As a
community, we Indians are a largely God fearing lot. And there are so many of
them to choose from. Take your pick. It is like a lavish buffet spread where no
one goes away hungry. You want something? We will give you a special God to fulfil
your wishes. Whether it be for education, wealth, money, wisdom, war, peace,
love, whatever. And then there is the Trinity – the Creator, the Consolidator
and the Destroyer. You want your child to pass out of School with flying
colours, just go to a place of worship, promise this that and the other if he
scorches the mark sheet, and voila, you have done your bit. If you are looking
for a son in law who has the looks that combine the features of Adonis and Brad
Pitt, the valour of Alexander the Great and Genghiz Khan, the wisdom of
Confucius and Chanakya, all you have to do is do a couple of prostrations, slip
in a currency note in the donation box and promise to feed a hundred Brahmins
if your wish is granted. So what is Venus shudders at one look at your
daughter. Medusa in her prime might be more akin to what she looks like! Oh
yes, we are a nation of believers and God forbid if anyone asked us to take
responsibility for our own thoughts and actions. We have our Gods and Goddesses
to turn to. If things turn out the way we want it to, our faith is strengthened.
If things go in another direction, it is God’s will.
I have to
say, this is a wonderful way to live. Come to think of it, one does not need to
worry about anything at all since the future and every twist and turn in our lives
is controlled and governed by the wishes of the one above. It leaves us with
absolutely no responsibility for ourselves except to do everything to get into
the good book. And therefore, we have pilgrimages and penances and ritual
ablutions and dips in holy rivers. Just in case there are things that I did to
get into the little black book, immersing myself in the holy waters will wash
those sins away and I will get back into the good book, all sins forgotten and
forgiven. If per chance I get washed away due to the undercurrent that I cannot
get out of, well, it was God’s will. Some will comment on the past sins
committed and hope that the next life is a chance at redemption. Others will
remember what a good and kind hearted man I was. Overall, life will go on and
the cycle of sin and penance will continue.
Like I said,
what a happy state of mind to spend the living days and waking hours of our
entire life.
Let us take
this analogy a little further. It is all predestined. The man sitting up there,
the one with the nose that looks like an elephant’s trunk is constantly writing
our fate. It is as he wishes and nothing we can do is going to change that. God’s
will, remember? So, if my child is destined to fail in the exam, it is His will
and nothing will change that. If my daughter is destined to marry a chin-less
wonder, it is His will. If I lose my job and home and car and microwave, it is
His will. If I jump out an aircraft without a parachute and a few seconds later
find myself splattered all over the green fields, it is His will.
I hear you
shudder. You are about to click the X on the top right of the screen. You have
had enough of listening to this loco. This guy is stupid, I hear you say. Who
says leave it all to God? You have to do your best. Do not look for results,
just do your job and do the best you can. That is what you scream back at me.
OK, I hear
you. Then pray tell, what are all those unfortunate widows doing in Vrindavan,
Varanasi and Rishikesh? Why do I hear so many people blame/thank God for the
tragedy that struck Kedarnath. And the year after the tragedy, when the
infrastructure was still not in place, why dd so many people decide to make the
pilgrimage to Kedarnath, despite warnings? “If God wants, we will come back
alive” was the refrain when asked about this blind belief.
Forget the
larger things in life like education, marriage, employment, etc. Let us take a
look at the more mundane – your skull. How many people as a percentage of the
two-wheeler riding public wear the helmet because they do not want a run-in
with the neighbourhood mamu/thulla/cop? I have seen many sporting something
that looks like it is an improvised Tupperware container with straps. The law
makers are cagey about insisting Sikh women wear helmets since it impinges on
their faith. Well, if an accident were to happen, it would be the will of Guru
Nanak or any one of the other nine Gurus. The helmet would not have prevented
their skulls from busting open if it was so destined.
Now do you
get what I am saying?
We are not
really a religious Nation, but a nation of nihilists. Therefore, I am not
surprised when people disregard following the basic tenets of personal safety.
If something untoward happens like a calamity or a natural disaster and I am
caught in the middle of it all, I lay the cause at the doors of God. When
things become a little more precarious ... and that happens quickly when I am
cold and hungry and thirsty and miserable ... I find people to blame, and there
are many. The Chief Minister, the thanedaar, the patwari, the baba log sitting
in Delhi, the politicians, the bureaucrats, real estate mafia, sand mafia, policies,
corruption, red tape, the MP, the MLA and their entire clan comprising their spouses,
children and third cousins twice removed. I find fault with anyone and everyone
who has the misfortune of coming at the forefront of my subconscious. Yet, I do
not blame myself, except of course my karma.
In fact
there is a person who not only frequents the corridors of power but also
occupies it, who categorically stated that the floods in Kedarnath were caused
due to non believers pissing in the waters of the Holy Ganges. And no, it was
not meant as rising levels of the water due to thousands of people pissing
simultaneously, but because the Gods became angry at the desecration pissing
caused to the holy waters. Such are the times we live in and I therefore do not
blame anyone for being nihilistic, not taking responsibility for their own
safety and allowing God to take complete control of our lives.
After all,
if we did not do that, God’s would be rendered jobless.
