Swami Prakashananda is a heavy weight and if he is in a ring with Mike Tyson, I am going to bet my last dollar that he will emerge the winner with a definite knock out. It is always heartening to hear his discourses because he does not complain but offers a plan of action to move the community forward.
For example, Swami Prakashananda is currently building the first smart school in Trinidad and Tobago. He revealed in a video that this campus would be aimed at achieving 80% paperless tuition and hopefully 100% percent in less than two years. Now, the Chinmaya campus has achieved 60% paperless tuition.
It is information that rules the world and who has information would dominate those who don’t. A practical step is the use of the internet to pay bills. This is time saving but needs a credit card and internet connection. Failing to comply with these changing demands would put one at a disadvantage.
The Chinmaya Mission’s project to construct a smart school with 100% percent paperless tuition is positive news. It is a relief from the constant complaining and protest that is fast becoming the hallmark character of the community. Taking positive steps to move the community forward is a breath of fresh air.
Over the years I have bought into this defeatist mind set which I attempted to escape but to no avail. Now that Swami Prakashananda is pointing the way forward, I now feel embolden to embrace a world of opportunities.
Hindu parents and leaders must strive to create a Hindu environment for Hindu culture to flourish. This can be achieved by building more Hindu institutions where Hindu values can be passed on. The construction of a smart school would give the students the competitive edge to compete in the global environment.
Princes Town and its environ have a large Hindu population. It would be good that some of our citizens lobby the Chinmaya Mission to build a smart school to cater to the needs of our children. We must commend the work that the leading schools like St Stevens College and Cowen Hamilton Secondary School are doing. However, it is about time that the Hindu community step forward and build a smart school beginning with a preschool.
It is our duty as conscious Hindus to make our young minds feel proud to be Hindus. To this end they must be placed in safe Hindu environments where they can identify proudly with their Hindu customs and practices. A Hindu school provides the opportunity for the Hindu child to wear a raksha in his hand without fear of ridicule or a principal having to use a pair of scissors to remove it.
I want to commend those people who give generously to the Chinmaya Mission to execute its goal to provide education in a Hindu environment. I want to congratulate the parents who send their children to a Chinmaya School. They certainly are demonstrating a faith in Hindu dharma as a way of life to succeed in the modern world.
I always enjoy the personality of Swami Prakashananda- his boyish look and his penchant for telling comical stories to drive home deeper philosophical meanings. I am tired of encountering Hindu leaders who talk big but have no achievements under their belts.
Many in the past have sown the message of Vedanta. Thankfully, Swamiji has watered the seeds of Vedanta that allow it to grow into a huge tree that is now giving shade and fruits to the Hindus community.
Swamiji has laid out a blueprint to educate our Hindu boys and girls. This is a platform we must support to ensure that our Hindu boys and girls are allowed to wear proudly in their hands the sacred thread of protection.
It is paradoxical that a thread that is worn for protection is cut of the hands of kids and all the Hindu community has chosen to do is to complain. It is time to act not by reacting but by conscious action as the Chinmaya Mission under the leadership of Swamiji has been doing.