The Hindu Faith

Hinduism is the most ancient religion of the world. Hindus believe in one Almighty God with many manifestations and incarnations. Hinduism allows the freedom to worship God by various names, symbols and images e.g. Rama and Krishna.  The symbol of Supreme God, Aum (OM), is uttered in most Hindu prayers. One of the beliefs of Hinduism is that the soul (Atma) is potentially ‘divine’. The Supreme Soul (Parmatma) is God. The two most important holy books are the Geeta and the Ramayana. The goal is to attain ‘Nirvana’ or Moksha (liberation) from the bondage of Karma.   The Geeta states that followers should do their ‘karma’ (duty) irrespective of what the reward will be. 

Hindus in York

The Hindu community in York is multilingual, and represents both North Indian and South Indian traditions of worship. Apart from a few business families, the majority of the Hindus are professionals. Hindus in York face the disadvantage of not having a place of worship where they can congregate and celebrate their festivals or offer weekly prayers. They have to travel to Leeds, Bradford or Leicester on such occasions. On any auspicious or special event e.g. weddings, engagements, births or deaths, when they need a priest to perform certain rites, they have to hire one from temples outside York.

The Hindu Advisers 

Usha and Mahendra Verma have been in York for three decades. Usha has taught Hindi and Hinduism at various institutions in Yorkshire. Mahendra has taught Linguistics and Hindi at the universities of York and Uppsala. Both have been very closely associated with the South Asian minorities in York. They contribute to the cultural activities organised at the university and in the city, and organise an annual poetry festival in York. Usha is a creative writer and has published poems and stories in Hindi. Mahendra is the ex-Chair of York & District Community Relations Council and the National Council for Mother Tongue Teaching. He is the Chair of the Indian Cultural Association.

The nearest Hindu Mandir is at 46 Alexandra Road, Leeds, LS6 1RF, Tel: 0113 2757024.