As Guyana ushers into the observance of Diwali, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Monday emphasised the importance of upholding basic tenants of society such as peace and unity, which he said are integral concepts in sustaining a nation.
The head of state also explained that this year’s observance profoundly signals a need for the restoration of individual spiritually, hope, thanksgiving, happiness, and personal accountability.
Ali, who was at the time addressing a large gathering at Deepavali Mahotsav, held in the National Track and Field Facility, Leonora, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), highlighted that individual and collective community upliftment leads to the upliftment of humanity.
Further, he stressed that Diwali is just the physical aspect of long journey that requires persons to ignite the inner light within themselves.
“The country is not something that is dead. The country is something that’s alive, that is alive, that carries a soul, and that soul is reflected in the soul of every single citizen of the country…The function of spirituality and religious texts and scripture is to keep us connected with a core set of values and principles that must shape us every single day. And that is why the reality of day-to-day life must be understood with a context of religious spirituality… These are values that are entrenched into our psyche that we must uphold if we are to enjoy the freedom that we spoke of. The religious freedom and the cultural freedom that is expressed today,” the president said.
Addressing the theme of light of darkness, the Guyanese Leader emphasized that the most important elements of achieving good is to have hope and respect for religious practices and or culture.
On this point, Ali outlined that a unified Guyana –cannot be sustained if citizens do not uphold the values that make them Guyanese or collectively uphold the ability to stand up for the truth, represent what is right and reject what is wrong.
“Even in families there is a competition to put each other down but what about if we reverse the script and make it a competition to push everyone up and to uplift everyone in the family. Imagine how more power at the society level, if we use this light to uplift each other, imagine the positivity that it will create. Think about it- how many hours every day we use to dispel negative energy. Just convert those hours into positivity”.
“Remember always that the darkness before you is magnified by someone else, but it’s up to you to light your own path and open your own narrow way through the darkest of times,” Ali added.
Moreover, President Ali also spoke of the collective need to cleanse society of attributes that are negative such as racism and other scourges that hinder national unity.
“As individuals, you must look around in our society, and seek, and see who are the ones that are pursuing peace. Social media, you go on social media, you will see that there are persons on social media, whose sole objective every day is to create disorder. Their narrative is one that does not support the peaceful existence of society and of people. But you as individuals, must understand that the pursuit of peace, begins with our understanding and embracing of what peace is. We’ll see the distractors of peace, who try every day to use division and divisive methods. And that is what this festival tells us about.”
“Very pleased and humble to lead a government that recognises the importance of thanksgiving, that recognises the importance of worshipping what nationhood is. And we are not shy about this. That is why you will see members of the cabinet in every church, in every mosque, in every temple, whenever there’s a festival,” he said.
The Deepavali Mahotsav being held at Leonora will last until Wednesday. Monday evening’s event was sparkled with vibrant colors, joyous energy, and the radiant glow of countless diyas displayed fairy lights which lit up the ground. As the festivities began, traditional Indian dances took center stage. As the evening’s activities proceeded the air was filled with melodious songs that celebrated light overcoming darkness, each note drawing the crowd into a shared sense of joy and unity. Between performances, a skit brought to life story of Diwali.
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