January 29 & 30, 2015
The
foundation batch of Neev Academy went for a ‘Religion Walk’ in the city of
Bengaluru. This was a relevant part of
their Unit 3 in Humanities. Students explored various faiths practiced in the city and
investigated upon the ideals after meeting with the spokesperson of each
faith.
The journey began by visiting the
Mahabodhi Society where they learned about the main point of Buddha’s
preaching. Their next stop was
Dharmaraya Temple in the old city of Bengaluru, in a quaint place called
Nagarthepete. Interestingly they
discovered that Dharmaraya is none other than Yuddhistira of the great epic
Mahabharata! From the old city the Innovas moved towards the other old-world charm
of a town in Bangalore called the Fraser Town and finally stopped in front of a
Sunni Mosque on Mosque Road. The sheer
simplicity of the mosque and the story of this particular sect of Islam along
with a visit to a school aided by Haji Sir Ismail Sait stimulated them to seek
the purpose of religion. This was
followed by a sumptuous lunch at Alibaba which served Bhatkal cuisine and the
story of their dwindling community.
After a happy tummy the cars sped towards VV Puram to experience a Jain
temple and learn about Jainism as a faith.
Day 2 began with visiting a Shia mosque near Johnson
Market. Armed with their dossier
children scribbled down the difference between the Shia and the Sunnis. After
this they visited a Gurudwara at Ulsoor and acquired knowledge about
Sikkhism. Children experienced one of
the most distinct features in Sikhism when they had their lunch in the common
kitchen called Langar, they learnt the main emphasis of this particular
religion – that all are equal. After
lunch the cars sped to St Mark’s Cathedral and here they saw a unique pipe
organ being played!! The final destination was a Roman Catholic Church in
Fraser town – the Francis Xavier Church. With this the religious walk came to
an end.
At the end
of the journey children sat together to reflect upon man’s innate drive to seek
the deeper meaning, significance and purpose of religion. They learnt the essence of religion that
unites people to love and spread humanity.
They discovered how conflict is created by Man and is given a different
perspective. They learnt how religions
codify beliefs into sacred texts and by means of rituals and moral practices
seek to facilitate the deepest possible connection with the beliefs the particular
community holds. Thus they unearthed the
meaning of identity through this particular unit.
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