Graduates given Gita shlokas at Nevada Varsity

Reno (Nevada, USA), May 17: Sanskrit shlokas (verses) reverberated at the Second Annual Interfaith Baccalaureate Service of University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) here.

Rajan Zed, Director of Interfaith Relations of Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada and a Hindu chaplain, blessed the graduating students with verses from Bhagavad-Gita, which forms the cornerstone of the Hindu faith, dated around 300 BCE.

While reading from Chapter 13 (...adhyatmajnananityatvam tattvajnanarthadarsanam, etajjnanamiti proktamajnanam yadatonyatha ...), he defined knowledge as, "humility, tolerance, simplicity, self-control, absence of false ego, detachment, search for Absolute Truth..."

He further read verse 39 of Chapter four (sraddhavallabhate jnanam tatparah samyatendriyah, jnanam labdhva param santimacirenadhigacchati ), which translates as, "Those who take wisdom as their highest goal, whose faith is deep and whose senses are trained, attain wisdom quickly and enter into perfect peace."

Zed concluded his prayers by chanting "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti", which translates as "Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all", and the audience repeated after him.

Many 2007 graduates, family and friends of the 2007 class, and others attended the Service, which in addition to Hinduism, also included hymns, readings from scriptures, blessings, teachings, music, prayers, etc., from various religious traditions including Protestant, Catholic, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Bahai, mirroring the world citizenship of UNR community.

Besides Rajan Zed, other members of the Service Coordination Committee, which organized the event, included Rev. Chuck Durante, Pastor of Our Lady of Wisdom University Catholic Community; and Rev. Ruth Hanusa of Campus Christian Association. Most Reverend Randolph R. Calvo, Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Reno, blessed the graduates on the occasion, while local Imam, Abdul Barghouti, delivered an address. Special interfaith certificates, with " Om" and other symbols of major world religions inscribed on those, were presented to the graduates on the occasion by Zed and Hanusa.

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.

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. It refers to spiritual observance that celebrates achievement besides being an occasion of thanksgiving, Zed adds.

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.

OneIndia News
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