Hindu prayer at Interfaith Baccalaureate Service

Reno (Nevada), Mar 4: The Second Annual Interfaith Baccalaureate Service of University of Nevada-Reno (UNR), to be held on May 16, will include readings from Hindu scriptures and Hindu prayer.

According to Rajan Zed, Director of Interfaith Relations of Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada and one of the coordinators for this Service, to mirror the world citizenship of UNR community, the service will consist of hymns, readings from scriptures, blessings, teachings, music, prayers, etc., from various religious traditions including Catholic, Protestant, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish. In the atmosphere of growing faith pluralism, the interfaith baccalaureate provides the students and others involved with an environment for divine contemplation that meets the requirements of the society.

All 2007 graduates, faculty, staff, and family and friends of the 2007 Class are invited to attend.

Besides Zed, other members of the Service Coordination Committee include Rev. Chuck Durante, Pastor of Our Lady of Wisdom University Catholic Community; and Rev. Ruth Hanusa of Campus Christian Association, but more religious and student leaders of diverse faith traditions will be involved in the planning and organization. In addition to the degree awarded at commencement, baccalaureate refers to spiritual observance that celebrates achievement besides being an occasion of thanksgiving.

In recent years, there has been an increased attention to diversity and consciousness of the world's faith traditions. There is revived interest in baccalaureate services in number of educational institutions across the country like Yale, Brown, Cornell, Emory, Howard, Occidental, etc. In use since at least eighth century, origins of the baccalaureate service point to an Oxford University statute of 1432, which required each bachelor to deliver a sermon in Latin as part of the academic exercise.

Rajan Zed states that although UNR faculty, students, and staff belong to various backgrounds, come from various places, and observe different faith traditions, yet they work in amity and shared respect, tied together with a pursuit for scholarship and intellect. They establish and maintain a sense of fellowship, kindliness and responsibility, and all religions are instilled with acceptance, mercy, love, and kindheartedness.

Baccalaureate service basically means service where a sermon is delivered to the graduating class. The first documented baccalaureate service at UNR was said to be in 1917, with six others organized randomly over the last century. The last chronicled service was in 1960 and last May, first interfaith baccalaureate service was held.

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