LIGHT OF EDUCATION IS LIGHT OF GOD

The hurricane lantern in my hand and the blue bag across my shoulder represented my mobile clinic for students. During the peaks of sicknesses, especially in summer, at late nights, I used to walk from the Girls’ Hostel to the Boys’ Hostel and again to the Girls’ Hostel at the call of sick students and walked from bed to bed to offer them health services and support. I carried different kinds of medicines and a bottle of boiled water in the bag.

Respected Principal Sirs, dear colleagues, and friends, and our beloved students,

From a seedling planted in 1997 as a junior high school, Nangkor H.S. School, the present Nangkor Central School, has grown into a giant banyan tree and so have grown most of our students as pillars of the beautiful kingdom. We all have been fortunate to render our hands in nurturing and moulding this lovely school from her infancy to adulthood, which has produced some of the finest human beings and contributes to the Gross National Happiness, radiant rays of which have penetrated into most parts of the world. I feel highly rewarded to be one of you in moulding this superb school.

On the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of this great learning centre, I write this letter to reminisce a few glimpses of the unforgettable memories of my glorious life (1997-2007) to be united with you all and to devote myself to the celebrations of the landmark event and to congratulate and thank the present school family for keeping the light of spirit and growth of the school soaring and shining.

For the merits of my age, experience, and Divine Life Training at Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, in 2019, I am proud to glorify the life and society of the school and its culture and environment as Divine Life Society. I salute and bow to all the members of the NANGKOR family, including my students, for enabling me to live a splendid life as a librarian (1997-1998), teacher, health service provider, matron, counsellor, and Health Club coordinator. My gratitude to the school heads and the family knows no bound for endowing me with all these responsibilities that unfolded several avenues to offer sacred services to my Little Buddhas (students), which humbly I proclaim as my divine life, a way to enlightenment. Sri Aurobindo said, “The goal of education should be preparation for Divine Life. Nangkor School was a boon and blessing for the preparation and practice of that life.                             

I describe that life as my divine life training because, according to Yoga-Vedanta philosophy, every boy and man is the image of God and every girl and woman is the emblem of the Divine Mother. Hence every one of you, my dear students, was my living God or Goddess with whom I was fortunate to live together and extend my humble hands joined with the supportive hands of my wife in your services. The school was a field for me to practise Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Raja Yoga – a way to enlightenment and emancipation, as the Vedanta philosophy teaches.

During the Divine life training at Rishikesh, besides our study and lessons on world scriptures, daily we were engaged in different kinds of selfless services as Karma Yoga or Seva, which for me, were just reinforcement of the services which I was privileged to render you students and the school. I remember when Dechen Lhamo, Samdrup Jongkhar, a student of Class X, in an interview as part of her project work, had asked me, “Sir what do you think could be the highest attainment in a teacher’s life?” My intuitive answer was, “A teacher can gain enlightenment merely by devoting oneself earnestly and passionately to the services of the students. That is the greatest achievement of a teacher.” The same truth I have discovered at my mature age through the study of scriptures and my training at the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, which has been the most enlightening training for me. According to Yoga-Vedanta philosophy, which accepts, respects, and embraces all religions as true, we gain purity of the mind through selfless services to mankind and other forms of life. We feel one with all for the purity of mind, breaking our man-made narrow domestic walls. This is what I experienced in my entire life in Bhutan, especially at Nangkor. I forgot that I was a foreigner. I enjoyed kinship with everybody and everything around me, including the ants on my path. Swami Vivekananda said, “God is the sum total of all souls.” Thus, Nangkor School has been my most remarkable Divine Life Society today, where I was able to give myself abundantly to the services of the living gods and goddesses.

I’m so grateful to Hon’ble Home Secretary, Dasho Sonam Wangyel, the first Headmaster, who had made the strange choice of appointing me as the matron, though initially, I had taken it as a bolt from the blue. I was shocked at the idea of a man living in the girls’ hostel. But it turned out to be the greatest blessing, and I believe it was the same for my boarder daughters and boarder sons as well. My small hands got the biggest privilege to serve my spiritual daughters and sons through modern medical therapy, Ayurveda therapy, counselling therapy, yoga therapy, diet therapy, etc., for eleven years.

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with the two little hands. Thank you Principal Sirs and Madam Principal for engaging my little life in the holiest and highest services. The responsibilities that you had entrusted me with brought about a sea change in my thoughts and attitudes. My small room in the girls’ hostel turned into my holiest shrine which I had kept equipped with all kinds of resources for the services to my dear divine sons and daughters. As a changed man now, I realize through my services to the daughters I actually served my late mother and the Universal Mother for which I feel blissful and blessed.

