Dear Editor,
The news of the passing of Swami Vidyanandaji has brought back fond memories for me of my high school years as a student of the late swamiji and the pioneering role the Hindu College of Cove and John played in bringing secondary education to students in the rural areas of Guyana. When the Hindu College was established, it was one of only two secondary schools that operated on the East Coast of Demerara, spanning the area from Kitty in the west to Abary in the east. The other secondary school was County High in Buxton which was founded by Mr Sydney King, now Eusi Kwayana. Yet, because of its dormitory facilities for live-in male students, reasonable fees and financial awards, and religious tolerance, the Hindu College attracted students from as far as the Corentyne in the east to Essequibo in the west. I believe my recollections may be of interest to at least some of your readers.
Swami Vidyanandaji was one of a handful of young men who were initiated as brahmacharis by the late Swami Purnanandaji of India when he came to Guyana as a Hindu Missionary, established the Guyana Sevashram Sangha, and founded the Hindu College in 1957. (Brahmachari is a Hindi word meaning male celibate who is dedicated to the pursuit of education/knowledge under the direction/guidance of a preceptor). Of those early initiates, all the others, after providing great service to the Sangha and the College, returned to civilian life. However, Swami Vidyanand, then known as Brahmachari Seecharran, continued on his missionary journey. Later, he went to India for further spiritual/religious training at the parent organization, the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, and was inducted into the holy order of swamis, becoming the first Guyanese-born swami.
My first encounter with then Brahmachari Seecharran was in my first year at the College where I was one of over one hundred students in form one and he was the Religious Knowledge teacher. Yes, Religious Knowledge was a compulsory subject on the curriculum and it was studied for various overseas exams such as the General Certificate of Education (GCE) of London University. More surprising is that Religious Knowledge was really a study of Christianity, and the required textbook was The Gospel According to St Matthew. So, here was a brahmachari, the Hindu equivalent of a Christian monk, teaching us Christian scripture.
The founder of the Hindu College, Swami Purnananda, was a true visionary. He had an innovative approach to education and he used all his charm and persuasion to gain support for the school. The cornerstone for the college was laid by the British Governor, Sir Patrick Renison, construction of the building was done by volunteers, help with the science lab and teacher training was sought from the Principal of Queen’s College, Mr Sanger-Davis, and respected elders from the surrounding African-Guyanese and Indian-Guyanese communities were co-opted as advisers. Two key advisers were Mr Melbourne, OBE, of Nabaclis village and Mr Dalinchand Persaud, Senior Probation Officer, of Victoria village. And, despite the name of the school, all letterheads, report cards and publicity material stated that the school was non-sectarian, a point that was stressed at all times by Swami Purnananda and his successors. More importantly, and something that may be very relevant at the present time, is that morning prayers were compulsory but each religious group (Christian, Hindu and Muslim) was allotted a separate area to say prayers according to their religious background.
During my years at the Hindu College, none of my teachers, a mix of civilians and brahmacharis, were professionally trained or had a university degree. In fact, many were just out of high school and waiting on the results of the overseas exams. As soon as the results were published, the civilians would leave for the civil service or the government’s primary schools. Yet, the Hindu College weathered these setbacks because of the brahmacharis, men who were not well qualified academically but who made every effort to improve their education through evening studies at Queen’s College. Among them was Brahmachari Seecharran who pursued studies in Biology and Chemistry.
As I skipped second and entered third form, there was Brahmachari Seecharran, this time as my Biology teacher. Now he was teaching us about amoeba and spirogyra and worse, asexual and sexual reproduction. When he touched on the part of the syllabus that dealt with mammalian reproduction, his discomfort was visible as he had both males and females in the class. Yet, he maintained his serious demeanour and no one dared to giggle. We all knew he was the school’s disciplinarian, the teacher to whom misbehaving students were sent to be caned, and too, there were all these stories about him being a body-builder and boxer before he became a brahmachari.
When I entered the University of Guyana as a member of the first batch of students in 1963, Brahmachari Seecharran was thrilled to learn that I was enrolled in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and majoring in Biology. He was delighted too that 4 of the 160 odd students in that first batch were from the Hindu College, all pursuing degrees in Biology or Chemistry. Like me, many others have benefited and continue to benefit from our education at the Hindu College. Two of those who remained in Guyana and made significant contribution to the country are Mr Lennox Bobb, who had a lengthy career in the civil service, reaching the senior-most level as Permanent Secretary before retiring, and Mr Clifford Reis, Chairman and Managing Director of Banks DIH Limited.
As I reflect on Swami Vidyanandaji’s life, I can envisage him towards the end offering the Hindu sanskritic prayer “Oh lord, lead me from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.” May his soul achieve eternal peace.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Hergash
