Prospecting middle ground

Faith is such a sensitive subject that I am not entirely surprised at the vehemence of pro and con reactions to this column. The VHP disag...

Faith is such a sensitive subject that I am not entirely surprised at the vehemence of pro and con reactions to this column. The VHP disagrees with many points I make and has written several times to say so. Secularists8217; seem to find Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Faithline annoying because it refuses to drown its readers in jalebi juice. Rather, it has chosen to dig a thorny, rocky, slippery something called middle ground, unexplored so far in Indian media, where several shades of Truth can be glimpsed. This, I believe, is a genuinely pluralistic approach, acknowledging the complex and sometimes bitter realities of our history, while adhering firmly to a positive vision of the future. A future that already has strong roots in the present, in the hearts and minds of millions of fellow Indians, who desperately want to move our national life ahead to better things than grieving over past wounds.

But pretending that the past never happened is a dangerously foolish path to take, as we have seen to our great cost. Would it not have been better to matter-of-factly accept the past and put it away as indeed past, by developing a strong perspective on history and national identity? By systematically articulating a sense of national purpose which would have nurtured our sense of self? So that those of us who have been unable to escape the anger of long past or recent ill-usage, need not search for religious, regional or linguistic straws to feel good about ourselves?

There is so much love and hope at work already in this country. Co-authoring the book Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Maximize Your Life Viking with writer-diplomat Pavan Varma opened my eyes to all the wonderful initiatives taken by everyday Indians of every religious persuasion, in health, education, environment, social redressal and even acts of pure human decency, like the dignified disposal of destitutes8217; dead bodies. Many of them offered their acts of seva as service to God. But their number has yet to reach a critical mass, the point where good governance and good civic behaviour combine full energies and transform our land into a place worth calling Home.

One of the biggest impediments to unblocking our positive energy is the cramped sense of self that afflicts many Indians. We feel like victims, like walking wounded, instead of rejoicing in the many strengths we already have. One big reason for this diminished self-view is our sense of historical wrong: almost every community has it. Faithline, if nothing else, sincerely wants us to feel better about who we are, based on the belief that it is a tripod of mind, body and spirit that sustains the human experience.

But matters of the spirit are not merely decorative rosaries or japmalas of bright beads to twirl gracefully. Faith is not an incense-scented, flower-festooned idol of gold locked away in prayer rooms, nor a book of prettily-worded thoughts to lull ourselves to genteel sleep with. Faith is powerful and terrifying, it flashes from eye to eye, from lip to lip, it can make us kind or cruel, it can inspire us to deeds of great human significance. Faith, like the Protestant work ethic, the Sikh seva, the Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;yoga karmasu kaushalam of the Gita or Zarathusthra8217;s exhortation that working hands are better than praying hands, is about doing things for each other while growing more generous and insightful Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;inside. Aggrieved people cannot be generous. But when grievances are acknowledged and freely aired, when the breeze of perspective blows on festering wounds, it8217;s entirely possible that healing can begin. We need to examine our darkest thoughts and recognise them for what they are: blocks, not boosters.Atilde;sup2;f40Atilde;sup3;Faithline, in its tiny way, wants to serve as much by talking about things that normally fester in private conversations amongst alarmingly many people, as by sharing good thoughts from every creed.