Not just Pune university, other educational institutes too preaching vegetarianism in city
At Rasiklal M Dhariwal schools under the RMD Foundation, initiatives like ‘Ahmisa Parmodharma’ to preach vegetarianism are carried forward every year. As an extension of this, every year the foundation donates ₹1 crore in the form of scholarships to students from financially compromised backgrounds, many of whom later, convert to vegetarianism.
While the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) is looking to review the ‘vegetarian’ clause for the Shelar mama gold medal following the controversy, many educational institutes in Pune still follow and preach it as a “higher way of life”.
“It is inherent in the way of life that we preach at the school, and we owe it to the teachings of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,” said Smita Rahane, principal of Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM), Bhugaon. At the school, the teachers educate and preach a ‘satvik’ diet which focuses on both raw and cooked seasonal food. The school focuses on serving satvik food on the campus, said teacher.
“Although we do not have separate events to preach vegetarianism, however, during our morning assembly, we involve the kids in meditation and enlighten them about the benefits of a satvik diet,” she added.
At Rasiklal M Dhariwal schools under the RMD Foundation, initiatives like ‘Ahmisa Parmodharma’ to preach vegetarianism are carried forward every year. As an extension of this, every year the foundation donates ₹1 crore in the form of scholarships to students from financially compromised backgrounds, many of whom later, convert to vegetarianism.
The official website of the foundation mentioned, “RMD foundation inculcates in students and their families the thought of 100% vegetarianism on humanitarian grounds. Many students and families have converted to vegetarianism after being awarded the scholarships.”
Shobha Rasiklal Dhariwal, who has been actively involved in extending out the scholarships, couldn’t be contacted despite several attempts.
The official website of JITO Administrative Training Foundation, Pune, headed by Shobha Dhariwal, further added, “She does not just stop at giving the financial help, but during the personal interaction and through various events and functions cultivates good qualities such as honesty, hard work, integrity and respect towards family and parents, pride for the nation and most importantly vegetarianism amongst the students.”
Among many other colleges in the city, St Mira's College For Girls under the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, annually holds a ‘no-meat day’ for it’s students to pledge on vegetarianism, at least for the particular day. Requesting anonymity, a student of the college said, “Most of the students in the college are vegetarians, and vegetarianism stands as one of the prominent teachings of Dada Vaswani. So, every year, students take a pledge to not eat meat.”
On the other hand, the university recently had to face public flak for a number of clauses enlisted for a gold medal awarded by a trust preaching vegetarianism. The clauses demanded the applying students to be vegetarian, teetotaller and practice yoga and pranayam. The varsity has now decided to abandon the medal, if the clauses are not revised by the trust.