Hope and Faith......
No..it isnt a blog about the rather dim-witted sitcom aired on TV..but an attempt to introspect on a side of our culture that until a few days ago, I had never been a part of...
"The place inspires you...it is simply magical...you will feel complete....it is pure and simple bliss....his eyes...his serenity...WOW"!
Alright, before you think someone is describing their honeymoon or their beau....think again..these were words that were told to me before my very first sojourn to Shirdi...Sai Baba's "home ground". It had been my mom's desire to see this place for years..and some other events in my life had also called for a few pilgrimages in and around this place..so, we set off with these words ringing in our ears....what WAS I expecting from this place? Well..I dont think I will have an answer to that, really. Maybe a sacrosanct idol with a bunch of extremely peaceful and calm followers chanting the calming "sai Ram" chants...a meditation hall with people introspecting and reuniting with their innermost identities...I dont know...for me, all this was new..and very pure. Anyhow, on the way to shirdi, we stopped by Shani Shingapura... supposedly a very "true" place where the Lord Shani will be easiest to please...but confound our practises...only men were allowed to do the formalities..while women were mute bystanders!!!!!!!!! This is too much...all my life I have been reprimanded for using my left hand over my right(pardon me for being a southpaw!!) and now this!!!!!!!! Well, it seemed like I was a lone crusader against this tyranny, so I was let with my thoughts in a corner while I saw my father reluctantly performed the ceremonies...once again guilt pangs enveloped me because all this was being done to cast my "ill luck" and foolish acts!!!!!! Excuse me.....incase someone is listening...I had to cleanse myself..it was MY ill luck that had to be wiped out..why torment my dad so??????
After this ritual, we left for Shirdi...after passing by innumerable "sai halls", "sai darshans" "sai cottages", "sri sai hotels"....we found our "sri Sai Palace"..yeah right!!! Dont get carried away by the name...it was a shaky little hotel but in a prime location..right outside the temple!! After freshening up, we made our way to the temple..I was surprised to find myself rather eager to witness the work and life of a saint, someone who had inspired and cured millions....it is not often that I find myelf in such a mood, but I guess Shirdi had its own charm...but wait..was I being too impetuous to feel so....so soon?
Once we reached the temple, we were pushed into a waiting room for darshan...so, alright...it just seemed to be a room with a serpentine queues.."hmm..not too many visiting devotees today...." said ajji...but I guess she spoke too soon..once were nearly done with one room after a slow 45 minutes wait...we found ourselves in ANOTHER waiting room, slightly bigger and even more packed that the previous....alright, so we braced oursleves for another 60 minute wait...but WHAT THE!!!!!!!!!! Suddenly we were pushed to the sides coz there were Baba's "devotees" who had walked all the way from God knows where, to see him...oh my....how can we mere mortals waiting in a claustrophobic room , praying with all our might to see miracles in our lives, come in the way of these ruckus creating , soundrel-like screaming goons...who had obviously walked all the way to cleanse themselves of all the dastardly acts that they would have committed!!! All of a sudden, the sanctimonious prayer/waiting hall was transformed into a raging/loud/vulgur display hall of people's "faith".....Hundreds rushed into the room completely obliviousto the fact that there were senior citizens, ailing people, toddlers...innocent children all waiting in line, having forsaken their dinner just to catch one glimpse of their Demi-God...it was only their hope and faith that had held them in that room. It was sacriligeous..blashpemous..and I was enraged.....this was NO WAY to behave...if you are a "follower" of Sai Bab, then do exactly what he did...be patient and treat everyone as equals..there is no need to provide a vulgur and garrulous display of your faith by turning a peaceful room into a cricket ground (ala Eden gardnes!!)encouraging curses and ill words from other humble and patient believers....you wanted to take a walk....then so be it...just because you did, does not imply that you reserve a right to first entry!!! Bloody goons!!!!!!!
