A very curious debate, by some of the trendiest like-minded individuals, is cropping up occasionally in the world media. Religion quite unambiguously is the theme of debate. Chronological scars are put on show. That despite, such deliberations beyond a threshold never end with appeasement. Sometimes it is eradication & sometimes it is acceptance. The arguments' merit is one matter. The treacherous side is that you may infuriate more than you lessen. It's an old therapeutic argument. Check it.
How many religions do we have in the world today? And how many are official religions? There must be an 'International Religion's Directory' at least with the UN, since the two World Wars, & most major historical wars had some sort of a religious coloration. Certainly one would be breaking an eternal law by specifying an order to the listing. For the sake of 'secularism', an over-squeezed lemon that now only oozes the pungent sweat of its peel, the order should not matter. Born in a lnad of many religions, where I belong to a Hindu family, went to a Jesuit school, later to a Hindu College & now in a foreign land, having some of the best buddies who can call themselves Islamic, Parsees, Christians, Jains, having been trained by some of the best scientific minds in the world & found that they follow Judaism, having objectively realized that no one actually forced 'religion' on me, but imparted the best they had to share professionally from their own encouragement, without naming a 'brand name', some of what we can read in the media today is so decidedly 'Old Fashioned'. One does not discuss & argue what should not be discussed & argued & yet cannot be set aside. Our parents for instance!
No God, His Son, or Prophet, descended to fight for a religion. The 'religions' came after They left. For the believers, the chronicles that have been passed on in the Holy Books, rituals, holy times, social laws, were interpreted & followed with sufficient concurrence & uniformity for generations. That became the mass, in fact the critical mass of humanity, by numbers or application & began to enforce on others such practices as they sincerely believed would lead to their salvation! Pursuing
The beginning & end of life, as one sees day in & day out in a hospital are equally joyous or pathetic, depending on the way one looks at it. The ritual of burial, cremation or any other, may keep the pundits & designated priests preoccupied. The sense of loss, or liberation, is a matter of human emotions. These may be called 'subjective', but are more human & consistent than the most objective of ceremonies as dictated by various philosophies, practices, call what you may, or call what you call as 'religion' whatever extra meaning it may give, in a particular situation, once a commonly agreed part of 'life' is over. Does it matter? Forgive me if I am wrong for I ask in full modesty, not questioning it. I have always found the coolest corner to be the one at the base of the staircase of wisdom. For there the path doesn’t rattle, & no one really is out of breath.
In school, I often liked reading John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale”. He analyzed & won over the merits of an intellectual existence. To be able to relish measured reason, poetry, literature & decent company, were the 'tastes' of the evolved. He says in his "Two Sonnets on Fame"
“ HOW fever’d is the man, who cannot look Upon his mortal days with temperate blood, Who vexes all the leaves of his life’s book, And robs his fair name of its maidenhood"
But over the course of a century, human choices & understanding are different now. It's better to cheer & chase your T20 or football club. There is this Lebanese colleague who always speaks to me to make sure we have a distraction from work. After his job, we always talk of football, golf, basketball and cricket. I asked once, "Which is your club?" Gives me a disapproving look, saying "Can't you see?” I then notice his Man U wallpaper and the Old Trafford poster in his cubicle. "Rooney is my man, & Alex Ferguson is only next to God. Thirty years as a coach, is no joke". So said a close friend from school some years back, “At the moment, Messi is God” The Man United fan will not be talking to me for a month, till the EPL finals are over, & I am praying that United does well, or I'll miss the few happy, non-manipulative faces that are left around. We might get tired of all the off-the-cuff diagnoses that we can rant, but seldom do we see religion as a factor which determines how a human befriends another.
For a change, it helps to become a believer of the spontaneous & the purposeless act. Happiness is the essence of all existence. If someone asks me my religion, I would rather say, "Let's talk of something that would make both of us happy. If you have realized that, for God's sake never let that be the important thing in judging His creation".
Religion however will stay put in the centre of existence for the majority. No doubts here. Some of the wisest will be seen on screens or tweets and others dividing countries and states on the basis of skin color and religion. Some might argue on how we contemplate humanity if we had left behind these religions centuries ago. Fundamentalism is genetic to a fraction of every community. Those who understand should dissuade its use for worldly alliances or disputes. Let humanity & merit be the universal yardstick. Squaring up the past never helps the present or future.
God is smart. He has no religion. But He keeps you guessing, even agreeing to hints of coming over to 'your' side. He also is accepted by His believers as the final 'Disposer'. For the atheists, perhaps they are smarter. Still no reasons to argue!
If whatever be the purpose has been conveyed & matters reasonably understood, we may not let these discussions drag too long in a country that boasts of being the largest secular country in the world with the richest historical legacy. Plans & strategies evolve for their own reasons. But conciliatory words as 'forgiveness' & 'sorry' are always helpful. Let go of the wrath. You are still on your path!
I would be surprised if Sarfaraz Ali Khan or Ashwin P Rao ever read this, but they always advised me that “You must be like a plant that can blossom anywhere planted” and believed in simplicity in the way you think of leading life. Two men I admire a lot in life for letting me get to the US with no worries in life. Sarfi Saab’s Last email had these aspects…..
The Nine Aspects of Life
Adventure of life is to learn,
Purpose of life is to grow,
Nature of life is to change,
Challenge of life is to overcome,
Essence of life is to care,
Opportunity of life is to serve,
Secrets of life is to dare,
Spice of life is to be friend,
Beauty of life is to give up...........
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