Saturday, October 4, 2014

My safety is in the hands of God



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.

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