ABSTRACT
The little statue of Lakshmi which stands on one of my bookshelves is an attractive ornament. It was given to me by a group of third-year students about to leave college and therefore it has additional personal meaning, rather like the now-framed beautiful photograph of the Buddha’s footprint which Bury Peerless once sent me as a Christmas card. I now know enough about Hinduism for me to hold this statue of Lakshmi in my hand and call to mind some of the myths which surround her and can even explain some of the iconography. But, even though I may appreciate her left-handedness, being left-handed myself, something is still missing. She is not my deity. She does not evoke a religious response in me. She is an ornament, not an object of devotion. So too with my kirpan and my prayer carpet. Quite a religious museum! But what of the crucifix, what of the Bible or hymn-book as opposed to my eight-volume edition of the Guru Granth Sahib and Pickthall’s version of the Qur’an? Here we come up against one of the most important matters in teaching about world religions.
