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Journalism of Courage
Ever feel like throwing a major tantrum and giving Life a good, tight slap for being so irritating? God, in his Great Radio Station, seems to have nipped out for a smoke and the track he8217;s left playing for when we dial frantically is an ancient Carly Simon song: Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;You just call out my name, And you know, wherever I am, I8217;ll come running8230; You8217;ve got a Friend.
That8217;s the message anyway of Draupadi8217;s Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;vastraharan. Later, she chided Krishna for not appearing sooner to save her. He retorted it was her fault for calling out to him as quot;Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Vaikunta Vaasaquot; and not quot;Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Hridaya vaasaquot;. Whereas Gajendra, the elephant seized by a crocodile, got faster service by hollering quot;Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Aapatmaantava! Anaatharakshaka!quot; It was Devi Lakshmi who had scolded Mahavishnu then for tearing out with his clothes in disarray to hurl his Sudarshan chakra at the croc, and he8217;d replied very politely but firmly that when his devotees called, he had no choice in the matter.
But those Good Books don8217;t let you off easy. In they clump, sternly raising the finger of perspective, telling you that these devices are nothing but elaborate dodges from the fact that life is really a very mundane business of quot;getting and spending and laying waste our powersquot;.
It seems so deliciously easy to fall in love with a Guru, lay your burdens on another. In fact, I just met up with a bunch of affluent South Delhi women who are besottedly in love with a white guru, while Saturday in Delhi saw a workshop at the India Habitat Centre by another very happening young man whose followers call him quot;an enlightened masterquot;. One can only feel glad that people are able to take comfort where they find it, that help is at all available. It is certainly much nicer than going to a shrink and less expensive, too.
But what of the many sceptics who nevertheless want God, the ones with a stern Upanishadic code, wanting succour but with major ego hassles about quot;submittingquot; to gurus? Who feel boxed in and air-deprived with too many people around?
Well, dust your hands and get back into the fray. See movies likeAtilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3; Gladiator or Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Charlie8217;s Angels. All that ritual enactment is great stuff. Catharsis does occur, a soul detox that Aeschylus, Sophocles and Aristophanes would have to toss the historical salad a bit given a clear thumbs-up to. As simple as that? Yes. Two and a half hours in cushioned darkness with surround sound and 70 mm is soul therapy at its most entertaining. Caramelised popcorn is a soothing optional extra. Better still, catch a schmaltzy, five-hanky flick on TV that makes you weep sentimentally, something like Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;It Could Happen to You. Escapism? Sure, why not? It8217;s like going to a spa for the mind. Your battered mental muscles are massaged with fragrant oils, wrapped in revitalising seaweed or mud, you8217;re steamed and rubbed glowingly dry, all for a hundred bucks.
I figure the movies justify God8217;s way to man. The Good Books I loveAtilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3; approve of the movies. Why else did Brahma feel impelled to cull the essence of the Vedas into a Fifth Veda called the Natya Shastra, quot;for the upliftment and delight of peoplequot;?
