In my last blog post
I spoke about my growing appreciation of history. I also spoke about the
relation that history and geography have which is very evident in India.
India's history usually starts with the Indus Valley civilization (accurately called as the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization). Then it transitions to
the emergence and spread of Hinduism. I had already read about this in my
school History textbooks. But when I was getting reacquainted with history with
a new perspective I realized that I know so little about my own religion. And
since a large part of India's history deals with the rise of the Hindu
religion, its evolution, the good and the bad elements that crept in, its
political nature and so on, I felt that I should start reading about my own
religion and get to know it better. Hinduism is a very complex religion to
get to know. The sheer school of thoughts that range from one extreme to
another and still coexist relatively peacefully makes it hard to study
Hinduism. If you want to start knowing Hinduism where do you start?
In my efforts to understand Hinduism I started reading books that were suggested by friends and on the internet and the ones that caught my eye. I was more curious about the
process of evolution of a religion in general and Hinduism in particular. I
also read about the evolution of other religions, some books that are banned in
India because of their 'different' take on Hinduism. I am still reading and I
think that the process is going to last for a lifetime. Anyways the subject of
this post is related to one of the books that I read during my quest. It is
'India - A sacred Geography' by Diana L. Eck. This book speaks about the
tradition of pilgrimage in India which is as old as the Hindu religion itself.
It shows the awareness of the Indians towards a shared homeland, a shared
geography, which they all belonged to. Though India has different regions which
are culturally, linguistically different, you can find a Marvadi dharamshala in
Rameshvaram or a Bengali Guest House in Gaya. The common people for centuries traveled the age old pilgrimage circuits which encompass all of India and
bound this country in their conscience as a single entity.
Anyways in the last
two years I have got a chance to travel a bit and explore my country. When I
was in South, some of us in TCS had planned a trip to Rameshwaram and Madurai.
I was excited to visit Rameshwaram because of two things - first the railway bridge
on the sea near Pamban and second visiting one of the 'char dhams'.
The journey was
exciting, and I enjoyed the view when the train was travelling on the sea
bridge. My hopes were high after this and soon we reached Rameshwaram temple.
We were asked to first take a dip in the ocean before entering the temple. When
we arrived at the ghat, we could see the people taking the dip in the water
polluted to a degree that it appeared completely black. The street leading to
the ghat was littered with garbage.
Just seeing the surroundings I was disgusted. This was supposed to be one of
the holiest places of worship in India. The mental image that I had conjured
was one of a clean and peaceful surrounding. So the dirty streets and the
pandemonium of the crowd was a rude shock. I just wanted to get over with the
dip and then enter the temple in hope that I will feel better there. After
taking the dip, depositing our belongings and phones we proceeded to enter the
temple. Once inside, we were bathed in the water from 12 kunds which had appeared
when Rama'a arrows pierced the ground at Rameshwaram. This bath was a relief as
it washed away the feeling of disgust. Now we were arriving at the climax of
our journey in the temple complex. There was a long line of devotees waiting to
get the darshan of the Shiva Linga in the inner sanctum. We too joined the
throng of the devotees. The line progressed at a brisk speed. The pushing and
frenzy of the crowd increased as we neared the sanctum. Now, I am not a very
religious person, but I was curious to see the source of the longing of all
these people. So when my turn arrived I peered in the darkness of the sanctum
to lay my eyes on the Shiva Linga. The sanctum was glowing in the yellow light
of the oil lamps. The linga was shrouded in garlands and I was craning my neck
to see through them. Just when I felt that I was beginning to see in the
darkness I was whisked away by the pujaris and the onslaught of the devotees. I
felt disappointed for a while but it was OK. I was there to experience the
atmosphere rather than seeing the idol. So we found an empty spot and just sat
there observing the crowds that were pouring in. I saw people getting in with
pooja thalis, muttering incantations and mantras, babies crying, mothers
consoling them, everyone focused on the sanctum, trying to get the darshan of
their beloved God. Such was their determination, that people around them
mattered no more. They were indifferent to the crying babies, pushing the
mothers and women forward in their haste. Seeing this I wondered what is of
such a great importance there in the sanctum that people have no regard for
other people. I am not questioning the devotion or beliefs of the crowd but was
it worth so much that you ignore your humanity.
