Is your worrying holding you back?

Once film negatives are exposed to the
light of day, they’re ruined.

In the same way, once you see your worries for what
they are–self-inflicted doubts–their power disappears.
If you give your doubts and fears too much development time,
they’ll take hold and start to color all of your thinking in a negative light.

Pessimists have more health problems, are less productive,
and are generally unhappier than optimists.
People that don’t worry as much spend more time coping with
the realities of life and less time occupied with would-be problems.

To get rid of worry, think more confidently.
Know that you can handle anything that comes along.
Know that with loss comes opportunity.
Know that things generally have a way of working out.

Stay out of that dark room and picture something better.
Worry is the darkroom in which negatives are developed.

- Church billboard in Colorado

Gems from Madhuban

• If we are impressed with anyone, our capacity to create finishes.  We will not have our own ideas.  If others are in our hearts, we will forget ourselves.
• If there is attachment or we are impressed, then we are not clean.
• When our third eye is open, we are saved from being deceived by our physical eyes.
• When we make our stage like the sun that is constantly shining, without discrimination we are able to serve others at any time and all the time.
• Our stage is not created and our minds are not clean when our wealth is not used in a worthwhile way.
• God is Truth, but we have to make ourselves truthful in order to be part of His Truth.
• A clean heart is always safe.
• Watch the drama, but don’t be part of it.
• Other people’s body conscious drishti is not helpful to us.
• When we are obedient to God, He will be obedient to us.
• Only soul consciousness is the solution in any situation.
• Teach yourself to be peaceful.
• Actions reveal our intentions and motives, more than words.
• Value each other’s specialities so that you learn to value each other.
• It is our purity that makes things happen, not what we do.
• Silence cannot work without knowledge
• Value others or they will avoid service.
• Even if others don’t value you, don’t let go of your fortune.

IS IT ME?

We have this old saying: “time changes”.
To me, time is an abstract, … a constant that measures history in its passage, which helps man to put events, ideas, mundane activities, etc., in a sort of orderly fashion: it enables us to associate happenings with perspective, era, or place.   Man has developed by evolution, over millions of years and to us time is timeless and without end into eternity.

We humans always seem to be on the defensive and make-believe that “time changes.” Or maybe we mean “times change”.   Well, I keep wondering if it is me who has failed to change or conform to today’s norms, or, since “time changes” I am now held accountable for my failure to adjust accordingly to the “new times”.   To me, the norms I grew up with were better but now I live in a world where rudeness and disorder is the norm.

For instance, when growing up, I had to go by the adage “silence is golden,” or be ostracized.   In any public place – a post-office, bank, doctor’s office, lobbies, etc, it was expected and in some cases demanded to be polite, and speak softly when called upon to do so.   Today, rudeness is in fashion, and almost everyone:  young, old, male, female: all seem to act as if they were born with cell phones stuck in their ears, incessantly babbling, and inconsiderate of others.

I remember when reading was required and was the order of the day.   Now I see signs in post offices asking that customers refrain from using cell phones, and guess what?  One can hear their loud cell phone conversations from one end of the building to the other, paying no attention to the posted signs.   Sometimes I try to read in doctors’ offices and other waiting rooms, but this is difficult when bombarded by loudmouthed individuals.

As a kid, when I ran out of books I read labels on packages and cans, advertisements and anything legible.   My classmates and I played games in school finding cities of distant countries listed in the atlas, and looking up strange words in the Oxford Dictionary.   Nowadays, in contrast, I see parents assisting children in video and cyberspace, games in offices and waiting rooms. No more reading of books or in pursuit of good literature.   At home the children live on Facebook, the Internet, cell phones, or again in cyberspace.

No wonder President Obama wants to bring U.S students up to par with the more educationally advanced students of other countries.   Good luck Sir!   American youngsters can tell much about baseball and football stars, American idol, Yankee pitchers, Deco Drive and Dancing with the Stars.  Ask them about Socrates or Plato, Shakespeare or Dickens, Longfellow or Samuel Clemens and they will ask:  “what planet are you from”?

