Nine Hindus converged on the 17th century Se Cathedral in Old Goa and recited prayers from ancient Hindu scriptures to pay their respects to Jesus Christ on Good Friday, when Catholics commemorate his death on the cross.

The five women and four men sang verses from an ancient Narayana Upanishad text of Hindu scriptures acknowledging the superiority of God. The text stresses the unity of all gods and teachings as a way of attaining salvation.

The nine are members of the Swadhyay Parivar (self- study family) group that was founded in 1954 by Pandurang Sashtri Athavale (1920–2003), a social revolutionary and philosopher. The group has been associated with peace movements. Inside the cathedral, they quietly paid obeisance to the suffering Christ, away from the attention of the Catholic faithful sitting in the pews.

Following the five-minute recital at the rear of the cathedral, a group member read out a brief message from the pulpit through the sound system a few minutes before the start of the pious ritual.