Heritage should mean more than just wealth
ONCE again, Heritage Day is upon us. What does it mean to us as individuals? What does it mean to us as a nation or even as humankind on earth?
When we think of heritage, we think of the financial wealth that our parents and elders leave for us at the time of their demise. But without disciplined usage, even that wealth could be depleted in no time, and instead of appreciation, all we may be left with could be regret and grief.
But heritage could mean more than just wealth.
It has a lot to do with the ethics and morals that our parents and elders have instilled within us, which could include respect, honesty, cleanliness, patience, forgiveness, absence of anger, and the value of true education.
They know well that these and other positive qualities would make their children noble persons of which they could in the future be proud of.
I remember the good old days when I was a youngster.
My dad would, every evening before supper, spend at least 30 minutes telling us wonderful stories with great morals behind them.
The message was clear, God is our Supreme Father and as His children, we all are one family, irrespective of our background and social standing.
Then there was this respected elderly but physically fit Gogo, who lived in the neighbourhood, and would come home daily for her free bucketful water ration.
She always made time to talk to us. What did I learn from her? Even when you think that nobody is watching, always remember that the ever-present being, is.
In the 1980s, I met a gentleman, Edward Malinga, of KwaMashu, who worked for a shipping company and travelled to various ports around the world.
Once, whilein America, he bought a book authored by Sir Edgar Casey, which he read again and again until he had a thorough knowledge of the subject. And what was the subject? The Law of Karma.
A few years later, when Mr Malinga changed his occupation, he turned to the Arya Samaj of South Africa for spiritual guidance where he sacrificed much of his valuable time.
Under the guidance of Pandit Nardev Vedalankar, he translated a number of books on Hinduism from English to IsiZulu, some of which are still available today.
One of the most important lessons that I learnt during my association with the learned Pandit Vedalankar is to always have a balance in life, the most important being the balance between material gain and spiritual values.
One without the other will present us with many unnecessary challenges, but one with a proper balance would be like a gentle rotation of planet earth, whilst moving around the sun and giving us day and night, it would do so without the slightest of bumps.
Material knowledge is plentiful, but where does one find spiritual wisdom? We are reliably told that the saints and sages of yore, both male and female, with important questions in their pure minds, sat in deep meditation for long periods of time in quest of the truth.
It is this divine knowledge revealed to them that is contained in the Vedas. It has no history nor any geography, just the gem of wisdom.
The Vedas are indeed a great heritage for all of humankind for therein lies the secrets for peace, harmony, unity, progress and prosperity that we all seek in this hour of need. May we all take the time to seek this wisdom and better our lives for the benefit of our future generations.