LIGHT OF EDUCATION IS LIGHT OF GOD

Dear Lord,

You were so kind and merciful to bless the Himalayan Kingdom-Bhutan on 11^th November 1955 with a wonderful gift-the 4^th king Jigme Singye Wangchuk. I have learned from the Hindu scripture that a King is the supreme manifestation of the almighty Lord Himself. The truth of the scripture I have seen in Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk. O Lord, my gratitude to Thee is wordless and fathomless for crowning the kingdom with such sublime King. Bhutan and the Bhutanese have enjoyed supreme peace, prosperity and bliss of life by virtue of the King’s Golden rule. I was fortunate to be able to live and serve in this heavenly Kingdom from 1987-2013.  I bow to Thee and the 4^th King in profound gratitude for enabling me to live a glorious life and
grow into a better human being in the holy Himalayan Kingdom. During my stay in Bhutan, I received so much love, care and kindness from the Tsa-Wa-Sum, but in return I could give too little. I can never repay what I received. So on this auspicious Day which is also the Children’s Day, to be part of the celebration and jubilation of the beloved 4^th King’s 60^th Birth Anniversary I pray to You, Dear God, for the noble King’s Divine health, happiness, peace and long life. Also grant that the 5^th King leads the nation to furtherance of peace, harmony and prosperity in the divine light that has already been kindled by his father, the 4^th King. May the lofty nation attain the highest position! I also pray that the children, the future nurturer of the nation, imbibe the king’s sublime traits and attributes in order to build strong character and unfold into the quality of citizens of his dream.

May the children be blessed to learn to live a righteous life by the divine effect of the great Day. O Lord, I beg your forgiveness for my weaknesses, failures, shortfalls and injustice due to my imperfection in nurturing and shaping the divine children - the sacred responsibility that Thou entrusted me with. On this joyous event, I fervently wish to see in every child the radiation of Thy glory, grandeur and splendor. May these beautiful children represent Thee and the divine King  and create heaven wherever they go. I wish to see O Lord, Thy face on every child’s face. May the light of their life radiate rays of hope, inspiration, strength and joy for their teachers, parents, society, the nation and the entire world at large. I beseech Thee to transmit the power and purity of Thy eyes, limbs, mind, brain and thoughts into theirs.

May every child blossom into a full Bhuddha!

Let me also pray to Thee to endow every teacher with supreme proficiency and perfection so that they can teach and guide every child to fulfill the lofty mission and vision of the nation.

May every teacher be Thy embodiment; every classroom become Thy seat and every word and action of each teacher be Thine. I beg Thee to grant that every student can see Thy light and limbs in their teachers and hear Thy voice from the voice of their teachers. May every teacher’s presence bring Thy presence and Thine divine aura to the children.

O the omnipotent kind Father, grant that our teachers grow higher and higher in health, happiness and prosperity for the children’s nourishment and glorious unfoldment!

May the celebration be a grand and glorious one.

Long-Live our beloved Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk!

Palden Drukpa Gyalo!

By: Santosh Chowdhury

Ex-Teacher, Bhutan