ON A SINKING BOAT, THERE CANNOT BE AN ATHEIST

 

“Everything in life is speaking

in spite of its apparent silence.”

Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

The Sufi teacher’s quote above reminds us, that God listens through only one language – silence… Yes, everything in life is speaking, in  spite of its apparent silence.

Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic – and a thousand other languages - may help us to pray, chant or sing. But, to me, the language God connects the most is our profound silence…

Last weekend, my wife and I had attended a wedding at one of the resorts in Karjat. The couple, who were hosting their son’s wedding, belonged to Bori community. The guests belonged to varied communities… different religions, languages, food habits, customs and culture. What was impressive was the connect we all felt while we participated in this family’s happy occasion… What mattered the most was the quiet human thread that connected all of us.

That night, we and our three other dear couples, stayed at another nearby farm house of one of these couples. The next day was a Sunday… All of us spent an hour or so in the beautiful Ayyappa temple built on their farmhouse plot. My friend, an ardent devotee of Ayyappa Swami, was, essentially, a Tamilian Iyer, his wife was a Gujarati. Another couple – the man hailed from Nepal and wife from UP. The third couple was Maharashtrian… ( A fourth couple joined us on Sunday along with their young son... They were North Indians)... And, my wife and I were Catholics…

That one hour inside the Ayyappa temple was spent singing some soothing bhajans and devotional songs. I played on my mobile phone two devotional songs – One was from Andre Rieu’s concert - ‘Nearer My God to Thee'… There was only music, and no words.

Those who aren’t familiar with this song may recall it, if they watch it  being  played, as the Titanic was going down…

 

“On a sinking boat, there cannot be an atheist”… Have we heard this saying?

The other piece that I played on my mobile phone was a Konkani devotional song sung by my brother Rony and his wife Meena. It’s the adaptation of the popular English devotional lead by Darlene Zschech - ‘Shout to the Lord’….

No one there, except my wife and I, understood the lyrics of this song. But, I am sure, everybody felt the connect.

During that holy hour inside the Ayyappa temple, I shared  the legend of Kanakadasa, an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna… He had undertaken a pilgrimage to the Krishna temple in Udupi, which was hundreds of miles away. On reaching there, he wasn’t allowed entry into the temple as he belonged to a low caste. Kanakadasa wasn’t discouraged… He went behind the temple and immersed himself singing devotional songs for his deity. The legend has it, that Lord Krishna was so impressed by this devotion, that His statue turned towards Kanakadasa, causing a small window for his darshan. The window is famously known as ‘Kanakana Kindi’. Today, every devotee of Lord Krishna, who visits the Krishan temple at this coastal town of Udupi, has to first have the mandatory darshan through this window, and then enter the temple from the main entrance…

I was reminded of another story from the Bible… There was this man in Jerico by the name  Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax-collector. In those days, the tax collectors earned a bad name due to their harsh ways of tax collections from the locals for the ruling Romans. They were considered to be ‘sinners’. Zacchaeus, being the chief tax-collector, was, particularly, despised by the local Hebrews. One day, when Jesus was passing through the area, Zacchaeus, who was genuinely desiring to become a good soul, wanted to have a glimpse of the Master. He was a short man, and, therefore, couldn’t see Jesus in the large crowd. So, he climbed a nearby sycamore-fig tree so to have a glimpse. When Jesus’s eyes fell on him, He shouted, “Zacchaeus come down… Tonight, I will be your guest.”

The crowd was shocked: “Of all the people here, why did Jesus choose to stay at a sinner’s place?”

Yes, this was the question the crowd must’ve asked the day Lord Krishna had turned towards Kanakadasa, causing a window specially for his darshan: “Of all the people here, why did Krishna choose to stay in this ‘achhut’s’ heart?"

I am sure, God speaks and understands only one language – that is the silent language of our hearts… Latin and Hebrew, Sanskrit, Pali, English, or whatever language that we sing, pray and chant through – yes, none of them can replace the quiet, sincere language of our hearts…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabay

Videos: 1. Liza Wiesorreck  2. Royal Rodrigues/Rony & Meena D'Cunha