Fantasy and Reality
By Tribhuwan N. Bhan
Last
Sunday, I boarded the local train at Churchgate. Being Sunday, the compartment
was almost empty and there was absolute silence. As the train was about to enter
the next railway station i.e. Marine Lines, I could hear someone shouting,
"Thief, thief ...". Out of curiosity, I alighted at Marine Lines and
walked in the direction from which the sound of the words 'Thief, thief' could
be heard. I reached Marine Drive and saw a tall old man wearing a long Kaftan-type
outfit standing on the parapet of the drive. His long silvery grey beard and
hair were being tossed about due to the sea breeze. He wore a hair-band round
his forehead to keep his long hair rather orderly. In his hand, he held a long
staff, which was at least a foot longer than the height of the man. He was
looking in the westerly direction and shouting loudly "Thief, thief
....". I went close to him. Looking at his face, I could see his
deep sunken eyes and felt as if penetrating beams were emanating from them. He
with his weird countenance and attire did not seem to me an inhabitant of this
planet. I had to sum up all the courage and strength and ask him, "Where is
the thief?" "There is the thief", he said and pointed towards the
west. As I could see no one except the setting sun, I told him, "I do not
see anybody except the setting sun." "That one, the setting sun is the
thief. He is going behind the horizon after having robbed a day from the life
span of every living being. He is the biggest thief !!" He held my hand
firmly. His grip was strong like a steel grip. It was astonishing to realise
that despite being so old, he had so much physical strength.
I
tried to wriggle out my hand from his grip but he would not let go of my hand.
As he walked briskly with long strides, I had to run by his side. To keep pace
with him was not an easy task. It fatigued me. He then showed me a place of
worship with serpentine queues of devotees outside it. "Do you see these
people? They are the people who have absolute faith in God. They will perform
all their religious rituals, worship their deity and ask God to protect them all
the time. According to them, God is 'omnipresent'. They believe, He will be by
their side always irrespective of what they indulge in. Their misplaced faith
means protection to them. Remember the heartless and ruthless dacoits of Chambal
valley. They would begin their day by performing puja and worship their deity,
put a long black Tilak on their foreheads before indulging in loot, plunder,
arson and murder. It was their faith made them believe that they were
receiving protection from their deity , had a divine mandate and thus lived a
charmed life. Ravana too was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He thought he was
invincible due to Lord Shiva's blessings. But then he met his Nemesis in Ram
whose Sita he had abducted."
Saying
this he made me walk a long distance more and pointed out to me a group of
people who were being tempted and brain-washed by a few religious fanatics, in
the garb of preachers. They were being coaxed to indulge in nefarious and
questionable activities, create anarchy in the name of religion and thereby they
would benefit monetarily and otherwise too. This group of people heard the
so-called preachers but turned their backs on all the temptations they were
offered. "My dear, did you observe this scene? This group of people who did
not want to do anything wrong despite all that they were promised, were the ones
who have fear of God". The old man summarised all that we had seen
by saying, "There are basically two kinds two kinds of people, some have faith
in God and others have fear of God. The former believe that by making
offerings at places of worship, rubbing their foreheads at the entrance and by
performing all the religious rituals regularly, God will provide divine
protection to them, even when they may deprive other human beings of basic
necessities of life. But the latter think that God is almighty and will not
spare any wrong-doer, be he strong or weak, rich or poor, low or high. This fear
prevents them from indulging in anything questionable, unethical or
deprecatory. It is the latter ones who are nearest to God, who dwells in their
hearts. While the former are farthest from God."
Saying
this, he loosened his grip on my wrist, which had become numb by then and
suddenly disappeared, as if he had made himself air into which he vanished mysteriously.
Source: Milchar
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