THE ROOTS OF ALL GOODNESS

 

“The roots of all goodness lie

in the soil of appreciation for goodness.”

Dalai Lama

 

There are a thousand rituals, which, as a Roman Catholic, I have followed all my life. Those of you, who do not know who Roman Catholics are, let me tell you this: They are not Romans… It only means, the Pope and our Religious HQ, are situated in Rome…

Yes, it’s unbelievable to think, that the same Roman empire ruled over many countries, including Israel, while Jesus Christ was alive… Pontius Pilate, who ordered of Jesus’s nailing on the cross, was a Roman Governor… The soldiers, who brutally tortured Jesus, were Roman soldiers, the infamous ‘persecution’ of the first-century Christians was unleashed by Roman emperor, who had vowed to nip the Christianity in the bud… And, that’s why, when you see, how Rome, in time, became the epicenter of Christian faith and its followers came to be called ‘Roman Catholics’ – yes, it sounds stranger than fiction!

I was trying to tell you, that I was born into a Roman Catholic family… I chose to follow its rituals and practices. Many of them, I did mechanically, without even thinking and questioning…

And, a Roman Catholic is not alone in following his rituals and traditions obediently… Everyone, from every other religion, does the same. Pausing to ask why a certain ritual, a certain tradition is followed the way it is done, often, doesn’t cross our minds… Often, we feel very uncomfortable doing that…

Like, yesterday was ‘Ash Wednesday’. On this day, Roman Catholics attend a mass where the Priest puts a sign of the cross on the faithful’s forehead with ashes… It is a poignant reminder for us, that we have come from the dust, and we shall return to the dust…

The Lent – the season of prayer, fast, repentance and reflection - begins with Ash Wednesday…

Did I say, the Lent is a season of ‘reflection on life’? Well, the Priest reminds us with his words: “From dust thou come, to dust thou return.”

Enough to keep us grounded all our lives…  But, then, that is - if we really pause to comprehend the meaning of that symbolic ash-cross on our foreheads…

Incidentally, last afternoon, I had been to the local Gurudwara to attend a condolence prayer-meeting. A friend of mine had lost his dad some days ago, and his family had organized this prayer meet, last afternoon…

The footwear was respectfully deposited in the dedicated area by the courteous sevaks…

A young man helped me cover my head with a handkerchief…

I had to wash my feet before I could get on the first step…

I had to bow my head, in reverence and humility, before the Holy Guru Granth, so that I could take my seat on the floor…

I had to stay quiet and absorb the kirtans and pravachans…

The young man, who had helped to tie the handkerchief on my head, later, explained to me the significance of all these things I have described above…

Did I tell him, “Young man, I know that already?” Did I feel the urge within me to do that?

Dalai Lama says, “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for  goodness.”

Should I tell the Buddhist Pontiff: “I know that”?

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Pixabay  

Video: Happy Raikoti