by Petamber Persaud.

‘Journey of the Guru’ by Richard B. Mahase

(This is an extract of my talk at the launch of the book on Sunday, April 26, 2015, at the Guyana Sevashram Sangha – ‘Cove and John Ashram’. The book tells the inspirational story of the making of Guyana’s first Swami, Swami Vidyanandaji Maharaj. The Swami passed away recently.)

I will not do a review at this time but I will talk to the book from four perspectives – showing the importance of the book, showing the importance of the subject of the book, showing the importance of the writer and showing the importance of the reader. I am looking at this book from these perspectives because I love books, I talk to books and books talk back to me; and if you listen well enough, you will find books talking back to you in so many ways.
This book, ‘Journey of the Guru’ will talk back to you in at least two major ways according to its introduction, ‘This once-in-a-lifetime publication contains… another message beyond that of its revered subject, ‘His Holiness Swami Vidyanandaji,… and that is of the timeless spirit of Hinduism’. Many non-Indian Guyanese writers were influenced by Hinduism including Edgar Mittelholzer, Wilson Harris and Martin Carter; and many Indian writers like Sasenarine Persaud, Churamani Bissundyal, and JW Chinapen.
We have come from a glorious cultural tradition, a tradition from which came a great literature like the Bhagwat Gita, Ramayana, Mahabaratha, Upanishads, Puranas etc;….a tradition that produced writers like Valmiki, Tulsi Das, Tagore, Premchand, R K Narayan, Arundati Roy, Kiran Desai…
Our ancestors have crossed the kala pani with the writer/historian genes and have produced many outstanding individuals whose stories were and continue to be told by esteemed writers. We have produced writers like Cheddi Jagan whose name heads the list of Guyanese autobiographies; other autobiographies I’ve read recently include ‘Reaching for the stars’ by Yesu Persaud, ‘Glimpses of a global Life’ by Shridath Ramphal, we have also produced prominent writers/historians like Dwarka Nauth, Peter Ruhomon, Clem Seecharan, Frank Birbalsingh, Basdeo Mangru, Dale Bisnauth, Karna Bahadur Singh and biographers like Giautra Bahadur author of ‘Coolie Woman’…
We have produced writers who have recreated the past, fictionalising the past for easy reading; writers like David Dabydeen, Rueben Latchmansingh (author of A Dip in the Sangam), Rooplall Monar, Rajkumarie Singh, Janice Shinebourne, Ryhaan Shaw, Chetram Singh who won the last Guyana prize with his ‘The Flour Convoy’
The book was created to accurately record information for storage and distribution…in order to encourage debate, encourage dialogue, remove ignorance, improve knowledge, to entertain, and to inspire with the purpose of mirroring society and to act as a barometer to society, to act as a guide, a lamp to our path, among other things.
This book bears some of these same characteristics. This book, ‘ Journey of the Guru’ by Richard B. Mahase… can be read on two levels – the secular and the spiritual. It is ironic how we spend so much time and energy on temporary material things and so little time and energy on the spiritual everlasting matters. Spiritual aspect of life is glossed over when it is needed now more than ever in our society. So that is why this event is a momentous one; everything associated with this occasion is important – the book, the subject – the material, spiritual and astral journey of the Guru, the writer of this book, the launching of this book and the potential readers….
That’s number one perspective – the book; I’ll skip and return to number two perspective later and talk about the messenger. Number three perspective is about the writer.
Picking up the thread from above where I mentioned the names of writers from our ancestral home and from Guyana, here’s is something about the importance of the writer and why we ought to show our writers more respect in the best possible way, that is to buy their product – the thing they produce. The work of a carpenter is seen, measured, valued and paid for, the work the canecutter is seen, measured, valued and paid for, but the work of the writer, the solitary toiling in secret, behind closed doors, is rarely if ever seen. And because of this sometimes we are reluctant to buy a book which is often times the life’s work of a writer. This particular book took some six years to research, write and publish. Can we
Ever, in our wildest imagination, pay, recompense Richard for those six years of toil; the challenges were many and varied…trying to capture not only the action but the words and thoughts of the Guru. I say ‘yes’, we could recompense Richard by supporting this venture in buying, in getting others to buy, in getting others to read this inspiring book.
Now for the forth perspective – you the reader, the importance of the reader. A book is not completed until it reaches the public domain – I’m sure Richard did not write this book to leave on his computer, or in a desk drawer to catch cobweb or to sandwich it between two covers. Richard Mahase wrote for you, and you, and for me because we will read it from our varied experiences, adding values to it, we will read it from the experience of a president, a doctor, a teacher, an artist, a seamstress, a canecutter, mother, father, grandfather, son, daughter……
And now let’s return to number two perspective – the revered subject, Swami Vidyananda. ‘Journey of the Guru’, on one level, is an adventure story of an ordinary man named Seechan who triumphed over many challenges on his way to becoming the Guyana’s first Swami. Here I’d liken Seechan’s challenges to those of Mahatma Gandhi and how both triumphed through exercise of the mind (meditation) and exercise of the body (service). (To forestall any misconception in this instance – when I compare one person to another it is only to illustrate a single point and not to compare one with the other in general.) But if we were to stretch the point we’d find that both persons were tested to the limit and both overcame through reading. In the case of Seechan, we find that when he was in need of solitude and peace and quiet, when ‘he ached for silence’, he turned to books, buying books and sharing and encouraging others in the ways of those books. He was of sparse education but became an avid reader. Books became light whenever it was dark and a bridge whenever the land was flooded.
This book is well researched and beautifully written. Everything about this book is excellent – the layout, the print, the footnotes and most of all the covers. But I like the dedication page: Tvameva Mata, Cha Pita Tvameva. Tvameva Bandu cha Sakha Tvameva Tvameva Vidya Dravinam Tvameva Tvameva Sarvam Mama Deva Deva (I prefer this translation = O God, You are mother and also my father; you are my relative and also my friend…You are everything to me..).
I know about research and about writing. I said before the writing is beautiful mainly because many of the metaphors and phrases are fresh, freshly coined like tapping into ‘port of memory’, lost in the ‘capital of isolation’, and in the ‘Sea of struggle’ which were ‘anchors set to stall his exploration’ as he ‘ached for silence’ having seen the future ‘itching to go’. These lovely fragments caused me to recall the writing of Mahatma Gandhi about his experiments with truth, renunciation and service.
In closing, I’d like to quote from Mahatma Gandhi …..something that encapsulates this journey of the guru and all the other ten thousand stories about the success of this sanctuary. ‘Truth is like a vast tree, which yields more and more fruits, the more you nurture it. The deeper the search in the mine of truth the richer the discovery of the gems buried there, in the shape of openings for an ever greater variety of service’.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com