Anupam- The Dreamer

In this period of Ghor Kalyug, the alacrity and frequency with which the names of Gods are used, misused and abused has risen manifold and to alarming proportions! In a way, one can be optimist that atleast the names are being used in everyday life, so that people would be “closer to God”. Now-a-days infact, showing-off closeness to God has become more vogue than being actually closer to God! But, I am afraid the reality points otherwise, instead of being closer, people are getting “farther and farther away from God”. Before, we plunge deep into the discussion, allow me to discuss one another aspect.

People these days largely categorize themselves into – theist (or believer), agnostic (or doubtful) and atheist (non-believer), based on their inner affiliations to the God. Deep down in their core, most people are theist only, only in varying degrees. Agnostics are only such till their plane doesn’t start to fall and they aren’t facing any problems in life! As soon as they grave face problems in life, they automatically turn to theism at some point in life. Then, the atheists are those who have just scraped the surface of spirituality and the nature of God. As the famous scientist Werner Heisenberg quoted “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you.” Because the very basis of the science is God! You can live your life in oblivion and say that you don’t “need” God, that’s fine. But, it doesn’t change reality around you. More on this later….

Now, coming back to the main discussion, it seems that now-a-days people sort of take immense pride in associating with some or the other Gods. Some people are so visibly and deeply “religious” that they have started showing-off their affiliations to each and every God. They celebrate every festival, spend a lot of money in decoration of homes etc., post pictures on social media, organize functions in pandals etc etc. But, the core point of celebration of Gods is conspicuous by its absence- the relevance of the festival is known to a few, the attributes of that God/Goddess is known to yet fewer of those, and when it comes to actual practise of the values espoused by the God/Goddess, we couldn’t be any farther away from them.

Once I went to Vridavan in Mathura. Without any fear, I can say that it is by far the “biggest organized loot in the name of God” that I have seen by the local vendors, tourist guides, shopkeepers, priests etc. They have also made catchphrases like “ऐसा कोई सगा नहीं, जिसको भगवान ने ठगा नहीं”, “भगवान ने भी चोरी की थी”. Now, could anyone beat them in brainwashing you? Never! For a thing/ceremony which should normally cost you 100 bucks, they will demand 300! And the sad part is that everything is justified in the “name of God”! Does God implore them to defraud people to make their living, does God portray such negative values, and is this justified in the name of God by any stretch of imagination? Even if one says that God was a “maakhan-chor”, but there is a difference as that was a bonafide act of innocence committed by a child, which doesn’t invite any criminality aspect to it. But, the modern “chors” use this aspect selectively to their advantage leaving all other good things of the God to the sidelines.

In the normal circumstances too, people are seen to be using names of their respective Gods to spread hatred, animosity, ill-will and disdain for each other. Does God stand for such values or does God implore them or guide them to do so in his name? The names can by many, but the core is always the same- good values for everyone to lead a virtuous and fulfilling life- the values of love, compassion, tolerance, empathy, charity, mutual respect etc etc! This is the core, rest is all ho-hulla. Whatever number of times you take the name of God, if you don’t work to adopt any of their great attributes in your life, everything goes for a toss. At this juncture, I am reminded of the great lines written by a great soul:

बाँट दिया इस धरती को, चाँद सितारों का क्या होगा?

नदियों के कुछ नाम रखे, बहती धारों का क्या होगा?

शिव की गंगा भी पानी है, आबे ज़मज़म भी पानी,

मुल्ला भी पिए,पंडित भी पिए, पानी का मज़हब क्या होगा?

इन फिरकापरस्तों से पूछो, क्या सूरज अलग बनाओगे?

एक हवा में साँस है सबकी, क्या हवा भी नयी चलाओगे?

नस्लों का करे जो बटवारा, रहबर वो कौम का ढोंगी है,

क्या खुदा ने मंदिर तोडा था, या राम ने मस्जिद तोड़ी है?