This small incident that I'm sharing here is one of many such stories that have been a part of my growing up. They have been, quite unknown to me, instrumental in shaping my thought process, because the kind of thinking and mind set that I seem to have developed is certainly thanks to the ideals that my elders held dear to their heart. As I saw them conduct their day-to-day life, they left their mark on my impressionable mind too.
And this rather obscure incident tucked away in time has... specially in recent times, shown me the way forward...guided me...taken me a step closer to being human.
This happened around the time when Partition of India had become inevitable. The air in the country was filled with the venom of distrust, confusion and rumours. One day my grandfather had just come home after a hectic day in court, and was going to freshen himself when his personal assistant came and informed that a group of men had come to meet him. My grandfather was a prominent personality in the town. It was not unusual for people, strangers and all, coming to meet him. But this was not the time he met outsiders.
His assistant informed that the visitors had come from a nearby village. And they look scared and worried, hence the matter might be serious.
So grandfather came out and asked them the purpose of their visit. One among them spoke in a hushed tone. He said they had heard that the "other party" had decided to desecrate a Masjid on the outskirts of the town in the darkness of the night.
My grandfather was quiet. He was not just a well-known lawyer in town, his knowledge of the scriptures and religious books was highly acclaimed too.
The visitors looked at him expectantly.
His forehead creased a bit as he frowned.
To their surprise he asked them :
"What do you want from me...?"
"Khan Bahadar Saheb! Don't you think it is our sacred duty to make an effort to save that Masjid?" one of them asked, showing obvious displeasure at my grandfather's rather blunt stance.
Khan Bahadar Saheb again went into a thoughtful pause, before speaking.
When he spoke, he said:
"You will agree that as a natural instinct we all have this habit of protecting our possessions. We often ask God's help in this endeavour. Be it our house, our children, our property, assets...etc etc."
He used to speak very softly and there always seemed a pleasant smile not very far away from his face. I can imagine he must have spoken slowly and patiently as he went on to say,
"Now...I understand that any Masjid is a house of God...do you think God Almighty needs you and me to ptotect His house ...is He not capable of protecting His own dwelling... ??? The Lord of This World, This Universe... The Lord of the known and the unknown...all knowlegeable, all powerful...depends on us for protecting His house...?!!!!! To me this sounds ridiculous..."
His visitors were far from satisfied.
So he explained to them:
"Let us all do our duty to Him...obey His message, try to be good human beings...and please I request you not to disgarce Him so much."
There was silence for a while.
Then one of the visitors said rather caustically, "And Sir! don't you think it is our duty to defend our faith, and the mosque which represents our faith?"
Khan Bahadar Saheb looked at him and replied politely,
"No! I don't think its our duty...at best it is your wishful thinking...Get rid of it..."
Saying this he excused himself and went in to offer his namaz.
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