May 24, 2023 09:33am
Last week, Year 7 students visited BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, also known Neasden Temple, in London as part of a unit on Hinduism in RE. Hinduism has been part of the RE curriculum for several years but, due to the pandemic, the RE department have been unable to take students to visit a Hindu temple until this school year.
Upon arrival at Neasden Temple, students were asked to keep their mobile phones in their pockets, remove their shoes and remain silent before entering the spacious main prayer room. The spectacular main prayer room at the temple is made of white marble with a centrally located domed ceiling and multiple ornate carved columns. Students spent time taking in the beauty and tranquility of the prayer room and looking at the shrines of Hindu deities, such as Ganesh, located all around the periphery of the prayer room. They respectfully remained silent to allow worshippers to pray in peace and quiet and they all abided by the rule of no photography.
A temple volunteer informed the students the temple was built using all natural materials; Italian marble for the interior and Bulgarian limestone for the exterior. The materials were all shipped to India where they were worked on by craftsmen before being returned to the UK. The temple was constructed without using any steel, with pieces fitting together like a puzzle, taking 3 years to build before opening in August 1995.
After seeing the main prayer room, students visited a large hall where a special assembly for senior citizens was being held with a visiting Sadhu from India giving a talk to worshippers. Students then returned to the prayer room to experience the Arti ceremony where a Sahdu, dressed in an orange robe, blessed the shrine of Bhagwan Swaminarayan with light. Students sat on the floor with other worshippers and could choose to clap along in rhythm to the singing. This was followed by a Q&A session with a temple guide and a chance to tour the exhibit on Hinduism.
Of course, a visit to the well-stocked gift shop was a must and students took up the chance to purchase small mementoes of their visit. Finally, everyone came together for a group photo outside the temple before having lunch and boarding the coach for the return trip back to Portsmouth.
Here’s what some of the students thoughtabout the trip:
I really enjoyed the ceremony and when they offered food to the Gods. The trip helped me understand Hinduism a lot. We were not just walking around but we had someone explaining things to us. - Olly
I really liked that the temple was really detailed, carved and handmade. I learned about the purpose of the temple and what they do there. - Chloe
Visiting the temple helped me understand what they do to show respect such as taking their shoes off to keep the temple clean. - Kelsey
I liked that we had to be silent and respectful and I liked the ceremony, music and language. - Henry
Mrs Begum, Assistant Principal said:
An analogy our guide used, when speaking about the temple, compared students to being a piece marble and parents and teachers chipping away at that marble to create something beautiful. Being able to give our students the opportunity to visit the temple and bring the curriculum alive for them is just one way that we are shaping our students to become individuals who are respectful of all faiths and religions.
Other highlights from the trip included Mrs Scrace trying to start a group sing a long on the coach to Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up only to give up when met with blank faces and when the students thanked our coach driver at the end of a trip, giving him a rousing TPA send off, with chants of ‘ Pete, Pete, Pete!’
It was a very memorable day for both students and staff and the RE department were really pleased that they were finally able offer our students the experience of visiting a Hindu temple.
