‘Hinduism espouses charity, harmony’

CHENNAI: A galaxy of spiritual luminaries, at the inaugural of the third edition of the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair here on Tuesday, sought to dispel the myth that Hinduism was not service-minded.  The fair was sponsored by the Global Foundation for Civilisational Harmony (India).

Delivering his presidential address, Swami Dayanand Saraswathi of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Coimbatore, said it was a wrong perception, spread unintentionally or deliberately, that Hinduism did not stress on charity. Charity comes naturally to Hindus, and is widely described in the scriptures and culture. Living in harmony and with respect for all religions should exist naturally, and should not be a topic of discussion, he said. The swami also launched the website for the fair, www.hssf.in.

Inaugurating the fair, Gauthamanandha Maharaj Swamigal, president of the Ramakrishna Mutt, called for synergy among Hindus who were constantly involved in charitable activities. He listed out four stages of charity: physical, mental, moral and spiritual.

Marudhachala Adigalar, junior pontiff of Peroor Aadheenam, said Hinduism and Hindus had, for centuries, operated keeping in mind the needs of the society at large. “Even the Brihadeswara Temple in Tanjore, was not merely a place of worship. It served as a court to solve local disputes, a centre for teaching art and music, and a place for education,” he said.

Statistics collated based on the fairs conducted in the last two years reveal that 90,230 educational institutions, 3155 hospitals and 2,10,672 medical centres were being owned by Hindu institutions, showing the service-mindedness of people of the Hindu religion, said Hariharan, organiser of the fair. Gopal Srinivasan, chairman and MD, TVS Capital Funds, delivered the vote of thanks. The inaugural address was followed by a Srinivasa Kalyanam, organised by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.