Sacrificing one’s independence

As Kerala has surely shifted from a period of joint families (kootu kudumbam) to compact families, people are shifting more to an all for one concept. The one for all and all for one thought has undergone a real age change not only in the backwater rich state but also in the country as well. Even the car companies have understood the shift pretty much and it is reflected in the new hatch back models that have entered the market with their fuel efficient engines. The drive in the front seat is futuristic but the back is cramped into an almost “if you must, get in and don’t complain” design. It is like saying “If you want something you better be prepared to sacrifice.”

The law maker politicians have also found it difficult to understand what sacrifice is all about. The Congress in their whites and the Communists in their reds are finding the very word uncomfortable. Isn’t life supposed to be about making deals (money) and enjoying everything? What about the people? The people? “Oh, they will help us to fulfill our ideals”, say the politicos. So the people will sacrifice for the law makers. More electricity cuts, water shortage, accidents, hooligans, murderers! The people have to sacrifice and make do with these sufferings!!

So as an after thought to the independence day, one sees confusion as to what sacrifice really is. Churches talk about sacrifice every Sunday with priests going on and on about the virtues of sacrifice. Something they, like the politicians never practice. In this scenario the word sacrifice undergoes a transformation into what others have to do for the sake of our good. A far cry from what it is supposed to be “what we can do for the betterment of others.”

As an individual then the thought of independence and whose independence comes back strongly. Even though we have the independence to vote we don’t have the same independence to question what is done for five years in our state and country. Why? Because we are supposed to sacrifice! Poor Gandhiji’s picture will be thrust upon us with the much heard dialogue, “The India that Mahatma dreamt of. Let us work towards it.” And how? By sacrificing! If you ask me I feel pretty close to the wives who have jumped into their husband’s funeral pyre because they had to sacrifice. It is the most noble thing to do! Humbug. In the name of sacrifice the common person in this country is made to go through the most un-imaginable things and put through humiliation and hardship. Maybe it’s time for an equal responsibility pact in India. We do 50% of the sacrificing and the leadership has to do the other 50%. Like we listen to our leaders on independence day, let them listen to what we have to say too. Happy sacrificing.

The flu and the online congregation

The concept of God and a higher power becomes more apparent in one’s helplessness and hopelessness. One of the reasons of human beings undertaking their quest for God is when we feel we are not in control anymore and therefore have to make a petition for help to one who is more powerful than us. In India this is not so difficult to understand. Even though money in India can get us many things including getting away from murder in certain instances, we are exposed to dangerous situations which could lead to cutting short our existence on earth. Getting mowed down by a car, being swept away in a flood, sucked into a debt trap, being rained out or rained in and succumbing to the flu. This leads to a leap in faith as this is all we have got in this insecure life that we have to live. This leap in faith is reflected in the church, temple, mosque, gurudwara and other places of worship, where crowds flock together to express their faith in God.

But the swine flu has even broken down the crowd of faith. As people are advised to be careful, the obvious is also to keep away from large groups and crowds. Is it then safe to congregate when the times are bad? We are faced with a threat of dilution by a flu which refuses to die down. Who ever said that countries need weapons of mass destruction? The proximity of people in places of worship and the exposure of priests and worship leaders to a variety of people will also be under the scanner. The flu obviously does not discriminate between leader and follower. These kind of flu’s are going to add to the faith element of people but at the same time there will be doubts on whether they can go to a place of worship to dispel their fears.

But do we isolate ourselves from each other? Can we find other ways to be there for one another and reassure ourselves that we will fight this flu and overcome it, come what may. So if we can’t come together physically, we should look at ways of coming together in the virtual world. The confidence we gain from the virtual world will lead us to come back to the real world when we ready for it. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/City/Chennai/Priests-log-on-to-stay-in-touch-with-congregation/articleshow/4821104.cms) These are times when it does not matter who we are and what we look like. It just matters that we continue our faith affirmations which lead our minds to come to terms with what is happening around us. Till then it’s www.seeuonline.com

Walk when you talk

What an idea sirji? Indeed, what an idea. Walk when you talk. The Idea mobile advertisement is probably getting the attention of a substantial part of television viewers in India because of its positioning with what is a reality in India. In a country which may have close to 57 million diabetics by 2025, walking is definitely one thing which could turn the tide.

