The invitation was for Satyanarayan puja, the worship of Lord Vishnu [1]. Frankly, I do not prefer to go much to any such ritualistic ceremonies. But this being a close friend’s invitation, I could not ignore it. We reached the designated time but were kept waiting for the arrival of the purohit [2], who was supposed to conduct the religious rituals. Even ‘God’ was waiting!
Finally, he arrived, a good hour late. Wearing
traditional yellowish-orange dhoti [3]
and janeu [4]. It was all decked out for the ‘show’. The purohit
gave some finishing touches and then started his commentary on mantras [5].
Along with other friends and their families who were also invited, we were
mute witnesses to the puja. When the puja was almost over, my friend’s wife
seemed to be unusually worried about something that she had supposedly missed.
I tried to be of help. This would also give me a break from the rhythmic chants
in Sanskrit that I hardly understood. I soon found out that she needed four
coins of one rupee each. I volunteered and went around the neighborhood to
arrange those coins in time.
After the puja was over, I observed the purohit
whispering something in the ear of my friend. He nodded obediently, and soon
after I saw him distributing a coconut, a beetle leaf, an areca nut, and a
one-rupee coin to four other friends present there. Somehow, he chose to ignore
me, not making me the recipient of this set of goodies that looked like a
return gift. Not that it mattered much, but I was curious about my omission. I
kept quiet until all the rituals were over. A cab was arranged for the purohit,
and he left with a bag full of fruits, sweets, other goodies and dakshina
[6].
How can the caste determined by the birth of a
person be a determinant of his purity or piety? Why should upper-caste people
be put on a pedestal? Why should caste and not the karma (deeds) of a
person determine his worth? How can we discriminate against people based on
their birth, created by the same God? And how can we please the almighty when
we do not care two hoots about hurting a fellow human being? If we are all
children of God, then would a parent be happy if they found one child
discriminating against or hurting another child?
And finally, why did my friend choose not to
defy the purohit when he issued such diktats? But to be fair to him, I
cannot blame him too much for his behavior. Afterall, most people find it
comforting to conform, rather than confront.
Footnotes
[1] The second God in the Hindu triumvirate, according to beliefs, is responsible for the upkeep
of the world.
[2] the sacred
brahmin blessed by a guru.
[3] A loose piece of
clothing wrapped around the lower half of the
[4] a sacred thread
(yagyopavita or janeu) that is received by a brahmin boy during the Upanayana
ceremony marking acceptance of a student by a guru teacher and an individual's
entrance to a school in Hinduism and that he continues wearing across his chest
thereafter.
[5] A mantra is a
sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of
words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and/or
spiritual powers.
[6] Cash or money
paid to Purohit for his religious
