Rocking in the Free World

I am not a staunchly religious person by any stretch of imagination. I have been an atheist before and refused to believe in God, thanks to my supposedly having some semblance of a scientific temper.

However, there have been many incidents that took place in my life that I can’t consider anything short of miracles, and ergo, the restoration of faith in some divine power that watches over me and knows when to let me screw up and when not to.

I could also attribute this to the fact that I’ve always managed to not fall into a ditch thanks to being self-aware and conscious about it, but believe me, it has happened way too many times for me to dismiss it as mere coincidence.

There’s so much beauty out there (and I hate to sound like Lester Burnham here) that it can’t be dismissed to mere evolutionary chance.

All said and done, I’d like to think that science and God can coexist and both seem to have made peace with each other in my mind, at least. So all religious zealots and scientific naysayers can choose to have another battle ground beside the confines of my mind that is already preoccupied with gazillions of other things.

I visit temples on quite a few occasions. I enjoy going to temples quite a bit because it helps me connect with my spiritual side, which, especially after spending the past eight months in B-school seems to have gone into hibernation.

However, its not all temples I’d like to visit. In a weird parallel, most temples that are famous attract thousands of daily visitors, much like popular bands attract audiences of thousands at their concerts. You don’t want to be part of a crowded unpleasant experience now, do you?

I don’t.

I’d rather go to a smaller concert, or in my case, be comfortable in the press area and be far away from the madding crowd. Similarly, even though I’ve been to famous temples in places such as Gurvayoor, Tirupati, Mathura and so on, which will grant you immeasurable cosmic Karma, I prefer visiting hitherto unknown temples such that of our family diety’s in a small place called Madkai in Goa, where the levels of Karma gained might pale in comparison, but the spiritual experience is infinitely more worthwhile.

Another favourite temple of mine to visit is a small one that is located in the confines of this gated community my folks live in at Mysore, which has a couple of hundred visitors during major festivals, and it is during those times that I avoid visiting the place.

At all other times, this place is blissful because one can only smell the faint trace of burning incense and camphor, and the occasional chiming of a temple bell mixed with birds chirping in the vicinity and the entire atmosphere puts one at peace. It is a state that one can’t describe in words, try as hard as one might.

I’ve visited temples since I have been a kid, formerly due to parental pressure and later on, on my own volition, to connect with the higher powers that be.

I honestly don’t know what protocol to follow when one goes to the temple, save for doing the Pradakshina, where one walks around the inner sanctum of the main diety in circles and then prostrates in front of the idol.

I follow similar rituals when I visit Buddhist temples, save for that the act of prostration is slightly more elaborate, as defined by the Buddhist set of rules for paying respects to the Bodhisattva.

However, I have noticed many people chanting prayers of all kinds and doing so with extreme piety and reverence.

Despite knowing many a shloka (thanks to my having learnt them as a kid), I can’t seem to think of much else except the Gayatri Mantra to chant when I pay my visits.

However, when I circumambulate around the Navagraha (nine grahas or planets), I can’t help but keep repeating ‘My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets’ to myself. It is, for some weird reason, quite refreshing and cathartic. Go figure.