Mazhab ki Mandi

It is not only those gun-wielding-flag-raising fanatics who have been brainwashed into accepting barbarism and insanity in the name of God 
Don't be surprised when you come across rigidly opinionated believers of an ideology and their self-righteous bluntness !

While the first type are trained and turned into cold blooded murderers in the path of a so called religion , the second type are convinced of their "peaceful" existence as followers of the “most peaceful” religion on this planet , no matter which religion / ideology they follow !!!

So while the militarised followers jubilantly take the law in their hands , the “peaceful” ones are apparently law-abiding citizens , ironically encouraging the law breakers silently (or vocally) because both these categories have one thing in common: 

Their sensibilities have been mortgaged in one of the many WhatsApp Universities for a load of crap called "knowledge" !!!

Building extravagant places of worship , and then releasing a list of the "wealthiest of such places in the world" is like reading the Forbes list of the most powerful / influential business tycoons in the world 😊😊😊 and going about asserting one's religious ostentation reminds me of the popular advertisement of a famous detergent bar where the lady remarks pretentiously :

"Bhala uss ki saari meri saari se safed kaisey ... 🤔😊😛 !

 

In the olden days Prophets , darveshs and saints would fast and meditate as a gesture of prayer for peace and harmony among the diverse population of this world . There was no competition nor were judgements passed , no one went to the roof tops proclaiming that they were the best !!!

Their Ibaadat was for healing and harmony🤝🏼💐💕💕💕 so selling mud and water must never have crossed their simple non materialistic minds !

With so much social and religious churning happening and religious beliefs playing havoc with the sensibilities of a normal human being , I am reminded of the American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate, Steven Weinberg who once said, "With or without religion, good people can behave well and *bad people can do evil*; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion." !!!

The Islamic Holy month Ramzaan is underway these days 

Fasting during the month of Ramzaan by Muslims is an obligation of faith 

So be it 

We ve heard a thousand times and more that there are no reasons in faith 

Something is ordered 

And it must be followed 

Period 

And there is no hurting "Others" sentiment

So it's okay if a religious group is performing their religious duty 

 

Then why do we have all these stories enumerating the virtues of fasting ? And lo and behold ! There is Science and social responsibility expertly woven into an ordinance of faith to convince the considerably intelligent mind that might question the logic behind following a particular rule or action 

So we are told that fasting has various health benefits and also going hungry and thirsty for several hours in the day helps us in understanding the plight of the underprivileged who live with lack of food water and other amenities of life throughout the year 

This also well taken 

 

But then what is it about abstinence from eating certain foods like meat , pork , onion-garlic all your life ... ?

And abstaining from drinking (alcohol ) ?!!!

Why so much fuss over what to eat and what not in a world where millions go hungry everyday ?

In a sensible world fasting ( as in abstaining from eating for a prescribed number of hours in a day ) should be for the unscrupulously overfed ... !

But abhi ke liye let's leave that point 

And abstain from discussing world obesity and malnutrition indices 

Also in that spirit of abstinence , I ll abstain from speaking about other religions because I don't know much about them , waise to khaair I don't know much about the religion I am born into either 😊

But still as far as Ramzaan is concerned , I think I can speak a bit because I have been fasting since my school days . Back then it used to be some kind of a thrill when your classmates would marvel at your stamina to remain hungry and thirsty all day long for your faith ... !!!

But that was perhaps good for a little girl who never quite understood why one has to fast a whole month to understand the plight of the hungry

Isn’t just one day enough 🤔 ?

Every year with the advent of Ramzaan begins an incessant stream of messages informing us of the various "advantages" of fasting

This information is mostly a repetition from past so many years , the only difference being that they have now graduated and mastered from verbal sermons to e mailing to WhatsApping 😆

And the number of messages , now camouflaged in "scientific" discoveries has increased in number too !!!

However with all these years of fasting behind me , I am still not convinced of any health benefits 

I mean you don't drink water through out the day for about a month ... How healthy is that ... ???
And waking up in the middle of the night , to eat sehri , disturbing normal sleep , again for a month at an hour of the day that cannot be your normal ever !!!

Wo bhi health benefit hai 😊🤔😯 ?

Then there is the taraveeh , at least an hour long special night prayer in the month of Ramzaan
It is believed that The Holy Qura'n was revealed to The Prophet in this month
And so the Imaam Saheb spreads out its recitation during Taraveeh in such a manner that the entire Quran is recited in this month
Again the believer is given a dose of science and logic saying that taraveeh helps in balancing any overeating one may have indulged into at iftaar time because Namaaz as per research is nothing but yogic asanas ... And you also get to listen to the Quran Shariif without making any extra effort ... So isn't it a win -win situation for the rozedaar ?

Now unless you are an exceptionally extraordinary person , you cannot afford to go on working efficiently with just 3 / 4 hour sleep per day for a whole month !!!
But habit and conditioning has made it possible in most cases 

Also cultivating a sense of empathy in people doesn't bear much fruit 

How can you come about to being humble and caring anyway when you are following a system robotically with a bloated ego exalting your religious and societal supremacy !!!

