Acharya S.P.Dwivedi
Dr J. Das’s enormous contribution to interfaith and spirituality is well known. His death on December 30,2022 is a huge loss to his family members but more to interfaith and spiritual community.
I have known Dr. Das for about forty years. I met him first at the INCA conference in 1985 in Winnipeg, and when moved from Calgary to Surrey in 1995, came in close contact with him.
Together we organized and participated in many interfaith, peace conferences, seminars, workshops, and group -prayers. We were the founding members of the first Interfaith Clergy Association in the world in year 1998.
His life journey started from the remote village Coghlan Bush in British Guiana. He was born in 1931 and brought up in a farmer’s family. His ancestors came from eastern Utter Pradesh, India. He worked in planting paddy seedlings, harvesting, and threshing. We should not forget that Dr Das was a true boy of village and son of sadhu/sage. He carried with him, all along his life, the village trademarks of hard work, simplicity, truthfulness, and respect for labour.
His father Sri Rambali Dass taught him the lessons of spirituality, oneness of human race, vegetarianism, non-violence, and Kabir philosophy which were later mastered by him. Undoubtedly, he has expanded and strengthened them to new heights.
He joined the MD degree programme of UBC in 1955 and completed it in 1963. He started his general medical practice in Delta in 1963 and continued his practice till retirement in the year 2000. During his medical practice, he carried sincerely the four attributes of doctor- ability, affability, availability, and adaptability.
Dr. Das was a passionate seeker of knowledge. He has had thorough understanding and grasp of religions, spirituality, mysticism, global social and political issues.
He promoted Kabir’s philosophy extensively. According to him that philosophy is still relevant to the modern world, which is trapped in violence, religious cynicism, greed, racial biases, and gender prejudices.
He wrote comprehensive commentaries on Kabir’s Bijak, and got it published in volume1(1998), vol.2 (2005), vol.3 (2014) and “The complete Bijak” in 2015. Dr. Das published his memoir “Doctor by Chance and Mystic by Choice” in 2020, and I participated fortunately in the launch of these books.
He wrote regularly for the “The Linkpaper”. Dr. Das denounced decadence of traditional vocabulary and enriched the treasury of diction by using ordinary and common words thus came closer to readers. He prepared a series of documentary film on interfaith of Metro Vancouver.
Dr. Das gave speeches, radio- television interviews, wrote in news papers and journals on Kabir’s philosophy widely. He was held as a Dharmadhikari of Kabir’s order for his precious contribution for furthering globally Kabir’s philosophy. He published a journal named “Kabir’s Voice” and established “Kabir Center” in Surrey to cultivate the spirituality of Sant Kabir and helped financially Torontonians of Kabir Center. He was recognized and honoured by various religious, cultural, and literary organizations for his scholarly contributions around the world.
Generally, it can be said that a spiritual crisis happens when person finds himself or herself trapped in an outmoded -suffocating network of values, and conceptions. World is surprisingly overloaded with religions. Here comes Dr. Das with his unique offer of spirituality, oneness of all, Sahaj yoga, meditation, and peace.
Dr Das did not only preach philosophy of Kabir but also practiced it. He will be remembered for his exemplary simple life tyle, humbleness and spirituality. We celebrate his great contribution to humanity.
