Easter does not mean much â€"Hindu elder

By Nigel Nassar

JESUS, at this time of year, will definitely ring a bell in everyone’s mind, regardless of the religion you serve. Some religions though, will only stop at the name. So Easter is a passing thing, if not a fairytale.

For the Hindus and Sikhs we talked to, their response could be summed up as “none-of-our-business”.

“Did he die in the first place?” quipped Hirani Alpesh Dhanji, a devoted Hindu attached to Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple on Martin Road, Old Kampala.

“Easter, Jesus and his teachings are nothing to us. We believe in Swaminarayan and have festive days like Diwali, Ramnavmi, Janmastmi,” Dhanji says.

“We do not eat meat or any flesh because slaughtering animals is a sin to us. So how can we be seen celebrating a day with people who kill animals?”

Hirani Naran, another devoted Hindu elder at the temple says: “I do not even know about Jesus and details of his resurrection. All I hear is that there was a Jesus.

“Whether he resurrected on Easter or not is none of my concern. Even if you asked our fellow Hindus, I doubt they know much about Easter. We concentrate on what we believe in and that is what we are taught in our temple.

So, does it matter to the Muslims? Apparently not, considering their outright disapproval of any religion that is not within their line of belief.

It is probably the reason why the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council deputy director of Shariah Kakungulu, Yahya Ibrahim would not bring himself to give a definite comment.

He said: “You know very well that we only have two major days to celebrate, Eid-el-Fitri and Eid Adhuha. Any other day out of that is not recognised in the Muslim Shariah (laws).

“I do not want to end up disputing people’s beliefs, especially on a day they consider important,” Kakungulu said.

The Sikhs at Ramgarhia Sikh Society did not show any interest in the topic. When we finally got a comment from a devotee, only identified as Mr. Shastri, it portrayed another none-of-our-business stance. “We do not know about Easter. We do not even read about it. It is our culture that we know about.”

Another Sikh elder, Singh Singh, did not mind whether Easter exists or not. “God is one. So if there is Easter or not, we do not care, after all we all believe in Him. While the Christians celebrate their Easter, we will have our normal day.”

For the fun-loving Sonia Dalsit, director of Unique Graphics Designers and Pictures at the temple, it is all about celebration.

“I may not know a thing about Easter but provided it is a day to celebrate, I will go out and have fun and none of our religious leaders will be offended because we are friendly and open to all, provided we are not taking on new beliefs from other religions,” she says.

The Bahai Faith has a more tolerant outlook since they believe in the oneness of God, of mankind and of religion. But even then, they will not celebrate certain religious holidays. They have theirs to concentrate on.

Wesley Baker, the pioneer of the Bahai Faith in Uganda, said one of their devotion sessions falls on Sundays, the same day as Easter. It will be a normal day.

“Even though we cannot celebrate with them, all religious celebrations are important to Bahai.”

Several other religions are not represented herein. Religious issues are sensitive and each seems to concentrate on what specifically concerns it.