Since we are hyper-ventilating, some being supportive and others antagonistic, about a series of actions and reactions to the rather unnecessary Ram Setu controversy, as well as to the manifold myths and faiths that are intrinsic to our civilization that encompasses all religions, philosophies and beliefs, the time may be right to be as proactive about cleaning up all the historic and religious sites in India. The tragedy is that our politicians have no concern for the fundamentals even as they vociferously claim the role of the ‘protector’. All that loud talk is often a cover up for the complete lack of real conservation of philosophies, myths and legends, faiths and beliefs as well as of their repositories.

Varanasi is the best example of the inability, of the largest religious group in India, to restore, conserve and keep clean the truly sacred. An absolutely stunning, ancient city set between the Asi and Varuna rivers that flow into the Ganga, Varanasi has a soul, a special feel. But the municipality has failed miserably to maintain even a semblance of cleanliness. A suffocating stink greets the pilgrim and the curious visitor. The great ghats are littered with waste and the river is polluted. Despite the horror, Varanasi remains to the Hindu what Mecca is to the Muslim.

Surely the Bharatiya Janata Party, so righteous about all that is deemed ‘Hindu’, needs to adopt Varanasi and make it a model of the best in their religion, faith and culture. They must show that they have the wherewithal to deliver the goods.

Work is religion

Why are places of worship in such an abysmal state? Why is there no municipal maintenance? Why are the Hindu tirth sthanas of the north unkempt in comparison to those south of the Vindhyas? How do the Sikhs keep the Golden Temple and its environs so impeccably clean 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? Chidambaram is a joy to visit as are all the village temples in Chettinad. It is time for the kar sevaks to ensure the dignity and purity of the public space around their temple towns.That must become their priority, which must replace on their agenda the present use of faith as a political tool.

I remember Mother Teresa asking me whether I believed in the power of prayer. When I stammered a bit trying to find an appropriate answer that would not be a lie, she put her arms around me, looked at me with her piercing eyes, and told me that I should not worry about her question because ‘honest work’ was also religion and prayer. That lesson is what our political class must learn. Mere rhetoric is not enough. And demeaning another’s faith — be it atheism, or anything else that includes honest endeavour — goes against the fundamental premise of all faiths, including animist.

Hindus have no reason to feel insecure about their faith. If they believe the vanar sena built the bridge to cross the Palk Straits to get to Lanka, so be it. That is what faith is all about. Every age has its myths, and myths are the stories, the oral tradition of civilizations. They encompass the religious and the secular. They link and bind, and they adjust to changing times. To cage myths, faith and belief into a political straitjacket can only dilute its strength. Human spirit, imagination and creativity must be allowed to run free. They should be liberated from do’s and don’ts, from imposed commandments. Belief and faith must be internalized, become part of the individual being, because only then can it be a source of true collective strength. We see this in small measure in our lives when we try and instil a sense of values in our children. Declamations of a religious nature, to garner political support, are destructive. Rajniti and religion are parallel lines that should never converge. Only if they are allowed to remain that way will India, a complex and extraordinary civilization, take off.