PULL QUOTE: ‘We must not pay lip service to the fact that the academic excellence attained was due undoubtedly to the School’s strong moral and spiritual output from the first day of a student’s sojourn at Hindu College. We do know that each child prays each morning in accordance with the tenets of that child’s religion. Then there is the discipline that has graduated into a perennial feature at this institution, and discipline so strongly embedded that, at today’s tally, the school has had no record of violence, something that nonetheless presently grips the society at large’
I GAVE the keynote speech for the Class of 2013 at Hindu College Cove & John on Thursday, September 19, 2013. The full text follows:

To be invited to give the graduation address at The Hindu College today is a great honour bestowed upon me which I will cherish for a lifetime. The invitation is a grand privilege for me to share in these memorable moments of happiness and success of the Hindu College Class of 2013. Congratulations to you, Class of 2013. Congratulations to the parents who endured much during your sojourn here! Congratulations to the exceptionally committed teachers who avail themselves truly beyond the call of duty! And congratulations to family and friends who would not miss this for the world! I must reserve special congratulations again for this excellent Class of 2013!
The founder of the Ashram Swami Purnanandaji Maharaj laid the foundations for educational and spiritual growth. Subsequently, Swami Vidyanandaji Maharaj took on the mantle of being the spiritual and guiding force behind today’s astounding academic excellence.
Hindu College (former Swami Purnananda Secondary School) with humble beginnings in 1957, spectacularly scored 95% CSEC passes this year; and we would all recall that in 2010, the school shone with a brilliant 100% CSEC pass rate.
It is without hesitation that I would say that the school’s motto — striving for academic excellence as well as maintaining a high standard of morals and values — was the catalyst and remains the catalyst for this huge academic accomplishment. But as we pride ourselves with these unforgettable moments of ecstasy, let us not forget the fundamental pillars that brought this bliss to these students, their parents, and indeed, their teachers.
We must not pay lip service to the fact that the academic excellence attained was due undoubtedly to the School’s strong moral and spiritual output from the first day of a student’s sojourn at Hindu College. We do know that each child prays each morning in accordance with the tenets of that child’s religion. Then there is the discipline that has graduated into a perennial feature at this institution, and discipline so strongly embedded that at today’s tally, the school has had no record of violence, something that nonetheless presently grips the society at large. Again, we know that students are motivated and remotivated each day to treasure pure thoughts which may produce pure actions. In all of these fundamental pillars that heralded the continuing academic excellence at Hindu College, let us never forget the teachers’ commitment, a major factor in the school’s success, and the fact that they traverse the curriculum holistically each day without the need for extra lessons.
I know that we all agree that the Ashram and Hindu College give us an inimitable sense of purpose that this place is the training ground for leadership and change which promote the view that service to humanity is the only way forward.
Amid this buoyant occasion, we may well ask as to what students learn at Hindu College. These students learn to accept the tasks they need to do on their own, and to execute them that way. In conjunction with this self-imposed obligation also is the justifiable right to expect independent behavior among students. This independence would include performing tasks on one’s own, becoming self-reliant, acknowledge personal responsibility for one’s behavior, behaving self-sufficiently, and carrying out tasks where one can legitimately anticipate others’ help.
Today, we gather here to celebrate these graduates’ amazing accomplishments. Nevertheless, this achievement contains numerous referents. This achievement symbolizes activity and mastery, positively impacting the environment instead of fatalistically accepting that environment, and contending against the standard of excellence. The principles of independence and achievement are critical applications for adult public life. Independence and achievement are wrapped up in reason and logic and it is a good that the Class of 2013 has embraced independence and achievement.
But also what is of equal importance is the inner strength, confidence in one’s own self, and having some intuitive knowledge. Now we must give thanks to Hindu College, for it is armed with superb educational and moral parameters to not only inculcate independent behavior and achievement drive for the good of all, but simultaneously instill inner strength, faith in one’s own self, and intuition. Our graduates have assimilated the scholastic beauty of Hindu College.
The Class of 2013 is now parting company with the nurturing hands of Hindu College, and it is for you to make your way. Nothing in life comes easy. But Hindu College has injected you with the moral spirit and bonding that will translate into enormous dividends in the years to come. Today marks a milestone and a change in your life. The next step is yours. With full confidence and zeal, take a page from Gandhi and “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” And even if you stumble now and then, do not see this stumbling as failure. There is no such thing as failure. Failure is the stepping stone to success.
But remember, there is still a long road yet to travel in pursuit of higher education. So do not think for a moment that you have everything with the CSEC passes, no matter how strong your accomplishments are. By and large, higher education determines the strength of job competitiveness in the real world. Without higher education, it is almost certain that you would be left behind.
As you leave Hindu College, you are entering a world of your tomorrows at an extraordinary time for Guyana. Guyana faces numerous challenges, but there are some beacons of hope of which you will have to uncover. Guyana is experiencing an extraordinary time because there are people out there whose pastime is to constantly reject whatever works in the country’s interests. Guyana needs a surge in patriotism. You may choose to be a part of this surge in patriotism to bring closure to this negativism sweeping Guyana’s public life. Or you can choose to do nothing. But we may have to be careful about doing nothing, especially if we care to heed the words of Naipaul, thusly, “The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to be nothing, have no place in it.”
I will wager that you will do something. I know this to be true because of your symbiotic relationship with Hindu College that has clothed you with the wherewithal to do something. And it is not merely doing something for patriotism, but also doing other things that will make your tomorrows better.
It must have been a hard road to travel for you to reach graduation. But today you are witnesses to the benefits of perseverance, discipline, and focus which must be phenomenal as well as exciting. Glancing across your life’s horizon the opportunities are remarkable. Move forward and embrace the challenges to come and convert them to your advantage. Great things may come your way, but only if you reach out for them in a timely fashion. Be proud that you are a Hindu College graduate. Congratulations to the Class of 2013.