What happened to our religious leaders, their voices especially?

Jul 29, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

I am sorry that Guyana’s Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has caught the COVID-19 virus. I pray for the speediest and strongest of recoveries for him. I think that prayer furnishes the opening to highlight an area involving other leaders. Our spiritual leaders in Guyana, our religious leaders. No exceptions.

Has anybody seen our friends from the houses of worship recently? I can say with some strength that I have neither seen nor heard one contrary word from any Archbishop or Bishop, Mullah or Moulvi, Parson, or Pastor in the longest while about some of the terrible shortcomings that race unchecked in the country. There is no rage, outrage, and none takes umbrage at the leadership desecrations against the wretched in this society. The wretched would be the left out and the poor, the bottom feeders and the afflicted. What happened to ‘he ain’t heavy, he is my brother?’ And ‘am I my brother’s keeper?’ Indeed, it is so, mister.

I pause and listen for any encouraging sounds that may be forthcoming from our spiritual shepherds, our men (mainly men) of God. I regret to say, am ashamed to convey, that the only echoes I hear are the clicks of the keyboard on the computer constructing this carol about the cries of the poor and the utter lack of care and compassion from those left to tend to the little lost ones. I stand to be corrected, but I am almost certain that all the good books (Holy Bible, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, and Koran) speak very clearly, earnestly, and powerfully about the ones that are dear to the heart of the most holy of holies in heaven. If I left out any of the sacred scriptures, I beg forgiveness for my ignorance. But the ones who are overlooked, ignored, and scorned would be the outcasts and misfits and naysayers and troublemakers and the always, ever-present hungry and hurting and hoping. These are the ones coming in for much misuse and abuse. So, where are our religious leaders of the flocks? How come our big religious leaders in this country of so much prosperity have distanced from persuasive expression of the spoken language, where the plight of the poor are concerned?

I always held the belief that solidarity with the losers and lowlifes, the dregs of the times, was a hallmark and lynchpin of religious establishments, regardless of denomination. Where did I go wrong? Are my expectations off the mark, and how come by so much? I risk incurring the animosity of the top dogs in the religious firmaments, but has never fazed me before. I seem to recall (Frederick II aside) that Jesus, the Prophet Mohamed, Buddha, and Lord Krishna were all princes of the people, and for the people. Not the rich high society people, or those that belonged to powerful political sectors. All the books emphasise to me that the prime commerce of the holy men was the fruits of heaven, and not attachments for the good graces of the rich and powerful, the flashy and famous. The comforts of the tents of the high are what have silenced spiritual leaders, and to the point that the inhumane is now bosom companion.

If I am committing one sacrilege after the other by daring to call things as they are and making spiritual men (and women) uncomfortable, then I am doing God’s work, and pray that I am among the most pleasing of messengers by shedding this kind of light. Get used to it, brethren. I am as positive as I can be that whoever is worshipped by anyone anywhere cannot be happy at the way things are in this society, and especially that his chosen shepherds are so uncaring, self-centered, and callous. The evidence is there, and when they delight in hobnobbing with commanders and captains, then a lot is left untended. I close with where I started: is anybody out there listening at the heights of the religious peaks? Do any of them still have anything left in their hearts to care? Or have they, too, been sucked into the hustles and heroisms of the bright Guyana day? I say that they have. I confess to being sickened to say it publicly, having to say it at all, but I think that have fallen victim to the lures that entrap so many others. Meanwhile, the environmentally menaced, poverty stricken, and the pariahs are left on their own, with their woes and their pains.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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What happened to our religious leaders, their voices especially?

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