Binding factors

Usually I enjoy all the forwards sent by him and don’t delete from my mail box to check on them in leisure, but this one which came with the caption – best picture of ‘Krishnashtami’ caught my attention. I saw the little boy’s bright face and beautiful costume of Sri Krishna he was wearing, to the last detail – his tender hands were holding the flute, and he was trying to balance it, lest he lose control, as he was going on a scooter sitting on the lap of his mother.

This may seem an ordinary scene, but for the extraordinary expression of joy and pride the mother had on her face. Anybody could guess that the little boy was going to take part in the competition of ‘Krishna vesha’ ( Krishna’s costume ). The striking thing about the scene was, the mother was wearing a burkha and father had the ‘Taqiyah’ on, the cap which muslim men wear. It  was a perfect example showing the solidarity of humanity, if one rises above superficial, rigid identities.  Who could have guessed that the attractive little ‘Krishna’ was a muslim boy?

I remembered the legendary Krishna devotee ‘Raskhan’, who was a muslim poet and a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna.  His real name was Sayyad Ibrahim and after getting tutelage under Goswami Vitthalnath, he lived in ‘Vrindavan’ all his life. His poems on Krishna’s ‘bal lila’, Rasa lila, Kunj lila’  etc are so famous for his pure love and devotion for the lord.

Every faith and religion has one basis of ‘divine power’, one goal of reaching the divine. If a secular perception is prevailed upon, the power of ‘oneness will become a binding factor for the diversities, instead of ‘diversities’ becoming the ‘blinding factors. I remember my mother-in-law saying that whenever her children fell sick, apart from administering conventional medicines prescribed by doctors, she used to take them to fakir baba for his blessings and for getting the ‘talisman’ tied. She told me that she used to feel very confident and peaceful after such visits.   

I feel proud to say that in my house, no puja is performed without Francis Xavier, our ‘man Friday’, doing all the necessary shopping in KR Market, without Taj Begum helping me with other chores. We enjoy the Christmas cakes, we slurp on Id Kheer as much as we devoutly partake prasad. We need not embrace other religions, but can embrace others with a staunch faith in the ‘oneness’ of all.