In
2002, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Inc of T&T publicly
withdrew its endorsement of the Hindu Credit Union. In
the view of the Maha Sabha, the institution which it previously
supported was no longer Hindu or a credit union.
Over the subsequent years, the Maha Sabha continued to
warn the Hindu community about the HCU as an investment
option. This single act of withdrawing our support is
perhaps today the singular reason that the mighty collapse
of the HCU did not result in the financial devastation
of the entire Hindu community.
It was the Maha Sabha that first brought to the Hindu
and national attention the grave problems with the HCU.
We went further to protect the Hindu community by debarring
the HCU from entering our Hindu schools to establish a
junior co-operative. Or from entering our mandirs to either
broadcast on its radio station or to solicit funds.
Had the Maha Sabha left open its doors and allowed entry
to destroyers of dreams and plunders of hopes, the Hindu
community would have been devastated.
Thousands more Hindus would have been traumatised with
the prospect of knowing all their years of hard work are
in limbo. Had not the Maha Sabha directly intervened against
the HCU in 2002, thousands of schoolchildren would have
lost their “lollipop” money.
Many wore blinkers in 2002 and even until July, and were
blinded by the glitz and glitter of an institution that
managed to convince many, except those thousands of poor
souls that wished to withdraw their hard-earned funds.
Other leading Hindus in the community choose to remain
silent rather than burst the bubble that the HCU artificially
created.
Hindus who paraphrase the Hindu ideal expressed by Shankaracharya
Vasudevanand Saraswati, that “there should be unison
in thoughts, speech and action of every Hindu,” do
a grave disservice to this Hindu spiritual leader.
The quotation by Saraswati goes on to exhort, “Hindus
are exploited … Now only discourses and lecturers
will not serve the purpose; but it is time to act.”
The Maha Sabha acted and history has judged that we acted
decisively in the interest of the Hindu community and
even the broader national community. Some who are more
interested in Cepep contracts and state patronage chose
to remain silent.
Today while the collective Hindu body is writhing in pain
and agony as it suffers the total erosion of its dreams
of economic self-sufficiency, we ask: where are the other
Hindu voices?
The Maha Sabha alone called for the freezing of the personal
assets of the former HCU president as well as other directors.
The Maha Sabha alone is providing counselling to hundreds
of Hindus and giving financial and legal advice in this
time of need. Where are the other leading Hindus in this
time of need? The question bears repeating as these people
are self-appointed Hindu leaders and their prime purpose
of existence is to receive government funding.
The Maha Sabha is not afraid of our Hindu diversity. We
acknowledge and appreciate the ambiguities of Hindu life.
Communities that are as internally diverse as we are,
cannot be led by leaders who insist upon uniformity, unanimity
or the logical coherence of all communal positions and
policies. Capable leaders will cultivate their capacity
to tolerate and manage differences.
We are willing to take unpopular stands and to advocate
on behalf of unpopular positions. We accept that this
could lead to the feeling that at times we may be out
of sync or unpopular with the community we lead.
We accept that as leaders we must “sometimes bear
the burden of being “the heavy,” of being the
“bad guy” rather than the “good guy,”
of leading by being out in front of the community even
when the community is lagging behind.
Our commitment to the community is long-term and this
helps us to avoid the temptation of being overly concerned
with short-term popularity.
The Maha Sabha understands the Hindu concept of “kaal”
or time in its broadest sense. After all, we are the oldest
continuous living faith on planet Earth.
The Maha Sabha leads through vital personal relationships
and cares about the people in their community and we share
in their trials, tragedies and their triumphs.
We do not lead from “on high,” but are down
in the trenches with the members of the community, talking
with them, arguing with them, celebrating with them and
suffering with them.
Because we are there with them, the Maha Sabha has helped
create strong communities and establish strong connections
between members and leaders. The Maha Sabha embraces these
connections and are embraced by our communities in turn.
n Satnarayan Maharaj is the
secretary general of the
Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha
