I am bit skeptical of religious places and visiting them to do poojas or ibadats or pray etc.....However, today i found my feet following my sister into one of such place, and it felt awesome, everything about it was just awesome, unimaginable!
It is rightly said, "To experience God, is a divine experience, reserved for elite few." And I am glad to be one of them. So, I follow my sister, who is leading the way, even though I am driving my bike and she is riding pillion. It is a crowded street, too many people, coming in and out of shops, shops on pavements, foot paths, feet walking on road, bargaining with foot path vendors, autos, cycles, two-wheelers, cars parked on both sides of the road, and this is two way road, where in now no overtaking is allowed, for there is no space left after two vehicles take up the road, and still miraculously I am overtaking a bus!
While overtaking a bus, a vendor gets out of way, without complaining, just in nick of time, else it would have been curtains for my license for time being! He does not see me coming, but gets out of the way straight away! As if destiny was calling and being on right path people sensing my destiny were moving out of the way!
It is time for me to apply the brakes, stop the bike, let sister get down and park the vehicle, and there is no parking available any where, not a single slot, except one below the tree, only slot where shade is available, of all the slots in area, reserved specially for me, and I take it. Have never had such a easy time for looking for parking, not even in my own premises!
And as I make way to the deity's holy abode, I realize that his Holy abode resides in the middle of this territory! In middle of the road! And as, it is his holiness's rue, Indian law has little say over here. Hence the road forks into two, and both being two ways, cause lot of traffic jams, so even the rarest of rare staunch atheist gets to take a bow at his holiness's doors, though the prayer this atheist utters is hardly any prayer to a common ear! His prayers are answered immediately, and he can move on as traffic clears for him momentarily. For those who do not, god calls them up close to question them, this includes a visit to nearest hospital and explains the presence of Ambulance placed here on stand by!
As I start stepping on the 1st stone step, I realize, that all the things are rushing towards me, the blaring sound of horns, those beeping indicators, and beep beep mouth shouts, and glaring headlights and what not, and rushing past me, numbing feeling is setting in! I am at center of Universe! No the deity is, and I am very close to it!
Suddenly! As I take next step, all the sounds, all the visions, all start going away! It is like I am the player, standing on field, facing the bowler and all the noise from spectators just goes away, reaching a state of oneness with me! The state of full concentration! It is bliss! It is peace! For the old, thick, windowless walls, of the abode surround you and block out all the waves of sound and light. The only opening in walls is a small doorway, through which I have entered and I have used all four limbs of my body to crawl in, in front of the deity. I Have submitted all my belongings: "Tann, Mann, Dhann" (Body, Soul, and Material), I have bowed to him!
As I look up to him, as there is no other way to look at him, architect has made sure that you would do so! All you can see is two eyes and a reverse of a smile. The two eyes look angry at first, then when you also add that reverse of a smile, the angry eyes transform into prodding eyes, and then grim eyes! Then you realize, like a sudden realization, it strikes fear at your heart! He is looking down on you! He knows of the impending doom! The catastrophe that your life is heading towards and this case mine! Oh! shits! This deity knows too much, even more than me. *Sigh!* I need to do something to please him! So I follow every step that my sister does! I am now a staunch believer! I have done all the rituals, only one time! So what! I have done, unlike most of the species living in this world!
I take Prasad "Offering to Deity as his blessing" along with Panchamrut, that includes cows urine, it is authentic says the poojari(priest)! And like a good disciple, I consume it without a frown, and with a smile of content!
Now it is time to make way for other devotees, and this devotee to take leave, and so I crawl out of the hole, and world starts coming back to me, as if I am returning from Moksh! I don't want to, but I have too! First to come is smell, weird but outer world does not smell of scented smoke, but only of plain old exhaust smoke. Then comes the sound, the noise, and various lights!
Before you realize, your way of looking at life has changed, you want to be out of this cacophony as quickly as possible! So I look for my bike, and by the time I start moving out, all the holiness blanket that had engulfed me has gone, I am shouting at fellow riders for not letting me out before they barged in to park! After all where could they park before my bike is out of there!
