A magnificent feat to transform education in Guyana

Dear Editor,
I commend Dr Satish Prakash for founding the gurukula (in Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara). It is the first ‘formal’ gurukula in Guyana, and Dr Satish and his management team are lauded for this initiative.
This magnificent feat is an outcome of the dedicated efforts of Dr Satish and the gurukula fraternity to transform, or at a minimum help to improve, the educational environment in Guyana and for the Guyanese Diaspora.
A gurukula is a traditional system of education in which the teacher and students engage each other continuously at a particular residential location. The students interact around the clock with the gurus (teachers). The purpose of a gurukula is for teachers and students to share a friendly relationship and respect. It is a rigid, structured system in which students are assigned specific tasks and studies, and are ‘corrected’ and evaluated in their progress and development.
The gurukul system was started and formalised in India over five thousand years ago, and was used by Rishis, Swamis, Satgurus and Gurus to train students in various disciplines. It is a formal residential schooling system, and is perhaps the only one in which students and teachers have continuous access to each other.
Students are taught how to respect nature, and engage in a sustainable lifestyle. They live cultured and disciplined lives, and degrees are granted, from Bachelors to Masters to Doctorates.
Dr Satish is himself a product of such a system of training and education in India. After obtaining his undergraduate degree at UG, he received a scholarship to further his education in India, where he spent several years studying languages, Hinduism, and Vedic studies.
He is a Sanskrit (mother of many languages in India and Europe) scholar, and a linguist and specialist in Hinduism. He is very fluent in several languages, not the least being Hindi and Spanish. He also understands several Indian dialects, including Bhojpuri (spoken by indentured ancestors) and Brij.
Held in high esteem, Dr Satish is revered globally. He gave lectures in several Indian diaspora countries (including Fiji, Holland, UK, and Mauritius), and presided over Hindu services all over the USA and Canada among Guyanese, Trinis, Fijians, Mauritians, and nationals from India. He taught for over 25 years in New York, before retiring to spend his full time teaching students in Guyana. The Guyana Gurukul is entirely his project, and the fruits of his hard work in raising funds and spending millions of dollars of his personal money have finally materialised. He also received financial and material support from generous donors, and has expressed his gratitude to all who contributed to the project.
Dr Satish aims to transplant, at the Gurukul, his method of learning for his post-graduate studies. Students will be very focused. Here, learning will be imparted to students in a natural environment in which they would live with each other with brotherhood, humanity, and discipline. Such training and learning would also help students in personality development, and increase their confidence and mindfulness to face challenges and reduce stress.
They would develop into strong persons who could address the society’s challenges.
The Guyana Gurukul will host students from all over the globe. Instructions would be imparted in-person and virtually. Subjects and disciplines for studies are being finalised. Let me say how delighted, proud and elated I am to see this beautiful building sitting next to the Atlantic Ocean. I visited countless times when it was being built to cheer Bhai Dave and others and Dr Satish himself, apprising them of progress in the construction.
Great work Dr Satish, Bhai Dave, and gang. You have made the community, Arya Samajists, Hindus and all Guyanese proud of this magnificent structure. It stands as a testament to Dr Satish’s passion for spirituality and continuous efforts, and hard work to actually build and implement what he talked about. My heartiest congratulations and best wishes to him and his management team in their mission.

Yours truly,
Dr Vishnu Bisram