LIGHT OF EDUCATION IS LIGHT OF GOD

(A Tribute to Third Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuk)

According to Sri Aurobinda, Education is the preparation for the divine life. Through the virtue of Bhutanese education, I have experienced the above truth. I used to share with my friends and colleagues and students in Bhutan: "For a teacher, school is the best temple; and his/her devotion to the duties is the highest form of worship to God.

To my utter astonishment, at the age of sixty - one, last year, I was granted a Yoga-Vedanta Training at The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, through an eligibility test. I had to write a 500 - word Note about my life, spiritual background, and aspirations, and plans to qualify for the course, w.e.f. 19. 08. '19 to 17. 10. ' 19. The Note was simply a narration of my job responsibilities as a teacher, contribution to education, and of the recognition by The Royal Government of Bhutan. And this was enough for the authorities to consider me an eligible candidate for the noble course - the highest education of my life. From this, I realized that my entire teaching career in Bhutan was a preparation for this Divine Life Training.

Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, and Realize were the main components of the training. And in Bhutan, I was privileged to practice all of the above values as Matron (Nangkor Central School), Health Service Provider, Counsellor, Yoga Club Coordinator, Students Support Service Coordinator and Librarian( Tsebar, Nangkor), besides classroom teaching.

The spiritual treasure of the world scriptures surfaced to me in the libraries. My Yoga Guru, Yogacharya B.K. S. Iyengar, the greatest boon of my life, has been a light in the library at Tsebar. Here I see the reality of Swami Vivekananda's thought: " If education were identical with information, the libraries would be the greatest sages in the world and encyclopedias the rishis."

At the end of the course, I had to sit for Written and Viva-Voce tests in ten papers. They were: History of Indian Philosophy, History of Western Philosophy, Philosophy of Swami Sivananda, Studies in Religious Consciousness, Study of the Bhagavad-Gita, Study of Upanishads, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Narada Bhakti Sutras, Asana, Pranayama and Meditation, and Karma Yoga(practical). My performance in all the subjects and other areas was highly rated, and I received a certificate of recognition.

No extra preparation was necessary for me for the course and examinations. My path to this Divine Life course got paved by the education of The Royal Government of Bhutan. My experiences of teaching, learning, and serving the students were the pillars of this big prize.

Through this course, I have learned that every teacher can live a Divine Life and soar higher by merely discharging the duties assigned by the Principal with the highest degree of dedication and devotion and by serving the students in their needs. Every ounce of our present thought, attitudes, and actions influences our destiny tomorrow. Thank you, my revered Principals, dear colleagues and friends, and the angelic students for enabling me to live a divine life in Bhutan.

Palden Drukpa Gyalo!