In the name of God

By Sonam Pattnaik

Spare me in the name of God. Help me in the name of God. We all must have heard such statements in our daily lives or some movies.

But you will be amused to know in how many more ways the name of God is used. And how many bizarre acts are motivated in the name of God.

Now let's see how many violent and inhuman acts are also motivated in the name of God.

Till today, peace eludes the valley of Kashmir. Why? Because of some fanatics who believe that Kashmir being a Muslim majority state, they are the rightful owner of Kashmir.

In 2002, a train carrying some Hindu devotees was put on fire by Islam extremists which was followed by the Godhra riots. Both the incidents claimed many innocent lives because of the animosity between certain religious groups.

Babri Masjid was demolished by some VHP leaders as a retaliation to the fact that many years before Ram Mandir was situated there which was destroyed by Babur.

In the suspicion of cow-slaughter, many Muslim men were lynched and murdered.

Religious offerings like flowers, diyas, cloths put into river Ganga have largely contributed to river pollution and has made the water of Ganga unfit for drinking or consumption. Though the flowers are biodegradable, the pesticides on it has made the water chemically toxic. This is yet another way how blindly following religious traditions can hamper our environment and lead to destruction of masses in the long run.

In 2017, in Madhya Pradesh, five minor boys were forced to dip their hands in boiling oil to prove their innocence in a mobile theft case.

In Uttar Pradesh, many religious leaders are guilty of inciting violence against people of other religion.

These are many bizarre manners in which ignorance about God has led people to do inhuman acts.

But contrary to the above cited examples, faith and religion can also make people do great humanitarian deeds and achieve the unachievable.

For example - I recently visited Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 's Art of living international centre. There I found many people are giving seva or free service like teaching, cooking, housekeeping, security etc. Their motivation- seva will help open up doors for them and their lives will become easier or better. Donations given to this institution have been utilised in various projects such as planting trees, rejuvenation of rivers, leadership training to rural youth, free education for underprivileged children and so on.

Sathya Sai Baba foundation also does exemplary humanitarian acts in the field of education, healthcare, environment and social sector. Even their motto is - " Service to mankind is service to God"

Noted many selfless individuals embark on the path of service to society or nation, but due to lack of funds there is only so much they can do. But religious institutions like Sathya Sai Baba foundation or Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 's foundation get ample funding and donations because people do give donations to religious institutions willingly. But the basic fact here remains that this fund was utilised largely for social work and was not spend in any unethical manner.

Otherwise we all had seen an eye opener in the Aamir Khan starrer movie P.K that how business happens in the name of asking donations to build temples and for yagyas and homas. And our innocent public really falls in the trap of these cons.

In such times, when we see examples like Sathya Sai Baba foundation or Sri Sri Ravi Shankar foundation where the funds are properly utilised, it is something worth mentioning.

Even in Amritsar 's Golden temple, thousands of hungry people are fed daily for free. The arrangement of funds is done by donations from Sikh families. The preparing of food, the serving, the store keeping, the cleaning everything is done by volunteers. Gurudwaras contribute funds to free healthcare also.

In the movie –‘ Kesari‘ based on the story of the courage and vigour of 21 Sikhs in the battle of Saragarhi, we hear them uttering a phrase repeatedly. The phrase being - "Rab rakha" which means "God will protect us". And it was this utter belief in their God that gave them the courage and confidence to take on 10,000 bloodthirsty Afghani soldiers. Not only did they fight them but also defeated them. Such is the power of faith that made them do the unthinkable and also emerge victorious.

As we saw above both good acts and violent acts can be motivated in the name of God. I want to once remind all of the fact that why was religion created in the first place. Religion was supposed to lay down the guidelines for peaceful and harmonious community living and to enable individuals to lead a righteous life based on morals and ethics.

But some leaders mislead the ignorant masses in the name of God. When we were in school, we used to sing - " Mazhab nahi sikhata aapas mein bair rakhna". But in present days with Bhagwat Geeta being included in syllabus in Karnataka schools and Clarence high school in Bengaluru being criticised for teaching Bible; a feeling of separation is being created among communities.

We 90 's kids have grown up believing in universal brotherhood and harmonious living with other religions. But hatred and animosity is being cultivated in the minds of young children of today by the present governments. Hope something is done to reverse this trend soon or else it won't be far that we see the country burning like it was during 1947 partition.

I would like to end this topic by a famous Vedic mantra which says - Asato ma Sadgamaya, Tamaso ma Jyotirgamay, Mrityur ma Amrutamgamay. Meaning from ignorance lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to immortality. Hoping that the darkness which has engulfed our souls leading us to do atrocities against our fellow beings - may that darkness be lifted. And may we see the truth that love is the only lasting truth.

By Sonam Pattnaik