Come enjoy, donate and support local charities. That’s what Juggy Jagannathan of the Hindu Religious and Cultural Center (HRCC) said Saturday at the 13th Annual Gandhi Day Walkathon and India Festival.
Jagannathan said the HRCC, which brings together those of Hindu faith, believed from the beginning charity had to be one of the things the organization promoted given its prevalence in Hindu religion.
“Right from day one, every year, around Gandhi’s birthday we’ve been organizing this,” he said.
Jagannathan said giving back to the community is one of the beliefs harbored by the HRCC. This year is Gandhi’s 150th birthday.
“He is a very well-known figure and he’s a role model for Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela,” said Jagannathan.
Mahatma Gandhi preached about non-violence and resolving issues without bloodshed. Jagannathan said his teachings are revered and to keep his name alive, they hold the event each year.
“We always promote a charity, and so, in the name of Gandhi, every year we organize this and each year it becomes bigger and bigger,” he said.
He said there was food from all corners of India, kids’ activities and sales of traditional Indian clothing. Special guest Akshay Hari was also there performing Bollywood songs.
“It’s a fun time. It’s a festival and what funds we are raising this year goes to Empty Bowls,” said Jagannathan.
Gandhi used to say, “For people who are hungry, the man with food is God,” said Jagannathan. He said HRCC is thrilled to be able to support Empty Bowls this year.
Empty Bowls is an annual soup luncheon that raises money for the hungry.
Ranjit Majumder is a member of the Morgantown Rotary Club, a sponsor of the walkathon. He said Rotary loves supporting the event because Gandhi was a champion of peace.
“The Rotary has one of its goals as peace, so we feel that this is fantastic for our community to be conscious about the peace and its importance,” said Majumder.
Majumder also said aside from promoting the message of peace, promoting fitness is important, too.
“Peace is universal … people all over the world know about him, and he happened to be Indian. At the same time, Rotary has a very strong thing about peace. We promote peace,” he said.
Majumder said peace is important. He said people are so easily divided over an argument rather than discussing differences. He quoted a teaching of Gandhi.
“Eye for an eye is not gonna work, because if you take my eye and I take your eye, both of us would be blind. What good does it do?” said Majumder.
Jagannathan agrees — the teachings of Gandhi are applicable even today.
“In this day and age, talking about peace is very relevant. Preaching non-violence is very relevant in this day and age, so that’s why we do what we do,” said Jagannathan.
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