Go to any doctor and whatever your ailment you can bet that the doctor will tell you to start walking for at least 20 minutes a day and then increase that to 40-45 minutes. “Start walking. It’s good for you”, is a familiar piece of advice that many can hear in both glossy, vitrified-tiled, air-conditioned hospitals and sweaty, fan aerated and cemented clinics.

So everyone is walking. Be it old men and women, with low priced canvas shoes and sports shoes worth thousands of rupees, and younger women and men competing in waving hands and marching ahead, early in the morning or in the evening, India is walking. Reebok, Adidas, Puma and Action are smiling.

As a priest, I can’t help thinking of whether my congregation members are walking and if they are, shouldn’t I too? Because it is one of the best times to talk to them. Talk one on one and also to a group. The only thing is that I can’t stop. Because I have to walk when I talk!

Idea mobile has hit the nail on it’s head. Just like they did with advertisements which suggested that they were the way to get India’s schools to the villages. Positioning ourselves near a reality, makes us a part of the reality. So far as we can even use the reality to our benefit. Just as we use the reality of God and concepts like poverty and education to our own benefit. ( Idea even has a site for us to enter the time we have spoken on the mobile and then that is converted to the calories we could have lost if we had walked while we talked. See http://www.walkwhenyoutalk.co.in/home.html )

It is thus a reality that Indians are walking and walking more than ever. Idea mobile has thus positioned itself next to this reality and in the process stands to gain out of this reality. Whether the two (a mobile and walking) have anything to do with each other is another matter. Whether the mobile service provider wants to engage the problems related with walking and education also stand unanswered. For the time being, many of us who watch television will be humming…walk n talk, walk n talk, walk n talk…walk when you talk…what an idea?

Communicating the Lord’s prayer

The traditional Lord’s prayer
Our father who art in heaven
Hallowed by thy name
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth, as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.

A prayer inspired by the Lord’s prayer

Our communicator who is amongst us, peace be to your name.
May your words come true and your vision be fulfilled, in the real and virtual world.
Give us today the food we need,
And delete the viruses we produce as we delete the viruses produced by others.
Let us not devour tempting bytes and browse that is evil.
For yours are the mother board, password and subscribers for generations to come.
Amen.

Communication Sunday: Coming to our senses

God has equipped us with five senses to navigate our way through the nitty-gritty’s of life. The senses of hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell play an equal part in making us what we are. The sudden absence of any one of these senses awaken us to the importance it had/has in our lives. But these senses are not just for a solitary, self existence but are rather radars for picking up cries for help from all around the world. We therefore have to come to terms with ourselves, our senses, to be of help to others.


Help us to listen O God
When weak voices squeak in final acts of desperation
Help us to see O God
When tired eyes look to us for final redemption
Help us to feel O God
When evil swoops down on good intention
Help us to taste O God
When power corrupts the natural concoction
Help us to smell O God
When dreams are burnt beyond recognition

My father’s day

I still remember the day my mind slipped into a domino like collapse. It looked nice while it lasted but it was suspect to outside forces and could come down any moment. That moment happened to be that day. Everything was fine in the morning with the usual father-son chat and then the rush to college where my thoughts were set upon going back home again. I remember sitting in class and talking to a friend when an office staff approached me and asked me to go home as soon as possible. He didn’t say why. I just thought that my father needed me at the shop so he could go home and see mom.

These flashes still light up my slumber like lightning on a dark rainy night. The class room, my bus journey, the walk to the shop, the closed shop and the black flag in front of the shop. Maybe I was too young to realise or maybe I didn’t want to. A coolie in his red shirt came up to me, held my hand and said, “Father’s gone.” What is this guy saying? Where did my father go? Why is the shop closed? Scene after scene flashed in front of me, and I tried to see whether my father was in it. For some reason he wasn’t.

Many people said many things to me. I really couldn’t hear them. All I wanted to do was to see my father. Maybe he was sick. Or could he have gotten into some kind of trouble? I was walking. Half way I realised I was walking to the hospital. Some one caught hold of my hand and led me through a narrow path to a corner of the hospital. As I neared a big room I could hear women crying. I thought father would have come to see someone really sick in the hospital. I entered the room. The person suddenly squeezed my hand and held my shoulder.

