Divali Celebrations- Marchin
October 18, 2009
“Illuminating the Light”
By Winston Dookeran
Shubh Divali to all, Sita Ram, Assalam-o-Alaikum, A Good Evening to all.
Mr. Jack Warner, MP for Chaguanas West, I am humbled by your gracious invitation to be here tonight. Marchin Village is part of me, and I will always remember the leader in the community, Krishna who held my hands during my stay as Member of Parliament for Chaguanas as I started my life in the public arena here more than 25 years ago.
Mr. Winston Gypsy spoke for Mayaro, Mr. Warner you said that you speak for the people of Chaguanas West and Couva North. Since I have no seat in Parliament, I would speak for all of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
Today, Jack Warner holds that office and he has done so with great admiration and generosity- I salute him as an exemplary Parliamentarian and a true patriot of our country. I know Jack Warner loves Trinidad and Tobago.
Our country is proud today of the remarkable success of our cricket team in India. Daren Ganga and his talented team have inspired the young and the old, as he united Trinidad and Tobago in a blaze of glory, as indeed Brian Lara did on so many glorious occasions. Let us give Daren Ganga, Kieron Pollard and Adrian Bharath the whole team a loud applause for their stunning victories in India.
It was an inspirational lesson on unity of purpose, and tells us how far we can go and high we can reach, if only we have a Unity of Purpose among ourselves. Divali could not be a more appropriate time to talk to you about Unity and Character in the politics of Trinidad and Tobago.
Some may see this as a dangerous idea, but this is the time for dangerous ideas. Abraham Lincoln, talked about such dangers, “nearly all men can stand adversity , but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.”
According to the Hindus , there is divine power in each of us . Deokinanan Sharma, President of the Indian Council of Indian Culture, published a remarkable edition at the 2009, Divali Nagar , on this years theme, The Hindu Concept of God- I salute him as I quote him, ‘ Hindus believe that there is a bit of the Divine in each one of us in the form of the soul or the Atma.”
My message to you tonight is to use the bit of divine power inside each one of us to sustain harmony and Unity of Purpose among our people, and in the politics of our land. To search for a truthful answer, I went to the most ancient Sanskrit epic poem, the Ramayana, written by the sage Valmiki around 500BC which contained approximately 50. 000 lines . It describes the life of Sri Rama, the banishment of Sita from the kingdom of Ayodhya and her final exoneration and ascent to heaven, joining Sri Rama.
In this epic poem, we see how the structure of unity and character leads to a decisive victory of the divine man. It took fourteen years, and was at all times sustained by TRUTH. All of us live on the same earth, the same sky is above us. The Ramayana centers on the principle of Unity in Diversity, arguing that otherwise there will be constant restlessness in society
The restlessness in the politics of our society today is because our leaders have severely violated the principle of Unity in Diversity. We see this visibly in Government, in our Parliament and in our Political Parties. This is why the Cop is founded in Unity in Diversity and is opened for all of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. We must not fear the future but we must now shape it. Unity is the need of the hour today. Our politics must not promote racial divisions, nor must we, the people become victims in our own society. It is unity of purpose and unity in diversity that protects the world, and secures an enduring freedom for our nation.
Scholars on the spirit of the Hindu Law, explain that it is character that reveals moral purpose. Unity in diversity endures when character prevails- if you want to test a man’s character give him power.
As we celebrate Divali, 2009 here in Marchin village, let us sow the seeds for unity in our politics, for the unity of the people based not on fame and popularity but on the principles of unity in the Hindu scriptures.
The restlessness in our politics must stop, the recklessness must come to an end, and reason must now come to the fore, with a sense for the future.
Tonight, I start that journey with you again, for yet another time, as we tap that bit of divinity in each one of us to bring a oneness between unity and character in the politics of our country.
I know the road is dangerous ahead, but I also know if we do not take it, the danger ahead will be even greater as the nation plunge into permanent crisis.
Unity of the people we can. Unity of the people we will. Unity of the people we must. For the Unity we seek, we must find common ground, but common ground is not all we need. We must also seek higher ground. Certain dangerous ideas must be removed from our thinking as we seek not only common grounds but higher grounds. We must remove race from politics so that the unity we seek would move the nation into action. To politically mobilize the people on race-would take us into zone of dangers, and put at risks the future of our young people.
I look forward to starting the journey of Unity for yet another time- once it was at Reinzi complex, then it was, in the midst booing at Center mall, Chaguanas on February 19th 2006 and now it is here at Marchin Village, in the Constituency of Chaguanas West.
Shubh Divali to the people of Marchin village and to our nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
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