Coil : God in Guyana

by Vidyaratha Kissoon

The Jehovah Witness who visited asked if I thought the world would be a better place if everyone worshipped the same God. I said no way, not with the way human beings are and the concentration of power and so as these things go.. kind of like everybody voting for either PPP or for PNC or whatever.

I explained that diversity was part of the natural order and some Hindus conceive God as being within even with two dates for Diwali . He did not seem to understand. Then again, there should be no need for him to do so .. or do we need to talk about God in Guyana?

A search for God in the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic shows an appeal “May God protect our people” . There is something about this resort to the unknown higher order, whose accountability cannot be defined in the Constitution unlike say the other duty bearers and office holders which are mentioned.

We sing the National Anthem and plead “God (not the Army or police or we ) guard you great Mother”

Article 38F of the Constitution says no one’s religious beliefs should be vilified. The people who have calling for children to be seen as equal and for people not to beat children as a form of love and discipline, and for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens have had to vilify all the religious beliefs which said that this equality is a no-no, sin or worse.

The last week, the Attorney General had to contemplate God and Ganja . Members of the Rastafarian Community met with the Attorney General to call for a change in the laws which criminalise marijuana possession. The Attorney General in a Capitol News report of the meeting said he was not an expert on Consultation but that bills are normally written and so. It sounded like he was not sure what to tell the Rastafarians, and whether people who had other religious views had to be told.

The Attorney General’s lack of expertise came up for discussion in parliament when some Bills had to be rushed through – emails were sent and received. Consultation with God is probably a bit more difficult than say emailing a range of people.

It looks like the ability for the Rastafarians to enjoy their religious rights is going to depend on what people who are not Rastafarian say about God and Ganja and Guyana, and protecting our people.

One or two people on my Facebook people have been talking about keeping Christ in Christmas. 

Thinking of Ganja and drugs and the young woman who asked me about liquor this Christmas, is wondering if we could keep liquor out of Christmas. There have been some wistful notes about Guyana’s colonial era liquor culture the last few days while Ganja was being discussed. Wise men were reminiscing about drinks which could ‘lay people flat’ and which give “a special buzz, a certainty that, really, life was very pleasant.”

This week, a driver reportedly in pursuit of the pleasant life killed Kishore Balasar this week, though no indication as yet if Christmas is the context for the pleasantness.

There are liquor products on offer to celebrate the birht anniversary of the Son of God . There are other deals for other things. None of them though offer the Bible say with the give away, the prize , the discount. Christmas has inspired lot of Christmas Giving and charity. (Cynics question the absence of giving during the rest of the year) and the publicity seems to be about the givers rather than the giving.

This week, Sherlina Nageer wrote about rethinking about giving and charity and social change, and in the USA, the President of the Ford Foundation also questioned the limitations of just giving back.

Meeting immediate needs versus dealing with the systemic issues which create the needs.

This week , the Government received the first batch of an expected 30,000 pairs of “Shoes that Grow” through a foundation established by Mr Ernie Ross who had bought one of Bharat Jagdeo’s houses for 120 million GYD

Mr Ross had this year been caught up in a Trinidad and Tobago janjhat. The ‘Shoes that Grow’ do not grow on trees , they are purchased from an American organisation which describes The Shoe That Grows as “.. a patented design of an innovative shoe that adjusts and expands. It was developed in part by a shoe development company in the Northwest called Proof of Concept… The Shoe is made with simple materials – leather, compressed rubber, and snaps. No mechanical parts of gears to break. 

Easy to clean. Easy to use. “

The cost for 100+ pairs is US15 each.

Mr Ross is probably expected to spend about US450000 (90 million GYD) on shoes for Guyanese children, which is probably more welcome than the 120 million on a house.

There is no indication whether the Shoes that Grow design is available under Creative Commons license which would encourage people in communities to make the shoes themselves. Maybe that would be overdoing the generosity as these things go. There is mention of Church on the website, but not God per se.

Now if the Government of Guyana wanted to provide comfortable long lasting shoes for Guyanese children which could be made in Guyana, couldn’t they have asked for designs and invite Mr Ross to stimulate the local economy with the 90 million dollars or so?

The economy is not doing too well. There is no indication of how religious institutions are affected.

This week, the life of my neighbour was celebrated at the Universal Church of God . She had inspired many people , including young members of the Church – the Brazillian church which has generated a lot of conversation in minibuses and so. One young man told me ‘stupes is a money making thing.. they have different bag for the different denomination of money to collect”

The young handsome Pastor did a great job in facilitating the celebration – he apologised for his 

English, which was excellent. He remembered my neighbour fondly as did many others . The Church is in a nice small cozy venue, air conditioned. Music was uplifting. Prayers were offered – if you wanted to pray. The seats were comfortable.. not the usual wooden benches in the old time church. T

The Pastor offered prayers, or people to be inspired like how my late neighbour was. In dealing with her challenges, her faith was resolute. The collection time, the Pastor was clear to say – it is voluntary, Please support the Church. There was only one bag.

I gave because, not because I was feeling charitable or inspired by Christ’s teachings, but well I had enjoyed the service and the memories of my neighbour.

I wondered though about the Guyanese resources going back to Brazil, and whether there was a Venezuelan church anywhere else taking well not a blade of grass, but other things.

It seems though that collection is reinvested in Guyana.

God was here with the indigenous peoples, and God has come from different places – with the oppressors, and colonisers , the enslaved, the indentured. More recently, the Middle East has influenced the worship, and now Brazil.

At a recent Vedanta class, the Swami reminded the participants that in the philosophy, “God” is not left at the temple, but is every where. This is one of the versions of God which came from India.

The Swami opened up the discussion of how we perceive the Universe through the senses. The class was held near a bakery – the Universe was dominated during the class by the smell of warm bread. I imagine that was the living test to check on how to control the senses and thereby the Universe.

I had explained to the Jehovah Witness that I believe God is in him and not outside. My intention was to say that the World is big enough to accommodate the view of God outside and my view of God inside.

It should be okay to have different views or no views about God, There should be no need for the Attorney General to wait on email responses to reform the ganja laws.

There should be no problem in calling for liquor free Christmas as a way of giving so that we could minimise the risk of any more deaths and mayhem.

If we ever transform the Constitution, instead of May God Protect our people, we should probably have , “May we look out for each other”.