Eastern Religions Conference aims to educate students on faith

Sanjay Mehta summed up last night’s Eastern Religions Conference with a story about… Sanjay Mehta summed up last night’s Eastern Religions Conference with a story about happy dancing.

There was a group of happy, dancing people in heaven who were Jewish. There was a group of happy, dancing people in heaven who were Christian. There was a group of happy, dancing people in heaven who were Muslim. There was a group of happy, dancing people in heaven who were Hindu.

Then an old, struggling, sad man walked by. When asked what he was doing, he said that he was God.

“We’re all so bogged down on religion that we forget to come together,” said Mehta, who practices Hinduism and lives in Pittsburgh. “This is the goal of the Eastern Religions Conference.”

Mehta and Ar Ravi, who works with Mehta and also practices Hinduism, spoke about many of the aspects of Hinduism, from its history to common practices.

Mehta was one of five speakers at the Eastern Religions Conference, hosted by the Hindu Students Council in Dining Room A of the William Pitt Union last night. The event was designed to give students the opportunity to learn about Eastern religions, said Kunj Gala, the council’s president.

This is the fourth year for the event. Pitt student Nila Devanath, now a senior, created the event in her freshman year as a way to learn about different religions.

Members within the Hindu Students Council have suggested canceling the event in the past, but Gala wanted it to stay because she thinks it’s beneficial.

“Hindu Students Council is not the biggest and our voices don’t go too far, but why not enlighten those few who want to attend and learn?” Gala said.

The event included a slideshow concerning different aspects of Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Hare Krishna, as well as a question and answer session.

Speakers focusing on Sikhism and Buddism were scheduled to attend but could not attend due to communication conflicts that arose when the event was postponed because of last month’s historic snowstorm. Someone specializing in Greek Orthodox Christianity was also scheduled to attend, but could not attend because of a Lenten dinner.

Pitt student Sultan Ghuman turned toward Islam when he was 12 or 13 years old.

He said he schedules his entire day around the five prayers, one of the five pillars of Islam. Before his prayers, he needs to cleanse. Because he washed his feet so often, people asked him if his feet smelled.

Pitt student Chaitanya Dasa found Hare Krishna when he came to college.

“Hare Krishna was something that I found in the heart that resonated,” Dasa said.

He conveyed his religion through a thumb-wrestling contest between two volunteers. If one could put the other’s thumb down five times in 15 seconds, he would win $20. If neither pinned the other, no one would receive any money. The two men struggled instead of teaming up and splitting the money.

Dasa said that ego is a person’s greatest enemy and that those who practice Hare Krishna try to get past it.

Prabha Mohnot, who lives in Pittsburgh and spoke at the Eastern Religions Conference for the fouth time, talked about how Jainism revolves around happiness. She said the religion is good for Western culture, mentioning how Jains recycle, don’t use drugs, alcohol or smoke and promote environmental conservation.

Pitt student Caitlin Kempf who attended the Eastern Religions Conference for the third time last night, said, “It’s interesting to hear about religion from a different perspective. The event gives a more broad understanding than religious classes would.”

Mohnot, who spoke about Jainism, said that people can understand religion if they are willing to expose themselves to religions and culture. She compared this to a story about a frog in a well that doesn’t want to know what the world is like if it doesn’t come out.

Pitt religious studies professor Alexander Orbach said the day before the panel, “The U.S. has become more attuned to religions.”

A 2008 survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that the United States is extremely diverse religiously speaking.

More than three-quarters of Americans identify themselves as Christians, including Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Orthodox and others. About 5 percent identify with other religions including Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and other faiths. About 16 percent are unaffiliated.

“People are finding religion because they are seeking something that gives them sustenance,” Orbach said.

Orbach said that the religious diversity of the Pitt campus would generally reflect the country as a whole. He said that a small community like a college campus serves as an “exciting laboratory.

“It is the hope that on a college campus, students will challenge themselves and investigate other religions,” Orbach said. “They don’t necessarily have to participate in religious activities, but it can benefit them to take an interest in it from an academic perspective.”