A life of prayer and service
WHEN Pandit Shane Maharaj was 6 he performed his first havan and by the age of 11 he conducted his first wedding.
On Saturday, he will reach another milestone when he receives a lifetime achievement award at the Artes Awards at the Sibaya Izulu Theatre.
The awards were established in 1969 by the late Mothie Doorghepersadh, a show promoter, and continued through the efforts of his wife, Pinky Mothie, and her production company, Big M Productions.
Maharaj, 77, grew up in Avoca with his father, Astanapersad Papa Maharaj, also a pandit, his mother Kalawathee Maharaj, a housewife, as well as his six brothers and three sisters.
“We were a big family. We were so happy and peaceful. My father conducted prayers from home and at a local temple.
‘We always had a deep spiritual foundation. From a young age we were taught the importance of prayer, discipline and obedience,” said Maharaj.
When he was 5 years old he moved to Verulam to live with his maternal uncle, Pandit SM Maharaj. He attended the Talwant Singh School.
“As a little boy, I was drawn to the priesthood. I knew this was my calling. I was initiated as a priest at the age of 5 at my maternal grandmother’s home in Nonoti. My uncle was my Guru and he began teaching me how to conduct prayers and rituals. By the age of 6, I performed my first havan.”
When Maharaj turned 8 he returned to his home in Avoca where he attended Avoca Primary School.
“I continued to learn about being a priest from my father. When I was 11, I performed my first wedding ceremony. When I completed primary school, I had to leave to get a job to help support
my family. I educated myself through reading books and I especially loved the crime and detective novels.”
Maharaj worked as a clerk for a bookkeeping company and went on to work as a welder, building buses. It was here that he first caught a glimpse of his late wife, Renu Maharaj. She died about five years ago.
“I would see her taking the bus to school. One day I got the courage to talk to her and we fell in love. We married in 1971. I was 24 and she was 21. We moved to Verulam and together we had three children. I miss her so much.”
A few years after he married, Maharaj was employed to build ships but later resigned to start at Hoopers VW.
“The hours building ships were long and took me away from my work as a priest. The job at VW was more flexible, but by the early ’80s I decided to become a full-time priest.”
In 1994, Maharaj was appointed the priest at the Hindu Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus, a position he still holds.
“I will never forget this day. The late former president Nelson Mandela came to the opening. I remember us hugging
and I blessed him. He had a good energy about him.”
Over the years Maharaj went on to present a show on Hindvani and he released about nine devotional CDs. He has six grandchildren.
“My passion is propagating the Hindu religion and culture. I feel receiving this award is such a beautiful gesture.
“Hinduism is the most peaceful religion on this planet. We are not at war with anyone. We live in South Africa, which is a diverse country, and we are fortunate that we can practise our different religions, but we need to learn to be tolerant of one another.”
Maharaj said there is a misconception that Hindus worship idols.
“We do not worship idols. We worship God through the idol. Just like how we use the telephone as a medium to talk to each other. We as Hindus use idols as a medium to talk to God. We also do not worship 100 Gods but only one God through his countless names and forms.”
He said there was too much hatred in the world today.
“The Hindu scriptures teach us that we must free ourselves from egoism, hatred, lust, anger, greed and jealousy.
“We also find there are some families that are caught up in their lives and daily routines that they have become too arrogant, they are forgetting their culture. Like the late Mahatma Gandhi said, a family that prays together stays together. Families need to start honouring God daily and love each other.”
Pinky Mothie said that over the years Maharaj has made a positive impact on propagating Hinduism.
“He has dedicated his life to educating families and teaching them the right path in life. For this reason we needed to honour him. We feel so proud.”