...we used to spend our summer's in Punjab. In our village. Every year. And it was common to end up spending upto four month's missing the first two of our school. In our neighbouring village there was(maybe still is) a Gurudwara. Quite an antique. We used to spend an entire day there whenever we visited it. Climbing the mango tree or shooting stone's up her for those 'Ambie's'. We used to be a gang. One summer I remember they had held a kind of a competition for all the neighbouring village kid's. To sing Hymn's. Sacred Punjabi hymn's the kind that the Pathi's sing every-day. And I, as a kid, was alway's musically inclined. And I had learnt by heart various hymn's on my visit's to Gurudwara's in Nanded and Patna apart from the patriotic song's I loved to sing at school competition's. I was looking forward to win the prize and did that too. I had once even joined to learn to play the Harmonium at a Gurudwara in Nanded. My Grand Father used to do that. Play the Harmonium. He also used to sometimes substitute the village Pathi at the Gurudwara I am talking about. The Pathi was someone else. He was a slim creature I remember of maybe forty or maybe more, with salt and pepper beard and alway's kept his chin up. His shoulder's squaredcompelled a straight look ahead. He was also a school teacher and his toes were alway's turned upward's. Like sleigh-runner's. He was sincere and honest at heart and he held sacred thing's and places in such reverence that unconsciouslyto himself his voive would acquire a peculiar intonation which was wholly absent when he spoke with people he met outside the Gurudwara. On the day of the competition which was actually a day of rememberance of some previous great Pathi or so Sant maybe he was the one in charge. I remember sitting there in the Beranda of the Gurudwara with my brother and sister. My brother never could sing so he was just there because every every other kid was. The Pathi was speaking : Now children, I want all of you to sit just as straight and listen like bibey-nyaane.....Nice to see so may hushyar-bacche out here.....And so on, and so forth. It is not necessary to set the rest of the oration. It was of a pattern that does not vary, and so it is familiar to us all.
The latter part of the speech was marred by the resumption of fight's and other recreation's among certain of the bad boys who were pulling the girl's pony-tail's. But then all sound ceased suddenly. Even the Pathi brought his speech to an abrupt end and everybody recieved his speech with a burst of silent gratitude. A good part of the whispering had been occasioned by the entrance of a rare visitor. He was a fine, portly, old gentleman and a known figure to those who care to know such figure's. He was accompanied by a few other's. The visitor was given the highest seat of honour and the Pathi introduced him to the rest. The portly man turned out to be a prodigious personage, no less a one than the village Pathi - altogether the most august creation the village kid's had set their eye's upon; and every child and every adult present wondered what kind of material he was made of. All half wanted to hear him roar and half afraid he might, too. He was none other than a famous and revered Pathi from 'Ambarsar'. He had seen the world with those very eye's he carried with him. The awe with these reflection's was attested by impressive silence and the rank's of staring eye's. The village Pathi went forward to be familiar with the great man and be envied by all. It would have been music to his soul to hear the whispering's among the congregation : Look at him...he know's him personally...he is talking with him now...don't you wish you were him...
The Pathi fell to "showing off" with all kind's of official bustling's and activitie's, giving order's, delivering judgement's, discharging direction's here, there and everywhere he could find a target. The other member's of the Gurudwara "showed off", running hither and tither with their arm's full of stuff...The young women present there "showed off. They bend down picking up shoe's and chappal's, dusting them and placing them in straight line's. The gentlemen, the 'Panj-Pyaara's' (who at other time's were found teasing girl's and getting into fight's) started "showing off" by helping each other straighten their pagadee's and kirpan's and the work's. One of them found business running inside and then running outside the Gurudwara and it was some business that had to be done over and over again two-three time's(with much seeming vexation). The litthe girl's "showed off". The little boy's "showed off". The older's ones "showed off" with small scolding's and other little display's of authority and attention to discipline. And above it all the great man, the Pathi from Ambarsar, sat and beamed a majestic judicial smile upon the congregation and warmed himself in the sun of his own grandeur, for he was "showing off" too. Everyone was "showing off" making a deal of the splutter and fuss insect authority delight's in. There was only one thing waiting to make the gentlemans ecstacy complete and that was to give a speech after the entire drama was over. And did he give a speech? Yes he did. Did I win a prize? Yes I did. A Saffron dastaar! You should have seen my delight at recieving the Saffron dastaar which I wore for the entire week in order to make every other kid feel jealous.
When I remember all this I can't help but ask myself why we need all this fuss in the name of...
We all do that. "Show off". That's what it is.