For instance, a High School senior could not add 50+15+35 cents for purchases that he made. He threw out a couple of dollars in coins and asked the cashier if it were enough for his items; other senior students could not locate the capital of England on a map.   A college student asked his professor for permission to use “The Godfather” to do a book report.  I could not make any of this up.  The ignorance of the typical so-called “educated” American is amazing.

I had to say please and thank you and still do.   My playtime was real sports or physical games, not shooting men or fighting wars in video games.   We had to be accountable to our guardians for our whereabouts at all times, and smoking and drinking for pre-teens and teenagers were taboo, until age eighteen or better.  Somewhere along the way society lost control, good manners and etiquette were out the back door.   Parents or guardians are solely responsible, NOT TEACHERS.

When children beget children, and BBC boasts about the world’s   youngest father, age twelve, in England, with a fifteen year old girl being the mother,  and feature men with their underwear hanging out almost fully, it’s time to say “beam me up Scotty.”   Society is so hypocritical that they address the underwear issue as “droopy pants.”   It is a disgusting, shameless, and quite unhygienic problem. Quit the “droopy pants” nonsense, and describe it for what it is: indecency verging on lewdness.   We use deceitful words in order to avoid confrontation, so the rot continues.

Motorists, trying to make right turns, cut me off on the road, I look around, and there is not a single vehicle behind me for about a quarter of a mile.   I believe the same ones, instead of stopping short of the pedestrian crossing line, go right over, leaving no safe path for pedestrians. They see red lights and mistake them for green, and some tailgate so badly it seems as if they are sitting on your back seat.   All right, all right, it’s just me bellyaching. I know it is my entire fault for not following the new norms, and sidestepping mores, “it is me!”

In his classic, “The Stranger” (L’ Etranger,) Albert Camus states that society deems any man a criminal, who does not cry at his mother’s funeral. Yes, it’s me. And I did not cry at my mother’s funeral: ……  I was too young.

- Patanjali Ramlall – Guest Contributor

Searching For An Answer

I’ve traveled this world far and wide
Seeking something I thought I could find
Loneliness, solitary companion by my side
I had hopes for answers to things on my mind

O’er the mountains and through deep valleys
Beneath sparkling fountains and in dark alleys
My weary feet have had to toil
As I traversed this earth’s soil
Searching for a reason to live, a hope for tomorrow
A world without sorrow

But more I traveled more I marveled
At a world full of cruelty
At man’s inhumanity

As I look around me
All I can see
Are men yearning to be free
More questions than answers
Violence and pollution
Problems beyond solution
A world full of sin
The world I’m living in

Yet will I trudge on
From dawn till sunset
From sunset till morn
Till I find what I seek
A reason to live
Comfort for the meek
Someone to forgive

“Fore my life comes to an end
There’s something I must find
So I can tell you, my friend
Answers to things on my mind
In a world of futility
A world full of cruelty

Poem By Miles Alex

Sickness and disease are caused, not only by what we eat or how we eat, or by lack of exercise and adequate rest, though these contribute a great deal, but also to the negative emotions  like hate, anger, malice jealousy, bitterness and the like.

There is an Indian saying which goes:  “HASAD  KEE  AAG  BADAN  KO  JALAATAA  HAI  JAISE AAG  LAKREE  KA”.   This translates to mean:  “The fire of malice consumes the body in the same way as fire consumes wood”.   That may seem an exaggeration, but negative emotions do not only harm you physically,  but they warp the wind and corrupt the morals.  Hate  too, corrodes the vessel that contains it and also disfigures the object on which it is poured.

Nothing is better medicine than cheerfulness, laughter, thankfulness, content, loving service and prayer from the heart.  Carrying guilt too,  is harmful; we can never undo what is done already.  Confess, repent and ask forgiveness and move forward with a clear conscience;  for though you may carry the scar of your past,  the wound is healed.   God, who is of the present, will know you as you are, and not what you were.   It is fallible man who digs into your past to condemn you for what you are not.

Temperance too, is good medicine.  So get wise, get in good company without which  you can never acquire discrimination, and think loftily at all times.  It was Sir Philip Sydney, that compassionate soul who said:  “He is never alone who is accompanied with noble thoughts”.

