Priests facing penury
Urgent appeal to government for ‘some kind of assistance’
AN APPEAL has been made to government to assist Hindu priests who are struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Last Friday, the Hindu Unity Movement, a political party, sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighting the plight of Hindu priests and appealing to government to provide “some kind of assistance”.
“It has been brought to our attention that some priests are struggling financially and desperately need assistance.
“We made the urgent appeal to the president to find a way to include our struggling Hindu priests in the government’s Covid-19 relief programmes that are there to help. Some kind of financial assistance to help our struggling priests is sorely needed,” said its leader Jayraj Bachu.
He said priests were a pillar of Hindu society and were highly respected by the majority of Hindus due to the pivotal roles they played in the upliftment of Hinduism.
“The imposition of the lockdown in South Africa since the end of March has impacted negatively on the livelihood of Hindu priests.
The majority of our priests are sole breadwinners.
“They are struggling financially and desperately need assistance.
They are vital role-players who provide essential services,” he said.
Priests are spiritual and religious guides in the community who do not earn fixed salaries but survive on donations (dakshana) for performing their tasks.
But priests have been struggling in recent months; they have said the government’s enforcement of the various lockdown regulations and the general fears that came with the coronavirus have made life difficult.
Speaking anonymously, a group of priests said government intervention could only go so far and that local communities should be more supportive and caring towards their local priests, as priests were there for communities.
“Priests pray for the sick and offer free counselling services for the needy, including those with marital issues, family violence, abuse of women and children, alcohol and drug abuse, and they conduct Hindu rites and rituals, including funeral ceremonies and weddings.
“We are here for our communities and we need them to now be here for us,” said one of the priests.
Pundit Medanlall Maharaj, president of the South African Priest Council, echoed Bachu’s call for financial relief from government.
“These are scary times for us all and we are all just trying to survive. The spread of this virus has put fear in a lot of people, including priests, but everyone still needs to make a living and put food on the table.
“The lockdown also hindered gatherings and movement which dampened the need for and availability of priests,” said Maharaj.
But Maharaj was hopeful that government would provide assistance as there was a dire need for it and he believed that all communities needed to be supportive of their local priests.