Worshipping a two headed snake for good luck!

There are people who have faith that their Gods and Goddesses never discriminate between what is good and what is bad, they go by the desire of their devotees only. They respond to their devotees irrespective of good doings or bad doings, is the belief. Criminals are known for serving their Deities sumptuously well before they proceed to commit a crime with a view to get success in their targeted task. It is difficult to comprehend as to how the Deity behaves when a criminal and his concerned victim are both the devotees of the Lord.

Quite a few days back, as brought out by the media, a gang of robbers in Farrukhabad (India) was busted by the local police. On search, the police found a two headed snake from their possession. The snake known as a sand boa which is called a domuha saanp (two headed snake) in the rural areas is non poisonous but has the reputation of securing success to its devotees if served well by them. The criminals kept it with them on a regular basis and worshipped it before launching their targeted act with the faith that it will elicit them success. Such a snake they purchase from snake charmers at a high price. Criminals are criminals after all and for them any thing is good that serves their purpose including the heinous acts like loot and murder they commit, and so are Gods, including species like a snake, who, as they think, fall in line with them with their beck and call, whenever so needed. Practicing dogmatism has no end in the society we have.

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Nagpanchami:

Nagpanchami is a festival observed by hindus and even others almost every where in terms of Hindu mythology. It fell due yesterday in India and was celebrated with full enthusiasm by the worshippers of Lord Mahadev. Lord Mahadev is the one God who is kept ornamentally garlanded by live snakes who continue creeping and hissing around his neck all the time and, with that faith in mind, his devotees dedicate this day to the snakes. They worship them, they feed them and they sing in their praise. Snakes are mainly served with milk as it is considered to be the choice food for them, which factor is more a myth than reality. In real terms, as it is said, snake are not that fond of milk nor they relish it much. In fact, they are the victims of snake charmers, who keep them under fed or without any food at all for several days before Nagpanchami (called by some also as gudia) falls due. The snakes virtually keep starving for days together remaining in full control and captivity of the snake charmers. Snake charmers have a definite purpose in such doings of theirs. They keep them unfed or starved so that their snakes could entertain a maximum number of clients who voluntarily and devotedly feed them with milk. If the snakes are not empty stomach, they may not be able to entertain the devotees, the clients of snake charmer, in the required  measure, or they may be able to do so only upto one or two cases. Snake charmers go from door to door taking advantage of devotees desire to worship and serve the snakes, and such number runs in several dozens.

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Anarchy in the name of rituals:

The holy city of Varanasi and the ghats on the bank of the sacred river Ganges (Ganga) are no more that holy a place as they used to be in the past traditionally since ages where people from all over the country, nay all over the world, used to congregate and take a dip in the waters of the river with the belief that this acted as a vital source to absolve themselves of whatever sins they  might have committed in their life. They did so also with the conviction that the type of such a bath coupled with certain rituals in the form of a puja (worship) was a sure way of going to heaven when they die. Such a puja used to be and is still performed on their behalf by the local priests who practically behave more as gangsters than the real holy men. These priests have their own prescribed rates for each ritual and the worshippers are forced to pay them exorbitantly failing which the worshippers have to face their wrath and curse in most crude a form. The most surprising phenomenon is that even in the present day world of ultra modern culture at the level of the society there are people who can’t afford disregarding the dictates of the priests for the fear that this may annoy the so called god men to the detriment of their future births. Such a false belief on the part of the devotees is not only highly ironical it is in fact a grave tragedy which they suffer from for no logical a reason. Only the other day I saw some of the priests on the bank of the Ganga at Varanasi well clad in jeans and multi coloured shirt practicing the puja on behalf of their customers/ devotees as if they were enjoying some picture in a cinema hall and had nothing to do with their traditional dress of dhoti/ kurta with a vermilion mark on their forehead. It is difficult to comprehend as to why the people should pose their faith in the god men so blindly. What the priests practice and the way they do it in the name of rituals is an act criminal in nature and in fact the devotees themselves are a party to such a crime by voluntarily succumbing to pressure tactics of the god men. Wake up India, wake up.

Link:Entity of God(s)

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Forgive my languor

Geetanjali by Rabindranath Tagore became a controversy and surprisingly it happened in a country like Russia. The issue raised was that it was pro terrorism. Strange! The book that won a Nobel Prize to Tagore is by and large a devotional work and no where it denotes any note of terror. It quite softly deals with human behaviour and approach in the context of routine dealings. In a way it is quite devotional a work inspiring people to submit to God, the Almighty. A line from the book reading as “…forgive my languor O! Lord if ever I lag behind” is enough to amply reveal the very spirit of it and it is very difficult to understand the reasons behind all this fuss.

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Devotion does elicit serenity and satiational inspiration

 

Technorati Tags: peace, environment, music

Talking of peace and solace, Thomas Hardy highlighted most inspiringly the need to go with a contented mind obviously emphasizing the feasibility of it in 'Far from the madding crowd' which novel of his is undoubtely a powerful manifestation quite psychologically covering the aspect of an inherant propensity of men and women for peace. The great tragedy in the present day atmosphere is that the moment you look around you just see crowds, get noise, and if it is a place like Kolkata, you invariably come across the large number of people running,talking say talking like chirping birds. It was in this context that Kipling said '....we have no time to stay and stare'. Peace is divine, peace is the need, peace is a phenomenon that springs up through a commitment with a bond of honest sincerity and above all through devotion Where music too is the one factor that predominantly supports it. It is infact a congenial environment in totality traced away from crowds and noise that generates a soothing atmosphere.