Festive extravaganza should be rationed
Thursday - September 27, 2018 9:42 am ,
Category : WTN SPECIAL
WTN- With the season of festivals round the corner, festive extravaganza too will see breaking new records. The amount of money spent on religious ceremonies in India is sufficient to feed millions of hungry souls who sleep on footpaths and in shanties.
Unfortunately, drunk in the festive spirit as people are, no one pays attention towards the have-nots and those deprived of the privileges of celebrating happiness. No god can be happy if his children sleep hungry and go without proper food and clothes. Indian temples are some of the richest in the world going by the amount of gold and silver booties they have and the immovable assets there are under their names.
In a poor country like India, such dichotomy is audacious and unethical. Indian religious festivals along with marriages are some of the most lavish and extravagant affairs and this is in stark contrast with the pitiable condition in which the poor live and the pittance on which they survive.
This is not to say that the well off should stop celebrations and pine the festive days away in solidarity with the destitute. Festivals are a spontaneous reaction and expression of our spirit and one cannot deny our right to that.
For millions of people milled to the yoke of mundane daily chores, festivals are occasions of hard found break from the monotony of life’s humdrum and a reason to come together and share happiness. This is their only annual entertainment. But what we must remember is that the poor too have a right to food and shelter and some reason to cheer with us.
If we do a bit of rationing in our expenses and use the superfluous money on the benefit of the poor around us, we will feel blessed and fulfilled. If we can scale down the grandiose celebrations and use a faction of the money saved on socially more productive ventures like educating the children of a slum or financing the treatment of a kid, this will ensure more social harmony and inclusiveness.
We must learn to see all Indians as our brothers and sisters and with Swami Vivekananda feel that our celebrations and happinesses are incomplete without the elevation of our brethren who are suffering the pangs of hunger, abuse, exploitation and deprivation. We don’t need to walk the extra mile or go out of our way to help others.
Only if we keep our heart and eyes open, we can do a world of good to the people around us. As long as our hearts and minds are filled with selfishness, jealousy, greed, hatred and violence, no amount of worship can give us the solace or the blessing we are seeking. The greatest tribute to the greatness of god is to clean our hearts of vices and consider all creatures as children of god who need to be pulled out of the pit they have sunk in.
The day we learn to love our fellow humans better and without our vested interests and calculations of gains and losses, that day we will do the best worship to god. The triumph of god on this earth lies only in the triumph of humanity. Where humanity groans in pain, god too weeps.
-Window To News
Unfortunately, drunk in the festive spirit as people are, no one pays attention towards the have-nots and those deprived of the privileges of celebrating happiness. No god can be happy if his children sleep hungry and go without proper food and clothes. Indian temples are some of the richest in the world going by the amount of gold and silver booties they have and the immovable assets there are under their names.
In a poor country like India, such dichotomy is audacious and unethical. Indian religious festivals along with marriages are some of the most lavish and extravagant affairs and this is in stark contrast with the pitiable condition in which the poor live and the pittance on which they survive.
This is not to say that the well off should stop celebrations and pine the festive days away in solidarity with the destitute. Festivals are a spontaneous reaction and expression of our spirit and one cannot deny our right to that.
For millions of people milled to the yoke of mundane daily chores, festivals are occasions of hard found break from the monotony of life’s humdrum and a reason to come together and share happiness. This is their only annual entertainment. But what we must remember is that the poor too have a right to food and shelter and some reason to cheer with us.
If we do a bit of rationing in our expenses and use the superfluous money on the benefit of the poor around us, we will feel blessed and fulfilled. If we can scale down the grandiose celebrations and use a faction of the money saved on socially more productive ventures like educating the children of a slum or financing the treatment of a kid, this will ensure more social harmony and inclusiveness.
We must learn to see all Indians as our brothers and sisters and with Swami Vivekananda feel that our celebrations and happinesses are incomplete without the elevation of our brethren who are suffering the pangs of hunger, abuse, exploitation and deprivation. We don’t need to walk the extra mile or go out of our way to help others.
Only if we keep our heart and eyes open, we can do a world of good to the people around us. As long as our hearts and minds are filled with selfishness, jealousy, greed, hatred and violence, no amount of worship can give us the solace or the blessing we are seeking. The greatest tribute to the greatness of god is to clean our hearts of vices and consider all creatures as children of god who need to be pulled out of the pit they have sunk in.
The day we learn to love our fellow humans better and without our vested interests and calculations of gains and losses, that day we will do the best worship to god. The triumph of god on this earth lies only in the triumph of humanity. Where humanity groans in pain, god too weeps.
-Window To News
