professors, colleagues, friends and neighbors. Few have the curiosity, courage, and in my case a course requirement to attend a service of another religion and dialogue with those practicing that particular religion. I chose to visit the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir on Prescott Avenue mainly because of my curiosity regarding the diversity of the practice of Hindusim. I attended two services, one being the celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights, and the other being an ordinary Sunday ritual. These
For one of my cultural visits I went to a Mexican restaurant, El Molcajete, in Geneva, IL. In this restaurant I observed elements of folk and popular culture which included the music that was playing there, which was mariachi band music which made the place feel more authentic to Mexico. The music from the mariachi band was a piece of their folk culture they had, because they used violins, trumpets, guitarron a spanish guitar used in most Spanish music, and a vihuela a five stringed guitar with a
hard work and dedication to make the place what it is now. While I was at the temple, I watched the Hindus perform an ancient Vedic ritual called the Abhishek, a ritual bathing to honor the murti of their God. Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha,
alterations in the religion due to reforms which represent the biased promotions of the religion by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s film, “Mystic India”. It is vividly present in the content of both the volume and the organization that BAPS is simply just showing the image it wants to create whether one is more factual than the other or not. The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) is
I have been a follower of Swaminarayanism for all seventeen years of my life, but during my childhood, temple and religion were just a Sunday obligation. My parents would encourage me to attend the weekly sabhas (assemblies) held at the temple, but I would often refuse because I was scared and shy. I followed Swaminarayanism solely because my parents followed it, and for that reason was very uninterested in the culture and religious values. As I grew older, I came to the realization there were many
Sanstha (BAPS) Swaminarayan youth group. BAPS is a worldwide religious and civic organization within the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. BAPS was established as a formal organization on 5 June 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj. It was formed on the founder's doctrinal stand that Swaminarayan had promised to remain manifest in the person of Akshar, a term used to describe his chief devotee and Swaminarayan's abode. From the age of 5 to 21, I have been an active member of the BAPS Swaminarayan
Personal Statement: Yam Raj Giri Born and raised in a country of Himalayas, Nepal, I graduated from the medical school in October 2009. Then, I began my practice as a Medical Officer in the Rural Government Hospital in Nepal for three years. My service as a primary care physician in underserved areas was a part of the curriculum and commitment as I had received a scholarship from the Nepal Government. I was granted a scholarship through the entrance exam as held by Ministry of Education. During
refer to as Swaminarayan, have transformed from a colonial-era school of thought that provided a spiritual anchor for Hindu followers at the time to a modern Hindu sect propagated worldwide through their representation of Swami’s livelihood, interpretation and practice of historic Hindu traditions, and adherence to a uniform definition of
This was my third visit to my site. It was a Sunday and when I got to my site, I experience something different this time. As I reached to the gate, the security person didn’t stop me or note my car number but he told me to proceed inside the temple. I get to the backside of parking lot of the temple. After looking for a while, I found empty space to park my car. I parked my car and when I got out from my car, I saw so many people from the parking lot were walking toward the temple. I was surprise
level, 20 in severe and 18 of them have been under extremely severe category. The study reported 159 normal cases for stress scale, 35 were in mild, 31 in moderate, 20 in severe and one case in extremely severe score. DISCUSSION This study in Shree Swaminarayan Physiotherapy College has revealed that the students who had actively participated in this research, a total of 246 students. 4 were in extremely severe depression score, 18 were in extremely severe anxiety score and only 1 in extremely severe