Sophie Mitchem
For the Post
Focusing on a relationship with the Hindu god Lord Ganesh helps Bhakti Shah through good and bad times.
“I realized that it’s not always the good times to have faith,” said Shah, vice president of the International Student Union and a graduate student studying education administration. “It’s the bad times when you actually get tested.”
Shah, who is originally from Mumbai and came to Ohio University on her own in August 2011, said keeping her faith in Lord Ganesh has helped her adjust to life here in Athens.
“I don’t treat him as a god,” Shah said. “When I address him, I address him as (a) brother."
Shah said Lord Ganesh has instilled in her the belief he is everywhere — not just home in India.
Shah was brought up with Jainism, an ancient Indian religion that believes that people, as well as plants and animals, have souls, and holds many of the same values as Hinduism. Because the two are so closely related, she chose to follow Hinduism as well. She said there was no pressure from her family to follow a specific religion because India is a very multicultural society.
Shah does not practice her spirituality in a group on campus but said prayer is a very solitary thing. She added she believes that a temple is not necessary for worship. Despite not seeking a community for her faith, friends can see her spirituality, said Rudaba Zehra Nasir, Shah’s close friend and a graduate student studying international development studies.
“Her faith shines through everything she does, and directly observing her live her life that way strengthens my faith as well,” Nasir said. “I find that very admirable and inspirational.”
Though Shah does not have a faith community on campus, she has worked with the Indian Students Association on Diwali, the four-day festival of lights and biggest of all Hindu festivals.
Manindra Singh, a graduate student studying molecular and cellular biology who worked with Shah in the Indian Students Association, said that while working with Shah on Diwali, their shared faiths allowed them to remain positive and achieve their goals.
“We believed, apart from gods, in each other, in ourselves and in all those who put together the show,” he said.
Shah said she is able to achieve success through things like helping with planning Diwali and achieving other goals in her personal and professional life.
sm559111@ohiou.edu
