Guest guest Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 The Gita teaching in varsity sparks rowIndo-Asian News ServiceAhmedabad, December 23, 2005 A Gujarat university's decision to teach the Hindu religious book Bhagavad Gita has kicked off a controversy. The MS University at Vadodara has decided to allow discounted sale of the book as well as speeches by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) at its campus. ISKON had approached Ranjitsinh Gaikwad of the royal family here for permission to propagate Gita lessons on the campus as part of month-long Gita Jayanti celebration. The Gita lays down the code of conduct for Hindus in the form of divine discourse given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the epic battle of the Mahabharata. "We want to make students aware of the teachings of Gita. We have the permission but let us see when we can start distributing the holy book," Nityanand Ram of ISKON said. As soon as the university registrar dashed off letters to the deans of various faculties asking them to help ISKON in preaching Gita lessons, a section of the students and lecturers came out in opposition. Kirit Bhatt of the Public Union for Civil Liberty (PUCL) said: "Once you allow a religious sect in the campus, you cannot deny the same right to other religions. Religion is propagated in society, but this must be kept out of the campus." But Vice Chancellor Manoj Soni defended the move: "Gita is not a religious book at all. It is a book that teaches. It is about spirituality." Supporting him, commerce lecturer Pragnesh Shah said: "Lessons from the Gita are read in some American universities too. Education is incomplete without the Gita." But Tapan Dasgupta, a student leader, asked: "How can you allow a religious group to carry out such an activity inside the campus?" "I cherish my right to believe as I wish, and I will defend the right of others to believe differently. We need to learn to live together in peace by focusing on our similarities, not our differences. I'll go to my Church and you go to yours but let's walk along together. " - David M. Breshnahan. Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 This is indeed sad, that individuals from our own religion do not understand the value of the GITA. That it teaches us how to live in this world, which of course applies to all human beings irrespective of their religion is a point missed by them. On 12/24/05, Jagannath Chatterjee <jagchat01 wrote: The Gita teaching in varsity sparks row Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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