The Simplicity and Complexity called Religion

Well, well..been a long time coming, eh Chrisann? So I woke up one morning to the sounds of beating drums, blowing trumpets (or clarinets or whatever they are called since I'm a music illiterate) and some people making weird gestures with their hands and feet in motion, I think they called it dancing. It didn't stun me actually (not more than Rannvijay gets on Roadies anyway), but it did make me think about the reasons behind this activity. Who are these people dancing away at 7 in the morning of a lazy Sunday? Why would they not do what any other normal human does on a Sunday morning, buy some jalebi ghatia (in case you're not into sweets, then maybe a few samosas), feast on them while reading the newspaper and deciding which mall to attack today. Why would they be all decked up standing in horse drawn carriages, drawn in queue as if it were some ancient Egyptian demonstration of the Pharaoh's army? And why would anyone play some Bollywood item numbers in this whole situation? I asked my mother, who, like a good Indian housewife whose love for gossip is only second to her love for prime time serials, was nodding her head in sync with the musical tunes to explain this predicament to me. Anything she said sounded like mumble-jumble to me amidst the whole symphony. We waited and waited for the whole procession to pass after which I was enlightened to this whole activity. Apparently, it was a religious procession of people who don't eat anything that is grown beneath the ground (for my own security, I will not be mentioning any religions by name). Now I have nothing against their cuisine, but the fact these people would actually organize something like this did surprise me a bit. The reason being, they have this whole ideology that life is to be lived without materialism. They do not walk out at nights fearing they might trample some living creature, which is strictly against their beliefs. Good beliefs I'd say. Why would these otherwise peaceful people who have very strict religious policies do something like hiring a horse and be decked up as if going for a wedding? Here's where things get complicated. Our religious scriptures have a lot more hidden than what we are taught. Of course, there are more learned people than me when it comes to these matters but now that you are here, you might as well read. Every holy book ever written has the same core, the same essence - peace. While I do believe, that these books were actually written by humans, they do make very strong arguments. Why would anyone want to kill anyone? Why wouldn't people be so easily satisfied? Why are we here? What makes us so special? Just like any other book, we draw our own conclusions, that's the curse and the boon of being individually separate. The same thing probably happened when our ancestors read these books. They all formed opinions which were then passed down to us. Anyone found with a different view from the general public, well, we saw him taking 5 wickets in Lagaan. In my religion, which is full of Gods thus making us the ones with most number of festivals, we are inclined to celebrate everything at the cost of anything. For example, Diwali is at the cost of noise pollution, Holi is at the cost of a doctor's fee for freeing your eyes, ears and nose of color, Ganesh Chaturthi is at the cost of Chowpattys all around India, etc. And between all this, are traffic jams. When I was a kid, I remember asking my elders the reason for doing this, not because I found it wrong, but because I was curious about mythology. When I did become aware of the true story behind this, I was aghast at our interpretation. Instead of having the most beautifully decorated lanterns adorning the house, it all boiled down to who had the loudest burst and the brightest light. Instead of burning away the mistakes we committed (strictly no wives and kids please) and starting afresh, we compete for the most water resistant colors. This is what the majority chose and this what the majority today does. What started of as an expression of joy and a moment of celebration in an era where there was no tv, we now have competitions and price money. And why would anyone play movie songs with out of place lyrics (you know the ones I'm talking about). In this very para, I started with peace and now I am here at movie songs, this is pretty much how we have moved on in our celebrations. We have perhaps, forgotten the original ideas. Religion, I feel, is a way of lifestyle. Religious books pertaining to that religion is a perfect guide with stories explaining what happens when you follow or not follow that particular lifestyle. It's a good idea actually, you are given a whole set of material with the pros and cons, and illustrations along with good values. All we had to was learn from the guide. I don't mean that we should take everything literally, but the least we could do is inculcate certain good things from all the books, irrespective of which religion we follow. After all, as I said earlier, it has just been passed on to us like our genes. Religion is a belief which will never stop developing. I wish we there was a way we could add stuff to religion, update them like we update the Constitution and our Facebook statuses. It would be better for future generations too. But then again, we might even be part of organizing another competition with people on all sides thinking theirs is the most updated branch with the most number of young entries. It is a never ending discussion. Religion, politics and sexuality are the three things you could debate on from the time you learn to speak legibly to the time you are just mumbling without teeth. The only thing I learnt from all this is that I shouldn't be harming anyone. If I do, unintentionally, I must ask for forgiveness. I must not try to impose my thoughts on someone else. In short, I must not be intruding anyone's privacy and must be content. It is a very personal thing, this religion, and it is only right that there will be varied opinions. After writing this though, I think my grandchild will take 10 wickets in the remake of Lagaan.