Souls in a Hurry

Whether you believe in God or not, the sanctity of a temple is unquestionable. God as a concept is abstract, something impossible to define. It is difficult to picture God as a person. It would be impossible for a single person, even while possessing the capabilities of God, to possibly do all that stuff. God would have to be a lawyer, a judge, a chartered accountant, an engineer, a doctor, a banker and every other profession you can possibly come up with. The wildest I can is "travel blog writer" and here, God assumes the role, doing the rounds around the world, chronicling in his mind the deeds and the misdeeds of millions. He would also have to have atleast 20 sense organs instead of the customary 5.

Easier to comprehend would be God as a form of energy, something like Universe energy or some such "cool" term where the whole Universe is a single whole.

And the deeper we delve into the realms of spirituality, religion, and the fine lines that allegedly separate them, the more profound turn the paradoxes, the ambiguities and the stupidities.

No, I am not here to question God you see, for at the age of 16 I would much rather be rambling about Iran's foreign policy (which I find extremely awesome) or which chemical re-agent could possibly turn n-hexane into benzene.

And it is in the fear of these highly intimidating hexagonal molecules that I turn to God, confiding in him the irrationality of learning something I frankly don't give a damn about. And so, these complex emotions found me in the temple, seeking an answer without knowing what question, when I observed this lady.

Well, I call her a lady out of mere formality. "Girl" would be closer to reality. And boy, was she in a hurry, pushing aside any object that came in her way with supreme gusto, be it inanimate or living. All this in an effort to get to vantage point to view the idol and place her hand over the mangalaarthi and seek his blessings. I could give you a hundred, no a hundred and fifty reasons why her actions were downright foolish.

And while not knowing whether God is this very cool dude or simply an extrapolation of the self as some see it, I can assure you, one simply does not pray in a hurry. A temple is where you forego all your worries, where your boss's voice and all the world's evil is dimmed in the pristine peace that is supposed to exist. God resides everywhere. Hence, there's no need to be so anxious to view his mere idol. Or demand theertha with such urgency.

And having obtained this holy water, she spun gymnast style and fell down to a pseudo-namaskaara her nose losing and gaining Gravitational Potential Energy in a matter of seconds. How the temple was different from everything else for her, I couldn't see.

The rigidity of her muscles, the robotic nature of her movements and the sheer lack of any kind of peace or tranquility on her features would convince any observer (me included) that by this visit to the temple, she was out to prove something to the world, or to show how she was wronged.

No, I don't claim to be a saint of a higher order, a great spiritual thinker or anything close. I only say, that a temple is to loosen yourself, burden another with your troubles. And atleast believe they will be lightened. And if your lucky enough to have no troubles, pray that no one does you that unwanted favour of donating some of theirs.

And once within the precincts of a temple, it is imperative to stay calm, composed. Live it like leisure, for God is never in a hurry. And whoever, whatever he might be, you certainly don't have to be frantic to grab his attention. A silent, heart-felt "please" might just do the trick.

And if a temple doesn't make you feel better, or different, it's only because you are the same within a temple and without. Seeking to create a niche for God in your life which is like your life rather than his. You see, God has no cranky bosses, deadlines or time frames. Implies then, that when you seek anything from Him, you had better ask it his way. Less so for him to connect or make him understand better (he will understand anyway) but more so simply to soothe yourself and feel for yourself the change. For the difference is within us. Not within the temple.

And it's not about knowing what it is. It's simply about believing whatever it might be.