Religion is a birth-mark one generally carries till death, if only in name. Great minds have said what it meant to them. Napoleon Bonaparte opined it was religion that kept the poor from murdering the rich. Dalai Lama revealed: ‘This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.’ And Desmond Tutu had this to say on religion, ‘When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said ‘Let us pray.’ We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.’
We have our own conscience to tell us the good from bad, we have society’s code of conduct to govern our every-day behaviour, there are laws proclaimed by the Government to keep our baser instincts in check; and the more evolved among us have their spirituality to elevate them to the higher planes of existence. Where is then any need to bind ourselves with yet more trappings of this or that religion?
‘Has the stuffy heat of a dry July day gone to your head, son, that you are asking such a foolish question?’ caw-cawed an enraged Kaga Bhushundiji. ‘It is religion that sets apart man from the rest of animals!’
‘Ram, Ram, Kagaji,’ I said with excessive show of courtesy, ‘do cool down. It ill behoves a celestial being of your lofty stature to lose temper. You have appeared before me of your sweet will to answer my queries, Most Venerable One. Now be good enough to disabuse me of my doubt.’
Kagaji cooled down. In a tone befitting an icon of wisdom he began, ‘Dharma is the step-ladder that takes a person from the lowliness of bestiality to the heights of a pious living and upon her death to the Param Dham, the House of Ultimate Bliss….’
‘But Kagaji,’ I interjected ‘you are mixing up ‘Dharma’ with ‘religion’. The one enjoins upon the mankind duties that are essential for a peaceful and orderly coexistence on the earth, while the other divides man from man. Dharma is all inclusive, embracing not only mankind, but birds and bees, beasts and trees and all that exists in this world of ours. Religion is exclusive – only those who believe are saved, the non-believers are either brought somehow into the fold, or to put it mildly, despised altogether. Religious zealots don’t spare even their co-religionists who are seen to go astray from the narrow path. ‘
‘May be you are right, son. What you call ‘religion’ is not the same as the Dharma of the yore. O, the despicable Kaliyuga!’
‘Indeed. Look at what is happening in Iraq in the name of religion. Four of our own young men from Mumbai have flown on the sly to Iraq to fight by the side of Sunni militants. For them it is the cause of ‘defending’ their faith, though the whole world knows what brutality the ISIS has let loose in the land. In India itself Shias and Sunnis are confronting each other for what is happening among the peoples of their sects in Iraq. Why talk only of the rift between the two factions of Islam, even Sanatana Dharma, reputedly the oldest way of life in the world, is in turmoil. Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananda Ji Saraswati of Dwarka has said that Hindus who believe in Saibaba should refrain from following Hindu rituals such as bathing in the Holy Ganga – drawing a line between the Hindus who believe in Saibaba and their brethren who don’t. As could be expected, the followers of Saibaba are up against the 90-year old seer and have filed three cases in different parts of the country against him. Swamji’s own supporters, the Naga sadhus among them – have declared that they will take to streets in support of the Shankaracharya ji. Couldn’t this unnecessary bitterness have been avoided?’
‘But, tell me, son, wasn’t Saibaba a Muslim? I heard somebody saying that he was a maans bhakshi – meat eater – and lived in a mosque.’
‘I am not sure, Kagaji, of Saibaba’s origins or how he kept his body and soul together. So what if he was born a Muslim? Don’t Hindu men and women, their heads covered reverentially; stand patiently every Thursday evening to pay their respects to the neighbourbhood Peer’s mazaar? Do they cease to be Hindus then?’
‘Shankaracharya ji is not against people worshipping Saibaba. His objection is to the Saibaba being worshipped as one of gods of the Hindu pantheon. It is strictly a question of religion, son. Why don’t you understand?’
If that be so, I would rather not remain in the confines of such a religion.”
Kaga Bhushundi SpeakEth
Suman K Sharma
‘Do you abjure religion then?’
‘I do. Save me from a religion that spreads discord between one man and the other. I have my Dharma to follow and would rather stick to my humanity, what all that means.
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