TIRATH YATRA WALK 2013, STAGE 2: JAIN CENTRE

Stage two of the Tirath Yatra Sponsored Walk with Leicester Friends of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies: The Jain Centre, Oxford Street. The goal is to visit 16 Hindu places of worship (mandirs) in Leicester on foot in a single day. 

Tirath Yatra (Hindi: तीर्थयात्रा) is a journey undertaken as a pilgrimage.

If you're wondering what became of stage one (Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal, Narborough Road) which was the starting point of the walk, I was on my way there myself when I met the group coming the other way through Bede Park, heading for the Jain Centre.

Jainism is seen as a religion in its own right as far as membership of Leicester Council of Faiths (and, for that matter, of the Inter Faith Network of the UK) goes, but no one involved today seems to object to the Jain Centre being included in a walking pilgrimage round Hindu places of worship in the city.

One of the distinctive and laudable features of Leicester's Jain Centre is that it offers a home for several sects of Jainism under one roof, giving each one its own worship space, while practitioners of the different denominations mingle socially.

Last year, on the Holi Yatra Walk, we spent quite a while in each place of worship, joining in devotions, receiving a talk or guided tour, enjoying refreshments. Consequently, we fell far behind schedule and overran by a few hours. I stay in the vestibule to update social media (Foursquare, Twitter and Facebook) about the walk while my fellow yatris head upstairs to the worship hall. I haven't even finished doing that before they come back down the stairs, start getting their shoes on and head out the door towards our next stage. I wonder if we're going to try and keep up this pace all day!

HOLI YATRA WALK 2012, STAGE 1: SHREE JALARAM PRARTHANA MANDAL

First stage on the Holi Yatra Sponsored Walk with Leicester Friends of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies: Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal, Narborough Road. The goal is to visit 15 Hindu temples (mandirs) in Leicester on foot today.

Holi (Hindi: होली) is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus, also known as the Festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal and in countries with large populations from India or of Indian descent who follow Hinduism.

Yatra (Sanskrit: यात्रा, "journey", "procession"), in Hinduism and other Indian religions, means pilgrimage to holy places and is generally undertaken in groups. One who goes on a yatra is known as a yatri. It is desirable, but not obligatory, for a Hindu to go on a yatra. One can go on a yatra for a variety of reasons, including festivals, to perform rituals for one's ancestors, or to obtain good karma. To traditional Hindus, the journey itself is as important as the destination, and the hardships of travel serve as an act of devotion in themselves. Visiting a sacred place is believed by the pilgrim to purify the self and bring one closer to the divine. (Thanks to Wikipedia for these definitions.)

Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal was the first purpose-built Hindu mandir in Europe. It was dedicated to public worship in 1995. Last year, a plaque was unveiled here celebrating the work of those members of the community who worked from as early as 1979 to raise more than £1,000,000 and establish this place of worship. His Excellency the Counsel General of India, Gururaj Rao, was the special guest at the unveiling of the plaque. This was reported in the Leicester Mercury (and covered in this blog, Tuesday 8 November 2011).

I lived in the West End of Leicester from 2006 till 2010 and my GP's surgery was opposite the entrance to the temple on Westcotes Drive (as seen in the photo above). So I saw quite a bit of this temple from the outside in those days. The only other time I've been inside was on one of the Peace Visits organised by Leicester Council of Faiths, in September 2009. The picture below taken on that date (not by me) is of a painting on the ceiling of the temple's worship hall. It contains images of prophets, teachers, messengers and founders of world religions, including Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus and Guru Nanak.

The most striking external features of this place of worship are the large white turbans, facing on to Westcotes Drive (seen in the photo at the top of this entry) and Narborough Road, as seen in the photo below (by Ned Trifle, reproduced with permission).

When the group sets off, around 0930, there are around 50 of us. Next stop: ISKCON Temple in the West End.

I leave some fliers and A4 posters for the upcoming REDP event Choice Unlimited here (after asking permission, of course). I also leave information about the Council of Faiths next open meeting, a panel presentation entitled "God in my faith" coming up during the week.

FOUNDERS OF CITY TEMPLE ARE PRAISED

From today's Leicester Mercury (though it doesn't appear on its website):

Founders of city temple are praised 

His Excellency the Counsel General of India, Gururaj Rao, was the special guest at the unveiling of a plaque at the Jalaram Temple, in Narborough Road, Leicester last week, writes Raju Vyas. 

The temple is named after Hindu saint Jalaram Bapa and was found by a group of five women in Leicester in 1979. 

They raised £1,001 to open a temple, in Mere Road, and by 1992 the temple had enough money to buy a site in Narborough Road. 

Over the next three years, a £1 million place of worship for Leicester Hindus was built at 80 Narborough Road and the temple relocated there in 1995. 

Pramod Thakkar, chairman of the board of trustees at the temple, said: "The plaque was honouring the elderly ladies and what they did to start the organisation." 

The plaque was dedicated to those who started the temple, its trustees and devotees.

The photo accompanying this article in today's Leicester Mercury shows Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths, Councillor Manjula Sood, at the ceremony.

get (still more) inspired

This evening I'm at Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal community centre, Narborough Road, for a meeting of the group planning "Get Inspired 2010", to be held at Leicester Raceourse, Sat 14 and Sun 15 August.

