Terror has returned with a vengeance – not that it had become a distant memory. Pune lost its innocence and enrolled itself into a never-ending list of dangerous places to live in. The crux of the matter is not terrorism or Pakistan (this would have happened even if Pak didn’t exist) but a religious divide – an inconvenient truth that is slowly shaping into an open confrontation with epic names like “The Clash of the Civilizations”. History is no stranger to such wars but in an advanced age where reason is held above religious ideologies- it is ironical. Although in a peaceful manner – we all hold prejudices against other religions. The violent rendition of this resentment can be termed as Jihad, Crusade or Dharmyudh respectively. Religious Terrorism isn't just about violence - The other day, my Hindu friend’s 9 year old daughter came home sobbing because her friends at the convent school told her that she will go to hell because she did not believe in Christ.
In my early teens, I was asked by my teacher to defend my religion, which led to a lot of introspection culminating in my inability to continue with my beliefs and religion. I ceased to be a Christian, the identity that I had grown up with. During those trying times, while standing at my balcony gazing into space on a breezy afternoon, I saw my four year old neighbor being chased by her mother. Balancing a plate in her hand, the mother was in hot pursuit trying to feed the little one. After an unsuccessful cat and mouse routine, the anxious mother sat on the steps in the compound thinking of an alternative plan. As she looked up, she saw a crow perched on a tree making its usual sounds. She turned to the little one and announced, “ Sweetheart, if you aren’t going to eat your food now, that crow there will turn into a monster bird, lift you and fly away”. Since in those days discovery channel and animal planet hadn’t made their way into our living rooms – the kid gave in and ate her lunch. The moment calmed the storm within me and eased the pain of being without a religion. Like the little child who has limited understanding to know how food impacts her nutrition levels and growth – we with our limited vision and intellect need an edible story to put us on a path of growth when our mind is still in infancy and fails to understand the glorious truths of this universe.
Religion is important for discipline and growth but no ‘Christianity’ can ever be greater than humanity. The idea is not to do away with religion but to understand the essence of all faiths which can be compared to pure water, it quenches our thirst while curing us of every disease known to man – but when it gets diluted or contaminated with say alcohol or colors or preservatives, it could lessen the essence and even cause harm. Being good, loving and compassionate to others automatically makes us believers in Christ, gives us a place in Allah’s Jannat and makes us part of the Krishna consciousness.
Little children going to school need fancy school bags and pencil boxes to keep them interested in education – we need to identify these frills in our respective religions and learn to unlearn these fixations or else we will continue to be victims of the 'war'. The other day I saw this status message on my friends account “We have divided ourselves into groups with arms ready to kill or die just because we don’t agree on whose fairy tale is more correct”. Moral of the Story: Keep the faith but cut the hate - else we won’t have to worry when the glaciers will
