The prasad we shared

 

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)