October 9, 2008
Thought for today
THIS MOBILE HOME
Oh! This my mobile living home
made of flesh, blood and bone
acquired through a non-negotiable loan
mortgaged to Him and Him alone.
Yes! From base to attic
and all around
mysreriously and wonderfully
marvellous facilities fully surround.
Built-in are numerous
sophisticated and sensitive fixtures
activated by pain, joy sorrow and pleasure.
Unlimited occupancy,
rights and liberties at leisure,
But unfortunately,
not guaranteed against foreclosure.
For, depending on what is being harboured,
or adored,
Without notice, it can be foreclosed.
Baljit Singh
About the Author
Baljit Singh, born in Guyana in 1942, was my pupil when I was a teacher at the Non Pareil Anglican Primary School. He dropped out when he was in the middle division. When I met him again as an adult, he was a successful gardener and taxi driver. Because of the situation in Guyana after its independence, he migrated to the USA where he continued to succeed as businessman. His hobbies now are gardening and poetry writing. Baljit has an interest in religious philosophy and the issues of every day life. His poems have a unique flavour and though, not scholarly, is full of wisdom.
He Is a father with two boys and two girls and grandchildren.
Randall Butisingh
May 6, 2008
SUFFERING IS THE CRUCIBLE …….
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Suffering is the crucible in which the character is burnished.
Taken from “FLASHES OF LIGHT” by
Randall Butisingh
SUFFERING QUOTATIONS
ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL
A religious man is one who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love, and defiance of despair.
New York Journal American, April 5, 1963
ALBERT CAMUS
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that that there was within me an invincible summer.
ALDOUS HUXLEY
At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols..
CORITA KENT
Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each is to succeed
May 5, 2008
QUOTES BY BERTRAND RUSSELL
THOUGH FOR TODAY:
QUOTES BY BERTRAND RUSSELL
“What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires — desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.”
“Those who forget good and evil and seek only to know the facts are more likely to achieve good than those who view the world through the distorting medium of their own desires.”
“We are faced with the paradoxical fact that education has become one of the chief obstacles to intelligence and freedom of thought.”
“To teach how to live with uncertainty, yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy can do.”
“To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” “Those who fear life are already three parts dead.”
“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.” –
— Bertrand Russell, philosopher 1872-1970
November 7, 2007
Hatred and Bitterness
Hatred and Bitterness
Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear, only love can do that. Hatred paralyses life, love releases it. Hatred confuses life, love harmonises it. Hatred darkens life, love illumines it.
Martin Luther King
November 6, 2007
Peace, not Conflict
Peace, not Conflict
Peace cannot be achieved by making war on the enemy. No one wins in a war. That period of cessation from war is not peace; it is a gap between conflicts. If we are to achieve real peace, we must, instead of making more and more weapons of warfare, as the scripture says, ‘beat our swords into ploughshares and our spears into pruning hooks.” The resources of Mother Earth must be used, not for destruction, but constructively and, as as a wise president Abraham Lincoln puts it, “Are we not destroying our enemies when we make them our friends?”. Friendship, with the power of Love, can free us from fear and anxiety, and bring the Peace which can make this earth a paradise.
Randall Butisingh
October 31, 2007
LIST OF SEVEN DEADLY SINS
LIST OF SEVEN DEADLY SINS
Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, business without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice and politics without principle.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
RELIGION WAS MADE FOR MAN
RELIGION WAS MADE FOR MAN
(article written for the press)
Two events which involved sections of the Roman Catholic Church are to be considered of great significance in this critical stage of our modern civilization. They emphasize that religion was made for man, and not man for religion. I refer to the participation of Guyanese Catholics in the Divali celebrations and the stand taken by Cardinal Cushing in the marriage of the widow of the late President J.F. Kennedy.
I expect that these divergences from what is customary and traditional will not go unchallenged by other Catholics who are less tolerant.
Both events and others in the recent past have stressed the point made by the Roman Catholic Archbishop that “if ever we are going to get anywhere in uniting this nation, we have to use all our efforts to live in charity, in love, in mutual respect and esteem for one another.”
Those who suggested that Mrs Onassis be “excommunicated and labelled a public sinner” are like those people of the Bible who brought the adulterous woman to Christ to be condemned, but went away painfully aware of their own imperfections.
