On 4 May 2005, youths of the
BAPS center in Sydney delivered a presentation on “Understanding
Hinduism” to 200 eleventh standard students of the
Sydney Church of England Grammar School. The school was
established in 1889, and is one of the oldest and most prestigious
institutions for tertiary education, not only in Sydney
but all of Australia.
The presentation highlighted
the origins of Hinduism and its major beliefs, such as Parabrahma,
Moksha, Murti-puja, etc. The presentation was in three parts:
Hinduism for the individual, Hinduism for the Society and
Hinduism for the World. Also the values that Hinduism teaches
were defined and exemplified by stories of iconic personalities
such as Sita, Nachiketa, Shravan and Rantidev.
The students were also shown
the trailer of the BAPS produced large format film, ‘Mystic
India’.
Students were shown how these values
and beliefs are still adhered to in this modern world, they
were told about the dedicated observance of spiritual disciplines
by BAPS youths and devotees through the inspiration of Pramukh
Swami Maharaj. After the formal presentation the youths
then answered any queries or questions from the students
themselves.
The student administration
commended the work done by the BAPS youths and commented,
“This presentation made more sense of Hinduism than
any other discussion we have ever had.”