Let me reveal to you all that as a matron supported by my dedicated and devoted housewife, I experienced the supreme joy as well as heart-breaking pains of looking after our hundreds of daughters. Among scores of incidents over eleven years, the most nightmarish was when one of the daughters, Class XI, was lost. And I had received a threatening call from her father, “You are responsible for my daughter. Within twelve hours you have to trace my daughter and get her back to the hostel. By evening I should be able to talk with her.” Hearing this, my world had turned into a dark labyrinth. Because at her request, she was granted permission by me to go home with her parents and was supposed to be at home. But the reality had a complex picture which I failed to smell. Thus, for the missing daughter, I became a scapegoat. Tormented, I ran in search of my Principal for help. As it was a Sunday, Sir was in his leisure in a shop at Nangkor market. By a mere glance at me, my brilliant Principal, Mr. Sherub Gyeltshen, instantly understood the seriousness of the case and led me to his office. To my utter amazement, he bravely handled the matter, and within minutes the tempest lost its power in the Principal’s iron hand. I became safe and comfortable. He silenced the parent through phone call and traced our daughter with the help of the police. All the involved characters in the incident were brought back to school, and the film ended splendidly for the extraordinary leadership of my Principal. I had a sigh of relief. Thank you, Principal Sir. You were my living God in that tragedy. Dear daughter, I am happy to understand that you are living a happy life.

As providence willed, every boy and girl of the school was so closely attached to us as if we were their parents, which provided us the advantage to extend our loving hands and hearts. My wife and I always wanted to share at least with some of our sons and daughters our special Indian dishes. As the Girls” Hostel is at the centre of the school, the aroma of my wife’s food preparation used to fill the air of the hostel premises. One morning Karma Wangmo, Kalikhola, Class XI, elated by the aroma of some delicious dishes exclaimed, “Madam, we are enjoying Nose Party!” I felt touched by her innocent love and attachment to us and said to my wife, “From today, please make sure that at every meal, at least two girls eat with us, and this should cover all the girls of the hostel. My wife untiringly and lovingly engaged her blessed hands to cook for some children daily and serve them. This was our heavenly joy.

Here is another cherishing memory. I was privileged to be a hope and strength for Karma Yangdon, Gomdhar, S/Jongkhar, Class XI Commerce, on her most fatal day at Nangkor. One morning in a fall from the first floor to the ground floor across the staircase, her entire lower jaw with all the teeth dislodged with profuse bleeding. Her friends carried her to me in my room. It was a ghastly scene. Instantly I had referred her to the hospital. I thought she would be kept in the hospital for several days. But she was back to the hostel in the evening on completion of the treatment and advice.

I felt relieved as well as worried. Because she couldn't chew food. So, by the guidance of my inner voice, I said to my wife, “The child should be served with liquid food from our kitchen till her complete recovery.” As my wife’s hands were always ready for the services of my dear students, she happily accepted the responsibility. I called the child and told her, “Karma Yangdon, you should eat all your meals in our house till your teeth get healthy.” She became happy. My wife, like a mother, cooked liquid food and served her daily three times. At every meal, the daughter was with us. After about a month, she regained her oral health and started living happily and fully. To me, no work and no worship have been so joyous as it was to serve my loving little Buddhas.       

On my transfer news from Nangkor in December 2007, the wailing scene of innocent and introverted daughter Karma Yangdon still appears before me. I was on my chair at breakfast. With a letter in hand and her tormented face and heavy heart, she walked into my room and collapsed on my lap, and wailed without uttering any word. I could not resist my tears. Then she slipped a letter into my shirt pocket and quietly walked out. After school, I read the letter and got soaked in the daughter's tears that she had poured into the letter.   

I’m grateful to you all my living God, Hon’ble Home Secretary Dasho Sonam Wangyel, the first Principal of the school, Principal Madam Yanki, Principal Jigme Yangtse Sir, Principal Sherub GyeltshenSir and Principal Tashi Chonjur Sir, for allowing, supporting, guiding and enabling me to continue to render my humble services at Nangkor School for more than a decade.

I am grateful to all my colleagues and friends, including non-teaching staff, for your enormous cooperation and contribution to my success. Thank you, my dear boys and girls, for being the prime pillars and causes for my life at the Girls Hostel, my most significant temple. My services to you have borne fruits for my family and me. Thank you, everyone. Please forgive my errors and weaknesses in the letter due to my ignorance.

My prayer and best wishes for all of you -present Principal Sir, former Principal Sirs, Madam Principal, all the former and present teaching and non-teaching staff, and our angelic sons and daughters of all the years. May the rays of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations re-electrify the spirit of the Divine Life School and usher in a new era. Wish you all best of luck.

“Men devout and women holy,

Pure in life, in duty faithful,

They perform the worship truly!”

                                                    

                                                                                                ‘Buddha’s Death’ by Romesh Chander Dutt

 

 

Your loving little Indian Friend,

Santosh Chowdhury

(Apchi Sir)