Dear Reader:
Today I felt like writing about what religion, faith and belief means to me.
Being born in a family which is not particularly religious - we had only 3 festivals that we celebrated: Vinayaka chavati and Diwali & Sankranti. It usually involved quick prayers (for Vinayaka Chaviti) and lots of good food.
We used to visit temples once in a while, but for me it was more like submitting my wish list to God for his approval and due action.
Morning prayers (Hindu ones) were usually said only before exams (especially those that I was ill prepared for - so mostly all exams) & just before results were due.
Attending Timpany school which was started by Canadian Baptist Missionaries ensured that we would have a daily morning sermon followed by a long prayer - emphasizing our spiritual learning for the day followed by the Lord's prayer. I have to admit, I absolutely enjoyed the prayers and kind of missed having that simple connect in the religion that I was born in. There was also a sense of guilt and also my eagerness to 'fit' in with my peer group ensured that I feign indifference during these sessions.
But I understood one thing then, that A) I truly believed in prayers, B) I loved praying and felt good right after C) I was as comfortable as praying to Jesus/Mary/Holy Spirit as I was praying to Lord Siva/Krishna or Goddess Durga, by simply adding them to my 'list'.
During my grad days, I was introduced to Brahmakumaris by parents of a dear friend. Though I found it gave peace and comfort, I was too young to comprehend the wealth of knowledge that was being offered. But I had one major takeaway - they focused on developing a personal & meaningful relationship with God.
That involved writing letters to him in a diary, if need be.
Though initially it felt awkward (kind of how it felt when I started this blog) since I was sure that nobody would be bothered to read it (again like this blog), it became a medium of expressing -kind of like a journal with a Dear God instead of Dear Diary.
I would share all my worries, fears, feelings and felt comfortable that my God would take care of it. It was always Dear God - not Jesus or Krishna or Durga as based on the situation , I subconsciously reached out to Goddess Saraswati when I had trouble learning; Goddess Durga when I needed courage and confidence; Lord Krishna when I needed guidance or advise; Lord Hanuman when I was unwell or scared; Lord Ganesha when I was trying to start something (CAT preparation etc); Lord Rama and Sitamma when I was feeling overwhelmed with problems; and sometimes to Jesus for all the above.
Today I felt like writing about what religion, faith and belief means to me.
Being born in a family which is not particularly religious - we had only 3 festivals that we celebrated: Vinayaka chavati and Diwali & Sankranti. It usually involved quick prayers (for Vinayaka Chaviti) and lots of good food.
We used to visit temples once in a while, but for me it was more like submitting my wish list to God for his approval and due action.
Morning prayers (Hindu ones) were usually said only before exams (especially those that I was ill prepared for - so mostly all exams) & just before results were due.
Attending Timpany school which was started by Canadian Baptist Missionaries ensured that we would have a daily morning sermon followed by a long prayer - emphasizing our spiritual learning for the day followed by the Lord's prayer. I have to admit, I absolutely enjoyed the prayers and kind of missed having that simple connect in the religion that I was born in. There was also a sense of guilt and also my eagerness to 'fit' in with my peer group ensured that I feign indifference during these sessions.
But I understood one thing then, that A) I truly believed in prayers, B) I loved praying and felt good right after C) I was as comfortable as praying to Jesus/Mary/Holy Spirit as I was praying to Lord Siva/Krishna or Goddess Durga, by simply adding them to my 'list'.
During my grad days, I was introduced to Brahmakumaris by parents of a dear friend. Though I found it gave peace and comfort, I was too young to comprehend the wealth of knowledge that was being offered. But I had one major takeaway - they focused on developing a personal & meaningful relationship with God.
That involved writing letters to him in a diary, if need be.
Though initially it felt awkward (kind of how it felt when I started this blog) since I was sure that nobody would be bothered to read it (again like this blog), it became a medium of expressing -kind of like a journal with a Dear God instead of Dear Diary.
I would share all my worries, fears, feelings and felt comfortable that my God would take care of it. It was always Dear God - not Jesus or Krishna or Durga as based on the situation , I subconsciously reached out to Goddess Saraswati when I had trouble learning; Goddess Durga when I needed courage and confidence; Lord Krishna when I needed guidance or advise; Lord Hanuman when I was unwell or scared; Lord Ganesha when I was trying to start something (CAT preparation etc); Lord Rama and Sitamma when I was feeling overwhelmed with problems; and sometimes to Jesus for all the above.
