If anything at times bugs me, it's an over emphasis on spiritualism or religion by some individuals. I pray myself, am deeply conscious about matters spiritual but treat it as my personal affair. I just cannot stand anyone posing to be superior and handing out unsolicited advise with an air of smugness (add the smile) just because he is always taking His/ Her Name and making a show of it. I simply feel if someone prays five times a day or runs to his place of worship at 5 am in the morning and cleans it up, fine, but better than the others, certainly not. It's certainly their life and right but does not elevate them and in case religion or spirituality goes much beyond such external manifestations.
We had a colleague at Shimla, some would know him as the follower of a Saint (namesake of another in Maharashtra) leading a huge centre near Bangalore (not Art of Living) . Now if he came late to office or after a prolonged absence, before the pulling up would begin, out would come the 'Prasad' and a claim it was for the senior officer and he had prayed for him. I just watched in quiet amusement. But he had people literally bewitched by his spiritual quotes and pithy sayings, all delivered with a grave mien.
One weekend I was driving to Chandigarh and he asked if he could come along. Glad for company I immediately accepted and another two colleagues also joined in. He took the front seat and we started chatting. It was all spiritual and how a man of religion was a better man, a man with empathy for the deprived and closer to redemption too. I responded, sometimes I agreed, sometimes I remained quiet. There were some comments on people who drank or lived differently and thus disrespecting religion as being deprived of God or being unhappy and spiritually deprived. I let it all pass thinking atleast some knowledge was being gained but a part of me was already saying 'too much, too much'.
We reached Kandaghat, 45 minutes down from Shimla. Our spiritually inclined guy thought he had me in his sights. Some songs were playing on my car cd player, now I can drive only if the music is rhythmic with some bass. Our guy said, now only if you listen to bhajans or even the song from the Sharukh Khan movie where he sings to his wife something like he saw God (Bhagwan) in her - 'tujhme Rab dikhta hai', it would be so much better for me. My mind, honestly and truthfully, processed it too fast. Before I knew it, I said straightforward that if the husband saw "Rab" (God) in his wife, as in the song. then how did he have physical relations with her. If he did, after all they were a married couple, then how would the words of the song apply to them and in the spiritual or religious sense. After all the one sided points, I pressed my case now. Not so nicely as I say now but not so crudely either, but you would get the drift !
There was silence in the car. There was a sort of suppressed laughter or snicker from the rear seats but that was all. We reached Solan, 30 minutes away without any response or observation or a word on the virtues of leading a purely spiritual cum religious life by avoiding a host of activities.
At Solan the guy just could not take it. But all he could say in a voice trembling with anger was that I had reduced the sublime and beautiful to the ridiculous. That physical relations by themselves had no virtue but led to benefiting humankind. I knew I had touched a raw nerve, so I played loudly the song 'character dheela hai' - it's in a Salman Khan starrer. That did it, after that I atleast was spared any lectures or observations on the virtues of making a show of your spiritual or religious inclinations and being superior for it.
As I say, there are many ways to reach Him / Her, nobody can claim superiority just because he or she makes a show of it.
We had a colleague at Shimla, some would know him as the follower of a Saint (namesake of another in Maharashtra) leading a huge centre near Bangalore (not Art of Living) . Now if he came late to office or after a prolonged absence, before the pulling up would begin, out would come the 'Prasad' and a claim it was for the senior officer and he had prayed for him. I just watched in quiet amusement. But he had people literally bewitched by his spiritual quotes and pithy sayings, all delivered with a grave mien.
One weekend I was driving to Chandigarh and he asked if he could come along. Glad for company I immediately accepted and another two colleagues also joined in. He took the front seat and we started chatting. It was all spiritual and how a man of religion was a better man, a man with empathy for the deprived and closer to redemption too. I responded, sometimes I agreed, sometimes I remained quiet. There were some comments on people who drank or lived differently and thus disrespecting religion as being deprived of God or being unhappy and spiritually deprived. I let it all pass thinking atleast some knowledge was being gained but a part of me was already saying 'too much, too much'.
We reached Kandaghat, 45 minutes down from Shimla. Our spiritually inclined guy thought he had me in his sights. Some songs were playing on my car cd player, now I can drive only if the music is rhythmic with some bass. Our guy said, now only if you listen to bhajans or even the song from the Sharukh Khan movie where he sings to his wife something like he saw God (Bhagwan) in her - 'tujhme Rab dikhta hai', it would be so much better for me. My mind, honestly and truthfully, processed it too fast. Before I knew it, I said straightforward that if the husband saw "Rab" (God) in his wife, as in the song. then how did he have physical relations with her. If he did, after all they were a married couple, then how would the words of the song apply to them and in the spiritual or religious sense. After all the one sided points, I pressed my case now. Not so nicely as I say now but not so crudely either, but you would get the drift !
There was silence in the car. There was a sort of suppressed laughter or snicker from the rear seats but that was all. We reached Solan, 30 minutes away without any response or observation or a word on the virtues of leading a purely spiritual cum religious life by avoiding a host of activities.
At Solan the guy just could not take it. But all he could say in a voice trembling with anger was that I had reduced the sublime and beautiful to the ridiculous. That physical relations by themselves had no virtue but led to benefiting humankind. I knew I had touched a raw nerve, so I played loudly the song 'character dheela hai' - it's in a Salman Khan starrer. That did it, after that I atleast was spared any lectures or observations on the virtues of making a show of your spiritual or religious inclinations and being superior for it.
As I say, there are many ways to reach Him / Her, nobody can claim superiority just because he or she makes a show of it.
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