With all the disagreements between the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha and pandits closely aligned to the Guyana Pandits Council, it is heartening to hear that they have both issued a stirring appeal for Hindus to be united.This year stands out, as it has been the first in a long time that a disagreement in the Hindu community was given wide public attention. And from the arguments of the two factions as appeared in the press, it was easy for the average reader to glean that members of the Hindu community are passionate about following the injunctions of their revered texts.
Quite amusingly, while the major Hindu leaders differed on the date for the celebration of Diwali, the tiff did not produce all negative energy.
Many Hindus who never paid attention to the auspiciousness of the date of the festival, found themselves scouring the Internet as they evaluate the arguments of the Dharmic Sabha and the Guyana Pandits Council.
From the look of it, all remain interested in getting the date for the Festival of Lights right. And what this points to is the need for all the leaders in the Hindu community to put aside their differences, sit at one table, and chart the way forward together, for the further good and promotion of Sanatan Dharma.
In doing so, it is important that they all take solace from the approach of their forebears who came here more than 170 years ago in search of a better life.
Amid all their troubles, trials and tribulations, they stuck firmly together, finding comfort in the teachings of their religion in the moments of their discomfort. When they came here, they were also free from the yoke of the evil application of the caste system, and they all stuck to their religion Hinduism.
Through their tireless dedication, they have managed to preserve their great traditions, even amid strong repression of the colonial powers of the day.
In those difficult days, Hindus were united in their religion. It is bewildering why today they cannot simply agree on a date for a festival they have been celebrating for years.
It is a travesty when people in religious organisations, who should be promoting understanding, love and togetherness, struggle to put into practice the very things that they teach.
And quite simply, all that is required is due recognition and genuine respect for the other. The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha since its formation some 40 years ago has been at the forefront of promoting the Hindu culture in Guyana.
Every year in November, the nation witnesses the unity, peace and togetherness generated from the Festival of Lights, and the staging of the motorcades. The latter has managed to not only bring Hindus, but Guyanese of all walks of life together.
But when it is all said and done, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha is a cultural organisation and less of a religious organisation.
It is in this light that it would make sense for the Dharmic Sabha to reach out to all, and all to reach out to the Dharmic Sabha in matters governing Hindu observances in Guyana.
The onus should not be on one but the responsibility of all as beautifully related by Swami Aksharananda, who in a letter to the press said thusly:
“The best and most informed judgement on this [Diwali] and other issues can only be made when the views of all are examined. No single organisation should entertain the ambition of dominating the entire Hindu society. None should be given de facto monopoly.”
All leaders in the Hindu community should follow the advice of the revered Swami to avoid disagreements. The one on the date for Diwali should have never happened in the first place.