BOXFORD – Superintendent Michael Harvey is pleased to share that Masconomet students in Grades 11 and 12 recently visited the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society to learn more about Hindu religious tradition. The trip was the first in a series of events and trips to make students’ learning more immersive and engaging.
Students in teacher Ryan Quinn’s world religions class visited the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in Boston on Friday, Sept. 30, where they met and learned from Swami Tyagananda, the Hindu Chaplain at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Through the experience, students learned how to open themselves to diverse perspectives and expand their worldviews and understandings of philosophy, religion and culture.
“I am fulfilled and content with my life and I encourage you to find that within yourself,” Tyagananda told students during the visit. “Cultivate your joy and happiness and people will come to you.”
Tyagananda spoke to students about his journey and answered students’ complex and informed questions about life and faith, as the students worked toward developing a deeper understanding of Hindu thought and perspective.
“I really liked meeting with Swami Tyagananda because he’s down to earth and pragmatic,” said Quinn. “He discussed the meaning and depth of life and how we can all individually find meaning in our lives.”
The trip to the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society was the first of what will ultimately be several similar trips or events that give students a deeper understanding of a range of religions.
Over the course of the remainder of the semester, students will be visited by guest speakers who will provide insight into the Christian, Buddhist and Jewish faiths, and take a field trip to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center mosque in Roxbury.