Day 12 : Why we don’t come together?
This is my 12th day of Konkan Padayatra. I am in Diveagar today, resting and trying to get back some energy. Yesterday was tiresome, I walked through a jungle which I later realised, is all owned by one single person. Some 2000 acres of land owned by a single owner. No wonder that owner has a political backing.
Time and again I am reminded in this journey about the real reason behind this total control by the hands of the politicians. We are fighting each other and hence we can’t come together. But, we are not a hate-spewing people. Maybe there were wars in other parts of the world— there still are, but this piece of land was quiet and hardly ever saw any conflicts. Konkan is a stark example where many religions lived side by side and they didn’t just live, but thrived in each others company.
Hindu is not a monolith, nor is a Muslim or any other religion. A person is an individual in themselves and they have their own ways of looking at things. It is not necessary that every Kunbi or Brahmin thinks in the same way. Yet, sadly, we are made to believe that we should all think in a linear pattern— that we should gulp down all the wrongdoings in the name of religion. This can’t happen, because humans have the tendency to see the bad in bad and good in good. Political parties have pushed us down this narrow road where a person who speaks another ideology instantly becomes our enemy. That helps them in their path to power but it is nothing more than opportunism. They prey on people’s belief. When it comes to these land dealings, they are all one. There are hindus, muslims and other religions alike. Their main God of worship is money, not nature.
While in Nandgaon I came across a very different view of my own culture. I lived in a Brahmin priests house and saw a world so different through his and his mother’s eyes. Religions fought on a land where the resources were scare. In fact all battles in the past were raged due to lack of resources, but our beloved konkan never wanted people to fight. Thus, mother nature gave her people here in abundance. They had everything they needed. Enough food, enough water and enough fish. Here everyone thrived because everybody got a piece of the pie. Hindus lived in close proximity with the Muslims. In Nandgaon, hindu’s and muslims have houses next to each other.
Rohit told me how he grew up with muslim friends around him, “We played together in the fields. My dad had many muslim friends. When my dad died, my muslim friends were here to help us out. Even during my illness, I got immediate attention from them. They come home for tea every now and then. In fact, they get a little upset when we don’t share sweets made in our house on the eve of Diwali.”
That’s exactly what I remember. That’s how I grew up in Chiplun. My mom and dad had many muslim friends and these friends still come to meet us. Some go so far that they say, “We will come to see you even if you don’t invite us.”
Shivaji Maharaj sent verses from the Kuran to Aurangzeb when he felt that he was not following his own religion. The Nawab, who lived in Murud, only entered the village when he had got down from his horse and bowed to the Koteshwari devi and Maruti mandir. The religions were so assimilated that the Nawab got sweets made from the Hindus and when the koteshwari devi was in a dire state, the devi entered the dream of Nawab’s mother and asked her to give her the attention she needs. The Pir Baba Dargah’s all around Konkan got adorned with sheets from the Hindus and the Muslims shared sheer-kurma with the hindus on the eve of Eid.
“We were never really against each other. The religious leaders spread this venom within us. Every election season religious disputes spread around for two months and then they suddenly disperse. How does that happen?”, his mother told me.
This in-fighting has resulted in Adani getting 6000 acres of land in and around Dighi. The forest department doesn’t allow for the villagers to sell land within themselves and asks them to deal with paperwork in an office situated in Tadoba (some 800 kms away from this place). When the lands are acquired they are not hindu lands or muslim lands. They are common people’s land. Most of the hills that I walk through are owned by current ministers and ex-ministers— only keeping a third-party as a front. When the roads are broken and gutters smell, they are not hindu or muslim gutters, they are of common people.
So what really is religion? What is dharma?
As I have written before, dharma is mother nature’s law. If you bring hate and anger in your conscience, it will appear in the material realm, and so if you will bring purity and goodness in your conscience, it will appear thus. This law of nature, that governs everyone and everything, that was called dharma. The people of the past were extremely progressive, they weren’t superstitious, but we are. This dharma doesn’t see a sacred thread on someone’s body, nor does it see a sacred cap on someone’s skull— it treats everyone equally. It is same for man and wild animals. It works on plants. Cut a tree and you will only find wood, you won’t find anything else. The saints were treated equally, be it hindus or muslims, because they were saints - meaning “good people”. The word “sant” had only this meaning. But we never really treated our saints with reverence when they lived. Saint Tukaram was with stones. Saint Dnyaneshwar was ousted by his own community. The word bhagwan which we relate to god today, actually meant “a person who doesn’t get excited when something good happens and doesn’t get depressed when something bad happens”. He understands the nature of things. That life is impermanent. That person was called Bhagwan.
These so-called religious leaders have twisted religions, so much so that bowing down to a statue - is equated to being religious. Our ancestors were progressive, they said, “dharan kare so dharm” meaning the one who brings dharma into his life- who lives by nature principles, is the one who is dharmic (religious). If you call yourself religious and hate on others, you are not dharmic at all. You are bringing negativity in your mind - consciousness and you will be punished for that - meaning negativity will envelope your waking experience.
I woke up the other day to a hindu prayer, “Oh Eshwar (God), give everyone health and prosperity. Give everyone peace and wisdom. May everyone be happy.” It didn’t say keep hindu’s happy.
In the afternoon, I heard some verses from the muslim aayat, “Be kind to everyone and work with your conscience, because you have to face allah (God) when you die.” This too didn’t say, be kind to only Muslims.
I guess we have forgotten the sacred teachings of this land. We are glued to our television sets, whatsapp groups and phones that spew hatred and keep us apart. While we keep our mind busy with these things, the ministers and big business people eat away our land, our wealth and our culture. In the end, both the hindus and the muslims are left with nothing. But they enjoy the endless views, sitting like the British did in their resthouses.
We seriously need to re-think what kind of society we are becoming. The villagers who are saying we need occupation and thus we need these big industries, should realise that none of their villages and their land will be left once this is done and this is an irreversible process. Let’s come together and pray to that one God that we all believe in, that “jehan”, that “srushti” that doesn’t discriminate.
If you can help me by contributing for this walk, then please do, I could start a kickstarter or manage crowdfunding through some other website, but none of those options are available to me here in India. So, I will be dependant on your donations. You can contribute through paypal - here’s the link. I will send out a personalised postcard if the donations are above $30 and if it’s above $100 then whatever comes out of this walk - a book, a documentary or anything else - you will be the first ones to receive it.
Thanks for your continual support. I am truly grateful!