I write in response to recent letters in GC and other dailies on the need for better training and accreditation of pandits. It is unbearable to listen to some pandits who do Hinduism a disservice. Some of them, though trying and should be respected for their efforts, are simply not qualified to expound on the holy texts and are badly in need of professional training to render their kathas interesting and relevant to current affairs. Pandits should consider improving their knowledge bank on Hinduism and the scriptures and emulating  the methodology of delivery of discourses of the late Shri Prakash Gossai who had mastered the art of reading and explaining the holy texts.

I endorse the views propounded by Harry Hergash in a recent letter in which he argued that Hindus should become more knowledgeable about their religion and Pandits should be better trained to explain the scriptures.  I, like most other Hindus, have been turned off by the limited knowledge demonstrated by pandits in their discourses and the boredom of long kathas often irrelevant to our lives.  Pandits need to change their discourses if they are going to hold on to their flocks.

I have travelled extensively throughout Guyana and visited many temples around the world. I found that in Guyana, most Hindus do not know much about their religion and most do not worship in temples on a regular basis. The same holds true for Hindus in North America, London, Amsterdam, and Trinidad among other places.  Hindus told me they are turned off from temple worship because of the boredom of pandits in their discourses and poojas.

Unfortunately, pandits themselves, especially in Guyana have limited knowledge and skills to interpret the complex Hindu scriptures and as such people are simply turned off going to yagnas. As complaints revealed, some of the pandits are more driven by the dakshnas (offerings which are often very large) than taking due time and care to educate the followers of the religion.  The pandits are quite and may not have time to improve their expertise in Hinduism. Some are satisfied with their level of knowledge and not motivated to improve their level of competence (pursue higher learning) to interpret the scriptures.  As others have argued, pandits need to seek proper training on how to deliver religious discourses to interest their congregation and how to address current problems facing their followers. 

Knowing Hindi or Sanskrit and simply translating the scriptures into English can no longer hold the interests of devotees or motivate them to a Jhandi.  Pandits have to relate the scriptures to today’s world and they can only do so successfully if they themselves are well read and have a wide body of knowledge of Hinduism.

I will like to suggest Pandits emulate the delivery of religious discourses of the late Shri Gossai who improved himself by studying in India and learn the art of delivery from Pandit Ramdath Vyas of Trinidad. Gossai’s discourses were short and sweet.  I went to discourses where the officiating pandit dominated the proceedings rattling verses for hours turning off worshippers. Devotees retain virtually nothing in a long discourse.  As a NY educator (teaching for over 30 years) and as I learn from psychologists, it is better to be short, less than an hour, during which people may learn something than speak for four hours and devotees remember nothing that was said by the pandit.

Pandit Gossai was successful in his discourses because he learned how to deliver a lecture to hold the interests of congregations – keep it short, sweet and relate it to the peoples’ lives.  Gossai not only performed rituals. He also explained the philosophy behind every concept he referenced. People left his discourses being satisfied and felt motivated to travel far distances to come to listen to him.