I
was born into a Hindu family and just about everyone in the family is at least
reasonably, moderately religious. Some – including my wife – are deeply
religious. As is common in many Hindu households, we have a small temple in one
corner of our apartment, where a small selection of Gods and Goddesses are
ensconced – comfortably, I hope – and my wife and parents pay their respects
there every day, in the morning, for a few minutes. My wife, a devout Hindu,
also goes to a neighbourhood temple every day, in the evening, for a second
round of prayers. No harm in receiving a double dose of Godly blessings, I
suppose, and she says the 20-minute walk does her some good anyway, which must
be true.
Regardless of which religion they follow, I have no problem with the devout. Well, except for the indiscriminate use of loudspeakers, which I wrote about earlier. When it comes to religion, there can’t be one single path that everyone must follow. Godliness can’t be one-size-fits-all. For those who regularly go to temples, mosques, churches and other places of worship – if it makes them feel good, if it works for them, that’s just great. For those who regularly spend a few minutes – or even an hour or two, as the case may be – every day to pray or meditate, if it brings peace to their minds and happiness to their hearts, that’s just awesome.
Personally, I choose to not step into any place of worship, ever. Sometimes, when my family goes to visit some temple and they insist I come along, I do. But I always wait outside, without actually stepping inside the said temple. My behaviour used to bother them until a few years ago. Now, they’ve made their peace with it, they’ve accepted that’s how I am and will continue to be.
Let me make this clear. By not going inside temples or any other places of formal worship, I mean no disrespect to God or to those who choose to pray to God inside those temples. It’s just that organized religion simply doesn’t work for me. I don’t understand the need to follow specific sets of rules and regulations (which I anyway suspect have been laid down by humans, not by God) in order to communicate with God. Do this, do that, say this mantra, light this lamp, put ghee on this fire, place those flowers there, stand up now, sit down then, hand over so much money, and so on. What is the need for all of this? Why do I need to follow orders in order to pray? Why can I not sit alone in a room – any room, anywhere – and quietly, peacefully say whatever I have to, to God? In Hindi, if I choose to. I’m sure God’s understanding is not limited to Sanskrit shlokas. Instead of simply repeating after others, saying things I myself do not understand, performing rites and rituals I do not believe in, how am I communicating with God?
The other thing is, organized religion has been heavily commercialized, which to me is despicable. When visiting particularly big, hugely popular temples, you sometimes have the option of going for what’s often called a ‘VIP Darshan’ (or some variant thereof), where you just pay a large sum of money and that allows you to skip long queues, do your darshan first, before others who may have been queueing up for a very long time, and even get to spend more time in front of the God’s idol. There might even be Gold and Platinum ‘packages,’ which get you more time in the God’s presence, a bigger, more premium package of prasad, and a private doorway for entry and exit that may be kept hidden from the general janta. The idea is, the more you spend, the easier it is made for you to enter certain very popular temples. The middlemen – the Pandits and other Godmen lounging around – are only interested in cold, hard cash. The more you pay to them, the happier God will be (or so they will assure you) and, of course, all your wishes will be granted asap. For me, it’s unbelievable that crores of people actually acquiesce to the shenanigans – often, even overt bullying – of these pandas and pandits. Do you really, actually need these people – many of them openly greedy and hostile – in order to commune with God?!
There are, of course, some others who don’t need to pay for the privilege of always being first in line, for being ushered in and out of big, prestigious temples before everyone else, while poor commoners wait on the sidelines. These are people who are very well ‘connected.’ That is, they know someone who is in a position of power – a senior bureaucrat, netas and mantris, politicians who have sufficient local clout, maybe a senior police officer – and the said person then arranges for a ‘VIP Darshan,’ no questions asked. In such cases, any chadhawas – monetary contributions – are strictly voluntary. The pandas keep their mouths shut, even if begrudgingly, because they also know better than to displease bada sahibs.
Like I said earlier, I have no problem with people who visit temples and/or other places of worship. If it works for them, who am I to object? But personally, my own belief is that if there is a ‘God,’ then that God is everywhere, that God is omnipresent. I don’t need to go to a specific place to find God, and I don’t need to loudly chant mantras and shlokas, most of which I don’t even understand, in order to reach out to God.
I am not an atheist. I do believe in God and I do pray sometimes. And for me, praying is something I can do in any quiet, peaceful corner of my house. Or wherever else I am. At any time of the day or night. I truly believe, with all my heart, that the same God many others travel thousands of kilometres to a distant holy city or particularly holy place of worship, is also accessible from anywhere else. You just need to shut your eyes, shut your mind to everything else, think of God and say what you have to say. Ask for what you need to ask. Wish for what you need to wish. Do it with honesty. Believe in the power of your prayer with all your being. And God just might give you an audience, no pandas, formal rituals, lighting of fires, ringing of bells, pushing through crowds or blaring loudspeakers required.
