Oh My God!

Finally finished watching the Hind movie OMG. I did try to watch earlier with Hubby but since I can only understand basic Hindi and when I found him guffawing where I had no clue, I left it halfway. I heard him mentioning the movie to many and finally when a family came over he put this movie to show them. He asked me again to watch it and I agreed on one condition that he shall explain when I couldn’t understand. And thus I finally watched this brilliant movie. 

I know I am late in writing about it and might be repeating what others have already written but yet I cant help writing a few lines. 

For the religious and the atheists it would be hard to accept the entire movie.  A part of it goes entirely against their beliefs but for people like me this movie echoes my own thoughts. In my opinion, the movie should have shown the mindless rituals of all faith and not just Hinduism. But then this movie may not have seen light since the other two faiths are not as tolerant as the Hindu faith! A ban would have been slapped immediately. Maybe it can be cited as the tolerance of the majority but still.

The term salesman is apt for the men of God! They sell God while pocketing the money for their own use.  They interpret God as per their whims. Here in Kuwait, priests are deputed for a year or two and the position is a coveted one! They are paid very well and in addition, they get a good sum by way of allowance and other religious rituals that they perform. On top of that when they are about to leave, they set out on a begging spree and collect from house to house. The recent one left with over a crore of money!  For the majority, such an amount is not possible even if he spends his entire life slogging in this desert!  If any reader  is under misconception, this money is not for the Church since for that we have frequent visits from Bishops and priests. But this money would probably be used to build the typical mallu mansion while this priest would seek a congregation where maximum benefit with minimum effort is required.

The Bible has around 250 verses on money. 

1 Timothy 6:10 
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:19-21,24 (KJV) 

These salesmen or priests are the guardians of this book and yet they who preach from the same cannot practice! 

As for Hinduism, Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth so I guess the interpretation of money itself may differ. 

Recently for a Church function the dignitary was a well known liquor baron! So what is the use of these salesmen? Cant God be approached directly? Will he stop you from reaching him? 

In a recent article on Babri Masjid demolition and nation building Subramanian Swamy writes thus: 

Masjids, like churches, are not religious places in the sense a temple is--masjids and churches are places not of, but for worship, i.e., buildings which serve as facilitation centres for namaz and prayer. Namaz can be read anywhere, even on a railway platform. In USA, the VHP buys disused Churches and converts them into temples, and yet no Christian there objects. 

But temples, once it is shown that prana prathista puja was performed to build it, is where God or the deity resides, and therefore a temple belongs to God forever. As Union Law & Justice Minister in 1991, I got our government’s legal team to prove this to the satisfaction of the House of Lords in Britain, to bring back a Nataraja statue taken from a disused Thanjavur temple. 

He says the following too: 

Of course, merely because of this fact about masjids and churches, no one in a democracy can take law into his own hands to demolish these masjids and churches. Nor will the Hindu public wait forever for justice. 

But is it true that a Temple is different from the Church or the Mosque? 

So on twitter I mentioned that a place of worship is special for those who worship in it and that one cannot say that a Temple is different from a Church or a Mosque. I also mentioned that in some churches the altar is considered special and is constructed after special prayers and if the church is need of demolition/renovation it is lowered down as it is. Personally I don’t agree with any of this. To me none of these structures hold any special regard except for it’s historic relevance if any. But that is my personal opinion and I cannot impose it on those who hold a place of worship close to their hearts. 

But suddenly I find that God is indeed concerned with Geography and language too! 

The following tweets came in reply"

special prayers in which language? 

let such worship be done in bethlehem,mecca,madina,jerusalem,gaza strip,rome,itali 

To this I asked if the NRI Hindus board the plane to come to India and worship! Or if all Hindus pray in one language. Is the Hindu God's sphere of influence only in India and does he understand only a language unique to India?( In Christian churches too they use Syriac during liturgy and only the priests understand what he is talking! )

And if this is what religion can do to a person's way of thinking then what is the use of it? 

As for Atheists, they cling on to their faithlessness and cite many valid reasons too. For them like in the movie, there is no Krishna or Jesus or Mohamed to make appearance and make them believe! 

Even Justice Katju has strong words on religion and the divisive ways it works in our country.

When I said that 90% Indians are fools I said an unpleasant truth. The truth is that the minds of 90% Indians are full of casteism, communalism, and superstitions. 

But holding and citing such views is not easy. It can be a lonely journey midst your circle of relations. Majority doesn't want to leave the beaten path and gets angry and agitated when they find a few who does.

Edited to add:


I felt that this post will not be complete if I do not mention Sanal Edamurakku who may soon be arrested because of such salesmen of God!

Delhi police attempt to arrest Sanal Edamaruku

With this dramatic turn of events, Sanal Edamaruku’s persecution has reached a dangerous new level. Exposing the “miracle” of the water-dripping crucifix at the Velankanni church in Mumbai as a plumber’s problem, he incurred Catholic fury beyond all trademark forgiveness. Highly alarming is the fact that the Catholic side has managed to secure considerable support from Indian government agencies.