Pilgrim

After this weekend nobody has the right to question my secular credentials. It started off when my nephew asked me for a donation to his church. They've convinced the poor guy that there will be more peace in this world if they expand that particular building. I did send him on a little introspection about why religious folks do what they do. Since I'm against indoctrinating kids into any particular belief system, I stopped before his head got too muddled. I gave him a 100 and told him to buy ice cream. He got the hint.

For reasons that are too complicated to explain I visited a temple in Ulsoor. The only temple my family normally visits is the Shiva temple in Sadashivanagar on Shivaratri. That tradition began when I was a kid and my incentive to go there was that I got to see Dr.Rajkumar who visited the place, like clockwork, at exactly 7:30 on Shivaratri evening. Veerappan, old-age and eventually death caused him not to come anymore, but I don't have the heart to break our little family tradition.

Then we went to the Ulsoor Gurudwara. I love the sense of community that is so central to the Punjabi culture. The langar and seva are indescribably heart-warming, and their underlying principles might just be the formula that will save the human race.

I am secure in my atheism, but if there was a law that everybody had to pick a religion, mine would be Buddhism. The day wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Buddhist temple. I always knew of this unassuming buddhist place of worship near my house and yesterday was a good time to go there. Its a fascinating place. As A put it "I love places that make you shut up without anybody having to tell you to do it". The unhurriedness really lent some bizarre profoundness to the atmosphere. The rains lashed while we were inside and that made it even more surreal. If it wasn't for the noise of the traffic, this would be a great introspection sanctuary.

The mosque will have to wait till next weekend.