Hinduism in Lithuania

Hinduism is a minority religion and a fairly recent development in Lithuania. Hinduism is spread in Lithuania by Hindu organizations: ISKCON, Sathya Sai Baba, Brahma Kumaris and Osho Rajneesh.

Hare Krishna devotees in Lithuania

ISKCON ( in lithuanian: Krišnos sąmonės judėjimas) the largest movement and oldest movement as the first Krishna followers date to 1979.[1] and has three centres in Lithuania in Vilnius, Klaipėda and Kaunas.

Brahma Kumaris maintains the Centre Brahma Kumaris in Antakalnis, Vilnius.

Demographics

According to a census in 2001, 265 people identified themselves as followers of Hare Krishna movement, 107 identified as Shri Sathya Sai Baba followers, and 12 identified as Osho Rajneesh movement .[2][3]. A total of 384 hindus (0.01% of the population of Lithuania).

According to 2011 census, there are 344 Krishnaites in Lithuania.[4] . The number of followers of Shri Sathya Sai Baba and Osho Rajneesh movement were not published in 2011 census, they officially have yet to attempt the establishment in Lithuania of that movement.They might have been included in the 'other religion' in the 2011 census .

Romuva
Main article: Romuva (religion)

The Romova religion in Lithuania share similarities with ancient Hinduism. For example, in Lithuanian, the word darna means harmony and coherence, and for Lithuanian pagans, that’s a religious tenet as well — the balance of the world. It also superficially resembles the word dharma, Hinduism’s cosmic order.[5] Some believes that Lithuania was a "Hindu-Buddhist" society until Christianization in the 15th century. In this view, Lithuanian paganism was a dharmic religion related to Hinduism and Buddhism. It is derived from certain similarities between the Lithuanian language and Sanskrit.[6]

Famous Lithuanian Hindus

See also

References
  1. "Krišnos sąmonės judėjimas". Archived from the original on 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  2. The religious affiliation of the inhabitants of Lithuania as per 2001 census
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20110723085123/http://en.religija.lt/showarticle.php?articleID=13
  4. https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/217110/Gyv_kalba_tikyba.pdf
  5. https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/why-folk-religions-are-booming-in-lithuania/83397
  6. Douglas R. Spitz and William Urban, "A Hindu Nationalist View of Baltic History", Journal of Baltic Studies, 24.3 (1993): 295–98.
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