Haunting EyesAll along I had been trying my best to steer clear of topics that relate to religion. That was until now. I happened to read an article in Newsweek titled As American as Apple Pie that set me up to write this post. To be exact, the words, “It depends on how you view my head scarf ” that got me thinking. In it, I see only a desperation to being accepted by the rest of the society (given one’s religious beliefs), rather than a quiet conviction in living by them.

I must confess at the outset that I don’t know much about my own religion. That being so it is foolish for me to comment about my neighbor’s. When I was young I was brought up very religiously and was prescribed to follow some strict rules before I can be admitted to my place of worship. Once I was there, I must conform to a set protocol to be accepted in His place of abode. I was told that only certain times of the day one is permitted to offer prayers while at other times He is off limits. That it is more appropriate to offer my prayers in certain garbs than others. Since I was young I took matters such as these on faith.

But as I grew older, I tend to see such strict religious orders as superfluous or too limiting to relate to one another; much less relating to God. Today if someone were to tell me that I should grow a beard to feel religious or to be seen religious, I would first question the practical use of growing a beard or the inconvenience thereof. Matter of fact, for practical reasons, recently I removed even my moustache (You may want to read my other post: To sport a moustache or not? ).


The saffron cloth worn by a Guru, the ceremonial robe of the Pope are more like special effects that we insist that they wear to deserve our worship. It is no different than a Judge wearing a black robe in a court of law. Minus the robe, they are no less worthy of our worship or respect or that they are any less knowledgeable, less pious, or less moral.

To me it appears wearing a garb, covering one’s head, growing a beard are only methods by which we give ourselves a distinct identity and they are counterproductive. By adding one more layer between us and the rest of the humanity, we create a divide, a need to defend ourselves or plead for acceptance. While distancing ourselves from the rest of the humanity, how can we be closer to God?

These days I very rarely visit my place of worship and yet I feel much closer to Him then when I was visiting Him religiously. If you ask me to prove it, I don’t find the need for it. To me, relating to God is deeply personal and the experience cannot be quantifiable in words. It need neither be defended by words nor by a sword.

This week I read an interesting article titled “Jailhouse Cop” in Newsweek. It was about a sheriff who locked himself voluntarily in a cell for a week, just to know what it feels like to be in jail. As it appears Mark Curran, the sheriff of Lake County, Illinois is a devout catholic, a soft-hearted man who talks about love, religion and the importance of family in building a crime free society.


Some may see his voluntary incarceration as just another publicity stunt from a politician and I too am leaning towards that view, though I would love to be wrong. He himself admits he could not have drawn the attention of a major publication like Newsweek about the appalling conditions prevailing in the prison had it not been for his strange act.  That, conditions in the prison are dreadful and good parenting goes a long way in rearing law abiding citizens, is known for long. So what’s new here? While he has initiated commendable projects like ‘Malachi’ for the benefit of prison inmates, my focus is on this particular act. 

I don’t know if he had laid himself some specific objectives to achieve before confining himself in a cell. If so, has he achieved them? But whatever it be, he has put himself in harm’s way by being in the midst of prison inmates, some of whom may be violent. Or some who are mentally disturbed may overwhelm him to relieve their pent up feelings. Remember, he is there as a ‘prisoner’ and he cannot carry any means to protect him should someone ‘take a swing at him’ as he puts it. Even if he takes the swing, will his love or sympathy for the prisoners be the same after an attack?

Bottom line is, he is a good man but with a troubled conscience (and God only knows what it is that troubles him) which he tried to clear some way. This leads us to the inevitable question, “What can a single individual do to cure a disease or remove a curse that afflicts our society at large?”

For this, in my opinion, Wallace D Whittle has the definitive answer. To quote him verbatim,

” Things are not brought into being by thinking about their opposites. Health is never to be attained by studying disease and thinking about disease; righteousness is not to be promoted by studying sin and thinking about sin; ……
Medicine as a science of disease has increased disease; religion as a science of sin has promoted sin, and economics as a study of poverty will fill the world with wretchedness and want.
…..
True, there may be a good many things in existing conditions which are disagreeable, but what is the use of studying them when they are certainly passing away and when the study of them only tends to slow their passing and keep them with us? Why give time and attention to things which are being removed by evolutionary growth, when you can hasten their removal only by promoting the evolutionary growth as far as your part of it goes?
No matter how horrible in seeming may be the conditions in certain countries, sections, or places, you waste your time and destroy your own chances by dwelling on them.”


If this sounds too religious to you, you may want to take the view of US Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones in the movie ‘The Fugitive’) who wouldn’t let go the ‘prisoner on the run’ (Harrison Ford) while confronting him face to face. Though he may choose to believe Harrison Ford is wrongfully accused, he prefers to arrest him and take him back to prison. When he says, “I don’t care” he works in the capacity of a police officer.