GEETHA PATIL
CHICAGO: The teachers of Lake High School, Lake Villa, a Chicago suburb, got their students to visit in two large groups of 80 students each the Hindu Mandir of Lake County, Grayslake April 16 morning to learn about Hinduism and get a firsthand experience of the Hindu faith in practice.
Hindu Mandir of Lake County always welcomes non-Hindu visitors, tour groups from other states as well as local churches and book clubs, including school and college student groups from the surrounding areas. A dedicated and very popular founding member and former president of the temple, Dr. Harsh Kumar, coordinated the program and welcomed the groups warmly to the temple and said: “We are happy to let anyone interested to see what our culture and religion are about.”
In the temple’s auditorium, Anand Upadhyay greeted all the students and provided them with an interesting and impressive learning method about the world’s oldest living faith “Sanathan Dharma” from an interactive presentation. He talked to them about Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga, Indian festivals, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Ahimsa principles.
He explained how the qualities of sattva (serenity), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance) shape the nature of a person. For example, sattvic food is health-giving, strength-giving and delightful; rajasic food is spicy, sour, or salty and brings on diseases; and tamasic food is impure, old, stale, tasteless, or rotten. He also described the Hindu belief in mastering control of one’s senses and desires and of peacefully accepting the good and the bad in life.
The exposition was followed by a question-answer session wherein students put a number of interesting questions reflecting their desire to learn about Hindu religion. Upadhyay answered their questions very clearly.
The visiting students removed their shoes like Hindus before entering the main prayer hall with the sanctums and quietly moved in. They were welcomed with a Hindu greeting and a smile by the temple priest, Yogesh Pandey in the shrine area. All the students and teachers witnessed and participated in the midday Mangalarati ceremony.
Pandit Joshi blessed them by chanting Vedic mantra for their success in studies, bright future, and happy and healthy lives. All the students as well as teachers found their trip to the Mandir to be educational, inspiring and enjoyable. One of the teachers said that the most striking Hindu site of the area is this temple.
