Harsha Buddhdev
On behalf of Brunel’s chaplaincy and the Hindu faith, I extend my Namashkar and a very warm hello to all students and staff of Brunel University. I was blessed to become the first Hindu chaplain at Brunel's multi-faith chaplaincy three years ago though I have been at Brunel for over ten years - as a part-time lecturer and also as a diversity consultant working within Staff Development. I am therefore familiar with the campus and issues affecting both students and staff.Chaplains are bound by the same rules of patient confidentiality as doctors. They use the tools of various faith traditions, such as prayer, meditation and relaxation, to offer support to anyone, regardless of belief. From my work and experience within the Higher Education environment, I bring skills of active listening, theological reflection, stress management and conflict mediation to my Chaplaincy role.
Hinduism and its ancient understanding of "We are all One" have much to offer today’s multi-cultural, multi-faith world. Many Hindu writings-the Upanishads, Vedas and the epics such as the Ramayana and the Bhagvad Gita, guide us on how to lead a better life and to understand the fundamental concept of "Who am I?" and "What is my purpose on this earth?" In Hinduism, we believe that daily prayer is our chance to talk to God, meditation is a time to become deeply silent and listen for an answer and contemplation is a time to think about how to apply what one heard to one's daily life. This approach is invaluable in dealing with changes in life and leading a happy, harmonious life.
I am a practising vegetarian from birth, am fluent in Gujarati and Hindi and can read Sanskrit. My faith is very precious to me and although I do not belong to any particular sect of Hinduism, my leaning is very much towards Vedanta. Much of my religious and spiritual study has been acquired at the feet of my Guru, Swami Chinmayananda and his disciples.
I work with the Hindu students’ society, Hillingdon Inter-faith network and with Brunel’s other faith chaplain. We organise various talks such as an inter-faith forum, meditation sessions, cookery sessions and fund-raising events. I have tutored students on the GCSE Hinduism course and am familiar with the issues that young people face in today’s modern world. I am happy to help any member of the Brunel community to explore their faith or even if they just want to meet up for a chat. Though I work part-time and am not always on campus, you can contact me on my e-mail at harsha.buddhdev@brunel.ac.uk as I look at them from home.
Hari Om
Harsha
