RE at Edge Hill

Year 1 Undergraduates recently had the privilege to go and not only see what a Hindu temple looks like, but were lucky enough as a class to witness how worship happens in the Hindu Mandir.

Mary wrote this on her blog page:

It doesn’t matter how many books you read or how many assignments you can do on a religion like Hinduism, nothing compares to actually visually seeing what happens. I felt extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to expand my understanding on the Hindu culture, and I feel like it has widened and developed my passion for finding out more about the religion as a whole.

As soon as we entered the Mandir we were able to be taught and have a lesson with a regular Hindu of the temple. This was brilliant because he didn’t just give us information on his religion, but he actually gave us the opportunity to share what we have learnt so far on the course. I felt like I contributed well in this discussion, and I believe it really helped me in widening my knowledge as every answer that I shared with the group he expanded on it and gave examples from his own experiences within the Hindu community. For example he shared with us that he prefers to perform puja in his home in the morning as it makes him feel ready to tackle the day ahead of him. Not only did he share his own knowledge but he also showed us how to perform Yoga worship by repeating the sacred chant oum. This was extremely interesting to see up close as it is something I have never experienced before. Although I am by no means Hindu, or in fact religious in any way, by taking part in this chant it did create an emotion I haven’t felt before. Somehow the vibration of the chant made me feel somehow connected to the religion.

You can read more of Mary’s blog posts here