Prayer needs to be a quiet, private conversation between you and God, that’s all there is to it.
Regardless of which religion they follow, I have no problem with the devout. Well, except for the indiscriminate use of loudspeakers, which I wrote about earlier. When it comes to religion, there can’t be one single path that everyone must follow. Godliness can’t be one-size-fits-all. For those who regularly go to temples, mosques, churches and other places of worship – if it makes them feel good, if it works for them, that’s just great. For those who regularly spend a few minutes – or even an hour or two, as the case may be – every day to pray or meditate, if it brings peace to their minds and happiness to their hearts, that’s just awesome.
Personally, I choose to not step into any place of worship, ever. Sometimes, when my family goes to visit some temple and they insist I come along, I do. But I always wait outside, without actually stepping inside the said temple. My behaviour used to bother them until a few years ago. Now, they’ve made their peace with it, they’ve accepted that’s how I am and will continue to be.
Let me make this clear. By not going inside temples or any other places of formal worship, I mean no disrespect to God or to those who choose to pray to God inside those temples. It’s just that organized religion simply doesn’t work for me. I don’t understand the need to follow specific sets of rules and regulations (which I anyway suspect have been laid down by humans, not by God) in order to communicate with God. Do this, do that, say this mantra, light this lamp, put ghee on this fire, place those flowers there, stand up now, sit down then, hand over so much money, and so on. What is the need for all of this? Why do I need to follow orders in order to pray? Why can I not sit alone in a room – any room, anywhere – and quietly, peacefully say whatever I have to, to God? In Hindi, if I choose to. I’m sure God’s understanding is not limited to Sanskrit shlokas. Instead of simply repeating after others, saying things I myself do not understand, performing rites and rituals I do not believe in, how am I communicating with God?
The other thing is, organized religion has been heavily commercialized, which to me is despicable. When visiting particularly big, hugely popular temples, you sometimes have the option of going for what’s often called a ‘VIP Darshan’ (or some variant thereof), where you just pay a large sum of money and that allows you to skip long queues, do your darshan first, before others who may have been queueing up for a very long time, and even get to spend more time in front of the God’s idol. There might even be Gold and Platinum ‘packages,’ which get you more time in the God’s presence, a bigger, more premium package of prasad, and a private doorway for entry and exit that may be kept hidden from the general janta. The idea is, the more you spend, the easier it is made for you to enter certain very popular temples. The middlemen – the Pandits and other Godmen lounging around – are only interested in cold, hard cash. The more you pay to them, the happier God will be (or so they will assure you) and, of course, all your wishes will be granted asap. For me, it’s unbelievable that crores of people actually acquiesce to the shenanigans – often, even overt bullying – of these pandas and pandits. Do you really, actually need these people – many of them openly greedy and hostile – in order to commune with God?!
There are, of course, some others who don’t need to pay for the privilege of always being first in line, for being ushered in and out of big, prestigious temples before everyone else, while poor commoners wait on the sidelines. These are people who are very well ‘connected.’ That is, they know someone who is in a position of power – a senior bureaucrat, netas and mantris, politicians who have sufficient local clout, maybe a senior police officer – and the said person then arranges for a ‘VIP Darshan,’ no questions asked. In such cases, any chadhawas – monetary contributions – are strictly voluntary. The pandas keep their mouths shut, even if begrudgingly, because they also know better than to displease bada sahibs.
Like I said earlier, I have no problem with people who visit temples and/or other places of worship. If it works for them, who am I to object? But personally, my own belief is that if there is a ‘God,’ then that God is everywhere, that God is omnipresent. I don’t need to go to a specific place to find God, and I don’t need to loudly chant mantras and shlokas, most of which I don’t even understand, in order to reach out to God.
I am not an atheist. I do believe in God and I do pray sometimes. And for me, praying is something I can do in any quiet, peaceful corner of my house. Or wherever else I am. At any time of the day or night. I truly believe, with all my heart, that the same God many others travel thousands of kilometres to a distant holy city or particularly holy place of worship, is also accessible from anywhere else. You just need to shut your eyes, shut your mind to everything else, think of God and say what you have to say. Ask for what you need to ask. Wish for what you need to wish. Do it with honesty. Believe in the power of your prayer with all your being. And God just might give you an audience, no pandas, formal rituals, lighting of fires, ringing of bells, pushing through crowds or blaring loudspeakers required.
Prayer needs to be a quiet, private conversation between you and God, that’s all there is to it.
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