History is replete with instances of pure cruelty, sadism and pure evil. Historians have made a living out of trying to report on it so that it does not die down. Remember what your teachers told you: People who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are condemned to repeat them. Well…
The world is beautiful until something nasty happens to you. Till then, evil that happens in the world is just a statistic to be read on an easy chair even as you call whoever is prepared to serve you, for the second cup of coffee…to prepare you for the innings on the thunderbox. Where am I going with this? Ask someone who has been to hell and back. Is there God? He/ she would scoff at you with scorn. God…..paah! But ask someone who has had fortune smiling on them…..is there God? He/ she would again look at you with scorn…..what kinda question is that? Of course, there is God, Almighty, benevolent, forgiving and generous.
So, is the success of the modern yuppie cause for concern enough, for him to make him a believer? It would seem so. I remember temples a decade ago which were deserted. The pujaris barely seemed to eke a living as no one seemed interested in patronizing the places of worship. Not any longer. Today , any place which has a place of worship in the vicinity, is prime property. You have the Tuesday syndrome or the Thursday syndrome wherein complete life comes to a halt as thousands of devotees brave mile-long queues to pay obeisance to the nonchalant God who they believe will continue to smile upon them and shower them with his blessings. No place for traffic to move….no place to park, the shoe keepers are full, so would you leave the shoes on the road with the local flower seller? The feeling of insecurity through the ephemerality of it all. Well, if I win a lottery, I promise you 50% of the winnings. The naïve feeling that if there is a power above, the power would be interested in petty monetary scraps. The Indian propensity to bribe extended to the heavens above. Perhaps there is no Anna Hazare above…
Places of worship have become crowded, congested and crass examples of commercialism, supported by the generations of Indians who have something to be guilty of. People who are naïve enough to think that this prayer will absolve them of the rottenness that they live their daily lives with. Prayer they somehow believe will elevate them to a higher pedestal than the ‘other’ atheist who is otherwise harmless. Prayer to a God they believe is somehow superior to the Gods of their neighbours or other communities. Like the slimy businessman who starts the day with prayer, lighting agarbattis to his designated God, and then spending the rest of the day in shady activities which are all aimed at making the fast buck.
Places of worship getting better and better with each passing year. Hey, they have added marble flooring. And there’s vitrified tiling all over. The entrance is now grand. There are actually trash cans. Pity it isn’t to store the actual trash of society. The crowds getting longer. The pujaris getting fatter. That pot belly actually looks good, combined with a receding hairline, somehow nobler than the neighbourhood commoner, ‘cos he’s the guy getting you closer to God or the idea of God. An important task undoubtedly.
The question is not whether there is a God above. The question is whether he is at all interested in this crass commercialism of the idea of God.
Meanwhile someone, definitely not God, is laughing all the way to the bank......God bless him/her!!!
