Fast, but the lessons came slow

The personal experience of fasting was also to viscerally understand the experience of the other

I decided to observe roza for a few days this Ramzan as an act of solidarity with my Muslim brethren.

Born a Hindu, I have been acquainted with Hinduism’s rituals and associated cultural practices from childhood, whether through festivals like Diwali or rituals like the Upanayanam. When I was in college, I was deeply interested in the Upanishads and found the Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad shloka Purnamadah Purnamidam inspiring, interpreting it as declaring the entire creation to be one. If indeed everything is Purnam, then woman and man, Muslim and Hindu, Dalit and Brahmin are all the same; this appealed to me, as a powerful message for equality and universality.

Yet I also became painfully aware that subtle and not-so-subtle messages to fear those who are unlike us as the “other”, taught from childhood, had seeped into many. “Othering” because of creed, gender, nationality, or race, taught at home, school, or in the community, becomes a powerful foundation for hate in life. Across the world, societies seem to have decided to hugely invest in hate based on ‘othering’, and I thought a few days every week in roza would steel my solidarity with those at the receiving end.

I asked my partner to make me a thick, dry fruit milkshake for my Sehri (the pre-dawn meal that precedes the roza). She did, and as a feminist, she wryly pointed out that Sehri was made possible by millions of women labouring at unearthly hours of the night and similar labour during their own fasting for the Iftar meal (eaten in the evening to end the roza). I made my own shake from the next time, accepting her argument.

I decided to learn about the reasons for fasting from my few Muslim friends, of which there were many. Apart from detoxifying the body through fasting, the feeling of hunger encourages a sense of empathy for those in deprivation. Ramzan is the time to help the poor and needy. Even more importantly, fasting supports detoxification of the mind/spirit/soul, allowing for patience, discipline, reflection, and meditation. Roza is more than fasting, it means refraining, also from anger, quarrels, lying, backbiting, smoking, etc. The joy of eating together strengthens the sense of community, not only with one’s family but also as a sign of solidarity with the Ummah, the Muslim global fraternity.

My partner remonstrated that solidarity could be shown more publicly by engaging with people’s movements for justice and peace; fasting at home would only be my personal ego trip. True, but this personal experience of fasting was also for me to viscerally understand the experience of the other, in an attempt to strengthen empathy and compassion.

(“Maa Vidvisaaavahai” (let there be no animosity amongst us) is the pseudonym that Gurumurthy Kasinathan has adopted for this piece. It is part of ‘Om Sahana Vavatu’ prayer from the Taittiriya Upanishad, chanted to commence learning experiences. Our Upanishads are full of such verses that can inspire us to become better human beings.)