Religious leaders praise Panday

SOME of the country's religious leaders have praised former prime minister Basdeo Panday as a humble man who devoted his life to championing the less fortunate in society.

They did so at his state funeral at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA), San Fernando, on January 9.

Panday, 90, died in the US on January 1. He had gone there in mid-December for medical treatment.

Panday's service was the first held under Hindu rites for a former prime minister.

Pundit Atma Maharaj, a close friend of the Panday family, was the officiating pundit.

In his remarks to the gathering, which included President Christine Kangaloo, the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Maharaj said it was an honour and solemn responsibility for him to officiate at Panday's funeral.

"He was a remarkable soul. His life would have touched all of us."

Maharaj said Panday was a man who not only understood the meaning of the word "sacrifice" but practised it selflessly his entire life.

"He was an example of servant leadership."

Maharaj recalled, "His last wish for constitutional reform echoes like a mantra."

He added that Panday also understood that one's pursuit of happiness did not come at the expense of someone else's.

"He understood his purpose."

Imam Dr Hamza Rafeeq, Panday's cabinet colleague in 1995-2001, when he was prime minister, agreed with Maharaj.

"Let his life serve as a lesson to emulate and support."

The Rev Joy Abdul-Mohan, of the Presbyterian Church, said Panday touched and transformed the lives of many people who lived on the margins of society. Panday, she continued, rejected mediocrity and embraced magnanimity.

Abdul-Mohan said Panday's legacy should be a catalyst to change the minds and hearts of people.

Chief of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez said Panday's life reflected that of an honoured elder whose praises will be sung long after his death.

He added that the best way to honour Panday's legacy is not in building physical monuments in his honour, but systems of development that would benefit the widest number of people.

Bharath-Hernandez said the population will carry on and future generations will be better off "because he existed."

RC Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon said Panday was a man who engaged in the struggle to do what was right "for the worker, the migrant and those on the margin."

Gordon added that principles of justice, humility and truth guided him in everything he did.

The Rev Karl Patterson of the National Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith, said Panday was a shepherd who cared for his flock.

Secretary of the Council of Orisha Elders Baba Neal Ryan Rawlins told the congregation of an Orisha saying that when an elder of repute dies, a library of that person's works dies with that person.

"I believe a library is burning."