Blog@GraceJunction

I wasn’t so scared and afraid earlier during the day as I was now, driving down nervously, with my senses on peak alert, searching everywhere for any signs of rioters and trouble makers. We sneaked thru the streets very close to my house, and I could see all around my house burning cars and trucks, stone strewn streets, shattered glass. I choked, my tongue stuck on the roof, trying very hard to gulp my spit as my mind began to recreate the images of what transpired during the day, when my wife made a distress call. Sobbing uncontrollably and tearful, she was scared and terrorized, while locking her self up in the confines of our house.

I had never attended a call like this before and those moments seem permanently etched in my memory. I was at the factory up on a giant machine, explaining it all to a foreign customer whom I had picked up at the airport early in the morning. While I left home it was all ok, the air was a bit tense but as I drove further from my house I did sense the turmoil in the air. I drove past people, up in small mobs and saw shattered windshields and glass all over the streets. I just reminded myself of God’s love and protection on our lives and confidently drove past all of it, seemingly ignoring it all.My wife cried out on the phone “please aap jaldi aa aao (Please come quickly), they are going to kill us. They are attacking us, they are breaking into homes, they will kill us, I am scared!! I am alone, come, aap jaldi aao, bachao. For a moment I didn’t know what was happening, instantly my mind began creating images of loot and arson so common in India, I had a chill running down my spine, as terror filled my heart. I told my wife, don’t worry, just lock yourself up in the room, don’t go out whatever they do to the property or damage the house, you don’t worry.

I tried to be strong and confident in my voice but I wasn’t really aware of what was transpiring back home. She was inconsolable, loosing her breath in the middle of the talk, sobbing hard and the phone got disconnected. I tried not to let things appear on my face, as the customer was intermittently looking at me and asking questions about the machine. I didn’t want to scare him, a muslim, people who know a very bad story of Ahmedabad. I tried to be in total control, while desperately trying to call my wife again. The phones wouldn’t go thru, it made me more tense.

I started calling my uncle and my cousins who stay close to our house. I tried desperately but none of their phones responded. After repeated attempts I finally got thru to my uncle, he couldn’t talk, he was panting hard, he just said things are not right here, he seemed to be crying, his voice was broken and it was unusual for a bold man like him. He didn’t talk much and cut the phone in the middle of the conversation. I guessed the attack was bad and things were going from bad to worse. I prayed and continued to call a few others to know what was happening.

I couldn’t get a clue, on why the saints who had come to meet Asaram, their guru, would turn up to riot, loot and beat up innocent citizens and women. I couldn’t understand why the peace makers were all armed with iron rods and weapons trying to take lives and spread terror. I was confused and terrified. I found myself at the most helpless situation in life, 70kms away from home, on an important business meet, while I was fearing my home being ripped apart and the cries of my wife and son echoed in my ears.

As we drove closer and entered the main street leading to my house, the police stopped us and they warned us not to go in. We told them that our house was just nearby and they said “go at your own risk”. I saw few tempo travelers, I assumed belonged to the pilgrims who had come to meet their guru from far away places, had being set afire. Numerous jeeps and cars were still burning. The supporters of the Vaghela family must have done this to vent their anger against Asaram! Asaram is the guru from whose ashram two children went missing and were found drowned/killed on the nearby river bank.

The gate to our housing complex was heavily locked. The guard refused to open it and so I got down and started walking towards my house. At the gate I saw my mom standing there, seemingly waiting for me to return home. She sighed in relief as she saw me. I saw numerous anxious women waiting for their husbands and children to return home. The streets of our housing complex were strewn with glass, I was shocked as I saw damaged cars, window panes, street lights. It seemed as if I was walking in Iraq or some war torn country. Residents of our housing complex got together and spent sleepless nights, kept vigils throughout the night, in fear of another attack. Fear was more palpable as the residents saw the spineless and helpless police forces’ strength of doing nothing and being a mute witness to the entire episode.

A shop owner selling construction materials at the entrance to our housing complex was stabbed by this mob and is presently battling a loosing battle with life. The victim’s brother was beaten up with a stick and has got eighteen stitches on his head, is reportedly in a serious condition. What’s more intriguing is that their two year old daughter was hurled in the air by the saints(!?) dressed in white! This family I remember used to offer water to the thousands of devotees who would line up each year during guru purnima, now only to be treated this way.

We all dream about a land where the mind would be free and would not know any fear. It’s sad to see that in the most spiritual, and in terms of the modern new agers, the most god-conscious of all lands on the earth, India has brunt itself the most due to religion inspired violence. Where the saints should have marched out to meet the needs of the poor, help the millions dying around, its sad to notice that they had marched out to create terror and inflict others.

On the other side, the supporters of the parents who have gone on an indefinite hunger strike and a silence vow seeking justice from the Almighty, have instead of following the peaceful path adapted by the parents, sought violence and ended up beating innocent pilgrims.

It’s sad to see that both the warring sides are people who treat God as their ultimate authority but have chosen to and do things their own way. It’s heart rendering to see innocent lives destroyed. Its disappointing to see saints who have lost track of where their God is heading and what God truly desires of his followers. It’s probably referring to such people that Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the masses”.

Truly speaking, we, especially in India, don’t need another religion or another explanation of religion. We don’t need another saint or guru and another saint manufacturing setup. We have enough and more of these. What we need is a heart and life transforming encounter with God. God is changing and transforming lives drastically and unthinkably, all around the world. Why not in India!?

Tags: Ahmedabad, Asaram, Bapu, Guru, Guru purnima, murder, New Age, Riot, Saints, Vaghela

This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 4:03 am and is filed under Articles, Blesson, Politics, Religions, Society, Thoughts, Troubles & Problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.