Kunnamkulam: An Orthodox Christian school in Kerala set an example of religious harmony when it offered its chapel to a Hindu hermitage to conduct Ramadan prayers of Muslims.
Kalasamala Aryalok Ashram organized Maghrib, the Muslim prayer after the sunset, at the chapel of Bethany St. John’s English Higher Secondary School in Kunnamkulam, a town in Trichur district.
The Hindu center has organized the Islamic prayer for iftar, the Muslim ritual to end the day’s fast during Ramadan, for the past two years to spread the message of organ donation.
On behalf of the Hindu ashram, local social workers K T Abdu and Labeeb Hassan approached the school authorities for permission to use their auditorium for Muslim devotees to pray for before the iftar, the Malayala Manorama reported.
Bethany ashram superior Fr Mathai and school manager Fr Solomon immediately invited the group to conduct the prayers inside the school chapel. Leaders from various religions attended the June 17 program organized under the leadership of Arya Maharshi of the Aryalok Ashram.
The Maghrib is the fourth of five formal daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims.
This year, Ramadan began on June 6 and will end on July 5. The predominant practice during Ramadan is fasting from dawn to sunset. The pre-dawn meal before the fast is called the suhur, while the meal at sunset that breaks the fast is the iftar.
Bethany Ashram, a religious community of the Orthodox Church, manages St John’s school. Started in June 1966, the English medium school aims at the holistic development of the pupil’s moral, intellectual, social and physical capacities. The school is situated on a hill (Bethany Hill) in an extensive plot of about 10 acres on Trichur-Kunnamkulam Road.
Sri Sri Aryamaharshi, founder of Aryalok Ashram at Agathiyoor, observes Ramadan fast to spread the message of organ donation.
He and his wife Simi became the world’s first couple to donate their kidneys on May 20, 2014. Dr Mammen M John (Nephrologist) and Dr Ravikumar (urologist) of Medical Trust Hospital, Ernakulam, conducted the surgeries on the same day. Noble Jose from Thuravoor, Angamaly, received Sri Sri Aryamaharshi’s kidney while Jeeva C Chrisus from Poonthura, Thiruvananthapuram, was the recipient of Simi’s kidney. Both were from very poor families.