During Ramzaan , Masjids host iftaari feasts and so a lot of the underprivileged sincerely fast so that they can eat one delicious ( and hopefully healthy ) meal in the whole day for a month

Is this not a pathetic scenario for a community who boasts of equality and justice , that the poor among them have to wait for a whole year , then fast for a full day under all kinds of weather conditions and with meager resources , so they can claim their right to eat bananas and samosas in the Masjid ... ?

Those who don't / can't fast ( for whatever reason ) are pitied and secretly looked down upon 

Some Orthodox elders even try to admonish these "gone-astray" Momins for loosing out on such a "rare" divine opportunity ... that by the way , presents itself annually 😐

So the point I am trying to reiterate is that religion indeed is the opium of the masses , a drug the intake of which is never controlled and an over dose is neither prohibited nor deemed dangerous !!!

Look at how preachers everywhere weave religion into their speeches that change a reasonably sensible human being into a senseless disdainful and unjust reactionary 

Most certainly it would have to be extremely painstaking hard work with no guaranteed obedience , had this mindless conditioning of the human mind not been connected to religious beliefs 

But with a pinch or two of religion thrown in small amounts as they apparently tackle a social issue , these preachers unsuspectingly yet firmly bring people to conform to their ideology ... 

Religious , cultural , political whichever ... !

Religion invokes a mixture of fear , guilt and righteousness to make it easy on the one hand to ghettoize people , and on the other to intoxicate them with a false sense of supremacy

Inflated with egotism , unwittingly and perilously these blind followers submit their entire lives to the ideology / belief of a mere mortal whose leadership they have accepted 

Their religious conditioning is now complete 

Their minds are now closed

And their hearts are sealed 

They have finally entered the Mazhab-ki-मंडी  

Bikhrey Rishte

Recently a cousin of my late mother lost his wife
He had migrated to the neighbouring "enemy" country many many years back and had taken a portion of my mom's life too with him
And indeed a slice of his life remained alive on this side too :-)

On either side of the border the cousins must ve most longingly relived the same stories over and over a thousand times and more ... because what he left back here was his bachpan and adolescence
And what he had taken away was a part of my mom's bachpan and adolescence

Although politicians on either side who created this sinful divide are free to show hostility or friendship to each other as per their moods and requirements , the common man cannot lay claim to such luxuries

Pakistan kya banaa rishtey aur Khaandaan sab buri tarah bikhar gaye ... Bachpan baNt gaye , jawaaniyaN alhadpana bhool gayiiN ... Budhapaa apne umar daraaz aaNsoo chhalkata rahaa ...

Kisi qaum ke rehber ne nahi socha ke ghar to phir bass jaatey haiN lekin ujdey huay log chaahey iss paar hoN ya uss paar adhoorey ho kar reh jaatey haiN ...

Kuchh idhar reh gaye kuchh udhar chaley gaye ... Aur duuriyoN ke shuruaati daur ke uss shadiid dard ki , uss adhooreypan ki dheere-dheere aadat si ho gayi

Zindgi ka safar chalta rahaa ... Chalta bhi rahey ga ... 😊

Lekin kabhi jab koi buzurg inn jhameloN se alwida kehta uss duniya meiN chalaa jataa hai , ki jahaaN koi bhed - bhaav nahi , tab baith kar kuchh der ko zaroor bachpan meiN suni apno ki kahaaniyaN bahot yaad aati haiN

Kya aisa bhi koi daur guzra hai ... Yaqeen karney ko dil chaahta hai ... Aur ye bhi ke kaash wo din waapis aa jaaeiN ...

Wo shaaerana guftgoo , wo laziiz sense of humour , wo baasmati chaawal ki mehek , wo tavey par siNkti rotiyoN ki soNdhi khushboo ...

wo chamakta paandaan , wo leheriye waale malmal ke dupatte , wo aaNgan meiN phaili lal mircheiN , Naani jin ka achaar banaati thiiN ...

wo anNgrez miyaN-biwi jo hamare nanihaal ki kothi ke ek portion meiN rehtey thay , wo aamrood ka bagh jo Naani ke chhajje se dikhaai deta tha , wo Neem ke ped meiN padaa jhoola ...

wo thaali-bhar gol gappe zeera-paani aur chatni , wo guava jelly ki khushboo jo aNgrez sahiba banayaa karti thiiN ...

Mummy ki generation ke saath ye aur naa jaaney aisi kitni hi dilnawaaz aur anmol yaadeiN bhi dafan hoti jaa rahi haiN 

Itney bikhar gaye haiN ... Log bhi , ghar - makaan bhi ... ke ab waapis puraani soorat bananaa naamumkin hi hai

Bass itna karam rahey ke kabhi phone par apne-apne zindgi ke tukde jodd kar khush ho sakeiN
Unn waqtoN ke mazaar par ek kamzor si shamaa jalaa kar apne guzrey buzurgoN ki yaadeiN raushan kar sakeiN
Unn bhooli-bisri mohabbatoN ke saaye meiN ghadi bhar aaNkheiN mooNd kar koi tazaa-dum khwaab kal ke waastey dekh sakeiN ...