Every morning I get up to the melodious , sonorous voice of the muezzin calling out for the faithful to attend the Namaz at a nearby mosque. My heart fills with peace ,I say my own little prayer and am ready for the day. As I go about my daily rituals , I do not forget to light a candle during my prayers to Infant Jesus , to whom we prayed and got our wish fulfilled .Sometimes I light a candle when the muezzin calls and then light my little diya in my Puja. I find immense gratification doing all this, for my religion does not condemn me for doing all this .Does not punish me for worshipping "other" Gods.
No, I am not very different. My God has given me the freedom to do what I want ,as long as I do not stray off my course morally. He has given me the rights to stay at home and talk to my God.Nothing is mandatory.And there are temples that emit pure,sheer ecstasy. . I have been permitted to sit in a corner of my own home and meditate . That elevates my soul. Even when I do not pray fervently, I feel blissful. And I do not have to feel guilty for not going to temples regularly.
As in other faiths,there are many,many aspects in mine also, not very agreeable to me.The outdated rituals,where the priest and the one who performs,both do not understand the concepts.The loudness,total indiscipline, chaos inside sacred places ,where people go very regularly but forgetting that their behaviour is disregarding our moral codes,our scriptures ,our Gods. Prayers are loud but without faith.Some prayers are done to brag about that to people surrounding-" I pulled the golden chariot today" "We contributed a large sum for the diamond necklace for the deity"And a line of beggars waiting at the gates, hoping futilely, that the ones who have so much money, will come out and give them a piddly amount. That does not happen often.God can "save" the sinners.But the lowly, helpless beggars cannot.
And the people who kill in religion's name,insult and abuse hapless women,again in the name of religion.Our "religion" has survived brutality,persecution by various outsiders. A great religion "of the book"- our scriptures, which are codes of conduct. None of the great sages advocated violence to achieve "good" goals.Yet we see various inhuman activities in the name of our religion , giving others, who have practised cruelty for centuries ,a chance to point fingers at us.Out of a billion ,a few thousands have strayed.Yet the black mark is glaring.
I cannot preach others to change their ways.The ulcer is deep.All I can do is to pray to my God ,who is within me, to bring in peace and harmony. Atleast stop the violence that happens in His name.
