Enough Chocolate, Try Some Soup

If rapes and scams weren't raining enough misery, we have unexpected meteor showers and incurable swine-flu.
Why you wonder, why is there no sense of justice? Bad is happening to good people.  Good is happening to bad people.

Blasts are happening to the common man. Commissions are happening to the powerful. And nothing is happening to the economy.

Power is happening to Mr. Gandhi. Lay-offs are happening to professionals. And nothing is happening to Mr. Kalmadi. 

Jokes apart, with so much injustice around it is tough to repose faith in faith. And yet despite all the negativity, faith  in justice and goodness remains inherent. Notwithstanding the skewed examples in real life, even if faith dwindles, it springs back. Over the years, movies like Lagaan, Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander and Life of Pi, where an underdog overcomes obstacles find an instant connect and universal acceptance. We love stories where faith prevails. We share optimistic inspiring quotes on social media to reaffirm our trust in divine justice. 'This too shall pass, Time heals all…..'

Recently when a raped and brutalized girl did not survive, even though a nation of one billion prayed for her, there was huge disappointment. Isn't there immense power in heartfelt prayers? What happened?
 

As a teenager, I recall studying consistently to clear the medical entrance exams. My father, a doctor, wanted me to study medicine. I wanted to be a doctor because my father wanted it. As it happened, despite the hard work and heartfelt prayers, I failed to clear the entrance test. Thank heaven for that! Today I realize that medicine was not the profession for me.

Not all prayers are answered. Perhaps when a prayer goes unanswered, it is the answer.

I am sure it happens to you. I recall questioning my faith when my father was battling a deadly disease. Fervent prayers went unanswered.  Father succumbed after a brave fight. My sense of justice and injustice went for a toss. There were days when it was agonizingly impossible to have faith in faith. I had no answers for the suffering of a kind gentle soul. No karma theories, no religious texts and no truisms could offer  satisfactory answers. But strangely, my faith was back after a brief period. I am not sure how and why faith springs back. More often than not, it does. 

Perhaps, faith is not the belief that universe will do what you want. It is the belief that universe will do what is right. Surely, the universe functions on certain rational laws. Nothing can happen by chance, can it? Or is all about chance? 

The ‘Chance pe Dance’ is really mind boggling. It compounds confusion when we are faced with  unexpected meteor showers, tsunamis, earthquakes and bomb blasts.  

Another funny thing about faith is that it stems from no rationale. Often faith speaks through inner voices, instincts and hunches.  No wonder they say, 'Some things have to be believed to be seen'. 

We are all seeking and searching. In my search, the following lines I read somewhere provide immense strength.  'Faith is all about coping with the darkness, the emptiness and the pain. And letting the darkness remain until some light returns'.

(This is an excerpt from an article which appeared in Friday Gurgaon on 15 February 2013.)

 Picture Courtesy: hdwallpapers.in