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The Swami title is one of honour

Jan 06, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
Reference is made to The Freddie Kissoon column in which he criticized Prof. Baytoram Ramharack for making reference to him (Kissoon) as an Indian who is not proud of his Indian identity and cultural roots and who (Kissoon) has refused to defend Indians against the most vile and vicious attacks from others. Kissoon has distinguished himself in his writings and the Indian community should confer an honor onto him for his rare achievements.
The record would show that Kissoon himself, at various times, stated he is not “an Indian”, that he is not proud of India, and that he is ashamed of being an Indian. In contradiction to the preceding comments, Kissoon stated that his parents were proud Hindus and they raised him as a Hindu and that he gave his daughter a Hindu name (at the request of his mother). Kissoon has criticized many Indian that write from an Indian identity perspective
In response to Dr. Ramharack’s critique of Kissoon’s lack of Indian cultural upbringing, Kissoon stated he understands Indian values well and that he does not have to display his identity publicly. That being the case, Kissoon has not explained why he does not celebrate Diwali or Phagwah or Eid or Arrival Day or other Indian festivals. All of his writings quote Westerners and not great Indian intellectuals. His references to music, arts, literature, and films are from the West and not India?
How come he does not use Indian kinship terms like mousie, mamoo, dada, cha cha, dulaha, patni, uncle, bhaiya, bahin. Anyone who understands Indian values or is an Indian will not call a pandit or a mulvi by his name or “Mister” as Kissoon routinely does. An Indian referring to an elderly person as “Mister.” or “Miss” is most disrespectful and must be condemned. Instead, the honorific title of pandit, meiji, uncle, auntie would precede or follow the name. I heard several Black and White priests refer to pandits, swamis and mulvis by their honorific titles and not their plain names.
Kissoon calls Swami Aksharnanda as  Aksharnanda”. No Indian will refer to a Swami like that Even Eusi Kwayana, Bonita Harris, Nigel Hughes, David Hinds, etc. respectfully refer to Aksharnanda as Swami. Even Muslims and Christians refer to Aksharnanda as Swami. The proper (Indian) way to address him is Swami, or Swami-ji, or Swami Aksharnanda, or Aksharnanda-ji. It should never be “Mister”. Ditto a Muslim title like Haji or Mulvi or Maulana or Meiji or Meiah. These honors are earned and the achievers should be so addressed. Most Indians use these titles when referring to those who achieved them. I most certainly do in all of my encounters with them.
Swami is an earned honorific title; it is not self imposed. It is bestowed by gurus to a student after intense training. It is not proper to call Swami Aksharnanda-ji “Mister”. It is equally wrong for Indians to disrespect Kissoon.
Vishnu Bisram

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