Here
is a story-
"Believe
only what you see and hear" was what he was taught by his science teacher
at school. Dismissed by his colleagues, the science teacher was considered to
be an atheist lunatic; but Ram's young impressionable mind was captivated by
it. He did find it logical that if there is a higher authority, would He be
sadist enough to punish us if we don't bow down in front of Him? Would he
appreciate the way we shun small-case letters while addressing or referring to
"Him" during writing? Does God really exist?
That
science teacher who taught 10 year olds to question the authority of God was
shown the door soon after many parents complained. It was more of the constant
urge to question things invoked by him among the children than the "God issue".
The children would question every ritual, every religious doctrine which bugged
the parents. It all led to the ouster of the blasphemous teacher. The Principal
fired him immediately since he was an ad-hoc recruitment anyway. But the seeds
were sown in Ram's mind, and they went deep and far.
He
grew up to become a man, went through many discussions, countless differences
of opinions which sometimes were an inch close to being converted to
fistfights. All this had changed him. He became opinionated and argumentative.
He thought people who believed in God were morons; taunted his own parents for
being ignorant. He was not liked in group meetings. Everyone knew that he could
snap any minute and judge people for their religious faith.
This
is the story of that one fateful day when he was on his way to work; he saw a
car run over a guy! He knew that guy, he had seen him somewhere! Oh yes! He was
their local vegetable vendor! His name was Hariya. He ran to his help, called
the ambulance, got him admitted in a hospital! Apparently the guy who ran him
over was Hariya’s own brother! It was a property-related issue.
Hariya's
face was annoyingly calm. He had forgiven his brother for the act; Ram went in,
stayed there a while and came back. The words that kept ringing in his head
were- "I have nothing against my brother, God is great, I hope He makes
things better!" "So the task has been left to God?" thought Ram
smiling to himself.
Suddenly
he saw Hariya's estranged brother entering the ward; he followed him quickly,
sensing something foul. As he entered he saw the brother crying at Hariya's
feet asking for forgiveness! "God will never forgive me! Can you forgive
me please? I have sinned and I should be punished! You are great! I went mad, I
was mad for money..." and he went on apologizing and weeping.
Ram
was watching this family drama only to be sucked into it in the next few
minutes! Hariya and his brother's eyes met Ram's and they were filled with
immense gratitude. "Thank you, sir ji. Thank you for bringing my brother
to the hospital. I can never repay your debt!" the brother said. "Oh,
it's fine" Ram said! "I saved Hariya- the vegetable vendor; but for
saving Hariya- your brother- I think you should thank God!"
Ram's
neighbour who had also helped in bringing the patient to the ward and taking
care of him was also listening to all this. When Hariya's brother turned around
and marched toward the temple, the neighbour asked- "Hey Ram! Did I just
hear you praise God?"
Ram
smiled and replied - "I thanked Him but didn't acknowledge his
presence."
"What's
the difference?" the neighbour asked.
Ram
smirked and went away leaving the neighbour pondering all by himself. The
neighbour's face had the same look as the look on the face of Ram's primary
school teacher, after just being fired, 20 years ago.
