TT a blessed country

“Trinidad and Tobago is a blessed country with blessed landscape and blessed people. Maybe we are experiencing a ‘down-swing’ but we have the ability to uplift this land and restore it.” These were the words of Swami Prakashananda Maharaj, formerly known as Brahmachari Prem, as he addressed the crowd at Queen’s Hall in Port-of-Spain on Tuesday evening. Despite a power outage at Queen’s Hall, devotees and well wishers of Prakashananda sang bhajans (religious songs) as they welcomed him back to TT. He said people must adhere to the tenets of Sanatan Dharma (eternal religion of righteousness) in order to ensure that there is justice in the land.

“We must make decisions based on dharma (righteousness) and recognise the divine essence of our existence. “When we are strongly rooted in dharma, we will never want to commit an adhramic (unrighteous) act,” he said. Prakashananda, who attained “Sanyas” status (highest level of spiritual lineage in the Hindu faith) from the Chinmaya Mission Trust of Mumbai, India, returned from London where he was invited to do a lecture series. On his arrival at Piarco International Airport, he was greeted with tassa drumming as devotees shouted out his name. He is the current head of the local mission of the Chinmaya Mission of Freeport.

Among the dignitaries who garlanded the swami on his arrival at Queen’s Hall were Mayor of Port-of-Spain Murchison Brown as well as head of the Presbyterian Church Rev Cyril Paul. Spiritual head of the Hindu Prachaar Kendra (HPK) Raviji opened the programme with devotional chanting from the holy text. Member of Parliament for Caroni East, Ganga Singh, was also present. National Council for Indian Culture (NCIC) President, Pundit Deokienanan Sharma, also addressed the gathering on this occasion.

Teg Ramlogan represented Culture Minister Joan Yuille-Williams at the function. He told the swami that the Culture Ministry is willing to work alongside the Chinmaya Mission for the spiritual progress of the land. Mayor Brown said he is proud that a son of the soil has advanced to such a high position in his faith. He had the crowd laughing when he said, “We are accustomed to seeing swamis with long white beards coming in from India. Here we have our own youthful swami.” He congratulated Prakashananda, saying that the citizens of the entire country wish him well in all his endeavours in life.