REMARKS BY
MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI, MP
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND
PRESIDENT, INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY
RESERVOIR HILLS : FEBRUARY 17, 2002
The Divine Life Society, under the leadership of
Swami Sahajananda, has proven itself a servant of the people of KwaZulu Natal,
creating through its humanitarian efforts a higher quality of life for many of
our people. From education to feeding schemes, from craft centres to skills
training, the Society has worked in our communities for years to meet practical
needs and offer the opportunity for human growth. I feel that as we make the
personal journey to discover more about one another as diverse peoples of South
Africa, we expand inner horizons which allows such growth to happen. It is only
in reaching out for one another that we may build bridges across the divide of
ignorance and suspicion, and only in coming together that we may realise how
little there truly is that separates us. I have had a long and enriching
relationship with Swami and the Divine Life Society of South Africa. The record
of the Divine Life Society in improving the quality of life of the poorest of
the poor in our communities speaks for itself. For decades, I have spent time
at this Ashram and my daughter, Mandisi, stayed in the Ashram for quite a long
time.
I have had the pleasure of attending many of the
functions held by the Divine Life Society, marking each milestone in the life
of this organisation with due celebration. I have also had the privilege of
speaking to Swami Sahajananda and sharing with him my vision for the future of
our country and my concerns for our present situation. On each occasion, I have
gathered a greater insight into the spiritual values and inspiration of the
Divine Life Society. Its learning and teachings have assisted me greatly in
reaching a fuller appreciation of the divine nature of the gift of life. Our
life experience can indeed be an expression of divinity if we accept to grow
spiritually and gain the enlightenment of spiritual achievement. I feel that
this teaching is universal and opens a path which is of great importance for
our youth to walk in their formative stages. I am very indebted to the
contribution that the Divine Life Society has made to the rich religious and
spiritual matrix of our Province and in my own life.
When Swamiji first wrote to me extending an
invitation to attend and officiate at today’s opening of the Sivananda
Display Centre, he emphasised the educational aspect of the Centre, not only
for school children but for whomever wishes to visit this place. I have now had
the opportunity to view the display myself and I appreciate what Swamiji meant
when he said that this educational display is inspiring. This place underlines
the spiritual dimension of education, where learning takes place through
inspiration, intuition, admonition and guidance, rather than through the
inculcation of revealed truth or the mechanical transfer of information. This
place has been beautifully constructed and I congratulate all those who have
been part of putting the display together. In further correspondence from Mr
Pradeep Ramlall of the Board of Management, mention was also made of Swami
Sivananda’s commitment to education as a tool of sustainable human
development. This is perhaps Swami Sivananda’s belief and commitment which
holds the greatest value not only for the religious growth of our communities
but for the whole of our country.
Throughout my career in politics and public life
I have championed the cause of education for liberation. This is in fact the
banner under which I worked throughout the years of apartheid when many other
components of our liberation struggle relegated education to a secondary
position, demanding liberation first. I understood then as I do now, that human
beings cannot free themselves from the shackles of wrong thinking, which are
ultimately more binding and more destructive to the human spirit than political
or social oppression, without first acquiring the leverage of knowledge. For
this reason, even today in our politically liberated, fully democratic South
Africa, I continue to champion education and training as a means to freeing our
people’s intellect and spirit.
However a new dimension now emerges in this
ongoing struggle for emancipation through education, and its emergence is
becoming more and more compelling by the day. This is the dimension of
extending the very notion of education to encompass the appreciation of human
values and of all that which is necessary to rebuild the moral fibre of our
communities and our country as a whole.
Educating people in the appreciation of values
and true moral conduct is not something that can be done through the scholastic
method. It requires not only critical judgement but a heart and soul which have
both been formed and have grown to appreciate our existence as a divine gift
which participates in the divinity and mystery of life itself. We need the
contribution of all people of goodwill and all religious leaders and
institutions devoted to human growth and upliftment, to bring about this
regeneration of the moral fibre of our country. I believe that our country is
blessed by its religious diversity and the contribution of all the people of
goodwill remains the surest way to herald an African Renaissance by opening our
people’s experience to embrace centuries of culture, history, art, language,
geography and science, beyond the narrow limitations of our own context. We
need to learn to grow.
I understand that the artistic portrayals on
display in this Centre, accompanied by sayings of Swami Sivananda, have the
purpose of giving the mind a focus that is both kind and peaceful. And yet, I
feel that peace of mind and spirituality on the one hand and critical thinking
and personal judgement on the other, are not a contradiction in terms.
Teachings, perspectives or assumptions may flow into our mind through a passive
existence and then are subjected to critical analysis and, if necessary,
reviewed. This is a process of learning and training that is essential in a
thinking man or woman.