Now I am old enough to realise what happened that day. I am sane enough to know what I lost and what I would have done with father today. But today can’t bring back yesterday and what is lost can’t be gained with years running past. Happy father’s day.

My mama won the election!!!

As the Congress-DMK discussions for berths continue, the mandate is clear. The Congress led UPA has been voted back to power. The people of India have shown that they are eager for a stability and sensibility which they have got very less of in the past two decades. Lalu Prasad Yadav added an extra berth inside trains in India only to lose his own berth in the cabinet. (I wonder whether they will do away with this extra berth concept inside trains. Many have confessed that it is quite annoying). CNN-IBN and NDTV are telling us that they won the elections because they came close to predicting the results.

In all this fervor of hectic activity and claims I have to make a confession of my own. One, I did not write a blog on mother's day. (I could be excused because I did not get hold of a computer to type in a blog post and I was also internet-less for a week in between). Two, my mother, like many mothers in Kerala and I am sure all over India, predicted who would win this election.

Now I don’t know whether all the mothers in this land said the Congress would win because they were fed up with the other parties, or whether they had an inclination for the Congress right from the beginning or whether the likes of Rahul, Priyanka and Tharoor did the trick! (I did read an article which predicted a good chance for Shashi Tharoor because women in Kerala also vote for good looking men! :) I can’t vouch for that, but it’s what I read).

As I asked many families in Kerala who they voted for, the women (mostly mothers) would always show me the hand (not literally). “Congress ke hath garibo (mahilaom: women) ke sath.” Meaning that the Congress symbol of the hand would be with them and they would be with the hand. Hand in glove maybe! This gave me some pointers as to who would this election. But I still thought that this election would be a humdinger. I was proved wrong... by my mother. Happy belated mother's day.

Don’t count me out!!!

Come May 16, 2009 and we will know the outcome of one of the most exhaustive exercises in the world; the Indian elections. Television news channels in all languages are already in the heat of things, predicting which alliance will have the numbers and how the two top alliances are cozying up with smaller parties to make a claim to government formation. All the top leaders and the wannabee’s have already covered up their fifteen minutes of fame and are still going strong.

The electronic voting machines which were in use this time will speed up the results and in many places clear winners will be announced by noon or just afterwards. The big fight has thus led to the big count. Going through the remaining hours is painful for some and thrilling for others.

But what does this mean for the ordinary citizen? Are we going to get stability, good governance, development, pro-poor programs, and equality for the oppressed? Or are we going to be counted out of the equation? Political party’s who asked for our mandate with specific promises will be seen aligning with party’s who were their opponents before the elections. After dividing the people in the name of caste and religion, soon different alliances will shake hands and make up to give a so called stability to our country.

What then is stability and development and what is helping the ordinary citizen of India? Is it lying to us, mis-using and mis-guiding us, dividing us and then ruling over what remains of us? This election should not be about getting counted out of the equation, rather it should be about getting counted in. Our leaders have to know that the Indian public is not a grouping that can be twisted and turned to their fancy. In this way the fight (election) is not over for the people of India!

My vote counts

My vote counts, when I swallow the lethargy and lift my finger
My vote counts, when I ignore the cutie and side with the smarty
My vote counts, when I push the button after selecting my icon
My vote counts, when the counting is over but the fight runs forever


I voted this time too. Guess it’s my third time atleast. I had to fight off a lot of questions before I pressed the button. What good is it going to do?, are the candidates qualified, do I know them?, etc, etc. But in the end I went, knowing that if I didn’t, I would blame myself for the state of this country for the rest of my life.

What is going to change? I really don’t know. What I know is that if anything has to change, it has to be me first. Until I keep paying bribes, until I disrespect public property, until I don’t show the heart and courage to disagree, nothing will change. At the end of the day I have come to realise that it is not just about our leaders, it is about us as well. What do I/we have as a plan for the next five years, because if we don’t have any, neither will our netas.

Kerala saw a frenzied political battle in the state, with even religious communities throwing their weight behind candidates and political parties. I never thought that adhering to a particular faith also meant pushed into the membership of a particular party. The equations are clear. ‘You help me and I will help you.’ Indeed a shame for both the church and the political establishment, both of whom have the mandate to serve people irrespective of their caste, class, colour and sex.

