Satguru Bodhinata Veylanswami and Sannyasin Sanmuganatha swami greet President Bharrat Jagdeo during a visit at the Office of the President
Visiting Swamis, Satguru Bodhinata Veylanswami and Swami Sannyasin Sanmuganathaswami from Kauai Hindu Monastery in Hawaii, USA has said they are impressed with the quality and standard of Hinduism being practised and taught in Guyana.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International Swami Bodhinatha stated that the leaders and devoted followers of Hinduism in Guyana are seemingly well versed, educated and informed about the core principles, values and lessons that the religion offers human beings.
He explained that his assessment of the level and quality of Hinduism being practiced here was arrived at after several visits, lecturers and tours around the country.
“I think Hinduism in Guyana is in good shape. You have a well educated group of priests running temples knowledgeably. This is a good strength that is perpetuating in society in a systematic way and is not about to go away”, Swami Bodhinatha noted.
He expressed satisfaction with the amount of devotion and commitment shown by the Hindu devotees emphasising, that Hinduism is not static but ever changing. According to the Swami, as the time changes, so are the demands and needs of the followers of the world-wide religious fraternity. “We are now in a knowledge-based economy and era where persons constantly searching for information, truths and answers to many things as they seek to understand their purpose in life”, the swami disclosed.
Supporting this position, Swami Shanmuganatha said that youth in Guyana seems to be involved and in search of information about the religion and other answers hence, they flock all possible areas where they can derive credible data. “In this era of information technology youth are now looking everywhere whether it is the web, Google, on iPod, Facebook, BlackBerry and others for information and that’s good”, Swami Muganatha related.
Addressing the problematic issue of peace, Swami Bodhinatha said that Hindus must strive to be at peace with themselves first and then must allow that peace to transcend into their homes. He views peace as being contended within one’s self stating that if one was very upset and frustrating then one could reasonably be experiencing peace.
“Religion needs to provide us with the tools so that when we experience distress and varying states of negative emotions, we can work our way out of them”, Swami noted.
He said that “prayer, prayer at the temple and meditation” are some of the easiest, oldest and yet most modern processes through which people can seek to pursue peace.
Swami Shanmuganatha also believes that through these processes communities benefit from what has started at the level of the individual and home. “It can also have positive impacts on nations”, Swami opined.
Meanwhile, the swamis are more than convinced that peace is undisputedly linked to happiness and success. They strongly believe that one could not achieve success or happiness without understanding the importance of worship, high levels of devotion, spirituality and inner peace.
The most senior swamis from the prestigious and popular Hindu magazine “Hinduism Today” have been part of lectures and meetings with Hindu leaders here. Swami Bodhinatha and Swami Shanmuganatha earned their reputation for fully researching Hindu subjects and publicising them.
Among places visited were the Better Hope Mandir; Shri Krishna Bath Settlement Mandir and Ocean View Mandir, West Coast Demerara. The Hawaii Ashram is recognised and respected and the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha works closely with it. Their trip was made possible as a result of a link made back in the 1980’s by their Guru and President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud.
