Thursday 13 December 2012

Of Preachers and Followers

We humans are a unique breed. We claim to have evolved to be at top of the echelon, but in true sense we are still part of the jungle.The innate qualities of being in herd, in continuous paranoia of attack and unwillingness to start something new, still exists. We are still like animals of the jungle and worse.
We are still part of a larger herd, we still follow - whom we assume ‘alpha’!
While going around the streets of Chennai with Ms Melhotra; I noticed something strange- she is turning her head away from all the temples/churches/shrines. Strange indeed.  When finally I asked for the reason, she said her ‘guru’ refrain all his followers from idol worship! Oh Oh…so she is not an atheist but a  believer- believer of different God! Idol worship is highly debatable and I would have let it go, had I not happen to visit the Ashram of her preacher. In middle of the sprawling 30 acres property they (followers) have erected a 10 ft gigantic statute of their guru and were praying it every time they were passing by it – Followers!! Wake up!! This is idol worship!!
Irrational minions!! They are playing with you
 We, human beings are strange lot, for we are searching for answers of the questions nobody asked. We want peace but cannot find solace within and then we turn to someone we believe is capable of bringing peace. We do not trust ourselves!! We like to follow and are afraid to lead our life the way we want- The way it should be
Fragile vulnerable souls! – Take stand, They know you!
There is no harm in following a great deed and understanding the nuances of being a better soul. There is no harm in listening to the positive sermons to uplift you. There is no harm in learning ways of meditation and becoming a better individual.
Spirituality is not harmful!!
I am not against spirituality!  It’s the extremity of it which concerns me! It’s the blind faith that worries me. My heart sinks when I see 10 year olds doing ‘ 108 hari naam jaap’ at ISKCON!- I am believer of the ISKCON foundation, our forefathers have been instrumental in making it happen ! But I never did ‘hari naam jaap’  till I was mid twenties ,old enough to understand, what it means. A 10 year looking for spirituality? Cmmon be rational!! He doesn’t even know what he is holding and its significance! For all I know he could be just playing with the beads!!
Don’t let anyone fool you in name of religion and spirituality.
Explore your own spirituality! Don’t jump in bandwagon- or if at all you have jumped, keep your senses alive. Don’t be blind don’t be slave. Reason!! Don’t turn spirituality into fanaticism.  I remember members of ‘people’s temple’ who believed in their preacher – Jim Jones, to an extent that they gave up everything they had, to live a humble life in Jungles of Guyana (South America). They trusted their leader so much so that they all committed suicide in November 1978, on command of their leader (mass suicide of 909 individuals, second highest loss of American civilian life, highest being in 9/11 attacks)
Who is more stupid? The leader who asked the followers to end their lives or the followers who believed and ended it?
Remember only you can find peace for yourself, you only have to trust yourself

Aham Brahmasmi !! Believe me you are God yourself!

7 comments:

  1. "Remember only you can find peace for yourself, you only have to trust yourself" - This is such a wonderful statement that echoes reality at its very best! Unfortunately, we are mired in the belief that peace will come to us without effort!

    Brilliant post and a great space! Good to be here!

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  2. Bang on Aparna. I vouch for very word you have written here. Time and again I say, I believe that We do not have to please GOD. God doesn't need to be pleased. He wants us to be happy and live our life to the fullest without harming anyone and anything. That's it, period!

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  3. I agree with you. Most people follow blindly without questioning. When questioned, even they do not know the logic behind.

    Himanshu Nagpal | Being traveler

    http://beingtraveler.com

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  4. You said it..

    I never understood why people follow these leaders and preachers blindly. I believe in god but it doesn't mean I worship him to please him.

    very nicely said.. :)

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  5. Hi Aparna,

    I echo your thoughts and views from this post. Idol worship is just taking religion a step further into blind faith.
    The recent film 'OMG' by Paresh Rawal should have knocked some sense into the massses.

    Good post. Keep posting.

    Regards

    Jay
    http://road-to-sanitarium.blogspot.in/

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jay! Thanks for shring your blog link...would surely join it! well I am not for or against idol worship or anything.... what concerns me is the blind belief in "anything"

      Thanks for the comment

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