Thousands of Gods, hundreds of sacred and semi-sacred texts, and an average of three holidays per day. Cow-worshipping, festival-celebrating, ghee-and-incense-stick burning. What images does Hinduism conjure in your mind? Are you a Hindu? Is anyone not a Hindu? What does Hinduism mean? (Yes, it means many things, but what does it essentially mean?) What does it advocate? Is it relevant?

These are the images that were conjured in my tiny brain, and the questions that I ask myself (42 does not suffice as the answer). So here I am, with my questions, searching for others who are interested in Hinduism as a philosophy and religion. If any aspect of Hinduism has at all interested you, if you'd like to learn about Hinduism, or share your thoughts about it, consider joining the Hindu Student Sangam.

This academic year, we're bubbling with ideas. While we want to read and discuss the Gita, like almost every Hindu association across the country, and celebrate some Hindu festivals like Diwali, we will also be trying to involve a greater number of University of Chicago students in our discussions on Hinduism. Some plans (still on the drawing board) include a celebration of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday with a discourse on "Hinduism, Non-violence, and Contemporary Global Politics," a book club where we shall read and discuss texts ranging from The Upanishads to The Great Indian Novel, yoga on the Lakeside, meditation groups, and community service projects.

If you have ideas that you would like to build upon, I would be delighted to hear from you, and will work to incorporate them into our organization. This is, after all, your organization and uses your Student Activities Fee. I look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you in person as the school year begins.

Sincerely,

Akshay Birla
(President)
birla [at] uchicago [dot] edu