All the influences of the religious types!
There is a certain coolness in being anti establishment.
Rebels are always in vogue.
The way a Che Guevara is a brand with mass appeal, would it
not be great if our religious figures were also packaged in a way where the
essence remained alive?
Born in a Sikh family- I could not really relate to the
scriptures- no explanations, and a certain pride in the message!
There was another influence- Christianity. Thanks to the
missionary schooling. The morning chapel was brilliant, a lot of my venting of
the troubles of childhood happened thanks to Ms. Siddiqui, and her bringing me
closer to the beauty of love and Christ.
Puneet and me used to go for walks every evening, he would
go to a temple every Tuesday- this ritual blended with our fun time and thus
Hanuman Chalisa happen
In college, a senior introduced me to meditation and “Aum”.
Sometime around the same time, I got a transliteration of the Japjee Sahib,
which again got me curious to what Sikhism is really all about.
Bombay…. Oops! Mumbai introduced me to Zen! Hetal gave me a
book-Zen flesh, Zen bones. Tao of Jeet Kune Do also got me closer to
meditations.
Then was Hyderabad, and the beauty of Islam was revealed.
Along with it- The Bhagwat Gita. Man! This is really funny. The influences were
so strong all this while, that many a times since childhood, I would think of
embracing a faith completely- converting and getting a new name. I was hungry;
for a Guru, or a system that would take away my agony, and make me rich,
respected and desirable.
This whole mishmash took its final form in Pune, where the
music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Saheb got me hooked to Sufism. I read and lapped
up quite a bit like a hungry dog. By then I was a complete crackpot! At least
this bit continues.
Along with the phases of depression and denial of Supreme
power, there was an atheist in me and a waging war, between all the religions
and the futility of it all.
Now, the interesting point- as I see it is that nearly all
religions were born out of a rebellion to the existing norms. Rebel for reforms
brought about changes that uplifted society from its existing place- continued
till stagnation and viola! Meet another soul that questions, and centuries
later we follow.
From my viewpoint- we are all trying to adapt to systems
that talk about the same essence-yet we fight over our dietary habits or the
preferred dress code. The Che Guevaras of mankind and peace must be tossing and
turning where ever they are when they see whats happening!
I am better off a non-conformist. God- for me is in the magic
of sunrise and the stories of perseverance and the morning dew. The whole magic
of evolution, even in this pollution is what makes me a believer.
The poetry of the Granth Sahib, Zen Koans and Sufism is what
I enjoy as I raise a toast to the fact that I am alive, thinking and writing
this post!
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