Tags: Proverb, Folk Saying, Hinduism, Caste System, Reincarnation

Text

“Do the right thing, not the easy thing.”

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: Indian

Age: 21

Occupation: College Student

Residence: Arizona, USA

Date of Performance: February 2024

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): Bengali

Relationship: Friend

Context

RB, the informant, is of Indian descent and actively practices Hinduism.

Analysis

In collecting texts from the informant, I asked him the standard questions, “what is a proverb, rebus, joke,… What was a folk tradition that was important to you growing up?” 

He responded, “The biggest thing that I believe is central to the culture [Hinduism] I was raised in was the idea of doing the right thing, not the easy thing.”

Upon doing more research, I found that Indian culture is heavily rooted in being moral as morality is strongly tied to how one would be reincarnated in the next life [in Hinduism]. Notably, Hinduism believes that doing the “right thing” is related to making sure your life’s purpose is fulfilled, also known as dharma. Having a culture of people wanting to fulfill their life’s purpose has resulted in a classist structure in India, especially amongst people in higher castes.

I caught up with the informant after doing some independent research and asked him if dharma affected his “do the right thing, not the easy thing” mindset and he said “although the caste system is legally gone, its impacts are still very much there.” Acknowledging the idea that morality is a huge standard in Indian culture, one that is heavily influenced by the now gone caste system.