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| Basdeo Maharaj |
“Never is he (Soul) born, nor does he die at any time, he has never been brought into being, nor shall come hereafter; unborn, eternal, permanent and ancient (primeval). When the body is slain, he is not slain.” - Bhagvad Gita
Pandit Basdeo Maharaj was a man of many shoes; he was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a spiritual leader, a coach, an employee, but above all these things he IS a soul.
To us, his children, he was a father, but we have seen in his passing that he was a father to all that he touched. This was most apparent when at his viewing an entire community of his coworkers, godchildren, cricket players and coaches, neighbours, and family came out to pay their respects. They shared their stories and it made us realise what our father did and how he lived his life.
He based his life on the principle of sacrifice, the unending yearning to give to others without expecting anything back. He learned to embody in his words, his actions, and his silence the virtue of love for humanity. Even though he has departed this physical body, it is undeniable that he lives on in the hearts and minds of all he encountered in this life.
The community that he touched will forever resonate in the melody of this great man, for he has set an example of what an individual can do, not for himself, but for others.
He left behind six children who are strong because of him, a wife who is was always a gentle warrior at his side, a grandchild who was an angel in his hands, a community of people who were the water that quenched his thirst, and he has finally joined Bhagvan who was forever the sun that shone in his life and continues to shine in his death.
May you be remembered and loved, but above all may those you influenced follow in your footsteps. We only have reason to celebrate that a man of God has returned happily to his maker and to make sure his work was not in vain. If there is anything he would want in his passing is that those who he touched continue to live life the way he had encouraged us to – to live in kindness, caring, humility, and compassion for others and for each other. We love you and may you have a safe journey!
“For death is certain to one who is born; to one who is dead, birth is certain; therefore, thou shalt not grieve for what is unavoidable.” - Bhagvad Gita
Caribbean Xpress spoke to some of Pandit-ji’s devotees who all stated that he will be missed and how little we knew about his unrelentless and humanitarian service to the community.
Ramesh Maharaj from Ram & Raj Puja Store has known him for 20 years and did not know he did all this community service and all the time spent helping people. All he knew is that he was a simple pundit who did pooja’s for his devotees.
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