Dear Gyembo Namgyel Sir,
Though it has been almost a year
I received your condolence message on my father’s departure for his heavenly
abode, the soothing and recuperative effect of your sacred words still
continues to comfort and renew my heart. I have realized how the love and
compassion of a good friend and brother can restore and repair our damaged mind
and rebuild us. According to Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, a good friend is greater
than a library. I wish and pray that you become a friend to all of that
stature.
As my father’s 1st
death anniversary is nearing (3 December 2017), I reminisce the spiritual
splendor and grandeur of Bhutanese education and pristine Nature that had
brought heaven down on the earth for my late father through my sacrifice of the
Royal profession in order to be with him. Overflowed with joy at the sight of
the rain of love, devotion and service that descended on my fortunate father in
his last days through the hands of my family members one day I dazzled him with
the remark: “Father, your luck has brought your heaven down to you.” In
response, he nodded his head intoxicated with heavenly bliss. Such has been the
impact of Bhutanese education and environment in my father’s life. Our
attitudes and philosophies of life have been profoundly altered in Bhutan and a
burning zeal dawned in us to live a righteous life. My father had saluted every
Bhutanese visitor with the thought that I have been reshaped by the spell of
the Bhutanese system and environment. And he was absolutely right in his
thought.
In every child and every phenomenon
I saw glow of spirituality. The great educationist and philosopher, Dr.
Radhakrishnan believed that education that cannot develop spiritual feelings in
students is not real. Still now the spectacular view of one afternoon in March
2006 flashes upon my mind when I was on my way from Nangkor to Pemagatshel, the
students of Shumar Primary School on their way home, at my sight chanted, “Apchi
sir ooncha! Apchi sir ooncha! ” Then in a hurry they lined up and bowed down to
me with folded hands and profound devotion as I got closer to them on my
scooter. After them I met several other groups of students of Nangkor High
School and Pemegatshel Lower Secondary School who exhibited the similar gesture
and spectacle. I felt ecstatic. That experience unfolded a new layer of my eyes
and thought, and inspired me to call all children ‘Little Buddhas’ It was a day
and event of my consecration. From that spark, a flame of learning, writing and
investigating life from a different dimension began to burn in me.
It is mainly because of the
spiritual ambience of the schools and education and pristine environment I
always tried to refine myself to be worthy of the angelic students and the sacred
education system. Frequently I reminded my wife, “Since we are living in the
girls hostel ( Nangkor HSS: 1997 -2007) where we are being watched by hundreds
of boarder girls and boys round the clock, we should live an ideal and exemplary
life for the children to learn good
practices from us. And by God’s grace we were successful in our mission. All my
Principals were my light to lead me and lift me to that sanctity. It was on the
hilltop of Tsebar primary School, though remote and devoid of all modern
amenities (1987-1997), my collection of scriptures and classical literatures
began its journey. I owe a lot to the mail runners who so faithfully carried
the loads of my books taking arduous walk for hours each time over the
mountains without uttering a word of dissatisfaction.
Another strange experience! My
wealth of YOGA whose root is in India surfaced in my life in the library of
Tsebar Primary School and I got connected with my Yoga teacher, Yogacharya
B.K.S. Iyengar in Pune. Yoga has a profound influence on changing my attitude
and aptitude that enabled me to live and serve my students as I was expected
of.
Our students in Bhutan are so
well trained in spiritual plane. It is so thrilling to me to recall the
spectacles of students praying before breakfast, before morning assembly,
before lunch, after classes, before dinner and before retiring to the bed. At
every night on the scheduled bed time when I had gone around the girls’ rooms
at Nangkor HSS as the matron to ensure that everyone was in the respective bed,
I found most of the girls immersed in prayer on their beds.The memory of those
spiritual sights today brings tears of heavenly joy. Nobel laureate Dr. Alexis
Carrel, the Medical Scientist, wrote: “ Prayer is not only worship; it is also
an invisible emanation of man’s worshipping spirit – the most powerful form of
energy that one can generate.”
The auspicious days in the Bhutanese schools
are observed with so much dignity, discipline and devotion. The memory of the classroom
meditation in Wangchhu Middle Secondary School, Chukha, before beginning the
lesson still injects in me a feeling of peace and bliss. It is rewarding to
recall how enthusiastically dozens of students joined our cleaning campaigns in
Chukha which is also an indication of spiritual inclination. By the honour and
care to the trees and plants in Bhutanese education I felt so much stimulated
and united with the Nature that with the patronage of the Chukha Hydro Power
Plant and my Principal Sir and with the holy hands of the students we have
developed a wonderful forest. The forest has become a holy place. Because at
the centre of the forest where a meditation seat was designed by the students
grew a Bodhi Tree which I regard as an answer to the students’ prayer. Unless
we see it with our own eyes, it sounds unbelievable.
The meditation session for
students accompanied with reading out of a holy text at the morning assembly of
Wanchhu MSS had always a tranquilizing and consecrating effect on my mind.
According to the philosophy of Maharishi Patanjali this kind of spiritual
activity has a refining and divinizing effect on the entire human race as there
erupts an invisible emanation of rays of light in all direction from the spot
where it is practiced. In Sanskrit it is called Tanmatra. The sacred voice in
reading of the meditation text by our Principal Sir, Mr. Dhan Singh Tamang
always echoes in my heart. Through my inward eyes every morning at eight from
my far away hometown I see the radiation of light from the assembly ground of
Wangchhu School in all directions that reaches every nook and corner of the
world and enriches, elevates and
enlightens our brothers and sisters everywhere.
May our spiritual light burn with
brighter flame!
Thank you sir for being my
stimulation to share my thoughts, feelings and experiences.
With prayer and best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Santosh Chowdhury,
Ex-teacher, Bhutan
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