Since the time when a Pope refused audience with one of the most illustrious spiritual leaders of the age, Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, Catholics have come a long way towards tolerance and unity. That Catholics err as all others do, is no fault of the Church. Gandhi, disappointed in not getting audience with His Holiness, felt the presence of Christ when he entered the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
Let the world hope that through events like these, The Christian Church and the other great religions will pave the way for Peace and Harmony among the nations of the earth.
Randall Butisingh
FLASHES OF LIGHT
FLASHES OF LIGHT
(a book of my own thoughts)
I call these thoughts “Flashes of Light because they came unbidden in moments of inspiration. Here are some of them:
Man is what he is, at any time, because of the endowments of his Creator and the legacies of his ancestors. He has a two-fold responsibility – to God and his fellow man.
Love is a duty which we owe to the Creator and his creatures.
Love fulfils and transcends the law. Where there is love, there is no need for law.
Adversity is the dark night of the soul in which the stars of Faith and Hope shines brightest.
Aim high, not for the stars which are accessible, but for the sky which is unattainable. In the former, you have the temporary joy of achievement; in the latter, the eternal joy of pursuit.
There is no superior race. There are superior individuals who add lustre to the only race – the human race.
Heaven and hell are not places. They are states of being, and we carry them with us all the time.
The little flower opened with the sun’s kiss. The bee came, took a drop of nectar and left some pollen. The butterfly and the humming bird came, each took and gave in return. Man came; he plucked the flower. The flower perfumed the cruel hand, wilted and died.
Randall Butisingh
October 28, 2007
REVERENCE FOR SUNDAYS HAS GONE
REVERENCE FOR SUNDAYS HAS GONE
(Article in Stabroek News)
Growing up in Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara as a boy, I remember what it used to be like on Sundays. Those who are living now and are old enough , will also remember. Our country was British Guiana then. I recall vividly, from around 1922, the stillness that pervaded the village on Sundays. During the day shops were closed, all activities ceased, most residents kept indoors or appeared to have kept there regardless of their persuasion.
The only sound that could have been heard was the loud peals, in the morning and early evening, of the various church bells calling the faithful of the different denominations to worship, and the uneven beat of shod feet on the brick road, going to and coming from church. The church-goers were clad in their Sunday best, the men in serge, tweed and palm beach, and the women, invariably in flowing white, all, men and women, wearing hats. In the hand of each was the prayer book and hymnal- the ladies with the added appurtenance of a fan which helped to alleviate the heat generated by a uaually packed congregation.
On entering the building, the men doffed their hats, and after prayers were said and seats taken, there ensued a pin-drop silence. No one spoke in church, even a whisper would have been audible. Any late comer had to walk on tip-toe and a screeching boot, which occasionally happened would shatter the stillness and embarrass the offender. This was the atmosphere set for worship in church. It was an awe-inspiring silence and reverence for the house of God.
Retiring from worship, the faithful spent the remaining hours of the day reading the Bible or resting their bodies for work during the week ahead. In the afternoon, the children were sent to Sunday School where they learnt the Catechism, the Ten Commandments, the Twenty-third Psalm, and were told stories from the Bible – all of which helped to mould the character of the youth. No play was permitted.
But the reverence of the day or the observance of it as a day of rest was not to continue. During my lifetime, which began two years before the first World War, I have witnessed many changes in society; changes in attitude towards religion and the gradual and almost precipitate breakdown of morality. Today, Sunday has become a holiday for all kinds of secular activities and sensual enjoyments – the stillness which once pervaded shattered with noise of all kinds.
It was in 1956 or thereabouts, when a bill was about to be passed to permit Sunday afternoon cinema shows. In a letter to the press I wrote: “I write with some degree of trepidation, though not with surprise about the bill to permit Sunday afternoon cinema shows.” In another part, I wrote:”In my opinion, if this bill is passed, Christians youths, who now reverence the day, will come to disregard it, and this will gradually weaken their hold on religion. My letter was quoted by a Christian member of parliament. The bill was passed.
So, from that time onwards, we have witnessed the violation of the sanctity of the day, and of it being a day of rest for all, Today, there is no activity precluded, entertainment or otherwise. The recent bill to open shops on Sundays, though seemingly convenient for the few, will further violate the sanctity of the day.
In conclusion, I would like to say that no economic progress alone could bring peace and happiness to a nation. Morality can only be built on the rock of true religion, with fruits of Faith, of Love and Compassion and of universal Brotherhood.
Randall Butisingh
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