Atheism__The_Right

Atheism: The Right Atheism: The Right Choice Growing up in a small town in Northeastern Iowa, it was difficult to understand being Hindu and practicing certain aspects of the religion. Our parents had moved to the U.S. in 1976 from India. My father, a psychiatrist, was able to find a position at the mental health hospital located right outside of a small town called Independence, Iowa. Independence was the model small town of the Midwest. With a population of only 6,000, the town led to a very limited and sheltered life for us. We were one of only 3 other non-White families in Independence. Our parents tried their hardest to keep our heritage and religion intact. We had a room in the house which was used only for praying, consisting of a shrine with Hindu figurines, candles, and paintings of Hindu gods. We were to memorize the daily prayer to be said in front of the shrine every morning. When my brother was about 9 and I was 13, we had a ceremony where we were given our “janoi” which was to be worn all the time. The janoi is a holy piece of string that is worn over the left shoulder and under religion, parents, being, town, school, much, janoi, vegetarian, time, small, simply, science, questions, led, independence, hindu, go, don’t, classes, ask, about, worn, world, through, think, take, string, shrine, said, right, really, put, powerful, people, outside, nothing