Bang in the middle of
pilgrimage season at Kedarnath, heavy torrential rains led to floods and
landslides, which have completely wiped out many villages. Media reports
indicate 1,000 dead and even after the armed forces rescuing / evacuating close
to 1,00,000 citizens, over 3,000 citizens are still feared missing or stranded.
Add to that the loss of public and private property running into hundreds of
crores.
Every year, crores of
citizens go on pilgrimages to Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Tirupati, Vaishno
Devi, Sabarimala, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Benares, Pandharpur and many other holy
places. Some of the renowned temples and shrines e.g. Siddhivinayak Mandir (Mumbai),
Sai Baba Temple (Shirdi), Golden Temple (Amritsar), Dargah Sharif (Ajmer) and
congregations like the Kumbh Mela (held by rotation at Haridwar, Allahabad,
Nasik and Ujjain), Chaar Dhaam yatra (the four holy sites of Puri, Rameswaram,
Dwarka, and Badrinath) also attract crores of pilgrims every year. Many temples
and shrines have, over the years, acquired the reputation of fulfilling
people’s wishes, which explains the number of devotees who visit these places.
Pilgrims fall in
various categories...from those who have recently entered this world to those
who have been here for many decades; from the devout who consider it their
bounden duty to visit, pray and pay respects, to those seeking blessings for
betterment of their lives or those whose wishes have been fulfilled; from the
healthy and able bodied to those seeking divine intervention (for self or near
and dear ones) to regain health; from those who wish to commence a new venture
to those wanting to atone for the past. Many from the earlier generations
believe that a visit to holy shrines helps to attain salvation. People have a
multitude of reasons for a pilgrimage and many of them even go every year. To
each his own!
Pilgrims often face
trying conditions in the form of extreme climate, weather, long and difficult
journeys, treacherous pathways, mountainous terrain, terrorist threats
(like in Amarnath), health hazards, etc. It is only their faith and belief in the
Almighty that gives them the strength and determination to overcome all
hardships in pursuit of the divine darshan. The word ‘darshan’ means a
‘glimpse’ and many a time, that’s all they get, because there are thousands
waiting in queue for their turn. At some places, devotees are even pushed and
shoved if they linger on even for a few seconds more! Imagine such a long and
arduous journey for a glimpse lasting only a few seconds! Yet the devout and
the faithful continue to throng these temples and shrines undeterred. Faith
moves mountains!
Any place where
people assemble in such huge numbers is prone to disasters like stampede
due to panic or poor crowd management, breakdown of man-made structures due to
overload, etc. In fact, mishaps during pilgrimages are common occurrences,
leading to death, serious injuries and loss of property. And when ‘Act of God’
disasters strike - like the one in Uttarakhand - it further compounds these
tragedies with much serious and long term consequences of enormous proportions.
There are heart rending stories of people whose homes have been washed away, of
lost lives, people separated from their families and desperate attempts to find
the missing. Imagine their horror and helplessness!
One begs to
ask...what wrong had these people committed, to be subjected to such a horrific
ordeal, including death in some cases? Nothing whatsoever! The pilgrims only
wanted a darshan of their Lord, to offer prayers and seek blessings. When they
left their homes, all they had in mind was the satisfaction and happiness they
would derive from the visit to their Lord and the eternal hope that their
prayers would be answered. They knew the hardships they would have to face, but
the thought of reconsidering the journey would never have touched
their minds. In the end, while some were fortunate enough to survive the
disaster and return home safely, others were not so. Some lost their near and
dear ones while some others were hoping against hope that their dear ones would
be traced and rescued and return home unscathed. Hope floats!
People tend to look
for God in shrines, temples and places of worship. Many deeply religious people
spend a lot of time in prayers and worship and are regular visitors to various
holy shrines. Most of them genuinely believe that is necessary to express
gratefulness to the Lord for the blessings bestowed or wishes fulfilled. But
does God reside only in shrines and places of worship? Does He wish people to
please Him? Can God be pleased only by a personal visit and by the offerings?
Here I quote a couplet by the renowned Urdu poet Nida Fazli - “Gharse masjid hain bahut door chalo yoon kar le, Kisi rote hue bachche ko hasaaya jaaye.” [The place of worship (mosque) is far away, so let
us reach out to our Lord by bringing back a smile on a child’s face.]
Expanding the logic,
a timely help extended – however small - to someone in dire need or distress is
likely to please God equally or even more than a pilgrimage, the offerings and
the paeans. Such a distressed person is likely to believe that it is a God sent
help in answer to his prayers. We learn from media reports of some outrageously
high amounts or precious objects of considerable value donated by devotees to
prominent (but far off located) shrines/ temples. Creditable gestures indeed,
but the donors may never know for which particular noble cause it will be used
and when will it be used. It possibly does not matter to them because they
might quickly move on to some other noble deed. But wouldn't it be great if
such people directly spent such amounts – or at least a part of
it – for the betterment of the underprivileged, deprived and needy
around them? We have heard of wealthy businessmen who have dedicated a part of
their fortune (running into many crores of rupees) for philanthropy and are
personally overseeing its deployment. Does this not mean worship in another
more meaningful and effective form?
Now let us consider
the contrary facet to this discussion. We all have a ‘pooja ghar’ in our houses
with idols and images of Gods and Goddesses. There are also some nearby temples
where we can go. Can we not offer prayers before them instead of traversing
miles and negotiating unfriendly climate and terrain? The Gods and Goddesses
residing in our ‘pooja ghar’ or in nearby temples and those residing in the
temples / holy shrines are the same! Our prayers will definitely reach the
Almighty as He is certainly not rigid to respond only to those who personally
visit the holy shrines where He is known to reside. And at home or in the
neighbourhood temple, you can converse with your Lord for as long as you wish;
no one asks you to hurry up! Granted that the atmosphere of a holy, sacred and
revered place is indescribable and one may feel much closer to his Lord, but
what really matters are the feelings and sentiments of faith and
devotion. So as long as you have the right feelings, should it really
matter whether you pray at home or elsewhere? To quote Marathi poetess
Vandana Vitankar, "Shodhisi maanava raauli mandiri, Nandato dev ha aapulya antari!" [Why
does man look for God in temples and shrines? God resides right within
you!]
So simply close your eyes and pray. God is omnipresent; He is ubiquitous!
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Note: Religion and faith are sensitive subjects. This piece only puts forth some practical aspects and is not intended to hurt religious sentiments.