The ongoing controversy regarding theft of offerings in the Ram temple ranges from sentimentality to politics – some are worried about hurting sentiments while others are wondering what effect it will have on the UP elections. But the fundamental concern that should arise from this entire issue is completely missing. In fact, this gift-stealing has reminded us that we have basically turned into a society that silently tolerates and often indulges in corruption or many other evils. If people who steal offerings are afraid of the devotees, if not of God, they fear that if they are caught, they will be socially boycotted. But there was no such fear within him. Even if some of them have been caught and are behind bars, the doubt still remains that many offering-thieves are out there and are talking about giving the harshest punishment to those caught. Our society is gradually losing the power to experience anything. Be it theft in the temple, communal violence, rape, corruption – nothing irritates us. We protest against everyone, express anger against everyone, but this is just a demonstration, a show that others have seen that we are not silent. We just listen and make noise and assume that our concerns are reflected in it. We do nothing but express anger even on issues that directly affect us – be it the paper leak issue or the ongoing debate on mixing ethanol in petrol. Another question arises from here. Are our values also behind this hypocrisy? The problem of religions all over the world has been that there are agents sitting between God and the devotee, who assure that God is very merciful and keeps washing away everyone’s sins. At one time absolution certificates were sold in England. In the fourteenth-fifteenth centuries, the struggle against the corruption inherent in the Church, from John Wycliffe to Martin Luther, laid the foundation of the Protestant Church. There are many remedies and rituals prevalent in Hindu religion also for the removal of sins. Even in Islam, the strange fatwas of clerics have made life difficult for true Muslims. When politics gets involved with such religious hypocrisy and supremacy, then projects ranging from temple-building to nation-building are carried forward with all kinds of evil deeds under the guise of unquestionable piety. In this, only the truly religious person becomes the most lonely. Is the same game going on in India these days, which the ironies of this post-modern time are helping to become even more unbridled? Now the market is the regulatory power, which knows when to use politics, when to use religion and when to use sports. Offering and theft is also a salable subject for this market, in which on one side there are political equations and on the other side there are references to personal beliefs. The victory in this battle will not be of the one who assures that he will completely stop the theft of offerings or maintain the sanctity of the temple, but of the one who will assure the security of his interests among a large section of the society. A very gross – thick skinned – selfishness probably prevails in our mood these days and we do not care much about what is happening in the world and how it is happening. Unfortunately, when it hits us, we realize that our indifference or neutrality is our real enemy. We have turned into a society that silently tolerates corruption or other evils. If those who steal offerings are afraid of the devotees, if not of God, they fear that if they are caught, social boycott will begin. (These are the author’s own views)
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Priyadarshan’s column: The biggest problem is that nothing makes us restless anymore
