Living the legacy through benevolence

COMMENT

SWAMI Vivekananda, the 19th century spiritual leader of India, said he did not believe in a religion which could not feed a hungry child or wipe away a widow’s tears.

It is on exactly this philosophy that the grand old Shree Veeraboga Emperumal Temple (SVET) of oThongathi (Tongaat) has premised its existence: taking religion out of the temple and worshipping the Lord in humanity.

One hundred years after it was founded, the temple stands like a beacon of light to guide those seeking spiritual solace while also addressing the troubles of illiteracy, hunger, sickness, poverty and joblessness.

Unity, religiosity, nationbuilding and social cohesion are the cornerstones of this most remarkable institution.

The present-day SVET is the result of the uniting of two separate temples. The Shree Veeraboga Vasantharayer Dharamah Pareepaluna Mudam was built in 1916 in Gandhi’s Hill, OThongathi. Not far away, the Maidstone Shree Emperumal Temple served the needs of the families of workers in the sugar mill.

In the early 1950’s when the Tongaat Sugar Company began moving residents from Maidstone to oThongathi, rather than build a new temple, the Shree Veeraboga and the Shree Emperumal Temples amalgamated to form the Shree Veeraboga Emperumal Temple.

This historical sense of unity still pervades the SVET. With scant regard for caste, colour or creed, the SVET runs a feeding scheme through its Narayana Seva Grain Bank, distributing 5 000 plates of food each month.

The SVET runs medical camps, mass weddings for indigent couples, free legal aid clinics, winter blanket drives, and a skills centre to teach sewing and computer operation. Youth are trained in human values and character development.

For the past year, the SVET has celebrated its centenary with various religious and cultural activities culminating in a grand finale at the Playhouse Opera Theatre in Durban last Sunday.

The highlight was the dance production staged by Bharatanatyam dance guru and creative director of the Tribhangi Dance Theatre, Jayesperi Moopen. Using silhouette dancing and photos of global tragedies such as the 9/11 attacks, and natural calamities such as the 2004 tsunami, a sad story was told of what happens when human values are forsaken at the altar of greed and debauchery.

To reflect unity in diversity, a dazzling display of African, Indian, contemporary and Afrofusion dancing with superb lighting and costumes kept the audience spellbound.

The theme of unity carried into a motivational speech by spiritual master Mahatria Ra, who said the Indian way of greeting with two folded palms symbolised “may our minds and energies meet”, and bowing of the head was a gracious form of extending friendship in love, respect and humility.

With folded palms and bowed heads, we salute the past and present custodians of the SVET for their devotion, dedication and nobility of purpose.