Thursday 3 May 2007

Apparate!

“Appareo” is Latin for “to become visible”. This spell allows the spell caster to appear instantly in a given place. It is used in conjunction with Disapparate. The caster must Disapparate from one location in order to Apparate in another.

We made Mr. A.B. God. So Mr. A.B. and family decided to use their “Godly” powers to take lessons from Hogwarts and apparate to the sanctum sanctorum of Tirupati. Obviously they could use magic in muggle land because none of the poor souls there would question their ways and means, which was very convenient to the “Ministry” as well. Lo and Behold! The spell was cast and they swept into the temple without a crumple of the grandeur they adorned.

It is often said - before God we are all equally wise and equally foolish.
Looks we forgot to read ceteris paribus somewhere in between. On the condition that we are not bollywood stars, not people in high places, we are all equally wise and equally foolish before God.

The recent Tirupati episode of the star couple has touched a raw nerve of many a people. I found a short crisp response here. I want my share of taking a dig at them. I would have generally come down real harsh upon this episode, coz I simply detest her. But well, read on to find out why I will not…

Incidentally, I had a pitched discussion with a family friend of mine about the same issue. She was only quick to point out that the “special ticket” that most people buy at Tirupati falls in the same category as the Bacchan debacle. I took the Van Gogh’s ear for music approach and brushed it aside with some silly argument, but it really set me thinking.

My own spiritual belief system is not in the “highly evolved” category. I am most definitely not an atheist; I’m not exactly agnostic… I just pray. I pray when I feel like shedding some weight off my mind, I pray for my loved ones, I pray whenever an ambulance zips past me, my prayers include thanks as well. I even have a favourite God! – Ganesha. Probably because of my liking for elephants, his many artistic representations or maybe just his delicious kozhakattais (modaks in Hindi I think…)! However, I hardly know those grandma’s stories about Gods, Godesses and Asuras that a nice Tam Brahm girl would be expected to know. I don’t know what you call this kind of faith… well maybe it’s just “never bothered to think about it” kind of faith.

We are quick to point fingers at the rich and famous. Isn’t it equally an issue of ethics and inequality when we by pass the circumventions in the “normal queue” and jump to a “faster queue” to pray the same God? To me it doesn’t matter where I pray – Tirupati or the Krishnan kovil down the road.

Check this out. Oxford University Press describes a pilgrim as “A person who undertakes a long and arduous journey in order to worship at the shrine of a particular saint and to earn both spiritual and physical salvation. The greater the hardship and danger endured in making the journey (pilgrimage), the greater the eventual rewards were deemed to be.” Be it special ticket or Mr A.B. apparate techniques, if one is anywhere in the periphery of the definition of theist, then he/ she ought not to use money as a means to be able to see God quicker than another. It would end up like a “let’s get done with this fast” trip rather than “let’s be nearer to God” trip.
Such issues will always have justifications aplenty. A special ticket will always make it easier for the old grandmother on a wheel chair to fulfill her desire of taking her grand child to Tirupati… and so on.

Speaking of he/ she, I was wondering why Sabarimala does not permit women between to take the journey. Sabarimala is known to be a very liberal place, as in, people of all castes are allowed to take the journey, and so are Non Hindus. I stumbled upon a wonderful piece by Barkha Dutt on this issue here. And check this out too.

There are scores of temples which allow only certain sections of people to enter shrines. Read this. Brilliant debate. Make sure you read the comments and responses as well.
I’m not too sure about other religions and places of worship, but I came across this by Khushwant Singh.

Digressing a bit, I had a pretty bitter experience when I was in… maybe class 4. I went to Puttaparthi, and at that time, I didn’t even know whom I was going to see. There was a lady in front of a huge hall checking the attires of women entering the hall. I was wearing a pretty salwar kameez with a dupatta around my neck. And when my turn came, the lady barked, “Wear your dupatta properly”. I retorted indignantly, “Why? What’s not proper?” She actually said, “You are not here for a fashion show. You don’t distract the people here. When foreigners themselves listen to us, what is your problem? It is because of rebels like you our country is in such a state”

I really didn’t understand what she meant by saying “in such a state” and “people like you”. Does she mean to tell me that a woman would be responsible if some really sexually loose guy had lurid thoughts running in his mind? A guy who wants to think dirty will undress a woman in his mind however “well clothed” she is. Sorry men… but it is the truth. Till today I feel like lynching her to death. Why on earth should the attires of people be checked anyway? All this pretence outside and we know how “dirty” the world of God – men is.

Back to the topic, as long as a person experiences the feeling he hopes to derive from being in front of God without any qualms, I guess it is ok. At the end of they day, it is a matter of personal choice.

All that I want to say is - we make a hue and cry when a person from tinsel town does not play by the rules. What about the everyday transgressions of morals that we normal mortals indulge in? Are we ready to face the truth?

1 comment:

  1. What amazes me about people is how much we can let out brains remain still while listening to the so called "pandits", "imams" and "priests"...afterall who are they? When Jesus died on the cross, he left the responsibility of propogating the faith to Peter and he gave him the power to forgive people (or was it Mother Mary...the debate is on)...but here I come across a priest who refused to conduct a prayer session at home because I am not a church regular(so much for forgiveness!) Who the hell is he to tell me when I should talk to God!!! Do I need his permission? And same with all these priests of all religions...POWER CORRUPTS...they sit on hills of money coming through all sorts of donations(mostly from big shots who have sucked people's blood to become wealthy and then try to feel guilt-free by donating money to places of worship)...who are these priests to decide who should enter a temple and who should be banned. Does any of the scriptures/vedas/epics mention anything about banning anyone? without having read them I can throw an open challenge that no scriptures mention anything like this...infact has anyone seen God? Has anyone wondered why God is the Father or Pitah Parmeshwar??? no prizes for guessing....MCPs existed in all ages...for me these priests are only middlemen who have forgotten their real place...they try to become Gods instead of remaining humble servants

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