Since my childhood i am that odd one out kinda person in my family. My family is a mixture of different values/culture/faith/religion. And i always feel bored when someone talks about religion or God. It’s my middle school days i remember, one of my friends named Mohsin said “he is a true muslim, because he is praying 5 times a day & he is fasting during EID”. The same way another christinan friend said “he follows everything from easter, saint patrick’s day, thanksgiving, christmas to sunday mass because he is a believer in ONE TRUE CHURCH catholic values/teachings”. All such things were just foolish to my middle school brain. My middle school & high school days were all about playing chess, basketball, some video games, playing piano, little bit of painting, if i had too much free time i was teaching trigonometry & physics to few of my dumb friends. I never understood religion & God.
Let’s come to the main part of the story. My religion is Hindu. And both of my parents are full time employees & they are also bit too much into social service. So during my childhood i got plenty of time to spend with my grandparents.
Out of curiosity once i asked my grandpa;
“All my friends say something about their God or religion. Is there a process to be a true or good hindu?”
First he laughed at me for 2 minutes, then he replied;
“You become a good human, that’s good hindu”.
I again asked;
“Which specific God to pray & what’s the prayer i have to chant?”
He again laughed at me, then replied;
“There are literally 33 million Gods in our religion, even i am confused. Right now finish your homework & studies, eat all vegetables without being a pain to your mama, don’t watch TV for long time, sleep before 9pm, wake up early in the morning, these are all your duties/work at this age, after few years your work will become your identity. And your work is your best worship to your God.”
That’s all i was taught about religion. My grandpa died at the age of 97+. I still remember every single moment i spent around him.
Some friends question why i attend church service sometimes even though i am not a Christian!! The answer is; There was a church on my way to school. Father of that church used to give free teacakes to every kid after morning prayer. Sometimes i used to eat that teacake while going to school, and sometimes i used to give it to any homeless or disabled person near my street.
These tiny memories are still alive in me. I work & i make little more money than i can consume even after my share of savings+investment, i try to give it back to the society from where i earned. That’s why sometimes it’s a visit to any orphanage, community shelter/home & sometimes also it’s a sunday service. It’s not like I don’t believe in God, it’s more like “I DON’T BELIEVE IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS HAVE DIFFERENT GODS”. If there’s a GOD, there’s only one who lives inside your goodness.
The gist of the story is; Do something good everyday or just do your work/duty in time, rest assured your GOD loves you.
Tap OUT..🤗
Great piece. Peace.
Appreciation appreciated.👍
To be a good human. Your Grandpa was right in my opinion.
Your comment was left in spam somehow. Thanks for your words Anne.👍
Sometimes that happens! No worries !
I agree with you 💯% tbere is one God only, yet folks have many idols they worship. Take gambling for instance. Drugs or nicotine sources are some others. However we were all created by the same one, and He existed before time itself. My best friend of all seasons was from another country, raised a Hindu, and was as close to being a sinless human being than anyone I know. She attended my Christian church as I attended her Temple. She followed along with everyone else present as I did the same upon entering the Temple. We shared Bible stories. You could feel our respect towards each other. We want others to believe as we do, but we don’t force our faith on them.
This was a wonderful tap- talk. Your grandfather is wise.