A Boise wunderkind turned religion professor will greet Pope

Ravi Gupta will present the pontiff a Hindu symbol as a token of goodwill among faiths.
BY BILL ROBERTS - broberts@idahostatesman.com
Edition Date: 04/09/08

Former Boise prodigy Ravi Gupta thought someone was playing a joke on him when a phone caller invited him to greet Pope Benedict XVI during the pontiff's visit to the United States later this month

"I thought it was a prank call but when I realized what was happening, I was deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity," said Gupta, 25, now a religion professor at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

Gupta may be best known in the Treasure Valley for being one of the youngest students ever to attend Boise State University. He started in 1994 when he was 12 and graduated at age 17. He was also a religion columnist for the Idaho Statesman as a teenager in the 1990s.

Gupta has a doctorate in theology from Oxford.
His father, Arun Gupta, is president of the Boise Hare Krishna Temple.
More than 200 interfaith leaders will meet with Benedict in Washington, D.C., on April 17, but Gupta is one of a handful to have an official ceremonial role.

He will be part of a small delegation bringing gifts to the pope. He'll be presenting an incense burner in the shape of the symbol of the Hindu sacred syllable, om, which Hindus believe represents the unifying principle from which creation springs.

Gupta is excited at the opportunity.
"Hindus have a lot to learn from Catholics and the other way around," he said. "I see this as a way for communities to learn from each other."

Arun Gupta echoes his son's words.
" I think it is sort of a culmination of our desire to share and synthesize all religions," he said.
At first, Gupta said he couldn't figure out why organizers of the papal trip had invited him.
He later learned he had made a strong impression on Catholics who had attended an interfaith conference where he gave a Hindu perspective on the problem of suffering.

Gupta said he isn't offended by recent comments by Benedict and the Vatican reasserting the Catholic Church's view of itself as the vehicle to salvation.

"The Catholic Church is by no means unique in this," Gupta said. "Religious organizations have repeatedly made these types of claims. It's important that whatever theology we might have provides room to give hope to our neighbors. No one is without hope, even if they choose to follow another path."

Gupta won't be in Kentucky for much longer.
He'll be moving to the College of William and Mary in Virginia this fall.
The Louisville Courier-Journal contributed to this report.