Last month, I along with my son, brother, sister-in- law and
their daughter visited one of the most worshipped ( I was really confused what
word to use while describing this temple.’ Famous, well known’ etc looked out
of place. ‘A holy place’ sounded hollow. Then I settled with ‘the most
worshipped’) temples in India.
One good thing about such temples is that you can have easy
access to God if you are willing to pay a price for that. All those temples
have privilege queues. The more you pay, the quicker you reach God. You can
also enjoy this privilege if you are a celebrity or a politician.
There was not much of a crowd so we stood in the normal
queue. My brother knew I am not a great
believer of God or temples and have the tendency to find fault with even the
smallest thing around. I always felt god, who should have been a relief to the
masses, was misused for commercial and political reasons. According to him,
even if I am an atheist,just visiting the temple will fill me with blessings.
Our queue moved pretty fast. As we approached the sanctum
sanctorum, I saw those lines meant for the richer guys. As we moved forward, I
saw a rich family coming through the special line. Their confidence, bordered
around arrogance, showed how privileged they are, even before a god.
The lady of the family was holding a huge and expensive tray
full of ladoos, their offering to the lord. She had difficulty in carrying it.
As she was struggling to keep the balance, one ladoo fell down. The atheist in
me became focused and wanted to know how she will respond to this unexpected
god’s lila. She was flustered for a second and then, unhesitantly, she picked
the ladoo and put it back in the tray. I was aghast. Even a non- believer like
me knows that an offering falling off the tray was a bad omen. Further, you are
not supposed to offer something to God which had fallen on to the ground. But
she was cock sure. She must have thought that, God being busy blessing
everyone, might not have seen this small incident. Or is it the privilege which
gave her that supreme confidence.
My brother understood that I had seen the incident and was
eagerly waiting for my sharp comments. But I decided to take it easy. Being in
the purified vicinity of God, how does it matter that a small ladoo had fallen
down? The moment god touches, even the most defiled object will become prasad.
I thought why should I bother about such irrelevant things and diverted my
attention to the glittering splendor of God’s abode.
After taking the blessings, as we were coming out, we saw
the family standing near the exit door and distributing the Prasad to everyone.
I was in double mind to take it. Before I could respond, the lady stuffed a
ladoo into my hands.
I was unsure what to do with the ladoo. My brother had a big
smile and said, " that is the same ladoo which fell down. God is giving
you a message. Now you eat it."
Even I was confused. Can there be any truth in what he says?
Can it be the god’s way of teaching me a lesson? Can God really give such
instant punishments? Then why is he hesitant in giving instant rewards too? I
shrugged off those thoughts and was sharpening my arguments based on
probability and serendipity. Just then, the sister- in - law came and took a
piece of Prasad from my ladoo and ate. She gave another piece to my brother and
her daughter. My son followed them. Then she announced," let us share this
ladoo now and keep all other prasad’s with us so that we can have it
later".
The sceptic in me could not prevent myself from telling them
the story of the fallen ladoo and the possibility of the prasad we ate being
that ladoo. I saw their faces getting
clouded with fear and anxiety. Things related to God can evoke more fear than
peace in you.
I secretly glanced at my brother. He was swallowing the
Prasad with great difficulty.
One thought still haunts me- were they punished because of
my wrong deeds, or was I blessed because of their good deeds?
(That I wrote this blog just a day before the Ram Mandir
sham is not coincidental)