To sumarise: Health is Simple living and Lofty thinking.

- Randall Butisingh.

Dear viewers,

I am requesting information for one of my chief promoters.  I sent him an e-mail a few weeks ago but did not get any reply.  He is Eric Shackle, a reporter and journalist of world wide recognition who lives in Australia.   He, like myself is  old, ninety plus years, which is the reason I am so very much concerned about his silence.

There may be some one in Australia, or elsewhere,  who knows him and who may be visiting my Weblog;  please, I will be very grateful if you could give me the information I need.

Awaiting, with high anticipation an answer.

Randall Butisingh.

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REPLY FROM ERIC SHACKLE

From: eshackle@ozemail.com.au
To: randallbutisingh@hotmail.com
Subject: Here I am
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:19:04 +1000

MY MESSAGE ON THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF MY WEBLOG

October 21, 2009.

Today marks the second anniversary of the inauguration of my Weblog on October 21, 2007.   I wish to thank all those, my editors, contributors and technical advisers, the sources from which I got inspiration, my interviewers, and you, my viewers from all over the world, of every language and clime; without whose inputs my Weblog could not have earned the success it has.   Recently, the Blog won the Graypow Award for distinguished blogging by an over 80 blogger. It is confirmed that I am now the oldest person running a Blog, and I am also the oldest person with an operating Facebook account.

The Weblog has been endeavouring all along to post meaningful content. As the philosopher White puts it; “The best test of any writing is its serviceableness for the moral and spiritual needs of men”.

I have tried by exhortation and example to teach values like perseverance, compassion, service, care for the environment, friendship, unity, love and most of all; it is never too late to learn.

In less than two months, I will have reached my 97^th year of my sojourn here on Mother Earth.  I have not as one of my erudite colleague told me of himself; “I have gone into complete retirement”.  I believe that once you have life and can think, you need not spend the remainder of the winter of your years in hibernation, but with the experiences you have garnered. Live a twilight of usefulness.

My final engagement before my anniversary is to record the reminiscences of my life which I had prepared some time ago, and which with the help of my editor and technical advisers, I am now happy to record.

I may or may not live to see another anniversary.  On my last visit to the doctor, I was diagnosed as having a weak heart and will need a pacer, but I have decided against using it.   I feel as good as ever.   So with the limited time at my disposal, I have to live today as if it was my last, but work as if I will live forever.

I wish you all, my dear viewers, fulfillment and happy blogging.

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COMMENT from Cyril Bryan:

Today marks the second anniversary of this blog which had its first entry on October 21, 2009.  On our first anniversary we talked about how the Weblog was started and how we had achieved so much in such a short time.  I am truly glad that I am one of the persons responsible in helping “Teacher Randall” (T.R.) to start his blog with my technical support, and the selection of some entries with my comments as a “Guest Contributor” over the last two years.

He has said that my support has encouraged him to be even more dynamic with his Weblog inputs and comments, and has made him new friends, and connected him with past colleagues, students and friends around the world.  It is a pleasure that I was able to do this for a man whose world vision is similar to mine, especially in regard to the “Indivisibility of Mankind”, and the belief in “Lifelong Learning”.

This second year has passed quite quickly and the popularity of the Weblog has grown.  To date we have had almost 64,000 viewers to some 610 entries which include news items, videos and articles of interest, historical articles and pictures of Guyana, articles from various contributors, philosophy, psychology, education, and of course the articles, poetry and the many comments from Randall Butisingh to the content of the Blog and his correspondence with readers.

This month Teacher Randall begun to publish: “My Story” – The Reminiscences of Randall Butisingh since 1913.  This is a truly gripping tale of a man living for over nine decades in a changing world, battling poverty, battling the integration process of different cultures; being accepted for who he is; and being able to fully actualize the reason for his sojourn here on Earth.  Life in the early 1900’s was drastically different from life today, but T.R. battled on searching for meaning; searching for relevance; searching for his inner abilities that could transform others through his teaching; searching for inner security and his actualization through his poetry, religious studies and firm beliefs in personal education and lifelong learning. I am sure that everyone would find his story an interesting one.

