In the presence of a Great Man

In Sirigere we were the honoured guests of the Swamiji Dr. Shivamurthy Shivacharya Mahaswamiji. He is an eminent Sanskrit scholar with a PHD from Banaras Hindu University and is well known for his work in rural education. His organization has 172 schools with nearly 40 000 students and 6000 students are provided with free board and lodging. He is also the judge at the local court for those people who cannot afford lawyers and his decisions are binding. Ted should know that as soon as you enter the court building you have to take off your shoes and all proceedings are done in bare feet! We spent the afternoon in his court and heard several cases - two families arguing over the amount of a dowry, a mother whose son was not providing for her, one lady asking the Swamiji for money for heart surgery, a husband and wife arguing over money, a property dispute between two neighbours, and a newlywed couple who wanted the Swamiji's blessing (the whole community came with them). One of Swamiji's     messages to the newly weds was "If you are wrong accept it and if you are right, keep your mouth shut". Just before adjourning the court, he introduced us as the University of Waterloo Educational Team and told the audience that we were here to learn about India. He stated, "Even though these Canadian people are physically far away from you, they are emotionally closer to you than many of the people in this court who are physically close and yet emotionally so far apart."

The highlight of the day was "Cultural Program" the community had planned for us. There was an honour guard of 14 girls and boys in ceremonial dress. A horn and drum band announced our presence and we held court with the Swamiji . From here we were escorted into an outdoor amphitheater with hundreds of people cheering at our arrival. We were humbled at the outpouring of love and respect. The students had spent the last 20 days preparing a theatrical production, The Summary of Hovina Haadu - Truth Surpasses Everything, complete with costumes, sound, and lighting.

We were invited onto the stage where we were introduced one by one to the crowd and as we each knelt in front of the Swamiji , he blessed us and anointed us with a beautiful sandalwood garland and a wooden scarf. It was absolutely magical being in the presence of such a wise man filled with such kindness and generosity. Doris spoke very eloquently on our behalf and we sang Dona Nobis Pacem in beautiful harmonies to give to them the message of peace in the world. Swamiji took this opportunity to address the crowd and shared the message that we are not a global community, but rather a global family. After the show, we were ushered down down the centre aisle where they had people holding the crowd back as they wanted to reach out and touch our hands. 

The Swamiji is everything to his people and they revere and show such respect for him. He is their spiritual leader, their community leader, their advocate for community services from the government, their guardian, their moral compass, their judge, their hero, and the future and hope for their children. I was honoured to be in the presence of such a great person and I felt sad that the role models for so many of our children in the west are sports heroes and celebrity stars.