Part of our Year 3 undergraduate course is a module looking at two of the less popular Dharmic religions, Sikhism and Jainism. as part of this we spent a day with the two communities in Manchester.
Our first visit was to the Jain Samaj Temple. Here we were able to see the community hall with its most impressive shrine. Dominating the shrine was a beautiful rupa of Mahavira and the first and 23rd tirthinkaras, Rsabha and Parsanatha.
Our guide, Suresh Mehta spoke at great length, explaining Jain beliefs and practices, including ahimsa, the three paths and the four destinations.
We then continued across Manchester to meet our old friends at the Guru Harkrishan Sahib Gurdwara.
Our guide, Gurvinder Singh, expained the central beliefs of Sikhism and read from the Guru Granth Sahib – a wonderful experience. We then had a little tour of the gurdwara, seeing the Guru’s bedroom, before finishing by eating some lovely langar in the langar hall.