I think that this Weblog has served a great purpose for many others as it has awakened many, especially older people to the fact that being “old” does not mean being discarded to the dustbin of history.  T.R. has told me that he gets correspondence from all over the world from people who are proud of what he is doing and who are emulating his strong beliefs of lifelong learning.   Even I was surprised when he told me recently that he had joined FACEBOOK, the social networking site, and invited me to be his friend on that site. He is now not only the “World’s Oldest Blogger” but most likely the oldest FACEBOOK member. Congratulations Teacher Randall!

We do hope that Teacher Randall continues with his good work for us all in the coming year and for many years to come.

Happy Weblog Anniversary Teacher Randall!

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TRIBUTE by Patanjali Ramlall – Guest Contributor

It is with pleasure and wonderment that I dedicate this tribute to Guruji Randall Butisingh.

My earliest memories of Guruji go back to 1956, when I was in 1^st standard at Lusignan Anglican School, now Lusignan Government, East Coast Demerara, British Guiana, now Guyana. I often read the proverbs that he posted on the wall, behind my class, three of which were:

LEARNING IS BETTER THAN SILVER AND GOLD; SILENCE IS GOLDEN; and CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS.

He practiced and lived them all. He was always the consummate teacher and guide, never causing pupils to be scared of him, teaching in a compassionate manner, going that extra ten miles, e.g. Gardening, Art, Poems, etc. I never heard him lift his voice to any student, and some of his words were in the colloquial manner of the day, trying to accommodate his young charges who were then trying to grapple with Standard English; and he had a knack for doing the right thing without pretense or offense. All of these qualities he not only lived, but continued to improve on them visibly and by hard work over the years.

He continues to be a guide, teacher, a poet, philosopher, always in the pursuit of knowledge – in art, music, language(s), comparative religion, etc. Most of all, to continue to impart his life’s knowledge and share his wisdom with us is quite an accomplishment in his 98^th year.

He was my Headmaster when I passed the School Leaving examination and left school at age thirteen in 1962.  Never could I, at that time have dreamt that he would continue to be my teacher and that we would have this avuncular relationship, now at my age 60. First: he was my teacher, then Headmaster, friend, philosopher, historian, poet, and now I am a guest contributor on his blog.

While I was on a Shrimping trawler off the coast of South America, (Brasil, French Guiana, Surinam, to name a few), from age 15 to 22, I never thought that I could touch base with this humble man again, and that I would be privileged to have him at my home as an honoured guest. His blog has greatly enlightened me and improved my awareness of life and the world. I gained a lot from his tireless writings and insight, and I wish him good health and strength to continue his great work for as long as possible.

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Tribute by CYRIL A. SARJOO, former teacher at Lusignan Primary School -

I have known Teacher Randall since the 1950’s. Now he is the world’s most senior blogger and  I wish to congratulate him on the 2nd anniversary of his weblog.

I am proud that he is a Guyanese and I am honored to have known and worked with him.

I have been reading his weblog and made a few contributions.

He has accomplished quite a lot academically and spiritually.

His spiritual revelations and his relationship with and his obedience to God have caused God to bless him and keep him alive to this golden age of 98 years.

His philosophy of life as evinced in his poetry and blog is very inspiring.

His many and varied accomplishments have earned him several international and local honors and awards and even a painting by a renowned Indian artist.

I wish him all the best and pray that Almighty God will continue to bless him with good health and spiritual strength.

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Tribute by Lyndon Barton

Dear Teacher Randall,

CONGRATULATIONS! on the 2nd anniversary of your weblog, and best wishes for your continued success.

As one of the readers and occasional contributor to this weblog, I am happy to see the way it has evolved to become a unique global forum that not only shines a positive light on our homeland GUYANA and the Guyanese culture, but also one that affords readers the world over a rare opportunity to gain valuable insights into your longevity and philosophy of life, which you so willingly share though your poems, thoughts for the day, inspirational messages, personal interviews, and recent book “My Story.”

For all this, I, personally, feel privileged and proud to be your former pupil, then a colleague, and now a friend.

Keep up the good work!