So...in short..this episode left a very VERY bad taste in my mouth....after my return, when I was asked whether I liked the place..what could I say? "Yes, the idol was outstanding..for that brief moment, those eyes said a lot...but THOSE GOONS...if I ever lay my hands on any one of those human-mongrels....I will see to it that they never EVER take a walk..EVER!!!!!!!" Hope and faith are very personal and pure feelings that have been very well coloured by our monstrous sides, for we have completely lost track of what it means to be simple and pure. Why has our culture turned into an opulent display of extravangance and up-manship? Why cant we accept that fact that if we want to be one with our guru, then we need to be more introspective...a dozen poojas and homas never do the trick unless we believe in them. Just pray for a minute everyday...or whenever you need to thank God for all the small mercies and always stay humble-that is what I think culture and religion/faith is...if it is not, then pardon me if I have hurt anybody's feelings..
Sorry Baba..maybe this is not what you expect from me..but I am not strutting around being a religious and devout follower of any religion nor any person...I am just an individual who will give respect only when it has been rightfully earned..and not on heresay...so, I guess another trip is on the cards..just betwen me and you..so that I can see what all the fuss is all about...
"The place inspires you...it is simply magical...you will feel complete....it is pure and simple bliss....his eyes...his serenity...WOW"!
Alright, before you think someone is describing their honeymoon or their beau....think again..these were words that were told to me before my very first sojourn to Shirdi...Sai Baba's "home ground". It had been my mom's desire to see this place for years..and some other events in my life had also called for a few pilgrimages in and around this place..so, we set off with these words ringing in our ears....what WAS I expecting from this place? Well..I dont think I will have an answer to that, really. Maybe a sacrosanct idol with a bunch of extremely peaceful and calm followers chanting the calming "sai Ram" chants...a meditation hall with people introspecting and reuniting with their innermost identities...I dont know...for me, all this was new..and very pure. Anyhow, on the way to shirdi, we stopped by Shani Shingapura... supposedly a very "true" place where the Lord Shani will be easiest to please...but confound our practises...only men were allowed to do the formalities..while women were mute bystanders!!!!!!!!! This is too much...all my life I have been reprimanded for using my left hand over my right(pardon me for being a southpaw!!) and now this!!!!!!!! Well, it seemed like I was a lone crusader against this tyranny, so I was let with my thoughts in a corner while I saw my father reluctantly performed the ceremonies...once again guilt pangs enveloped me because all this was being done to cast my "ill luck" and foolish acts!!!!!! Excuse me.....incase someone is listening...I had to cleanse myself..it was MY ill luck that had to be wiped out..why torment my dad so??????
After this ritual, we left for Shirdi...after passing by innumerable "sai halls", "sai darshans" "sai cottages", "sri sai hotels"....we found our "sri Sai Palace"..yeah right!!! Dont get carried away by the name...it was a shaky little hotel but in a prime location..right outside the temple!! After freshening up, we made our way to the temple..I was surprised to find myself rather eager to witness the work and life of a saint, someone who had inspired and cured millions....it is not often that I find myelf in such a mood, but I guess Shirdi had its own charm...but wait..was I being too impetuous to feel so....so soon?
Once we reached the temple, we were pushed into a waiting room for darshan...so, alright...it just seemed to be a room with a serpentine queues.."hmm..not too many visiting devotees today...." said ajji...but I guess she spoke too soon..once were nearly done with one room after a slow 45 minutes wait...we found ourselves in ANOTHER waiting room, slightly bigger and even more packed that the previous....alright, so we braced oursleves for another 60 minute wait...but WHAT THE!!!!!!!!!! Suddenly we were pushed to the sides coz there were Baba's "devotees" who had walked all the way from God knows where, to see him...oh my....how can we mere mortals waiting in a claustrophobic room , praying with all our might to see miracles in our lives, come in the way of these ruckus creating , soundrel-like screaming goons...who had obviously walked all the way to cleanse themselves of all the dastardly acts that they would have committed!!! All of a sudden, the sanctimonious prayer/waiting hall was transformed into a raging/loud/vulgur display hall of people's "faith".....Hundreds rushed into the room completely obliviousto the fact that there were senior citizens, ailing people, toddlers...innocent children all waiting in line, having forsaken their dinner just to catch one glimpse of their Demi-God...it was only their hope and faith that had held them in that room. It was sacriligeous..blashpemous..and I was enraged.....this was NO WAY to behave...if you are a "follower" of Sai Bab, then do exactly what he did...be patient and treat everyone as equals..there is no need to provide a vulgur and garrulous display of your faith by turning a peaceful room into a cricket ground (ala Eden gardnes!!)encouraging curses and ill words from other humble and patient believers....you wanted to take a walk....then so be it...just because you did, does not imply that you reserve a right to first entry!!! Bloody goons!!!!!!!