People say they are seeking 'The Truth' or 'God' but are they really interested in seeking what they say they seek ?? When the are seeking God people want to go only this far. So that they can say to the world that they have been close to Him. But they don't want to go far enough -- because if you go far enough into God, you never come back. They don't want to take another step -- because if you go deep, then there comes a point of no return. They only want to go a little bit, so that they can come back into the world and say to people that, "We have been close to God." But their whole interest is in the world and the respectability that the world can give to them. They have a big bank balance, they have a big palace to maintain as a House of God today; now they even possess God in their homes.
This parable is beautiful.
Replies the chief of the kings, "Not too far, but just enough so we can say that we have been there."
When you go to the Gurudwara/temple or at a juloos you are still not going; your face is towards the marketplace. Have you seen it sometimes in you or in others? -- if you are alone in the temple, you don't enjoy your prayer very much. If there are many people watching, then there is great enthusiasm. Then you are so full of spirit. Then your prayer is great, you feel very high, not because of the prayer, but because the whole town is watching you. And they will think how religious, how virtuous, how close to God you are. You would like them to feel jealous. It is a performance. But your performance is before the people; God is out of it. You are not contacting him.
Thanks.
The latter part of the speech was marred by the resumption of fight's and other recreation's among certain of the bad boys who were pulling the girl's pony-tail's. But then all sound ceased suddenly. Even the Pathi brought his speech to an abrupt end and everybody recieved his speech with a burst of silent gratitude. A good part of the whispering had been occasioned by the entrance of a rare visitor. He was a fine, portly, old gentleman and a known figure to those who care to know such figure's. He was accompanied by a few other's. The visitor was given the highest seat of honour and the Pathi introduced him to the rest. The portly man turned out to be a prodigious personage, no less a one than the village Pathi - altogether the most august creation the village kid's had set their eye's upon; and every child and every adult present wondered what kind of material he was made of. All half wanted to hear him roar and half afraid he might, too. He was none other than a famous and revered Pathi from 'Ambarsar'. He had seen the world with those very eye's he carried with him. The awe with these reflection's was attested by impressive silence and the rank's of staring eye's. The village Pathi went forward to be familiar with the great man and be envied by all. It would have been music to his soul to hear the whispering's among the congregation : Look at him...he know's him personally...he is talking with him now...don't you wish you were him...
The Pathi fell to "showing off" with all kind's of official bustling's and activitie's, giving order's, delivering judgement's, discharging direction's here, there and everywhere he could find a target. The other member's of the Gurudwara "showed off", running hither and tither with their arm's full of stuff...The young women present there "showed off. They bend down picking up shoe's and chappal's, dusting them and placing them in straight line's. The gentlemen, the 'Panj-Pyaara's' (who at other time's were found teasing girl's and getting into fight's) started "showing off" by helping each other straighten their pagadee's and kirpan's and the work's. One of them found business running inside and then running outside the Gurudwara and it was some business that had to be done over and over again two-three time's(with much seeming vexation). The litthe girl's "showed off". The little boy's "showed off". The older's ones "showed off" with small scolding's and other little display's of authority and attention to discipline. And above it all the great man, the Pathi from Ambarsar, sat and beamed a majestic judicial smile upon the congregation and warmed himself in the sun of his own grandeur, for he was "showing off" too. Everyone was "showing off" making a deal of the splutter and fuss insect authority delight's in. There was only one thing waiting to make the gentlemans ecstacy complete and that was to give a speech after the entire drama was over. And did he give a speech? Yes he did. Did I win a prize? Yes I did. A Saffron dastaar! You should have seen my delight at recieving the Saffron dastaar which I wore for the entire week in order to make every other kid feel jealous.
When I remember all this I can't help but ask myself why we need all this fuss in the name of...
We all do that. "Show off". That's what it is.
People say they are seeking 'The Truth' or 'God' but are they really interested in seeking what they say they seek ?? When the are seeking God people want to go only this far. So that they can say to the world that they have been close to Him. But they don't want to go far enough -- because if you go far enough into God, you never come back. They don't want to take another step -- because if you go deep, then there comes a point of no return. They only want to go a little bit, so that they can come back into the world and say to people that, "We have been close to God." But their whole interest is in the world and the respectability that the world can give to them. They have a big bank balance, they have a big palace to maintain as a House of God today; now they even possess God in their homes.
This parable is beautiful.
Replies the chief of the kings, "Not too far, but just enough so we can say that we have been there."
When you go to the Gurudwara/temple or at a juloos you are still not going; your face is towards the marketplace. Have you seen it sometimes in you or in others? -- if you are alone in the temple, you don't enjoy your prayer very much. If there are many people watching, then there is great enthusiasm. Then you are so full of spirit. Then your prayer is great, you feel very high, not because of the prayer, but because the whole town is watching you. And they will think how religious, how virtuous, how close to God you are. You would like them to feel jealous. It is a performance. But your performance is before the people; God is out of it. You are not contacting him.
Thanks.