Lyndon

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Tribute by Rampersaud Tiwari.

Randall Butisingh will be 97 on December 1, 2009. He is the world’s oldest Blogger and probably the oldest Buxtonian alive. He was and still is a teacher, educator, writer, poet, artist, Hindi scholar and iconic community leader. I am now in my 77th year, and I am privileged to have known him since my early childhood years in our native Buxton Village on the East Coast of Demerara in Guyana, South America.

This tribute on the 2nd Anniversary of Randall Butisingh’s Web Blog is to me a kind of celebration of his achievements and his contributions during a long and useful life. At this distance in time, I can only dimly imagine the struggles, sacrifices and efforts he must have made in his journey in life.  As I reflect on his life, I remember hearing a Hindu Vedic recitation of “a Light that shines beyond all things on earth and beyond the highest, the very highest of the heavens. This is the Light that shines in the Heart” – taken from the Chandogya Upanishad; and which in my view epitomizes the spiritual qualities that helped to shape the human values that shine in his heart.

Randall’s parents were part of a small number of indentured Indian immigrants who had completed their terms of indenture or had been expelled from the neighboring sugar estates who settled in Buxton in the closing years of the 19^th century. Randall’s father was a Koker Attendant in the village.  With good schooling as the objective for their children, Randall’s parents encouraged him to pursue his studies at school with dedication and diligence at a time when many East Indian children of school age, for historical and economic reasons, were unable or refused to attend school and get an education. From the time Randall started his primary schooling, he was a student who tried to achieve his best although he was not one of the brightest students.

The defining moment in Randall’s scholastic career arrived in 1925, when at 12 years old, he secured 62% of the marks in the examination for the Buxton Scholarship. The other successful candidates were Ballbir Ballgreeme Nehaul with 80%, who later became a medical doctor, and Claude Holder with 61%. The Scholarship was awarded to Ballgreeme Nehaul, who became the first Buxton scholarship winner.  However, Randall Butisingh’s 62% could have secured his placement in the prestigious Queen’s College, but this was not to be, as his parents could not afford the expenses for him to do so.

This missed opportunity did not prevent Randall from becoming a Teacher and serving at all relevant levels leading ultimately to Acting Headmaster, the status from which he retired the Guyana Teaching Service in 1972. A significant feature of his career was his mastery of the Hindi language which was a subject in the national examinations for teachers in the colony. In later years, he helped to promote the teaching of Hindi in extra mural classes at the University of Guyana (UG) through the good offices of the Indian High Commission in Guyana, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Hindi Prachar Sabha of which he was a founding member.

Randall Butisingh was also a founding member of the Indian National Congress of Buxton. Patterned after the Indian National Congress of undivided India, the Buxton Congress was established in 1946. The objectives of the Buxton Congress were to promote strong bonding feelings of communal harmony and nationalism in Guyana and to persuade the British to “QUIT BG” since the country was then a colony of the United Kingdom.

“APADANA SOBHINI PANNA” – WISDOM BEAUTIFIES CHARACTER: from Buddhist Pali.

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Tribute from Miles A. Hintzen

Congratulations, sir, on the second anniversary of your blog.  Kudos also to the associates – editors, technicians, and others – who have helped you launch and maintain this wonderful and scintillating site on the internet.

It was only earlier this year, on my own personal journey to trace the roots of my biological father, that I stumbled on your Weblog.   Since then I count myself blessed for this fortuitous accident which has now transformed me from a man on a genealogical expedition to a servant of God on that most meaningful of all journeys – the travel along life’s highways in search of the true meaning of life and its purpose beyond the realm of physical being.

Sir, your pieces have helped me along and have added tremendously to my understanding the real destiny of man and woman on this earth and in the hereafter.  The short time that I have had the pleasure of your distinguished acquaintance has already surpassed multiple lifelong associations with others in providing me with food for thought on the most pressing matters of the day.  To be sure, it has opened my eyes to the beauty of life and shown me how a single individual can so value and utilize every precious moment that Almighty God has given him to make the world a better place .

You, sir, are a living legend. Would that God in his infinite wisdom should allow you another century on this planet or several more decades to illumiate us with your keen observations and lifelong experiences.