The scholastic academia believed for centuries
that when two thoughts are mutually incompatible, one must be discarded as the
other is embraced, and it was when romanticism became prevalent that it was
realised that a synthesis of conflicting ideas is often possible. This echoes
so closely the path of spiritual growth! I say this because I trust that those
visiting this Centre will find themselves thinking, considering what is written
and analysing how it fits into their own world view, but most of all will find
the inspiration to go beyond the words to reach for the message, beyond the
metaphor to seek the ever-escaping final truth. In this sense the display
centre will then offer the opportunity for an educational experience.
I feel that South Africa needs more and deeper
spirituality to forge and bind a new nation in spite of the differences and
diversity of our people. Tolerance is the most important virtue that our
country should practice in all its communities and aspects of social life. I
consider it a privilege but also an onerous responsibility to be a leader of
people, knowing that when I speak I may influence the lives of men and women.
It is for this reason that I have always been careful with my words, speaking
the truth even when the truth does not echo the voice of popular politics.
Through our tragic and turbulent past, I have never spoken words that incite
the violent uprising of man against man, yet I have often had to speak
consoling words to the widows, the brothers and the children who are left
behind when violence took my people. My words have always been cast in the tone
of reconciliation, and I have made many sacrifices for the sake of establishing
peace among the men and women of South Africa. I feel that our differences have
divided us for too long and the time is long overdue for us to talk about our
differences so that we may begin celebrating them.
Acknowledging differences does not mean
quarrelling. However, neither does it mean accepting that what is good for you
is good for you, and what is good for me is good for me, so if we just steer
clear of talking about our differences or agree to pretend that they do not
exist, all will be well. South Africans seem to be afraid of highlighting our
differences, for fear that our past may rear its ugly head again. However, it
would be a serious mistake to swing to the other end of the scale and pretend
that our differences do not make us different, in an attempt to create a form
of shallow unity. We need perhaps to agree to disagree, acknowledging that we
are a diverse people whose views will not always coincide. This is the basis
for a healthy dialogue, in politics, relationships or business. Coupled with
respect, our South African dialogue must be founded on openness and honesty
about who we are.
If I may be allowed to draw from a different
context, the English bard, William Shakespeare, penned the following words of
advice:
"This above all, to thine own
self be true,
and it shall follow as the night the day,
thou canst not then be false to any man."
I feel that this gives evidence of our shared
basic comprehension of human good. Out of every context of human history,
culture and society, come basic principles of how to operate within the
fellowship of other people. Those who capture these principles in elegant words
and lead us to contemplate our own lives, and even improve our character,
should rightly be honoured among us. I believe that we should never reject out
of hand the words of those who have studied the ways of man, simply because we
lack a foundation in the speaker’s culture or traditions. There is too much
commonality in the collective spirit of mankind for us to believe our
experiences are so very different.
On this occasion, I will limit my words, knowing
that the man who is slow to speak because he is listening, is more wise than he
who speaks hastily just to be heard. As a thinking man, I appreciate the
opportunity to ponder our similarities and celebrate our differences. As a man
of faith, I thank God that we have so much to learn and so much to teach one
another. As a man in politics, I pray that we may begin to embrace our
diversity as the bedrock of healthy political debate. As a man with vision, I
look to the future of our country with unfailing hope that we may complete the
task of reconciliation and build a spiritually stronger people who respect and
value the need to work with a common goal.
In this Province, our most immediate goal has
become the task of saving lives. No one can be unaware at this point of the
ravaging effect HIV/AIDS is having on our people, particularly in KwaZulu
Natal. It is here that the highest incidence of HIV infection is found, and it
is here that around 40% of women giving birth are HIV positive. The Premier of
this Province has taken bold steps to ensure that we do not pass a death
sentence on to our babies, by instructing a roll-out campaign of Nevirapine
distribution to all KwaZulu Natal’s health facilities. I trust that every
person of goodwill will offer their support to this campaign and to our
Premier, who is acting on the need to save lives first.
I understand that the Divine Life Society
recently engaged His Majesty the King in a dialogue on the issue of HIV/AIDS.
It is my hope that every building block of our society will begin to discuss
this issue with the aim of helping to stop the pandemic.
This is a disease that affects individual
people, and from there impacts on broader society in manifold ways. It is
therefore a fight that must be won in individual hearts as decisions are taken
to act responsibly, and from there the fight will be won in our broader
society. In the immediate future, further bold steps will need to be taken to
address the consequences of HIV/AIDS, not least of which is the growing number
of AIDS orphans and the impact on our economy of a decimated labour force.
There are many opportunities for us reach out
for one another and learn to live in a better way. I wish to thank the Divine
Life Society for the practical good it is doing within our communities and
encourage each of us to likewise express our faith through good works. Good
works do not make us good men. But because we are called to be good men, let us
walk worthy of our calling in doing all that we may do for our fellow man and
for the future of our country. May the Lord ever bless Swamiji's work for his
fellow man and all devotees of the Divine Life Society and disciples of Sri the
Most Reverend Swami Sivananda.
With these words, it is my privilege to declare
the Sivananda Display Centre officially open. I thank you.
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