indian Culture
The family unit within East Indian culture embodies rigid gender and generational roles. Attitudes toward the family, marriage, and education stem largely from the aforementioned dharma, with marriage and education almost always viewed as necessary for one's dharma to be fulfilled. In their empirical study of East Indian perceptions of family, authors Medora, Larson, and Dave contend that "in India, the family is the most important institution that has survived through the ages. India has a documented heritage of stable family life and structure which has been able to withstand the vicissitudes over the centuries.... The Indian family, like most families in Oriental cultures, is considered to be strong, well knit, resilient and enduring" (2000, p. 407). From a Western perspective, however, the role of women in Indian society is comparatively restricted.
In India, women are primarily wives and mothers. Marriage is viewed, for both sexes, as an essential ritual for becoming socially refined. For women, marriage is viewed as a sort of rebirth, a highly celebrated rite of passage. While a married woman is given quite a lot of responsibility, even being charged with the family finances in some instances, an unmarried woman, even a widow, is perceived as socially broken (Menon, 2000). In her article entitled "Does Feminism have Universal Relevance?" Menon writes that "a married woman embodies her conjugal family's, fund of auspiciousness, and she holds in her palms its future. If she is irresponsible in her management of its resources, the family is ruined; if she is promiscuous, it disintegrates. Spendthrift habits and sexual promiscuity attract repeated misfortunes, guaranteeing a family's final destruction" (2000, p. 77). Married women, in many ways, have the weight of the entire family's well-being on their shoulders.
Elderly men and women are valued in some ways and socially eschewed in others (Menon, 2000). In the multigenerational household that is typical in both India as well as in Indian immigrant families, the elderly are often accepted as having fulfilled their social purpose, existing as the ineffectual deliverers of sage advice and intermittent caregivers of children. Children, ironically, are viewed similarly, having few responsibilities as they prepare to fulfill their future roles.
Communications within East Indian Culture
The immense, Indian population has led to a myriad of dialects for the Hindi language, many of which are quite dissimilar from one another. Immigrant families often maintain their native language within the household for generations after arrival in a new country (Bacon, 1996). Nonverbal communication, much like other elements of East Indian culture, is heavily informed by Hinduism.
Conflict resolution, for instance, is typically done very non-violently and avoided whenever possible (Bacon, 1996). Arguably, there is no nation in the world where such a diverse population of people could exist as peacefully as the Indian people exist, with little civil unrest.
Because families are widely viewed as microcosms of greater society, and men are the decision-makers and patriarchs, there is little opportunity for conflicts to arise that cannot be resolved through conversation. While women may be unwittingly oppressed by the patriarchal structure of the family and slighted during the conflict resolution process, their opinions are critical, particularly during instances in which the children are concerned.
Summation
The greatest intergenerational issue of East Indian families stems from the infusion of Western values into a quintessentially Eastern culture, particularly for immigrant families. The worldview that values the collective nature of society, the importance of the family unit, and the individual's role in life as informed by his or her dharma persists for generations after immigration. By extension, crucial is it for the contemporary counselor to understand the interworkings of East Indian culture for not only first generation immigrants but even second and third generation Indian Americans. Overall, the most essential elements of Indian society are those directly informed by Hinduism. In particular, the generally peaceful nature of the people is beneficial to the counseling relationship, as is the formidable support network afforded the individual by family and community. A salient hindrance to the counseling relationship might be rooted in circumstances in which the well-being of the client somehow opposes the well-being of the family, such as if a mother needs long-term, in-patient care to overcome her illness but the family unit would suffer in her absence. Counselor cognizance of the potential for such instances to arise, however, is beyond crucial to circumventing culture-specific problems and ensuring a high level of care for East Indian clients.
References
Bacon, J. Life Lines: Community, Family, and Assimilation among Asian Indian Immigrants. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kress, V. E., Eriksen, K. P., Rayle, A. D., & Ford, S. J. (2005). The DSM-IV-TR and Culture: Considerations for Counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 83(1), 97-108.
Medora, N. P., Larson, J. H., & Dave, P. B. East-Indian College Student's Perceptions of Family Strengths. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31(4), 407.
Menon, U. Does Feminism Have Universal Relevance? the Challenges Posed by Oriya Hindu Family Practices. Daedalus, 129(4), 77.
Rambachan, A. (2003). The Co-existence of Violence and Non-Violence in Hinduism. The Ecumenical Review, 55(2), 115-119.