Majority of the
people coming to major pilgrimage sites in India are driven by material
motives. It’s the want of things, the fulfilment of their wishes or the
gratitude they need to express because their wishes were delivered. For some
it’s a tradition to visit these temples. But how many people come to experience
the spiritual environment that these temples provide? Temples ought to be
places where one can connect to God, but our greed and want has turned them
into a chaotic bazaar where people expect to get their wishes granted and offer
things in return. We have become so material oriented that being in the
presence of God is not enough for us. I myself am not clear on what God is or
whether I believe in the concept. So saying that temple is a place of God feels
weird. But if you visit a temple when there's no rush, just sit there in the
premises doing nothing, you feel a silence that soothes you, comforts you. At
that moment you tend to forget yourself and that makes you realise that you are
not the centre of the universe. That there are many great things out there
which are more important, more beautiful, more precious and that you are just a
figment. That feeling is what I have come close to describing God. Losing
yourself and submitting to the collective consciousness of the universe or the
nothingness. I just feel that people should at least keep this in their mind
when they visit temples and try to stop for a moment and take notice of the
things around them. I don’t know how
people expect good grace from God when they cannot even move an inch in their
seats to accommodate a stranded passenger in the train while they are on their way to visit
Shirdi. Kindness, compassion, love and brotherhood are the most valued offerings
that can be offered to the God. You don’t need to give away gold ornaments at
the temples, you just have to make sure that you don’t throw the garbage
carelessly around the premises. If we want our temples to remain as centres of
spiritual experience, we have to ensure that they are clean, remain disciplined
and have good intensions in our hearts. That’s it, that’s all we need.
I would like to
point two contrasts that I experienced during my journey. When I was in Kolkata
I visited the Belur Math. It is a math established by the Ramakrishna Mission.
Ramakrishna Mission was established by Swami Vivekananda which he named after his
guru Ramakrishna Paramhansa. In the math there is an idol of Ramakrishna
Paramhansa and a large open space in front of the idol. When I reached there a
few people were sitting there in utter silence. Some noiselessly chanting a
mantra, some just sitting there with their eyes either open or closed. Now
Ramakrishna Paramhansa wasn’t a God, but his deeds make him worthy of our
respect and devotion. The silence that pervaded the atmosphere in the midst of
all those people there was a very novel experience for me. I too sat there in
silence for nearly 20 mins and when I came out I just wanted to maintain that
state of silence and peace for as long as possible. Sitting outside the math
and watching the Hooghly river I wondered why can't our temples be like this.
That's why I decided to write all my thoughts down here. After Kolkata I
visited Amarkantak in MP. Amarkantak is where the rivers Narmada and Son
originate. The Narmada kund which is where Narmada river starts has a temple
complex. The complex isn't very big and is very nice and one of the quieter temples that I
have visited recently. Going downstream I saw people taking a hold dip in the
river. There were many sign boards telling the pilgrims not to use soap and oil
while bathing. But after their holy dip and 'cleansing' themselves of their
sins, people wanted to cleanse their bodies thoroughly too. So paying no
heed to the sign post they used soaps and shampoos and polluted the very river that they worship. Further downstream, the river gets abused in more dirtier ways.
Human excrement litters the river bed within 10km from the source, where the river is
nothing but a small stream. While walking downstream in a more remote place
along the river, I saw youngsters who were on a trip defecating in the water
itself. Just 10 km from the source the river which millions of people worship
and depend on for their household water supply is getting such a treatment.
People have no right to worship the river if they don’t know how to respect it.
They just don’t realise their wrongdoings. A person from Bihar(just an example)
thinks that polluting this river doesn’t affect him since Narmada doesn’t flow
from there. When are we going to realise that thinking in this manner is just
wrong. We shouldn’t do wrong things, period. It's not going to affect me, it's my money, no harm no foul etc. etc. arguments just don’t matter.
Swami Vivekananda believed that for Indians to realize the glory of their religion, they must
first be uplifted from poverty. Only when a person has his basic needs
fulfilled can he find the time and will to ponder on religion. Today majority
of people who visit pilgrimage sites have all that and some more yet we see
that they are more irresponsible and disrespecting than the previous
generation. Even if you don’t believe in religion, God, you at least (I hope)
have the common sense of not polluting the river, not littering the temples.
It's time that our generation rises up to the occasion and takes the mantle of
restoring our heritage, our temples, our holy place to their spiritual glory.
Let them be a place
of knowledge and realization
Let them be a place
which connects us with our civilization
Let them be a place
where we find things that we miss
Let them be a place
where one can find serenity and peace
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