Dedications

One of my earlier blog was on ‘My God is bigger than yours’, which highlighted the competition with the display of Lord Ganesh idols and their sizes and creativity during the festival of Ganeshotsav. The competition amongst Churches on cribs made during Christmas time, depicting the birth of Christ, and even families participating in the same, competing with display of the cribs in their homes. The competition amongst the biggest or the maximum number goats sacrificed during Eid.

Then there was or is a trend of which God is miraculous, from the episodes of Lord Ganesh drinking milk which was countered by Christians of their religious idols drinking milk, or weeping tears or blood. It was euphoria and everyone wanted to know where the next miracle would happen. Everyone is now searching for a God which is better. In the process we have the pseudo secularism that gets hyped when people of other faiths visit a religious place that is not of their belief. I believe it’s great and I too also participate in visiting other religious places of worship, but my point is when you can’t get along with people of other faith, how are you trying get along with their God? Can we not start by reaching out to people and then try to reach God?

The problem is we want God to solve the people problem, national problem, weather problem, or any problem, when we are the problem or create it. We are the problem that only want to see problems in a person of another faith or in his faith. We are the problem that allows religious preachers who spew venom on other person’s religious faith or belief, to prove superiority of their religious faith. In Bandra a place in Bombay metropolis, there is an unwritten rule not to sell houses to Muslims. I still don’t understand the reason behind it, but my point is you cannot sell or don’t want to sell a home to a person of another religious faith, what God of another faith are we trying to show respect too? What peace are we trying to achieve with neighbouring nations, when we cannot achieve it amongst ourselves.

Now the latest finding is the priceless amount of treasure stashed away in the underground vaults of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in South India. The value is only mounting in multiples of billions, with every passing day of auditing the treasure find. The debate now engaged is to whom does this wealth now belong too and what should be done with it? One of the suggestions was the wealth belongs to the God of the temple, and no one has a stake to it. Now what is God is going to do with this wealth? Did God ask for it? The acquisition of this huge amount of wealth which was kept in the vaults may have its various theories including of atrocities and evil ruling practices of the kings during their period by taxing people, including tax for breasts and moustache.

So now begins a new wave of Godly competition where wealth of various religious institutions is publicized. It is like an achievement and race of every religious place that wants to be in this new competing league, of which God has more wealth or can garner it. Why is that we can’t get into competing to make India a better place to live in? Why can’t we not compete and get out of the tag of ‘developing nations’ to a developed nation.

Can we not keep competition of wealth accumulation for people who feature in the Forbes magazine, and not stoop to featuring God there and trying to prove ‘My God is richer than yours’.