The biblical call is clear. Pray (help) for your enemies. What does it profit you to help your friends? !!!

Let the Tamils go!

Blood, gore and violence disturbing sense in this nonsense
I suspect whether human concern bounces off pride in armour
Thousands lie buried in silent tombs pierced by shrapnel
As the dead fall, the living flee wishing to continue life

Is Prabhakaran and the LTTE worth the lives of innocent women and children?
Will bombs lead disturbed minds into submission?
What is my religion when it kills others?
Where is my faith in the middle of blatant destruction?

Stop the elephant’s pursuit in the jungle
Too many fall unawares in the weight of the mammoth’s rumble
Don’t sow hatred in strict paddy patterns
Fleeing they are, don’t shoot them from behind

Life is still so feeble in the spic and span stable
Stop getting a kick from spilt blood among the weaklings
It’s time to stop, so let’s do just that
And retain whatever humanness remains intact

Easter: ‘Jesus remixed’

Kerala is in the hold of a remix trend. Two movies, ‘Sagar Alias Jacky’ and ‘2 Harihar Nagar’, are sequels to the runaway successes, ‘Irupatham nootand’ (Twentieth Century) and ‘In Harihar Nagar’. The music has been remixed to seal the gap between the decade-separate generations and it is catching on in high spirits.

As the Christians in Kerala celebrated Easter (the resurrection of Jesus), this need to bridge the gulf between the decade-separate generations is being felt. On the one hand traditional churches offered a change in timings of the Easter service to accommodate the ones who found the early morning service a tad bit too difficult logistically speaking. On the other hand the people also are becoming more vocal about the need to make services more relevant for the times.

This is where the concept of ‘Jesus remixed’ comes in. As in any remixed version, there are the pros and cons of taking such a step. The traditionalists argue that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and any change is the distortion of truth. Those who think otherwise are of the opinion that truth itself is not a constant and changes with the times, and it does not mean that Jesus has changed in essence. The priests also point out that the original is the only version and anything else is an attempt at humiliating our forefathers and foremothers, the originators. Further they also argue that what has been handed down has been crafted very carefully and has immense meaning in it. They are opposed by those who say that what should be and should not be is for the people to decide and not by the so called purists.

Can we then say that what is mixed once cannot be mixed again so that the essence is maintained? Or can we say that every generation needs a new mix for a new fix? Or should we call it rediscovering oneself through a remix? As Mohanlal is rediscovering himself in an age well ahead of retirement, we should maybe wait and see as to what will last; the mix or the remix!

Maundy Thursday sea blues

As we sit down at the table of fellowship this Maundy Thursday (Pessaha vyazham) let us also remember that we gain our strength from this fellowship because Jesus chose to be a man who expressed his solidarity with the weak and the poor (both in heart and in life). His disciples included fisherfolk and it speaks volumes of what we should be if we ever fondle any hopes of becoming the disciples of Jesus. It is in this context that we should look out to the sea and the land around us, to the people who matter...God's real disciples who sing from their heart inviting true fellowship...


During hard times and good times
When the sun rises and sets in the distance
Only one thing keeps us going
(And) That’s the sight and smell of our mother the sea

In life and in death, this is what we believe and say

Our frustrations and our dreams
Start and end with our mother the sea
All senses of our humanity
Are captured in the essence of the salt n’ (the) sea

In life and in death, this is what we believe and say

What our mother gives, she takes
Still we honour and respect her in full scale
Knowing we benefit by the natural way
Where humans and nature work together in sway

In life and in death, this is what we believe and say

Don’t strip our mother of her rightful place
By encroachments and waste-fills all over her face
Stop trawling when nature passes through the cycle
And allow all creatures to atleast live in the temporal

In life and in death, this is what we believe and say

Let’s come together for once in good sense
To prevent the waters from swallowing our presence
Let’s respect the sea, it’s creatures and one another
Allowing each one the chance for survival

In life and in death, this is what we believe and say


And thus the story goes. True fellowship does not end in a day or in a particular space. True fellowship is this beautiful relationship; between humans, nature, the world and God. True fellowship is not breaking bread for those we know, but for those we have failed to even take note of.

