01-28-2007, 08:30 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.ibnlive.com/news/hindu-temple-supports-muslim-women/32206-3.html
Hindu temple supports Muslim women : CNN-IBN
- Naveen Nair
Cherthala (Kerala): Fifty-three-year-old Jameela and 17-year-old Ansila are both Muslims but their lives revolve around a Hindu temple at Cherthala in Kerala's Alappuzha district and the Raja Rajeswari temple has become the only support for the two women.
Jameela is deaf and dumb and earns a living by working at the temple. She cleans the premises and washes the utensils used for the puja. While Ansila says that she would never have completed her schooling after her father's death, if the temple authorities hadn't stepped in to help.
âMy father passed away when I was in the 11th standard. I couldn't have completed 12th standard without help from the temple authorities. Apart from paying my school fees, they also gave me a lot of moral support,â says Ansila.
So, what inspires an orthodox Hindu temple, which is run by a trust based on the teachings of social reformer Sri Narayana Guru, to go this length to salvage the lives of two Muslim women?
âThis temple always had good relations with other religious communities. We strongly believe in the teachings of Sri Narayana Guru, who said that we must help the needy, no matter which community they belong to,â says President of Raja Rajeswari Temple, K Purushan.
For all the preachers of religious harmony, this temple in southern Kerala is sending a strong signal: practice what you preach. And undoubtedly there cant be a better way than to use the teachings of a 20th century Hindu social reformer to salvage the lives to two needy women.
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If a Hindu women had asked for help from a mosque or church, they would have converted her before helping her. That is the difference between a Hindu priest, and an Imam or Bishop. No forced conversion.
Hindu temple supports Muslim women : CNN-IBN
- Naveen Nair
Cherthala (Kerala): Fifty-three-year-old Jameela and 17-year-old Ansila are both Muslims but their lives revolve around a Hindu temple at Cherthala in Kerala's Alappuzha district and the Raja Rajeswari temple has become the only support for the two women.
Jameela is deaf and dumb and earns a living by working at the temple. She cleans the premises and washes the utensils used for the puja. While Ansila says that she would never have completed her schooling after her father's death, if the temple authorities hadn't stepped in to help.
âMy father passed away when I was in the 11th standard. I couldn't have completed 12th standard without help from the temple authorities. Apart from paying my school fees, they also gave me a lot of moral support,â says Ansila.
So, what inspires an orthodox Hindu temple, which is run by a trust based on the teachings of social reformer Sri Narayana Guru, to go this length to salvage the lives of two Muslim women?
âThis temple always had good relations with other religious communities. We strongly believe in the teachings of Sri Narayana Guru, who said that we must help the needy, no matter which community they belong to,â says President of Raja Rajeswari Temple, K Purushan.
For all the preachers of religious harmony, this temple in southern Kerala is sending a strong signal: practice what you preach. And undoubtedly there cant be a better way than to use the teachings of a 20th century Hindu social reformer to salvage the lives to two needy women.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If a Hindu women had asked for help from a mosque or church, they would have converted her before helping her. That is the difference between a Hindu priest, and an Imam or Bishop. No forced conversion.