On further reflection, sir, that would probably be unfair to God, for while we here do need you so badly, learned teacher, there awaits for you in another phase of existence, rewards, fulfillment, and honor befitting of how well you have shown us the paths to our own successes, happiness, and destinies.

I only pray that God will see fit in his benevolence grant us the blessing of your presence among us for a very, very long time, before requesting the pleasure of your presence elsewhere!

Congrats again, sir…and may God keep you in good health!

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Tomrrow, Saturday 14, Hindus all over the world will be celebrating DIWALI,  one of the greatest two festivals of Hinduism.  For the information of viewers who may not know of Diwali or the significance of it,  Here is what Pandit Rabindranath Tiwari, one of my Hindi pupils say about it.

Deepavali, popularly known as Diwali is the Hindu Festival  of Lights.   The word Deepawali means means “a row of lights”.   It falls on the last day of the last half of the month of Kartika (October – November).   On this very auspicious day, the Supreme Reality Brahman is worshipped as Goddess Lakshmi, the giver of wealth and beauty.

Hindus pray for the grace of Lakshmi to be conferred by them and the entire world in full measure.    The blessings of the Goddess are not only in the form of real estate or money,  but also good health and other things that make for a happy life.   Lakshmi has many facets:  Dhana Lakshmi, symbolising wealth in the form of money, real estate etc .;   Jaya Lakshmi symbolising success in one’s chosen path;  Vara Lakshmi, the gaining of a good life partner;   Arogya Lakshmi, good health;   Santaan Lakshmi, good and healthy offsprings.

Another name for Lakshmi is Shree, which means beauty.    The seeker of Atma Gyan, knowledge of self, prays to the Goddess for inner beauty, which is composure of the mind.   With knowledge of the self, one becomes liberated from the bondage of birth and death.   While worshippinfg Lakshmi on Diwali day, the main focus should be to have a rich and bright mind, a mind filled with the Divine treasures.    Such a mind brings eternal happiness.

At twilight on Diwali day, diyas or earthen oil-lamps are lit in the homes of Hindus.   The Diyas have a special spiritual significance.   The ghee or oil in the diya symbolises our vaasanas or negative tendencies, and the wick, the ego.   When lit by spiritual knowledge, the vaasanas get exhausted and the ego also perishes.   The flame of the diya always burns upwards.   Similarly, we should acquire such knowledge as will take us towards higher ideals.   A single diya can light hundreds more just as one enlightened person can give knowledge to many more.    The brilliance of the diya does not diminish despite its repeated use to light many more diyas.   So, too, knowledge does not lessen when shared with or imparted to others.   Thus while lighting diyas on Diwali evening, we should entertain these thoughts.

May Lakshmi Devi bless all with good health, enough wealth to live a comfortable life, and happiness.

Below is a short poem I wrote on DIVALI.

Gone the darkness of Amawas,

Rent the clouds of gloom asunder;

Now Rama to Ayodhya hying,

For Lakshmi’s favour worshippers vying;

See the rows of lighted diyas,

Brightly burning, chasing the dark,

And the festoons hanging gaily

In the temple’s incensed hall;

O eternal light, effulgent,

Shine upon us from above;

Light our soul and cleanse our heart

And bring us Peace and Joy.

Amawas is the darkest night of the year when legend has it that demons and evil spirits roam the earth.    Deepavali lightens the corners where they may lurk and so chases them away.

Randall Butisingh.

According to Hinduism, there are four ages: the Golden age, the Silver Age, The Bronze Age and the Iron or Dark age.  Each Age lasts for a number of years; then there is dissolution which last for a thousand years when re-creation occurs and the cycle continues.

We are now living in the Dark Age which gets worse and worse as it advances to the end.   From all appearances we are hastening towards the end, the darkest night of the Age where a good deed which was taken for granted in the Golden Age, now shines brightly,  as the brightest star in the darkest night, and where penance was necessary for redemption in the Golden Age, it is easier now through repentance and grace.

