No, this is not a spiritual or religious sermon. To start with, let me confess that I go to temples whenever somebody wants me to accompany them or to attend any family function in the temple. Like all others, I prostrate before the God with folded hands, accept the ‘Prasadam’ offered by the priest with utmost reverence, put some money in the ‘Hundi’ and above all offer prayer to the almighty God which I believe is supreme having no form. It is immaterial whether the God belongs to Hindu, Muslim or Christian as long as it is one.
And what do I pray for? A fat bank balance, long life, good job, more and more wealth in the form of land, house, villas and farmhouses or gold bars stacked in some locker. I ask for none except well being of every human being. Some body has rightly said that ‘Caring hands are stronger than praying hands’.
Most people recite prayers in their respective church, mosque or a temple, prayers that proclaim the immortality of the soul or to get a place in heaven but definitely not hell at any cost. To this end, they will be prepared to come to the God again and again, day in day out with all humility and sincerity yet after the worship is over, they go back into their competitive ruts practicing usual greed, dishonesty, jealousy, hatred, back biting, hatching plots and manipulating !
From my own experience as a banker, I have come across many people with big ‘Vibhuthi’ or ‘kumkumam’ on their forehead that appeared very pious, spiritual, God fearing but have indulged in rapes, looting, forgery, cheating the public as well as their own kith & kin. Many of such people have availed huge loans from bank and defaulted in repayment intentionally. They come out with all types of tactical methods to evade repayment and even threatening to harm. I have seen priests , saints and Gurus indulging in theft of offerings made by devotees made during religious rituals. Highly regarded and famous preachers, self styled God / saints have been known to amaze wealth, indulging in sex scandals and even conspiring murders, there is no need to name them as this is known to every aware citizen. I have seen people worshiping God at home, reading religious, spiritual books, attending discourses but back home, treat their own siblings with contempt, showering abuses, physically assaulting and driving them to the wall.
In the light of the above all, it makes me wonder , as to how religious are we? Do we need to lead such a hypocritical life?
