LUSIGNAN is where one of the most heinous crimes in the recent history of Guyana occurred – the massacre of 11 sleeping adults and children, yet there was a significant number of Afro-Guyanese at the Gopal Mandir’s Yajna on Sunday, proving that as a people we can appreciate and respect each other’s culture without compromising our own.

An enactment of “Ram Leela” by children. Pt. Haresh resuscitated the Ramleelas in Guyana.

One woman wore a shalwar, but wore the shawl like an African head-wrap, which is a fashion statement combining cultural apparel to create a unique Guyanese interpretation of ethnic apparel.

During a nine-session Yajna that commenced last Wednesday and concluded on Sunday, Vyas Maharaj Pt. Haresh Tewari, focused his discourses from the Ramayana on the fundamental principles of serving the Lord through selfless service to mankind (seva), and the need to bequeath to our children the rich legacy of the culture that our ancestors sacrificed much to sustain and perpetuate.

Paraphrasing the lessons Pt. Haresh expounded during his several discourses, the Master of Ceremonies reminded those attending the jam-packed mandir that the Vyasji had stated we should all respect the land of our birth, and that the potential energy for divinity that is inherent in everyone should be harnessed for actions to promote the greater good of mankind, because that latent power is the light within – the soul.

Pt. Haresh said that Hindus do not use the words “Rest in Peace” when their loved ones pass on, because the essence of being is the soul (atma), and that travels on, while the body reintegrates with the elements, because life is a continuous journey and physical death is not man’s destination.

Pt. Haresh’s discourses, delivered in text and songs (he has a divinely melodious voice) also featured on the need for secular education to be cradled within a moral and spiritual framework, because he said that many social problems arise because the focus is on secular education, while the moral and spiritual aspects of empowerment are either neglected and/or sacrificed.

The Vyasji, who is a Chartered Accountant and a successful entrepreneur, gave all credit for his accomplishments to his parents, whom he said are exemplary parents for anyone to emulate, and that he tries to pass on their precepts and teachings to the society through his humanitarian and spiritual endeavours.

Pt. Haresh Tiwari is one of the prime movers behind the annual “Diwali Ghalee” and the Pitri Paksh satsangh now becoming a tradition on the Lusignan tarmac. One speaker described him as a determined young man.

That he is. His recognition that there is urgent need for a combined secular/moral/spiritual education to produce rounded individuals healthy in bodies and minds catalysed his establishing the Valmiki Vidyalaya Primary School, and the success achieved at this school during its relatively short time in existence is amazing.

Pt. Haresh has also been instrumental in resuscitating the “Ramdillas” – skits that tells the story of the Ramayan in song, dance and enactions of the life of Lord Ram.

This young pandit celebrated his fortieth birthday on Sunday, and all his compassionate and magnanimous actions denote that he exemplifies the Lord’s interpretation of a good human being, because, in his own words: “Service to one’s fellow man is the most fundamental prerequisite for a good life.”

Hinduism is one of the richest cultures in the world, because more than a religion, it is a way of life – a way where elders are respected and the vulnerable are empowered, where lights are kindled in lives of darkness. It is a religion that should not be shamed by divisions and actions and utterances that defame and denigrate others. These are all the precepts of Lord Ram as beautifully expounded in the Ramayan, as Pandit Haresh explained with such clarity in the melodic language of Tulsidas.