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It was a calm afternoon in India as a group of students from the University of Oklahoma were touring a Hindu temple. The walls were covered with beautiful portraits different than any the students had ever seen before. One portrait had humans with elephant tusks and rivers flowing from them. Everyone was walking around and looking at the beautiful works of art in awe, but no one could quite make sense of what they were looking at.
As they continued browsing through the temple, the students came across the picture above. One of the students thought aloud, "How is it that this being has a horse head, human body, and four arms?" She wanted to learn more and understand how or if such an image made sense to one of the Hindu religion. Luckily, one of the locals overheard her and asked if anyone in the group knew exactly why so many of the paintings contain such unique creatures. The group went silent and the local's wheels began to turn.
The local quickly came to the realization that thousands have probably visited his temple with the same confusion in their minds. Although the temple was beautiful to those unfamiliar with the Hindu religion, there was no guidance for them to walk out with any understanding as to why everything seemed so foreign to them. Why are such figures hanging on the wall and why are they so important? Why do so many of the paintings include beings with multiple limbs and animal parts?
He asked the group if they would be interested in a quick breakdown as to why so many of the Hindu-related art pieces are full of "strange," supernatural characteristics. The group was ecstatic when he asked this and offered guidance. They all came to the conclusion that this would greatly enhance their experience while visiting the temple.
The local let out a sigh of relief as he was nervous he would receive a different reaction form the group. He was thankful that so many young scholars wanted to break beyond their confusion and truly understand what they were looking at. Because of this, he took it upon himself to show them each piece of art and explain why it is of such important to the Hindu faith. He taught them that what he has grown up seeing with his own eyes is much different then what the students had grown up seeing with theirs.
By the end of the tour, each and every person had a new outlook on far more than religious differences. The group left with a deeper understanding about how past experiences influence so much of our interpretations. This new outlook on life will travel with them wherever they venture from here on out and it's all thanks to one local speaking up in response to their confused faces..
The group of OU students decided to keep in touch with the kind local that helped them in India. As soon as they returned to the United States, they began collaborating on a project for students all over the world. The project focused on more than just learning about the Hindu religion, but learning about how you were raised can affect the way you view the world around you.
Author's Note:
For this week's story, I was intrigued by a video about the Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art by Devdutt Pattanaik. The video covered all sorts of Hindu Art and misconceptions people have from the outside of the religion. Although the video was full of great information, I found that the overall topic was the most important. This video made me appreciate those that are dedicated to teaching others. For example, in my story I used students touring a temple. I used this because I have been in this exact position but in Scotland. I have walked through a magnificent temple and left thinking about how beautiful it was but not exactly understanding why it was so beautiful and why it was so different from what I am used to seeing. So, this story is not really anything to do with the individual topics covered in the video (although I highly recommend watching it), but rather how we should be inclined to take that step in understanding each other and how we all come from different backgrounds.
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