In Memoriam - SGTI Student Bijayananda Singh
11/29/2021
This post is in honor of one of SGTI's most luminous students, Bijayananda Singh, who departed this earth one month ago. Bijay was a graduate of our "Interfaith and Interspiritual Wisdom Training" program and was much loved by all who studied with him. He lived in India, a devoted son, husband and father. He will be dearly missed.
Bijay had a heart of service and enormous love for young people. He was Secretary/Executive Director of the NFP, "Solidarity for Developing Communities"
He headed up a residential school for marginalized students, especially those considered to be "untouchable", instilling in them the skills and values to be "human harmonizers." "Human Harmonizers are expected to grow physically, mentally and spiritually in a balanced manner. As they grow holistically, they are expected to influence others by their thoughts and actions leading to ushering transformational changes within and outside their own communities."
Bijay's heart of compassion lives on through his colleagues at SGTI. He penned many beautiful poems as part of his SGTI learnings and submitted them for assignments. With his family's permission, we share one of them here. His words convey the essence of Interspirituality which he believed was necessary for world peace, and the commonly held value of compassion. We hope you will be moved by it as we were.
Bijay, your spirit of service, unconditional love and respect for others of all religious traditions, is something we can all aspire to. We are honored to have walked the earth with you. Thank you for being a way-shower for us. Peace be upon you. Shalom. Om Shanti, dear friend.
Compassion
Compassion is
to be avatars as Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Moses, Muhammad, Nanak and the like
Compassion is
striving to find the way outs by the avatars for the sufferings of the humankind
Compassion is
avatars’ desire to pass their wisdom to their next generations
Compassion is
infinite manifestation of the Unmanifest
Compassion is
infinite names of the Nameless
Compassion is
infinite forms of the Formless
Compassion is
the attraction of man and woman
Compassion is
the potential on a seed to produce infinite seeds
Compassion is
a plant not germinating with ripen fruits with it
Compassion is
an untaught bird weaving nest for its kids
Compassion is
a baby fish able to swim instantly
Compassion is
a caterpillar taking time to become a butterfly
Compassion is
roots of trees on the sunshine and on the shed sharing food secretly
Compassion is
my mother’s ability to not eat after her children eat up everything
Compassion is
our school peon’s love that donated one of his kidney to his son
Compassion is
missionaries leaving their land for another country
Compassion is
trees breathing out oxygen
Compassion is
Mother Teresa’s desire to document her aridity of God’s love
Compassion is
father burping his baby putting on his shoulder
Compassion is
trees dropping their ripen fruits gently down on the ground
Compassion is
our country supported by other countries during this pandemic
Compassion is
Creator creating infinite emptiness to house infinite things
Compassion is
getting in touch with our own hearts and functioning from it
Compassion is
watching the tongue lest it slip a bad word
Compassion is
Nature’s food cycle
Compassion is
meeting of your eyes with the eyes of your dog
Compassion is
praying for know and unknown, asked or unasked
Compassion is
loving-kindness or kindness plus love
Compassion is
Dalai Lama’s pet name
Compassion is
mother’s milk ready when baby is on the way
Compassion is
birth pain
Compassion is
the worms forming on the dead body for it to decompose
Compassion is
silence understood without speaking a word
Compassion is
death in God’s time
Compassion is
wondering what is not compassion?
Compassion is
Sun’s desire to evaporate water to form cloud in the sky
Compassion is
cloud’s desire not to hold the rain up in the sky
Compassion is
willing to write a book on the compassion
Compassion is
jasmine’s wish not to hide its fragrance inside
Compassion is
Earth’s ability to nurture its infinite plants, on its womb, with sweet, bitter and sower milks
Compassion is
being compassionate to the compassionless
Compassion is
cooperation of an iron to be modeled as a tool
Compassion is
patience of a reed flute to be holed to produce a melody
Compassion is
empathy, sympathy and mercy, all put together
Compassion is
heart’s ability to feel the feelings of ‘others’
Compassion is
intuiting, everyone and everything is One
Compassion is
not surplus of compassion, but deficiency of it
Compassion is
gratitude, sometimes, overflowing
Compassion is
innumerable births as Bodhisattva
Compassion is
common to all the faiths without which it is not a faith
Bijayananda Singh
Module 10
Buddha Purnima 2021
