Deyas within us

THE uniqueness of Trinidad and Tobago may be seen in our national holidays which observe the central events or festivals of the three major religious groups in our country, Hindu, Christian and Muslim. When considered together, they represent our multi-ethnic society’s aspiration to tolerance and harmony, to fulfilling the objective stated in our national anthem, “where every creed and race find an equal place,” and to endorsing the prayer for God to bless our nation. In this uniqueness, TT may also consider itself fortunate since the traditional teachings and exhortations of these three denominations, while they may have been intended originally for followers of their respective faiths, also hold significance, insights, lessons, guidance, wisdom, truths and, above all, an appeal to virtuous and enlightened conduct for all our citizens.

These teachings are crystallised and dramatically presented as part of the annual celebrations of the respective national religious festivals and, thus, over the years have become familiar to the entire community. We wish, of course, that they would have had a stronger impact on the general conduct of our society and its members, that they would have made us into a more God-fearing and disciplined people, that we would have depended more on them for finding the solutions of our problems, but still we must be thankful for the influence they continue to have on us as forces for good and for generating greater understanding and appreciation of the harmony we must have in our diversity. As the deyas of Divali light up our country today and as we participate in the festival at various levels, it seems important for us to accept and recommit ourselves to the basic fact that our progress as a national society depends on the recognition of our oneness, that we must consciously and conscientiously strive for harmony in our diversity. That we must aspire together to achieve together. This is the light that will destroy the dark forces of division and strife. This is the truth that will demolish the falsehood of unyielding selfcenteredness.

 It is a light, however, that we must first light in our own hearts and minds. This is the truth which President Richards expresses quite fittingly in his Divali message: “Consider such a light within each of us, a light that can inspire us to drive out from within us the darkness that seeks constantly to impel us to be so much less than we can be as human beings, the Creator’s work. “They (deyas) reside within us. It is our decision whether we light them or not. If we do, we may experience the power of freedom from the enslavement of thoughts that keep us in the abyss of ignorance, hostility and insecurity. We would then be free to add light and beauty to our land, inspired from within towards a collective movement, upward and forward for the benefit of all who state allegiance to this blessed nation of ours.” Let us be determined to light up our world in perpetuity, the President appeals. “The deyas of Divali will eventually go out,” he says, “but we know that within us there is one that can last forever, leading us out of our own darkness, as we stay connected to the Author of all light.” It is our view that our troubled country needs that light more than ever before. Let us begin to light the deyas within us. A happy and meaningful Divali to all our readers.