Love Thy Religion...!

Most westerners are surprised at the religiosity of the Indians. Everything that an Indian does has a religious under tone to it. From the moment he wakes up in the morning till he retires to bed at night many of his activities are some kind of a religious ritual or the other. For the ordinary Indian living life is a religious ritual.

When one talks of a religious Indian, the picture that normally takes shape in one’s mind is that of a pious, truthful, god fearing, god loving, person to whom all the qualities of a model person can be attributed, but such a person can live only in mythology. Actually he is only one who practises religious rituals, hoping that practising these rituals will purify his life and take him nearer to the almighty.

A religious person may also turn out to be a very cantankerous one, but he would have a very high opinion of himself and might live in the belief that he is a close associate of the almighty in the great goings on in this entire world.
But in reality, a truly religious person is somewhat of a different type. He is one who practises rituals with understanding, devotion and conviction. He does it for spiritual advancement, which in the end should lead him to secularism. He would realise that all religions are good practices if embraced with understanding and love of humanity. He would also know that all practitioners of religion are not the sacred souls they paint themselves as. A religious person, to my mind is not necessarily a spiritual person and vice versa.
A spiritual person is essentially one who does not have prejudices. Neither losses nor gains affect him emotionally. He is one blissful person for whom religion does not really matter. His is a universal religion. This may be a state he might have attained after prolonged practice of one or the other religion. There are also many examples of people who were gifted, or born with some special qualities, which helped them become spiritual, without much effort. However, for most people some degree of spiritual attainment is possible only through study and practice of the religion they belong to, or the religion they are attracted to.
The problem that we are faced with in the present time is the confusion created by the votaries of different religions. Our maid Saroja, who has been working with us for about four years, is a part time Christian though she is a Hindu. On Sundays she removes her Tilak from her forehead and wears white sari to go to the Church. On asking her, she said that the Church gives her a lot of help. She gets from the Church substantial quantities of rice and provisions, cooking oil and clothes for the children. The Church representative also visits her house from time to time to check on her and her family. She has been renamed Regina Mary! But outside Church circles she prefers to be called by her real name Saroja. She definitely benefits from her association with the Church and I thought it is a good thing happening to her. Why not? If the Church is so thoughtful and kind why should the poor not avail of the benefits? The only problem here is that, the experience of changing ones religious beliefs causes great confusion in the mind. The experience is that, the material benefits do not translate into spiritual gains. In fact for many, the experience is terrible guilt. But Saroja is happy! She is very practical and says that she has no qualms about going to Church and enjoying all the goodies the Church gives her! On all other days she is praying in the Hanuman and Ganapathy temple nearby!
But that is not the case with Narasimha who is the Mali in our Apartment building. His Daughter-in-law committed suicide some time ago and ever since he was a disturbed man. Rukmini (a maid servant in the building) who has changed her name to Elsa (like Saroja) gave Narasimha a Bible to read, which he read religiously for several months and feels that his mind is at peace now. Rukmani has taken him to the Church few times and the rumour is that he has changed his name to Alexander. He is now waiting for the Goodies!!
This is what I like most about the Western thought. They are precise in everything. They know that there is a need in these poor peoples lives and there they are to give them exactly what the poor fellows need. Only problem is that, these part-time Christians go back to their old religion, which gave them solace! That is, after enjoying all the Goodies!!
Through out the British Raj this is what was happening. It is well documented that the Church was part of the East India Company for all practical purposes. Both the Company and the Church were helping each other in their respective endeavours. And by the time the British was about to leave India, both the Church and the British administration knew that their efforts were a failure or else at least a good proportion of the Indian population should have been converted to Christianity.

Similarly there are many who have embraced Islam. There is at least one prominent person who has chosen to be a Muslim for reasons other than monetary benefits. She is well known and rich and past her prime. She is now dressed in black “Burka” and says that she feels safe inside the “Burka” because the roving eyes of men do not bother her any more!! What a pity she did not discover this truth some sixty years ago!!