New Hindu Spiritual Group Offers Readings, Community

May He protect us both. May He nourish us. May we acquire the capacity, to study and understand the scriptures. May our study be brilliant. May we not cavil at each other.

Mid-afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows of the Adams House Upper Common Room yesterday as Sameer A. Sheth '98 led the chanting of the Shantipath mantra, a traditional Hindu peace invocation.

Seated in the circle along with Sheth were eight other members of Dharma, their shoes left at the entrance to the room, heads bowed in humble solemnity.

While officially founded in the last academic year, the student group began its first programs this semester. Dharma is headed by co-presidents Maneesh R. Amancharla '99 and Rohin T. Malhotra '98.

It is the "first time we have a resource where students can get together and celebrate the holidays," said Dharma secretary Monica B. Shah '99.

According to the club's mission statement, Dharma seeks to "provide a forum in which Harvard students can learn about the Hindu religion and the culture associated with it."

The members gather to participate in weekly meetings for prayer and to discuss topics that relate Hinduism to the lives of college students. In addition to being a religion, said Dharma member Karthik Muralidharan '98, Hinduism also is "a way of life."

Muralidharan, a native of India, spent six years studying under the guidance of a swami, a traditional Hindu spiritual leader.

In addition to holding weekly discussions, Dharma members participate in monthly visits to Boston-area Hindu temples and celebrate major Hindu religious events.

This Thursday the group will be celebrating Diwali, literally translated as the Festival of Lights. The holiday commemorates the occasion of the Hindu New Year and has tremendous spiritual and cultural significance for many Hindus, Shah said.

Despite the low attendance at yesterday's meeting, Dharma has 50 students on its electronic message list. Malhotra said that mid-term exams may account for the low turnout.

While the club is dominated by Hindus of Indian descent, Malhotra said that Dharma programs are sometimes attended by non-Hindus, including some of his Christian friends and students studying comparative religion.

So far this year the club members have been discussing an edition of the Bhagavad Gita, a traditional Hindu text, edited by Swami Chinmayananda.

According to Amancharla, the group is currently not affiliated with the Harvard United Ministry, the body that oversees many of the University's religious groups, but said that it was likely that Dharma would become associated with the Ministry in the future.

Several students attested to Hinduism's connection to their lives as students.

Guha V. Bala '98, a chemistry concentrator who is also a student in Moral Reasoning 22: "Justice," said he has found that he is able to incorporate aspects of his religious philsophy in his Core Curriculum class.

In particular, Bala said that there were similarities between the moral theory of Immanuel Kant and philosophies in the Bhagavad Gita.

Muralidharan, however, said that he was reluctant to infer from the similarities that Kant had been directly influenced by Hindu texts.

Instead, Muralidharan said that the similarities testify to the universality of Hindu tenets.

Speaking of the position of Hindus and Hinduism in American society at large, Muralidharan said that he believes American Hindus feel more comfortable practicing their religious traditions privately, as opposed to the more public expressions of faith common in India.

Amancharla said that next semester Dharma will be applying for funding from the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, the International Relations Council and the Undergraduate Council.

Currently, he said, the group is operating with the assistance of an Undergraduate Council grant. He also said that the Harvard Foundation has been very helpful in covering the organization's copying costs.