How often have you come across a place where people of all religion pray under the same roof? Come to the Religious Centre of the Games Village and you will be surprised to see a temple, a mosque, a church and a Buddhist place of worship -- all under one roof where sportspersons of the Village come for religious succor and peace of mind.
“This is one place where the athletes come for relieving their stress and anxiety. Though all major games Village has religious centre, it’s for the first time that we having the praying space for all religions under one roof. Here we all are working with harmony and help each other to show our unconditional love to sportspersons without expectations. We help the athletes to get motivated when they are depressed and tired in this competitive ambience,” said Francis Xavier, adding that the athletes come here to be encouraged by the spiritual teachings.
“Faith keeps you going when the pressure is enormous. During stress and fear, people resort to the blessings of the Almighty. They expect religious feed. We get around 20 athletes and officials everyday. We had to hold two worship services on Sunday. Nearly 40 people attended that. The entire place was packed,” said S Sebastin Christian chaplain, showing the ‘Praise Fountain and Prayer Requests’ which said a lot about the importance of the place.
If this place at the Village is anything to go by, religion can acts as a binding force for humanity as sports. This is quite evident from some of the pray requests at centre.
“Pray for Dipika, the Indian women hockey goalkeeper as she plays with ankle injury today,” wrote an Indian hockey team member for a pray request.
“I pray for all the people of India those who put their time in making this Commonwealth Games a grand event. May the Lord always give you all strength for all the security, police and volunteers,” wrote Mou, Tai and Denis from Cook Islands.
Informing about the atmosphere at the centre, Mukeshbhai Bhatt, a Hindu chaplain, said that the place offered peace to the stressed soul. “We have a number of athletes from different countries like India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Kenya, who after a tiring day, come here for religious discourse. They pray and meditate. We have seen athletes who come here before their events and if they finish on the podium, they visit the place again to thank God,” said the chaplain, giving an example of Ravi Kumar, Indian gold medalist in weighlifting who came to pray after winning the medal.
Describing the place to be excellent, Shitu Shah of the Kenyan shooting team wrote on his remarks that the place was wonderful and very peaceful. Similarly, Joanne Kiesanows, a New Zealand cyclist thanked the chaplains of the centre for their guidance while Kayode Oke of Negria described it as wonderfully arranged place with basic tenets and unit of religious harmony. “It’s loaded with spiritual motivation, pamphlets and book. It a fantastic place to be at. God bless us all,” he wrote.
Speaking about his interaction with the sportspersons, Sonam Chogyal, the Bhuddhist chaplain at the centre said that sometimes the athletes wanted to know about the Buddhist religion. “They also ask us about the various forms of meditation that can help them deal with increased stressed levels,” he added.
Hindu chaplain Mrudul Parekh, who is laser refractive eye surgeon in Ahmedabad, said that they come across athletes looking for inner peace. Speaking about his experience, he said that he has been here along with other chaplains for the last 21 days. “It is fantastic to interact with these sportspersons from across the globe. It’s a service to God, I am enjoying my job here,” he added.
Ghulam Rasood, the Muslim chaplain, was also of a similar view. “It is an opportunity to work together in unison. Through this we can give a message to the world that we can be together and exist peacefully, irrespective of the religion we belong to,” said Rasool.
Courtsey: Village News (Official Newspaper of Sports Village)