Find out more about Get Inspired 2010:
http://ochs.org.uk/sites/all/files/Get%20Inspired%20Presentation_V6.pdf

GET (EVEN MORE) INSPIRED!

At the community centre opposite Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal (photo above), Narborough Road, this evening, for a meeting with the Get Inspired 2010 team. Get Inspired 2010 will be a public celebration of Hindu life, promoting the diversity of Hindu culture, values and philosophy to people of all ages and from all faiths and beliefs, as well as showcasing Hinduism as a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle for the 21st century and beyond. The organising team are hoping to attract 10,000 visitors to the event itself at Leicester Racecourse and Conference Centre (Saturday 14, Sunday 15 Aug) and are intent on reaching a global audience by creating a lively online presence.

A group of community-minded individuals drawn from virtually all Hindu groups in Leicester is behind Get Inspired 2010. They've come together in recent months locally to promote the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies - an academic institution of international standing. I attended the meeting in this same venue that started the countdown to Get Inspired 2010 (see blog entry, Tue 30 Mar). I was struck immediately by the potential of the event and have been trying to help in any way possible since then. That has consisted, mostly, of introducing some of the organisers to other people in the city whom I believe would be interested in promoting the event by a variety of means, e.g. Amplified Leicester (and relevant legacy projects), Citizens' Eye Community News Agency, CreativeCoffee Club, Global Education Leicester-Shire. I'm glad to say that everyone I've helped come into contact with this project - and with the people organising it - seem only too keen to help.

There are 16 people here this evening, for a meeting that lasts about two-and-a-half hours. We're in a smaller upstairs room this time, as the bigger ground floor space we had for the launch meeting is being used by a yoga class. Attendees speak about the event in general, as well as the particular areas they are assigned to look after:

• Temple Zone - featuring large models of six iconic Hindu temples in India
• Kids' Zone - fun and educational activities, built around the core values of Hinduism
• Grandstand area - focusing on the Bhumi ("Mother Earth") project
• Stage - featuring performances from a range of artists
• Food zone - on-site catering (which will be entirely vegetarian, with vegan options too)

A variety of charity stalls and commercial exhibitors are also being courted to take part in the event.

The main contribution that Leicester Council of Faiths can make is in assuring the success of the Conference Zone. On the Saturday, the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) are jointly sponsoring a public conference; then on the Sunday there will be an invitation-only event. I've been asked to obtain support from the Council of Faiths for both of these. I am also involved in promoting Get Inspired 2010 through social networking and getting information out to schools.

GET INSPIRED 2010

At the community centre opposite Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal in Narborough Road this evening. I've been invited to attend the launch for a forthcoming public celebration of Hindu life, an ambitious event to be held at Leicester Racecourse and Conference Centre over a weekend in the middle of August.

Get Inspired 2010 aims to educate, inform and promote the full breadth and diversity of Hindu culture, values and philosophy as well as to showcase the Hindu outlook on living a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle. It takes as its target audience people from all over the UK, from all ages and all faith groups. It is looking to attract over 10,000 visitors to the event over two days but will also reach out to a global audience through its PR and marketing initiatives.

This event is being organised by a group of community-minded individuals drawn from all Hindu faith groups, who have come together over the last few years to promote the work of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies - an internationally recognised academic institution. I understand it's also building on the legacy of "Get Connected", a successful and fondly remembered event held in Leicester in 2004.

Sadly, I won't be able to attend Get Inspired 2010, as it's being held at the same time as the Summer Sundae Weekender at De Montfort Hall and Gardens (I've just forked out £250 for a three-day family ticket for that!)

2009's TOP 10: 5

Faiths Trail,

Sunday 13 September 2009

This has become a regular fixture in the Council of Faiths calendar over the past few years, organised in conjunction with English Heritage as part of their programme of open days during this week. I got to go on the first one of these tours (it was called a "Peace Pilgrimage" then) after I took up my post in 2007, but missed last year's excursion, so I was pleased to be able to take part this time.

Our party of 25, from a variety of backgrounds and interests (and some from outside Leicester or Leicestershire) convened at Pilgrim House at 0930. We had a few words of welcome and introduction from Minou Cortazzi (Chair of the Council of Faiths), Cllr Manjula Sood (Deputy Lord Mayor and trustee of the Council of Faiths) and Resham Singh Sandhu (Chairman of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society and former Chair of the Council of Faiths). Our coach left Town Hall Square shortly before 10 o'clock. First stop was the Jain Centre, Oxford Street (pictured above), where we were joined by the Lord Mayor of Leicester and the Lady Mayoress. From there we proceeded to Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal, Narborough Road; then to Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, Clarendon Park Road, where we were treated to lunch (and where the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress had to take their leave of us). After lunch we went to the Orthodox Synagogue, Highfields Street; then to the Central Mosque, Conduit Street; and finally, St Philip's Parish Church, Evington Road. As we approached each place of worship, we handed out copies of the relevant leaflet to everyone on the coach, so they'd have a chance to read something about each faith community before each stop on the tour.

Everyone was impressed by the hospitable reception at the various places of worship. Arrangements for the day were made by Ajay Aggarwal, Co-Ordinator at Leicester Council of Faiths.