PRESIDENT David Granger has commended the Guyana Sevashram Sangha for its work in providing spiritual strength and educational enlightenment to Guyanese.

He was at the time speaking at the Cove and John Ashram where he joined with devotees and students of the Hindu College in their annual Maha Shivaraatri observance on Friday. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and his wife Mrs. Sita Nagamootoo were also present at the event.

The Head of State said that the significance of this Maha Shivaraatri is found in the idea of overcoming the darkness of injustice and ignorance. “Although this is a solemn festival, it is associated with both moral and educational enlightenment, the two pillars on which this Ashram was founded. Hinduism holds steadfastly to the virtue of enlightenment. It promotes knowledge where there is ignorance, it promotes justice where there is injustice and it promotes equality where there is inequality,” President Granger said.

The President told the gathering that Guyana places education at the very top of the priority list, as education emphasises the importance of not just knowledge and skills, but moral values as well. He urged citizens to look to both the school, which provides formal education, as well as the church, which provides spiritual teachings, so as to mould and enlighten the young generation.

This year the Guyana Sevashram Sangha’s parent body, which is the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, is celebrating its centenary anniversary. President Granger said that this milestone is particularly significant since Guyana is also observing the 100th anniversary of the Abolition of Indian Indentured Immigration. He explained that the Guyana Sevashram Sangha, which was established by Ordinance in British Guiana in 1956, set up construction of the Ashram, as well as the school because both were consistent with the mission of banishing ignorance and providing a vehicle for the attainment of greater equality.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Prime Minister Nagamootoo, who also lauded the Ashram’s administrators for continuing the fine tradition of merging education with rituals, which inculcate discipline, loyalty, devotion, morality, integrity and honesty. He said that these virtues are greatly needed in today’s society as they would contribute to ensuring that the children of today become valuable and wholesome citizens of Guyana tomorrow.

Maha Shivaraatri, which means “the great night of Shiva”, is one of the most important Hindu festivals that is marked by fasting, penance, prayers and other rituals that last for a duration of 24-hours. This festival is one of the high-points of the Ashram’s religious calendar. The Sangha is a non-profit, philanthropic and charitable organization, with a firm belief in the service of humanity and is committed to improving the lives of the underprivileged. It was constructed as a result of a policy by India’s first Prime Minister, the late Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru to provide for the needs of the Indian Diaspora in the West Indies.

Nagamootoo said, “It is an honour for me to be invited here today to participate in your Havan. Maha Shivaratri, as was explained before, is a significant and auspicious occasion. I am not an expert in matters of religion but I can say this that my wife Sita, described as my Dharampati, had invited me forty-six years ago to consecrate our marriage in a Hindu temple and to do a Shiva puja. “I recognise now that she must have had great faith in the story of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati that by doing that, her life would be one of mirth and happiness and she would enjoy a long marriage life with her husband of choice. So I say, as a tribute to the significance of Maha Shivaratri that, if you have faith and devotion and if your prayers are sincere, you too should have long life and happiness. I should have come to this Ashram since 1964, when I was asked by the then Principal of my High School, the Rose Hall Comprehensive High School, Mr Rudra Nath, to volunteer and teach outside of the school. Others were selected instead, and I remained as a teacher in Port Mourant.”

Nagamootoo told the gathering of horror stories about children from schools being involved in pornography, involved in criminality, involved in drugs and drug abuse and ultimately, also, giving their lives away wantonly, wastefully in suicide. “We must lay as the foundation for our education that which would enrich us not only intellectually but would enrich our spirituality, so that we could overcome the weaknesses with which we are confronted on a daily basis,” he said.

He told the gathering that Indian ancestors used religion, Hinduism, as an important vehicle to make, not only themselves but their descendants and their offsprings spiritually strong, which enabled them to contribute to what has now become our country, our Motherland. “This Maha Shivaratri celebration takes place 100 years after the abolition of Indian Indentureship. The descendants of Indian labourers on the sugar plantations have in fact bequeathed their religion, their culture (as you can see here the children playing musical instruments such as the harmonium and dolak, and reciting and chanting bhajans) as some of the attributes that they have left with us and among us and within us, that we should constantly have to rely upon as we build our country, our nation on a basis in which we can be proud; which is, to have healthy minds and healthy bodies. I am also proud that this school continues to be inspired by values that have been bequeathed through the tenets of Hinduism.
I want to congratulate all devotees who have been observing the Fast in order to take part in Maha Shivaratri 2017. I want to also to wish you and your families abundant blessings, and that your sacrifice should not go in vain.”