On gods, idols and puja
a short random musing this Diwali
Today is Diwali.
Strangely, because of a freak duplicating of dates, it was a two day occurrence, starting today at 5 pm and ending tomorrow at 4 pm.
And we had puja at office, with a host of colleagues, who had not ever attended this ever. Which made it fun - more people, more conversations, more voices during the aarti.
Which of course brings me to the whole question of puja.
And how every morning when I stand in front of Ganeshji and Laxmiji, in the office temple, asking for a blessing for someone in my life, it feels I've rounded off something inside. I feel tranquil.
We don’t have idols at home, nor do we do puja. Not from Ma, as she is an Arya Samaji, not from Baba, a nonbeliever if there was one!
But I have gravitated towards temples almost atavistically, as if something in my blood called out. Of course, it kind of got institutionalized, so to say, with a friend-cum-colleague Anil, who was a temple hunter. He had a nose for the most obscure temples, and whenever and whenever we went, we travelled miles to see them.
I was his faithful co-seeker.
From grand popular temples like the beautifully-appointed Rani Sati Temple in Jhunjhunu and Salasar Balaji temple in Salasar to obscure hole-in-the-wall temples which had gained popularity because of their wish-granting abilities, we saw them all.
And I felt fulfilled. Be it Hanuman, Laxmi, Ram-Sita, Vishnu, Brahma, Krishna Bhagwan, Laxmi, it was a strange devoutness, a sense of feeling beyond oneself, of being held, understood, when I went into the inner sanctums, alone or as a part of a milling crowd.
It felt good to be a Hindu, surrounded by a galaxy of gods and goddesses looking out for me, acknowledging me and my existence - even if I often failed to acknowledge them.
I have never ever tried to analyse this. The logic or illogic of it, the meaning of it, of how it came to me and found its way into my life without being asked.
And I wonder how many things come into our lives without a design, as if something subliminal was driving us along, having cajoled us into trusting it. And we just let it hold us, to revel in the romance of the journey.
All this, of course, conjoined well to what my dad always held - religion is not ritual, what we need to seek is goodness. And if we can be good and kind, giving and embracing, we had fulfilled everything a religion stands for. If you visit a temple, he said, ensure it makes you a better person.
I read somewhere that idol worship started first because of the fear of thunder and storms, famine and cold. Our ancient ancestors were frightened of it all and wanted to temper nature’s wild anger and destructive powers. But these were amorphous powers, and they had to propitiate themselves to something tangible. Idols.
So when I stand inside a temple in front of an idol, I am merely giving face to the feeling I have always been feeling. And it feels right, it feels good. I feel rounded.
So -
Here’s wishing all my lovely and beautiful readers the blessings of a festival which is celebrated because Lord Ram returned home. Diwali is a reaffirmation that good does always prevail. And however far you may go or be, coming back is just a feeling, a victory, a wish away.
Devang & Darshi made this lovely Diwali film in our home
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Sweet film-let if one can call it that 😉