Palm Sunday: The release into ecstasy

Christians around the world commemorate this day as Palm Sunday, in memory of the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holding up palm leaves and throwing flowers in the air, there are many Christian traditions, who try to relive that moment of faith (history) when the people greeted Jesus on the donkey colt, by collectively shouting ‘Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Truly a powerful moment. The son of a carpenter, a band of ruffians as followers, a donkey colt as the official carrier, and the crowd of people celebrating a big event. It would have been one of the most un-choreographed moments of a great event. And yet it was a notable and therefore a successful event.

But I wish to look at it from a totally new perspective. I want to travel hundreds of years to the present. To the churches that are spread all over India, and who have the tradition and practice of holding palm leaves and throwing flowers in the air as a reminiscence of the great entry.

I remember the Palm Sunday services in my church, which belongs to the Orthodox church tradition. Both as a deacon (priest assistant) and as a priest I noticed the interesting release of the flowers by the children assembled in church. There were these designated times when everyone was asked to throw the flowers (preferably upwards). From throwing flowers upwards, they started throwing against each other and then towards the priest. The battle cries and the missile like flowers would bring about a hostile environment in which the priest had to read the prayer.

But putting apart the small inconveniences, we have to look at the children who get into the act of the release of their frustrations in church. Even though there are supposed to be other avenues for this, that it does not work becomes clear. So, Palm Sunday helps the children to enter into passion week, putting out all frustrations and anger. Truly, a release into ecstasy, which is one of the aims of religion. So even though the church has a fixed route, the children select their own routes. The solemn service then also becomes fun and adrenalin releasing. Maybe when Jesus entered Jerusalem, this was what the people felt. A release from their usual afflictions and the rules and regulations of the authorities!

I fooled ya!!! April 1

The clear and comfortable morning sleep of two of my friends was interrupted by the same piece of news. A friend had had an accident and it was quite serious. But before they could even comprehend what this meant, the voice on the other side shouted, “April fool.” There was a feeling of being fooled, disgusted but finally with a sheepish smile they finally said, “you got me.”

So it’s April 1st and by now everyone has broken the news of how they fooled whom and what fun it was. Finally most people have taken it in their stride as they have been told clearly to “relax wo/man, it’s a joke.” The dust has settled and the lights will soon go off, the laughter dying off into some corner of the street. But the “I fooled ya” part of the narrative fails to die out.

Signs are a way of leading us somewhere. But we also give various meanings to the same signs. What if I told you that the “I fooled ya” part of our lives is not a one day competition that we attend but a 365 day competition that goes on and on. The elections are a part of everyone’s discussions and politicians are in the arc lights of fame for the moment. There are those who are excited to vote, those who are confused whom to vote for and those who don’t know whether they should vote at all. But after all the excitement and the hope, politicians from several political parties who then fail on their promises, will through various signs tell us “I fooled ya.” Some of us will get it and some won’t. But there will always be enough people who will be misled by these signs.

The April fool syndrome is not only a political reality. It is the same for everything that is connected to money. Therefore even religion follows the same path. After taking people on board and filling their coffers, they are left mid-sea with the same April fool slogan. This year, the month of April is important for Christians because the resurrection of Christ (Easter) will be celebrated. This is preceded by the remembering of the crucifixion of Christ and the pain and passion he went through. In a way it is the reverse of the “I fooled ya” philosophy. It was rather making a fool of oneself that Jesus Christ did. Even though he could turn around from the threat of death, he stood for what he believed in. This “making a fool of oneself” philosophy is inherent in all religions. But this is where we disappoint. We are busy making a fool of other people that we forget that it doesn’t contribute to our community and country in any way. So this time I am trying to struggle with the meaning of “I fooled ya” and “I fooled (made a fool of) myself”.

Emptiness

Emptiness, a deep sense of nothing
A feeling of what is ‘not’
That which stirs and moves
But lies hidden in layers of emotion

A stone on still water
Causing ripples in one direction
What starts ends sooner or later
Stillness and emptiness settles in once more

Emptiness reflects beingness
There’s nothing, which means something
The pain and uneasiness remain
In a place where we have never been

What if I die today?
Will my emptiness go away?
But where will I go today?
Behind my emptiness, with it or leaving it behind today?