By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
It was with great sadness that I learned on Saturday, November 16, about the passing of Shri Satnarayan Maharaj, Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS).
On behalf of my family, I offer condolences to his family and to the Hindu community. My father, Balgobin Ramdeen, knew him when he lived in London. I was fortunate to be able to discuss religious and other issues with him when I represented former Archbishop Edward Gilbert at some IRO meetings.
I recall at one meeting held at the Maha Sabha headquarters in St Augustine, when we were discussing some similarities between Hinduism and Christianity, he was surprised when I quoted Lord Krishna’s words in the Bhagavad Gita: “He alone sees truly, who sees the Lord the same in every creature …. seeing the same Lord everywhere, he does no harm to himself nor to others.”
He was serious when he said to me that since my father was a Hindu, the Maha Sabha would welcome me with “open arms”, if I wanted to follow my father’s religion. I replied that while I respected Hinduism, I remain rooted in Catholicism.
Mr Maharaj was a true visionary whose life was “ordered” by the tenets of his Hindu faith. He was a devotee of Lord Hanuman, an epitome of strength and virtue, whose love and devotion for Lord Rama remind us of what we can achieve if we align ourselves to forces of good. It was no surprise to learn that Mr Maharaj died clutching a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa, a hindu devotional hymn addressed to Lord Hanuman.
Mr Maharaj was a true defender of Dharma and worked closely with the pundits of the 150 mandirs which the SDMS operates. Indeed, he worked tirelessly to promote the rights of the Hindu community. By extension, the wider community also benefitted.
If you have time, visit the Indian Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and Tobago (ICM) in Waterloo, which is owned and operated by the SDMS. This was the brainchild of Mr Maharaj.
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Perhaps my cousin, Sakaldip Dial, was inspired by Mr Maharaj, when, on December 2, 2017, the Dial family celebrated 159 years of being T&T citizens by opening ‘The Dial family museum’ – at Campus House, Eastern Main Road, St Augustine (my grandfather had changed his name from Dial to Ramdeen).
Of his many achievements, it is Mr Maharaj’s commitment to education that stands out like a beacon. He modernised SDMS’s 43 primary schools and built 5 secondary schools and 18 early childhood educational centres and promoted quality education in all these institutions – focusing particularly on preparing the leaders of these institutions.
Thirty-four years ago, in 1985, he introduced the annual Baal Vikaas Vihaar Festival in which SDMS schools compete, drawing on Hindu history and culture. Over the years thousands of youth have participated in this Festival which is held in June. It includes a Chaalisa Test Piece, Gita Slokas, folk songs, Bhajan singing, dance, Classical singing, and Instrumental.
In 2011, Mr Maharaj said: “Baal Vikaas Festival is designed to empower the young Hindus with the dynamism of Sanatan Dharma. It has been the avenue to plant in the hearts and minds of our children the seeds of our rich heritage brought to this country by our ancestors.”
Republic Bank has supported the festival for a decade “as part of its commitment to empowering youth through culture and the arts.” I agree with Riah Dass-Mungal, Republic Bank’s General Manager, Internal Audit who, in June this year, described the festival as “An experience that inspires positive qualities in our youth. Qualities that will serve them well in their studies, their other extra-curricular activities and adulthood. The opportunity to develop a close relationship with our history, our culture and the teachings that have been passed down to us, is one of the most important gifts that we can give to our young people. This is what Baal Vikaas has done for generations.”
I recall the pundit who visited my father in hospital in London before he died, reminded him of the quotation from the Hanuman Chalisa that: “One who recites Chalisa one hundred times, becomes free from the bondage of life and death and enjoys the highest bliss at last.” May Mr Maharaj’s atma attain moksha.
Om Namah Shivayah.
