NOTE:

1) No intentions of hurting an sentiments.
2) No intentions of generalizing or making judgments.
3) Based only on my experience, on the people I know and meet.

A few days ago when my exams were going on the door bell rang unexpectedly in the afternoon. I answered the door to find two tall boys not much older than me, appearing to be from well to do and respectable families. They asked if anyone was home; that they wanted to preach to us about the Bible. I said nobody was home other than me and closed the door. After closing the door, it struck me if I should have asked them what they would have said if I knocked on their door asking them to give me a chance to teach them the preachings of the Gita or tell them about the miracles from the Mahabharat. But then I thought about it…would I do that in the first place? Do I believe in my faith strongly enough to believe firmly that I would be doing good to others by telling them about my beliefs? Is it really about how strongly you believe in your faith?

One thing I really admire about all my Christian friends and acquaintances (or catholic? Really sorry for my ignorance, but I really dont understand the difference…I tried to find out, but was not really successful) is that they are always pleasant. They are always smiling. They are always charming. I really like that. No matter what their mood is, what the circumstances are, they always make sure their manner is pleasant. Its a thing worth admiring. It starts seeming a little too good to be true, a little fake after a while, but after spending some time with my friends, I have realised this is just one part of the values they have been taught about. That appearances matter. All their functions and ceremonies too, very much unlike most Hindu ceremonies that I have seen and experienced; are pleasant and soothing. Cheerful and calm, rather than pompous and noisy. But why the superiority? The firm belief that Jesus and the Bible will help you more than any other thing can.

I am Hindu. I am neither a critic nor a preacher of my religion. It might be dangerous to write something like this, but I do believe that our scriptures talk more of evil than good. Of treachery, of dirty politics, of manipulation. Of questioning the sanctity of women, asking them to prove their purity. Having said that I admire my religion for many things too. First of all I think we are the most pampered. No compulsion of visiting the temple on (say) Sundays or Fridays. I think hygiene and health are concepts well taught by my religion. The stress on bathing before going to a temple or taking shoes off before entering make scientific sense to me. ( The Ganga is too polluted now, but the concept still makes sense. Although I think we should just keep the kumbh mela out of this discussion).

One of my closest friends is a Muslim. And this fact never really struck me as a glaring reality. It takes a Da Vinci Code to remind you that our neighbor with whom you share so many novels is a Christian. Similarly, it takes riots in Sanvordem to make you realize the guy sitting next to you is a Muslim, and he might be going through many many small things in his life everyday, to remind him of that; but it never really strikes the others. One thing I learned about his religion from him is the priorities they have. It is not compulsion, it is with full willingness and true faith that they fast rigorously for month, or pray five times a day whenever they can. It is just a way of life. I was too young back then to remember anything about the 92 Mumbai blasts, and I did not live in Mumbai when there were the train blasts last year. And so I might have a different way of looking at things, but i was talking to a friend of mine from Mumbai and she has lost some good friends in the blasts. She said every time a lady in a burkha enters the ladies compartment in the local trains, her heart skips a beat and she prays that she is innocent. She said : Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims. That gave me such a shock!! It was so unfair!! First of all that is not entirely true. And the HOW can you generalize things in this way? How will you move on if you keep suspecting everyone? All i know is that i can take the liberty of saying I know my muslim friend extremely well and I JUST CANNOT think of him doing anything even minutely cruel. They why should he and his community be judged like that? Would that not push him even more into the corner and make him believe even more that he is different? You know what? I enjoy spending time with my friends and we have a jolly good time too. And the happiness we get and memories we share are too precious to be marred by something like this, to be influenced by the misunderstandings and cruelties of the past.

Finally I think we are lucky to be living in this potpourri of people. To be living in a society that is so rich with cultures and values. I thank God ( all forms of him/her) for giving us all this.

I will end by saying this. I believe in Ganapati, and not in Jesus or Allah because I was born in a family that prays to Ganapati. I think very very few of us have had the personal choice of choosing what to believe. Not that it has been forced upon us, but thats just one thing you cannot control…you cannot choose where you were born. I would almost be an atheist, but I do believe in that certain power. I believe in that higher authority out there, that just might be pulling some of the strings, if not all of them. I am friends with God. I believe he/she knows what is going on in my life, when I go to the temple, I go to seek peace and calm. I dont go to the temple only before the exams to ask for good marks. When I pray, I dont ask for anything. I just say I respect you and you know everything; just give me strength, and I will do the rest.