This is an age when religion instead of uniting, as the word connotes, is the chief cause of division and conflict.  An Age when man cannot see that his own welfare is linked with the welfare of his fellow man.  This causes him to fight to possess rather than to share.

So, as we advance towards the end, there will be more and more conflicts; more natural disasters because of man’s destruction of the environment  caused by his acquisitiveness and cupidity.

In the wake of all that is happening in the world today, optimism is an empty word.  Hope and prayer are needed by the small minority that is not caught up in the rush for the things that perish.

Persons who were of great significance in my life – 01

Canon William Granville Burgan,  M.A.

 I will name Canon William Granville Burgan as one of the most significant people in my life.  This was because I had the longest relationship with him than any one else in my teaching career, when he was incumbent at Saint Augustine’s Anglican Church, located at Buxton, East Coast Demerara, British Guiana (now Guyana), and manager of the schools in which he served for a little over twenty- one years.   He jestingly referred to his twenty one year incumbency as his coming of age.  When he celebrated it in 1946, I had the pleasure of reporting it in one of the media of the day.

Rev. Canon W.G. Burgan 1886-1958

When he came to Buxton in 1925, I was thirteen years of age studying for the School Leaving Examination.  To me a small boy, he was tall by my standard in those days, five feet, ten inches, the same as I am now, good looking and elegant.   I admired him from the day he came.  He was a family man with three sons and two daughters ‘.   He was the only African, in British Guiana, at a time when University degrees were rare to procure the Master of Arts degree in a British University.  Later there were a few who were able to obtain the B.A. degree.   He was a good writer and his articles submitted to the monthly Diocesan Magazine stood out as gems of the English language.

For a man of his ability, he was easily fitted for the highest post in the Anglican Church, but in those days of colonialism, he could only reach as far as Canon.  The highest offices, like the Arch-Bishops and Bishops went to the white British, regardless of their attitude or aptitude – an area of discrimination, even in the Church.

Rev. Father Burgan carried out his duties as a priest and manager of the Anglican schools he controlled with dedication and commitment, though at times in conversation with him, I sensed a sign of frustration, which happens to a mind that is at a disadvantage to function to its full potential.  However, his tasks at Church were not a one-day affair, as some may think.   Apart from the regular services every Sunday; children service every month, he held a weekday service for the school children when he would teach them new songs.   He was a good singer – a tenor, and a musician, he also played the organ.   One of the songs he taught, I can remember word for word, even to this day.  He also helped the choirmaster to train the choir and held Confirmation classes, which were regular for long periods every year.                            

He loved children.  I remember once he took us on an excursion to Fort Wellington, Berbice to meet with children of the parish from which he was transferred.  At that time we had the railway running then from Georgetown to Rosignol. I remember him taking off his clerical collar and joining with the boys in a game of cricket.

Besides his duty as priest, he was also Justice of the Peace.  Policemen would go every week with bundles of summonses for him to sign.  In those days defendants were issued summonses at their homes to appear in court.  I believe that was the reason why he never tried to settle a case between two parishioners, but would let them go to court.    However, that was one area I did not feel agreement with him.   But now, I can see his reason; “if you could be so stupid as to make trouble, I have no patience with you; go and let the court settle it; that’s what they are there for”.   Even when one of his sons got into trouble, he did not try to resolve the matter outside of court.   Poor “Mistress” (Burgan), as we were taught to call his spouse went to plead on the boy’s behalf.   Once I had a case with one of my young fellow teachers who hurt me.   His father refused to pay for the doctor’s expenses;   the matter wwas settled when his father was summoned to appear in court.

As I grew up in the school and church, I sensed a bond between us, an affinity.  I was always at ease with him although he was strict.  He was interested in my knowledge of Hindi and told me that he wished he had learnt it.   He, however was knowledgeable  in Latin, Greek and  Hebrew.  I knew of a candidate for the Bachelor’s degree who would visit him often for help in Greek.   

He gave me the books left by his predecesor, Rev. James Persaud, who was proficient in both Hindi and Urdu, and who kept Hindi services for the old Indian Christians, back around the late 1920’s.   His books included the Missal in Urdu, an Urdu grammar and the Six Schools of Hindu Philosophy.  He also allowed me to continue the Hindi services which his predecessor kept.

