I have recently started putting in a lot of attention and effort into the festivals. This is one of the many positive influences that Gavin stirred up in me. So be it Diwali or Christmas, I am kicking a lot of dust - cooking, decorating and fumbling over rituals.
This is new. I lived 50% of my life as an atheist and the last 20% as an agnostic. So, when I had to sin during my atheist days, I had no inner conflicts about God. When I had to sin during my agnostic years, I had no inner conflicts about Him watching over me. Hehe. Shallow? Anyway, I have heard enough ‘Go home and eat shit’s over soul-searching(!) arguments on this topic.
Recently, while sharing about my Christmas with a good friend, she dodged a rare question across table. So why do I do things losing my identity as a Hindu? If its all about festive spirits, there are at least a couple of hindu festivals for every day of the year? Will my Christian friends ever go with me to a Hindu temple on a Diwali day? This comes from the ideology of a massive hindu movement in India. I appreciate that thinking for it emerges from the situation prevailing there. Not that I accept it.
I had to dig into my definition of spirituality for answers. To me, it is all about looking into the spirits of us and that of every other being. No, its not the alcohol that you have downed inside. Lets use the word soul, instead. The soul is colorless, pure, joyful and full of love. Now, focusing only on the soul, eliminates all conflicts and negative emotions. This brings the bliss.
Say if you are bothered with lust, train to look at the soul of the woman. Wait, you don’t have to undress her first. Soul is NOT part of the anatomy. At that core level, there is no identity, no sect and no religion. It is all pure fundamental human connections. You wont see the difference between Ramzan and Christmas. Won’t this lead to a harmony better than burning trains full of hindus, torching the muslim towns, bringing the towers down, carpet bombing the countries or getting shoes hurled at in press meetings?
This is new. I lived 50% of my life as an atheist and the last 20% as an agnostic. So, when I had to sin during my atheist days, I had no inner conflicts about God. When I had to sin during my agnostic years, I had no inner conflicts about Him watching over me. Hehe. Shallow? Anyway, I have heard enough ‘Go home and eat shit’s over soul-searching(!) arguments on this topic.
Recently, while sharing about my Christmas with a good friend, she dodged a rare question across table. So why do I do things losing my identity as a Hindu? If its all about festive spirits, there are at least a couple of hindu festivals for every day of the year? Will my Christian friends ever go with me to a Hindu temple on a Diwali day? This comes from the ideology of a massive hindu movement in India. I appreciate that thinking for it emerges from the situation prevailing there. Not that I accept it.
I had to dig into my definition of spirituality for answers. To me, it is all about looking into the spirits of us and that of every other being. No, its not the alcohol that you have downed inside. Lets use the word soul, instead. The soul is colorless, pure, joyful and full of love. Now, focusing only on the soul, eliminates all conflicts and negative emotions. This brings the bliss.
Say if you are bothered with lust, train to look at the soul of the woman. Wait, you don’t have to undress her first. Soul is NOT part of the anatomy. At that core level, there is no identity, no sect and no religion. It is all pure fundamental human connections. You wont see the difference between Ramzan and Christmas. Won’t this lead to a harmony better than burning trains full of hindus, torching the muslim towns, bringing the towers down, carpet bombing the countries or getting shoes hurled at in press meetings?
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