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Young pandit follows family tradition
Pandit Avinash Deodhari Sharma has not lost his baby features completely. In fact, the young Pandit looks more like a schoolboy which makes it even harder for one to fully appreciate that indeed he is a young leader.
Pandit Avinash Deodhari Sharma
The 20-year-old has been in practice as a Pandit and has been manning the Sri Bhavaneshwar Vidya Mandir, at Henrietta Village for two years now. His journey began with him starting to perform rituals at age eight. His profession however as a Hindu Priest is one based on Traditional Continuation.
“I have been practising since age eight. Then I initiated the necessary sacred vow to uphold the duties of being a Bramhim.”
Looking back at the history of the Sharma family of Richmond Village, Essequibo Coast, it didn’t take long to establish that it was not by any chance that young Sharma became a Hindu Priest.
The Sharmas have a long history of producing Pandits. That started with Sharma’s late grandfather, Pandit Deohari Ramdass Sharma. His father, Purnindu Sharma, subsequently took over after the death of the senior Pandit.
Avinash’s older brother, Ajay Sharma, also adopted the religious path and has been in practice for two years.
Avinash Sharma told me that although his aim is to make significant impacts, especially on the lives of people with whom he consistently interfaces during the attendance at Hindu ceremonies and rituals, his other option would have been to pursue a career in accountancy.
The young Pandit continues to make a name for himself on the Essequibo Coast, in the Pomeroon and Georgetown where he has already garnered huge popularity.
But who is young Avinash? Avinash has friends, like any young man and likes to spend time networking with those friends once his days are less busy.
Growing up in a religious family, the young Hindu leader is the last of three children. He explained that it was not easy to have escaped the traditional path of becoming a pandit, since his late grandfather and father served in that capacity.
Sharma added that from a very tender age he used to accompany his father to Hindu Rituals. His attendance however became more routine over the years. “It became easier for me since I knew from a tender age that I would have become a Pandit, just like my father. So when the time came for me to take the Spiritual vow, it was natural”.
Pandit Sharma starts his day by performing his morning chores, which include cleaning and feeding his dog, (a mixed pit bull breed) and watering the plants. On any given day additional time would be spent revising the Holy Scriptures and playing the harmonium.
Sharma who is a member of the National Pandit Organization of Guyana, says that he wants to see more positive in today’s society. He says that he wants to see himself in the not too distant future, as a young leader who innovates and enriches lives spiritually daily. He also wants to be able to convince more young people to adopt and be more serious about their spirituality and to serve God.
The young Pandit recommends daily meditation. He attended the C.V.Nunes Primary School before attending the Cotton Field Secondary. A few of his years were spent at IDCE and the Essequibo Technical Institute.
The young pandit has performed numerous weddings and funerals as well as Hindu Ceremonies in his young career. He encourages his fellow youths to not only strive for curriculum achievement but to also embrace the spiritual path.
“The greatest richness is one’s mind.”
(By Yannason Duncan)
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