At the recently concluded Kaartik Nahaan celebrations hosted by SWAHA at Manzanilla, the Spiritual Head of our organisation, Paramacharya Pt.Hardeo Persad, in his message, ignited the call for unity among all. Making a powerful appeal to devotees congregated on the sandy sea-shore, he urged all to delve deeply within and break down the barriers of negativities that separate them from their fellow-man.
He explained that the celebration of auspicious occasions serve the purpose of drawing man closer to his own divinity and in the process bringing him closer to his fellow-being. Reiterating the symbolic meaning of the worship of Gangaa Maa and the ceremonial bath, Paramcharya referred to the Mahaavaakyas ‘Tat Twam Asi’. The ceremonial bath in the river or sea on Kaartik Poornima helps to remove the veil of negativities within and thereby gives us renewed vision that enables us to consider each other as extensions of ourselves and part and parcel of God Himself. The immersion in the sacred waters, he further explained, symbolises the merging of the individual soul with that of the Super-soul, God Himself. The effect of such a merging removes all lines of distinctions that draw differences between man and man. In fact, the new vision should be one of unity, not plurality.
As we hold before us the final chapter of yet another year this message of unity should be the yard stick by which we ought to gauge our personal development thus far. Scrolling down our experiences of the past twelve months or so, many questions may arise. For many, 2008 may have spelt disappointment, frustration of various kinds, hopelessness, failed promises and failure. Even in our organisation we were struck with severe tragedy with the deaths of the Spiritual Leader of Sukh Shanti Bhakti Mandali,and one of the founding Pundits of SWAHA,Pt.Parmanand Persad as well as that of Spiritual Head Shankaracharya, Pt. Hari Prasad. All this within the space of one month! Yet ,with the united efforts of all ,the powerful hand of the Lord and unstinting faith, we walked on.
With the wand of unity, challenges pale into insignificance. As Paramacharya emphasised in his message, when we regard each other with love, compassion and kindness the sky is the limit of achievement. When we discard the host of negativities that engineer our lives at times, our vision becomes renewed in such a way that we become our brother’s keeper. Perceived disappointments and apparent failures become stepping- stones to success. Mountains appear as a mere grain of sand, enemies become friends as Bhagavan becomes the captain of the ship of our life.
So as we look back in retrospect and at the same time, prepare ourselves to set foot into the new year, it is indeed a most appropriate time to heed the call of unity and use it to colour all our relationships. With total surrender at the feet of the Lord, united in thought and with full appreciation of each other, may we resolve to make a difference in our own worlds as well as those of our neighbour.
