Seeds from past and for future

When I first arrived in Singapore more than 30 years ago, I put up at my aunt's place at Selegie Rd. I attended a secondary school at Toa Payoh and commuted to and fro by bus which took more than an hour. The bus route covered a stretch of Bartley Road where the Ramakrishna Temple stood on a small hill. ( I found out it was a temple only recently) It looked more like a villa to me. I remember often wondering from afar who this "villa" housed and what its interior looked like whenever the bus passed by it.

Two weeks ago after a meeting at MCYS, accompanied by its supervisor I dropped in at the Ramakrishna Mission Boy's Home to see one of my clients, a P 6 student who stays there. He is there because his home environment is not conducive for his upbringing. The boy was surprised, a bit shy but delighted to see me. He was having his weekly Science tuition given by an Indian lady who is a volunteer. My unexpected visit cut short his tuition session. The supervisor asked him to show me around the home and the temple and the tutor joined in as she had not been inside the prayer hall of the temple, which is just next to the home. The premise is on sprawling high grounds and the surroundings is quiet and serene.

After showing us the various rooms in the home the boy brought us to view the garden patches at the side and back of the home. At the side there are several rectangular plots for the planting of herbs, each plot the responsibility of a small group of boys to nurture. We then crossed over to the temple (the villa in my memory). The lower hall was adorned with photographs of Ramakrishna and his disciples. Me and the tutor chattered excitedly and rather loudly because there was no one in the hall. The boy then whispered to us to speak softly because the holy ones (in the pictures) are meditating. Like naughty girls caught misbehaving we apologized. On each side of the hall there was a staircase. The boy told us that he will take the staircase on the left which is meant for the men and we ladies have to take the other staircase meant for the women. I followed his instructions not knowing what to expect on the upper floor. I imagined we would find ourselves in a separate prayer room meant for ladies. Instead the staircase led us to a big open hall on the second floor and our young guide was there waiting for us with a quiet confident smile. I don't know why but I felt so happy to see him, almost like a child meeting a parent. Throughout the visit I have noticed my student behaved very differently from the way he does in school. In school he is treated like an irritant by teachers and a clown by his classmates. But here he was like a knowledgeable tour guide leaving out no details introducing the statue of Ramakrishna as well as people in the framed picture on the wall. He hit the gong softly to show us the start of a prayer routine as well as the bells used during prayers. I grasped onto his words with a feeling of awe.  He urged me to take some of the literature displayed on a side table, showed me one which listed upcoming events and encouraged me to attend one of these prayer sessions. "But this is not my religion" I whispered softly in reply. He told me all believers are welcomed and mentioned that they believe in the Bible too. I just smiled not making sense of what he told me; but I did pick up 2 little booklets to get a better understanding of this faith. Whilst taking the staircase down a phrase from the Bible popped up in my mind "and a child will lead them".

 As I stood at the temple corridors looking down on the surrounding Bartley area I reflected  that it took me 3 decades to be inside the "villa" which I had wondered from afar. The seed of "awe" which  was planted in my mind more than 30 ago has now ripened and enriched my visit, giving it a sense of bewilderment. A week before this visit I had submitted notice to the school about my intention to quit next year. I have been with the school for almost 4 years and need to move on, though I don't know what I will embark on next. I have been tossing ideas in my mind about the various options, volunteering here, volunteering there, maybe some part time employment, maybe focusing on acquiring religious knowledge or maybe even focusing on investing money.

As I bade farewell to the boy, the Home and my "Villa", a feeling of warmth came over me and I felt another seed has been planted in my mind. Somehow I have a feeling this seed may possibly give me some directions in time to come.

(Incidentally Ramakrishna is perhaps one of the best known saints of nineteenth century India. He had a universal approach to religion believing the validity of different religious paths. Amongst his teachings was the belief that all religions including Christianity and Islam lead to God).

Now I know where the boy is coming from.