DEVOTION: A TIMELESS BHUTANESE QUALITY

It is time-honoured quality that is homogeneous in this land,

Of spiritual devotion that have withstood all human metamorphoses.

And arm in arm with modernity the spirituality blended like a perfect matrimonial match,

No less universal and no less profound and embedded in everyone’s heart.

Farmers leave behind their ploughs,

Businessmen forsakes their profits,

Office goers shuns their duties,

All flock to the place where the learned bestows blessings.

The grimes and filth are washed for the blessing’s sanctity,

The overly white cuffs on officers’ clothes are gone portraying simplicity.

The knee length ghos are lowered and even recalcitrant dons submissive looks,

And the white kaabneys are replaced by the red robes of sangha en mass.

People come walking, babies on their backs secured,

Children scamper, stumble and whimper-excitement on their faces.

Some ride in the rear of reckless rickety pickups,

All for a common goal of a liberating spiritual experience.

It’s the only time life springs back even in the silent hamlets in boondocks,

All abuzz boisterously with a sea of people from all walks,

And shapes and sizes as varied as one can imagine,

Donned In a sea of colours, that shimmers under the noon’s bright sunlight.

Like the waves of a sea the crowd sways,

As they converge to the epicenter of where the holy soul prays,

The sun may go down, and darkness takes place all over,

There are distances to cover and trails to traverse but not without being blessed.

Not a soul will leave without fulfilling their mission,

The mission of a glimpse of the precious teacher on the throne,

And receive his blessings that may just last a second but it is the essence,

Such is the devotion that is timelessly perpetual in this land of the fortunate.

For these devotees, devotion is unquestionable in their heart,

They see the teacher on the throne as the emanation of the enlightened Buddha,

The ground zero anywhere is as sacrosanct as the holy land of liberating Bodhgaya,

And all the people their spiritual family on the path to enlightenment guided by the peerless teacher.

Gyembo Namgyal

October 23, 2014 7.30 am

Dear readers, here is a poor description of the unquestionable faith Bhutanese have towards spiritual pursuit. This kind of universal faith among Bhutanese people have withstood test of time and this is something astounding. Influences like materialism haven’t been able to shake our devotion to spiritualism and the zest and zeal remains ever perpetual. We must be proud of this value which remains one of the guiding principles of our lives.

Thank you, dear readers for taking time to read this and other posts. Take care and have a good day. Meet you soon again on this page!!!

GN

Gho; Traditional Bhutanese knee length  dress worn by men.
Kaabney: A long white scarf worn by men over gho in formal ocassions.