Two weeks back I had hired a taxi to take me from Ghatkopar to Sion. At the Suman Nagar signal I saw a well-built, well-fed man going from car to car asking for money. He was quite aggressive and literally resorted to 'strong-arm' tactics by tugging at a man's arm and exhorting him to give money. My taxi driver explained that he was collecting donations for a big Navratri Puja. When the man in the car didn't relent and refused to give him any money, the collector self-righteously whined as though some grave injustice had been carried out against him!
I wondered which God would be happy to be decorated and venerated through such forced 'donations'. I also thought that instead of spending on huge pandals, the money can be also used to feed the hungry. I felt like saying that but kept quiet not knowing what the taxi driver's view may be. I wondered whether the taxi driver may take offence if I say those things.
However, the taxi driver himself voiced my thoughts. He told me that it is a huge waste of money venerating the Gods in a grand manner. He also criticized the competition between different groups on building the biggest pandal. In fact, he went on to say that people are blinded by faith and do not understand that the only way to worship the God is by being good people ourselves. He said his conscience was clear and that was all that mattered to him.
He in fact, indulged me in a bit of history. He said that doing a puja/aarti was an unknown concept in many parts of India about 200 years ago. The only reason every village had a temple was to resolve disputes between villagers in the presence of God - ie. arbitration of disputes was done by Panchayats in the ground outside the temple.
He may not have been educated, but he was well-learnt. He used the tool many of us in India forget that we possess - the tool of independent thinking. He also mentioned that he does not express such views everywhere with the fear of being severely reprimanded or being treated as an outcast.
This led me to believe that liberalism, broad-mindedness or enlightened thinking isn't the sole ownership of the educated or the elite. It resides in everyone who is willing to think clearly enough. Anyone who is willing to shed the well entrenched notion that indentity = religion can be included in the category of broad-minded thinkers. And anyone who believes that a clear conscience and not grand venerations is the best way to get closer to God is an intellectual according to me. That dud who was collecting donations at the signal is simply an insecure person wanting to establish his identity through his religion, a victim of fake pride and worst of all, afflicted by a bandwagon effect which makes him believe whatever the mob does is right.
I'd like to conclude by saying that liberalism or modernism has no relation to a person's education or income level. Come to think of it, I know many orthodox well-to-do families who believe in grand religious celebrations and I know many well educated people whose social and cultural beliefs are unpleasantly orthodox. I've heard of a PhD. guide who tells his students to convert to Christianity or they'll go to hell. I also have a post-graduate friend who thinks a woman should stop working once she gets married and take care of her husband's parents. I can give you many more such examples of educated bigots.
In fact, on similar lines, I intend to write one more blog post to say that conservatism vs. liberalism is not necessarily a fight between the old vs. the new.
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