So...in short..this episode left a very VERY bad taste in my mouth....after my return, when I was asked whether I liked the place..what could I say? "Yes, the idol was outstanding..for that brief moment, those eyes said a lot...but THOSE GOONS...if I ever lay my hands on any one of those human-mongrels....I will see to it that they never EVER take a walk..EVER!!!!!!!" Hope and faith are very personal and pure feelings that have been very well coloured by our monstrous sides, for we have completely lost track of what it means to be simple and pure. Why has our culture turned into an opulent display of extravangance and up-manship? Why cant we accept that fact that if we want to be one with our guru, then we need to be more introspective...a dozen poojas and homas never do the trick unless we believe in them. Just pray for a minute everyday...or whenever you need to thank God for all the small mercies and always stay humble-that is what I think culture and religion/faith is...if it is not, then pardon me if I have hurt anybody's feelings..
Sorry Baba..maybe this is not what you expect from me..but I am not strutting around being a religious and devout follower of any religion nor any person...I am just an individual who will give respect only when it has been rightfully earned..and not on heresay...so, I guess another trip is on the cards..just betwen me and you..so that I can see what all the fuss is all about...
posted by MMmmm at 10:18 PM
6 Comments:
I guess this is the state of affairs at most of the religious places.
Guess the way to look at it is that devotees in olden days used to climb up hills and mountains to pay obeisance to the lord.
Now times might have changed in terms of accessibility but probably the lord demands patience on the devotees part.
Evolution, my dear.. this is what that has happened to religion.. before ppl were just going to see the lords/gurus.. now, u go there with flowers, fruits, agarbathi, bundles of notes, saris, gold, etc etc just to show that u r giving back a small portion of what he has given to u.. and what do u come back with? u r asked endless number of times to buy music casettes,useless pieces of artificial jewelry, some calendars, some other trash,etc etc.. and u sometimes buy it just to get rid of those mongrels,, or u try to take the V.I.P route by using some influence or by paying small bribes to the swamis or "security" guards.. 'time is money' they say and i think it applies to these guards n security guys..
i dont believe that males are allowed to do all the work.. in fact the roles are slightly different.. in olden times, there were very few male disciples who studied the vedas n all, so the males did most of the rituals, the females also had(and have) an important role to play.. no puja or homa is complete without offering the diety a "daan" and/or "samarpane".. it was(is) the female's responsibility to prepare this.. since this took a lot of time, often a female would be a part of the initial rituals and then she would start preparing these offerings. however,since i havent been to this "shani" place, i do not know what is followed there and why it is so..
btw, do u feel any difft after gng through all this.. has the shani been satisfied? again, i see all this to be a money-laundering scheme.. On one front they say that our paths have been laid out even before we came down to this earth, on the other they ask us to do these things to appease the gods - as if such things would change our paths?
Hmmm. so you had a nice trip :-)
btw have you started thinking differently, has the craziness gone ?? :-)
nope...still the same ol' same ol... :-)
How long am I supposed to live on hope and faith?
hmm. now that things are moving a bit.. are u feeling that Shani has been satiated.. or some more is yet to come?
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