Religion.

“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil. But for good people to do evil- it takes religion…”
     Steven Weinberg, in his much celebrated work “The First Three Minutes” gives us a glimpse of his brilliance where he pinpoints the tragedy of modern day humanity. Though the origin of the concept of ‘Religion’ is not the best known, one can definitely say that religion originated to unite human beings. And where do we stand today? Religion is dividing humanity. We have comprehensively defeated the very purpose of religion, and humanity.
     Religion is a very complex concept, too intricate to define. Roughly, it can be called as the fear and fascination of The Divine. It was perhaps a social need of man to get under an umbrella of religion where he could accept the power of The Divine and surrender to it. Slowly and steadily rituals crept in. The whole concept of religion started losing its individualistic nature and became a matter of community. The trouble started here.
     History will tell us how man has betrayed himself in the name of religion. Different religions started fighting with each other. And when there was no one else to fight, the religions started fighting within themselves giving rise to sects and conflicts thereof. The Crusades, the Holocaust, various communal riots and so many such events tell us screaming what cruelty man has unleashed on his fellow brethren in the name of God.
     It is important to have a look at theocracy in this perspective. It was believed that The King is a part of God. He had religious significance. But then, religious institutions took over the reins of State. This further intensified the conflict between various religions. Sometimes the expansionist ambitions of such states were clubbed with religious beliefs which resulted in wars like The Crusades.
     I believe no religion permits violence. If it talks of violence, then it is not true religion, it is a misinterpreted, wrongly presented unholy version of religion. I am no atheist. I believe there is a power which has created the world and which runs it. People call it Bhagwan, Allah, God and even Higgs Boson! It is that Divine One which we all need to worship. And worship does not mean pompous rituals, it means creating one’s own relation with that Divine One. There is only one God and hence, when you insult somebody else’s God, you are insulting your own…

माझं ध्येय

This is a creation of another "Anonymous Friend" of mine. He talks about one's aim and destiny in life. I have attempted to translate it so that everybody can enjoy the article. I am aware that translation is no match to the original work.

एखादी व्यक्ति एखाद्या विशिष्ट कामासाठी देवाने जन्माला घातलेली असते.
व्यवहारातील अपरिहार्यता म्हणून किंवा अनेकदा आपल्याला उपजीवीकेसाठी किंवा इतर काही कारणाने आपण ज्या कामासाठी जन्मलेलो आहोत किंवा जे काम आपल्या हृदयात वसलेले आहे त्या कामाव्यतिरिक्त अन्य काही नोकरी किंवा व्यवसाय करावा लागतो. पण तरिही निसर्गाने ज्यासाठी आपल्याला बनवलेले आहे, त्या कामची साद आयुष्यभर आपला पिच्छा सोडत नाही. आपण त्या निसर्गाच्या  सादेला किती ही दुर्लक्षित केले तरिही कित्येकदा एखाद्या हळव्या क्षणी हृदयात खोल कुठेतरी ती उर्मी उसळत  राहते. खूप वेळा हृदयाच्या त्या हाकेला कित्येक दिवस, महीने, वर्ष आपण 'ओ' दिला नाही तर त्या हाकेचा आवाज क्षीण होत जातो. मग उरते ते फक्त कंठण्याचं आयुष्य. मग जगणं थांबतं आणि उरतं ते आयुष्याच्या वाटेवर रखरखित उन्हातील अनवाणी  चालणं...त्यात मग हृदयाची सतार होत नाही, श्वासांचे कधी पंख होत नाहीत अन् धमन्यांमध्ये पाखरं उडत असल्याचा साक्षात्कार होत नाही. केवळ काही वर्षांच्या आपल्या या आयुष्यात असा रखरखित उन्हाळा टाळायचा असेल तर कधी एखाद्या नाजूक क्षणी खडबडून जागी व्हावं लागते. हृदयावरच्या खपल्या उचकटून त्याच्या खालची लसलसणारी जखम बघावी लागते. जगाने वेडे म्हटले तरी सुसाटपणे आपल्या स्वप्नांच्या मागे धावावं लागते. स्वप्न साध्य होईल की नाही हा विचार गौंण असतो. स्वप्नांच्या हाकेला 'ओ' दिला, हृदयाच्या ओढीला रस्ता दिला अन् मनाच्या अनिवार उर्मीला वाट दिली तर हेच या सार्‍या उठाठेवीचे फलित असते. त्यात खरच एक वेगळा आनंद, समाधान आणि शांतता असते...

Translation:

I believe God has created each and every person for some special purpose or aim in life, which can be called as one’s destiny. But due to compromises and many times for the sake of earning, one has to choose a path different from the one destined. But that’s how life goes on. Yet, we can hear the echo of our destined purpose inside the heart. This echo haunts us in our journey. If you neglect it, it keeps on striking the shores of your heart like a tide. And if we don’t respond it, gradually it fades away. And then life becomes a cumbersome journey, lived for the sake of living. Life is reduced to mere breathing, as if one is walking and walking barefooted in scorching heat. The strings of heart become blunt and loose melody. Breaths lose their wings. Pulse loses its vigour. To avoid such misery in our short life, we have to wake up and shed all our inhibitions at some delicate juncture in life. We have to open our wounds by uncovering the scars. No matter the world calls you crazy, you have to chase your dreams, your destiny. It is immaterial to think if the dream will be achieved or not. Once you respond that echo, once you make way for your passion and fire, you will start living your life fully and truly. This pleasure of living is no small achievement. After all it has a genuine feel of happiness, satisfaction and peace.

चारोळ्या

These are some short poems written by a very good friend of mine, who is happy to remain in background  as an "Anonymous Friend", without revealing identity. For those who don't understand Marathi, I have tried to translate these lines. Hope you enjoy them... :-)

तुझं मजजवळ असणं,
वाटे जसं क्षणभंगूर स्वप्न,
जणू हे क्षण इथेच थांबावे,
नि, हे स्वप्न मज नित्य दिसावे...

Translation:

That enchanting time, when I am with you,
Like an evanescent dream, those moments are few.
I wish to freeze them, with me somewhere here,
And I dream to have this dream forever, forever...

वाटतं बघून पावसाला
स्वतःला आणि मनाला ओलं होताना पावसात या पावसाला,
ओढ नि अगतिकता भेटण्याची त्याच्या धरित्रिला,
तिचंही सौभाग्य त्यानं ओघळत ओघळतच तिला गोंजारताना,
तिनंही मग फुलून जावं त्याच्यावरील ओढ नि प्रेम दर्शविताना...

Translation:
When the rain is drenching me and my heart,
When the rain is leaving the raindrops wet,
When the rain is eager to meet his darling earth,
When the raindrops caress the earth tenderly,
I can feel the bliss of the earth.
And then she smiles back,
Opening out her heart,
Exhibiting her love and ecstasy,
Hiding herself beneath the grass,
With millions of flowers,
Budding, blooming, blossoming....
 

Friends I have tried my best to translate these poems but I am aware than no translation can match the original creation!