It’s the day of Pooja in my home, my parents & two brothers were standing inside our small pooja room performing the rituals like breaking the coconut, lighting camphor, agarbathis & creating the holy sound from the bell. I don’t know what each one wished in front of different Gods whom we have captured in photo frames. I always had a different opinion on these; I didn’t have any interest in rituals. My belief is that I have to work in order to achieve things & God can’t give me things just because I ask him. This doesn’t mean that I’m an atheist. One of my morning activities is to stand in front of the God’s place & apply lord Muruga’s sacred ash Prasad in my forehead. This is a habit imbibed in me by my father. I do it as a part of my morning make up activity but still have faith in it. My morning prayer will be either a “Good morning God, Give me a good day” or not even that. This may imply that I’m a believer in the existence of God but not a devotee. I accept it the same way!
This is how I’m for the last many years. Recently I took a Self development course run by a popular trust. It emphasized that “ You have a priceless body made up of precious organs which is not purchased by you or your parents. It is given free of cost by somebody; don’t you feel like giving your gratitude to that person?”. I found some sense in this argument. That was a spark which rose for a minute & then occupied the back space of my mind.
At the end of the program they have arranged for a group activity. Till the time it started I didn’t realized that this is a Bhajan where people will sing in praise of God. When I started understanding the intensity of the situation, my existing values started cursing me. Is this you who sit in a ritual like Bhajan? What is this for you? I know the people who are sitting along with me in that activity. Most of them including the organizer are well educated & satisfied elderly people like Ex.IAS officers, Principals and Ex.Military officers. During normal interactions I could understand their high satisfaction level with life, earlier they have blessed me with their hearts. When such people are sitting around, my recently acquired values contradicted & finally I attended the Bhajan.
I have been given with an instrument which produced a “Khitz..Khitz” sound, I don’t know whether it has a name or not. It was funny & I started playing it. Wow I’m a musician now. Which pop band will dare to give me such an opportunity? There were 6 songs sung by six different people praising different (form of) God. One line will be sung by the main singer & the group has to repeat it in chorus. Of course I’ve to repeat it with the additional responsibility of producing that music. The song, the chorus & the music created a new energy in me which I really enjoyed. In the first song itself I got engulfed in that spirit & vibrations. When we were half way through, everybody stood & danced; I followed. Everybody enjoyed getting soul satisfaction & nobody seek anything to God. The place is filled with people who don’t have any expectations & people who live in their present i.e., it is filled with positive vibrations. I felt like my first encounter with God! Not with the regular God who is captured in a photo frame but living God’s. My mind told me that we all are God at least in the present moment.
As an young man my natural inclination should be in attending parties or pubs. Yes! There are song, music & dance in parties also. There again I can dance. But! Is the environment same? Forget about the modern trend & fashion stuff. What is running in the young party peoples mind? Is it positive thoughts? Isn’t it more of body & luxury show? Is there any importance to mind in that arena? What is important there? Thoughts or clothes? What kind of mental happiness do I get there?
When I compare this with the Bhajan, which one should I continue attending?
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1 comment:
hey there.. the post is interesting.. good u shared with us the experience abt how u were first a bit unsure of joining in a 'bhajan' but slowly enjoyed the thing.. I am not a religious person, mostly aloof with the rituals and traditions part of the religion, for as there ws a daily puja in our family, God never went beyond being synonymous to ethics and good work in our household.. but i ve seen quite some people who follow a very rigid ritualistic atmosphere (daily prayers, fasts, puja, bhajans, and at special occasions, havans and so on) and I cant deny tht these people ve an extremely disciplined lifestyle, far more than me! they get up early to pray, are ready much before, and somehow, their life follows a very distinct puntuality, than mine.. SO i do feel, there's no harm in setting aside sometime for morning / evening prayers, or any small ritual, simply to keep u more disciplined, if nothing else...
thnks for stopping my blog.. i appreciate ur comments and m thankful for the time u spent writing it..
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