Canon Burgan, though erudite, knew that he could not know everything.   He would ask me to explain certain points in grammar as if I was his teacher, I did not realize then that maybe, he was really testing me. He was not prejudicial; he spoke well of those of his calling who were well educated e.g. the Metropolitan (Bishop ) of India.   In 1940, he appointed me Lay Reader along with another colleague.  We did the reading of the two lessons at evensong and matins, and also held the burial services when he was absent.    He made it plain that he hated the Old Testament lessons.

When I got married, he gave me a choral wedding and returned the fee I gave him for the ceremony.  He also baptized my eldest two children before he was transferred to the Plaisance Village Church in the mid 1950’s.

When India gained her independence in 1947, he held a service for the Indians of Buxton and neighbouring Vigilance.  I attended dressed in my Indian garb and was asked to read the lesson in Hindi. When the wife of the Indian catechist died, throngs from the neighbouring villages and sugar estates attended.  He made me sing a Bhajan (hymn in Hindi) with them and also read the sermon for the dead in Hindi.

With all his effort and dedication, I sensed a frustration.  This is a dog’s job, he once told us.  He had to raise a certain sum of money every year to give to the Diocese, also to maintain the material fabric of the Church.  This could not have been done by contributions from the parishioners, as they were poor.  The takings from collections were small and some could hardly have paid the six shillings ($1.44) for their yearly membership, so he had to resort to entertainments to raise the required sum.   His yearly Tea and Dance had always been a success.  In the 1950’s the young Bishop Allan John Knight was transferred to British Guiana from Africa to help raise money for the Church, which was in a parlous situation, and which he said could not run without money, but he had not to do it himself, the parish priests had to do it.

When Canon Burgan was transferred to Plaisance, a smaller church closer to Georgetown, we still kept our good relationship.   I used to visit him in the vicarage  where he and his wife lived alone.  By then, the children were all grown, married or abroad.  After retiring, he  moved to his residence in Georgetown,  where he passed his last days before his call to eternity.

When he was called to higher service, I went to the funeral home where his body lay for viewing. He looked peaceful in his casket.    I followed his cortege when it was  moved to St. George’s Cathedral.  There he laid in state for final viewing and funeral service  which was attended by hundreds from various parishes,  dignitaries and people from all walks of life.  He was later entombed at St. Sidwell’s churchyard in Lodge Village.

To sum up his life, with the failings and errors which are inevitable to humans in this mortal life, Canon  Burgan performed to his fullest in the state of life into which God had called him.  As he lived, so did he die and so will he gain eternal rest in the kingdom prepared for all those who “ran the race and endured to the end.”    To sum up his life on earth, here is a  quote from one of my poems:

Now he is gone, no more for us his work;

Death’s icy fingers shut the heavy tome;

But in some fairer realm where waits his Lord.

A soul will rise effulgent and at peace.

Rest in peace, my pastor, my teacher and my friend!

– Randall Butisingh

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SHORT BIOGRAPHY

– Canon William Granville Burgan, M.A.

Canon William Granville Burgan (1886-1958) was born in British Guiana. His father’s parents were one of the founders of the village of Beterverwagting, on the East Coast of  Demerara. His father, Mr. William Garnett Barnett Burgan, who died in 1938, was a well-respected Head Master of various schools in Guyana.

Canon Burgan was educated at Codrington College in Barbados where in 1910, he was awarded the prestigious Wilson Reading Prizeman at Codrington College. He later obtained an M.A, degree from Durham University in the United Kingdom.

As an Anglican priest in British Guiana he served at St, George’s Cathedral, all Saints in New Amsterdam, Belladrum, Litchfield, Buxton and Plaisance. In 1938 he was made Canon (St Alban’s) at St. George’s Cathedral.

He was an intellectual, well read, and versed in Latin and Greek literature. He was keenly interested in folklore and historical research. He published many articles in the newspapers and magazines. For instance, in 1942 he published in the Diocesan Magazine “A Short History of the Guiana Diocese”, which outlined the history of the Anglican Church in British Guiana.