The Estcourt Hindu Cultural Society hosted a special programme to honour and bid farewell to stalwart and long-standing spiritual leader Pundit BS Maharaj and his wife, who will be relocating to Durban.
Having followed in his father’s footsteps, Pundit Maharaj also took a keen interest in the fraternity of priesthood. The first wedding officiated by him was at the tender age of 16 in the little town of Bergville.
Early years
Having been born in Zaailager and residing in Estcourt for the past 75 years, Pundit Maharaj became a well-known, highly-respected and esteemed member of the community as a result of his in-depth knowledge and experience in respect of religious scriptures.
He diligently and selflessly served the Hindi community as a pundit for approximately six decades.
According to devotees, Pundit Maharaj is the epitome of humility, simplicity, compassion, kindness, benevolence, sincerity and devotion.
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His philanthropic nature saw him serving the poorest of the poor in Estcourt, evidenced by the fact that every single funeral conducted by him in the past 60 years as a priest was done absolutely free of charge.
The farewell and tribute function was held at the Swami Sahajananda Community Centre.
According to Estcourt Hindu Cultural Society president Sudarshan Bandu, the function was well-supported and thoroughly enjoyed by the community.
Various speakers paid tribute to Pundit Maharaj, and musical entertainment in the form of bhajans and ‘golden oldies’ was rendered by Viren’s Bhakti Sangeeth and Pundit Rajesh Premchand.
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