Faith and Devotion: Faith is Devotion, Not Ostentation  

By Harsh Kabra  

Faith and Devotion: Faith is Devotion, Not Ostentation  

Ostentation has today taken precedence over observance of faith in the true spirit. Picture any festival or place of worship, and the extent of this malady at once strikes us: Blinding illumination, blaring loudspeakers and colourful pageants, all horrifyingly self-indulgent and, of course, indifferent to the essence of faith.

Ignoring the fact that it is from the seed of austerity and humility that most faiths have germinated, this idiom of ostentation still appeals to a section of our populace, who, starved of sensible pursuits, yearn to give an outlet to their energies.

Energies, which if tapped and channelised positively can usher in a far better world, but in reality get dissipated, because of exploitation and absence of motivation.

Ostentation, in relation to faith, acts as a means to tide over the insincerities of the followers. It's a cover for the guilt of their misadventure in the name of faith. As a result, be it an event concerning a cult icon or a festive occasion, boisterous gestures pervade our faith, muting authentic sentiment and blurring the distinction between the justified and the redundant.

We organise garish revelries to coincide with most Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Muslim or other festivals, in utter defiance of the sobriety preached by these faiths.

No festival is an exception to the abuse of sound by those who equate enthusiasm and festivity with cacophony. What are we trying to prove and with what purpose in mind?

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ''Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into''. Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind, it dies. Loud bids to showcase a faith can never make up for the deficiency of introspection that it teaches.

Given the way we survive on a volcano of prejudices, just waiting to erupt, this can invite doom. No one need be blamed, for we are ever more perplexed on the issue of faith and what makes it genuine and strong.

In matters of faith, inconvenient evidence is always suppressed while contradictions go unnoticed, asserted Gore Vidal. Today's faith is eclipsed by this contradiction of ostentation and the urge to score over other faiths.

The colossal waste of money and resources that makes this possible underscores the rampant insensitivity towards human misery and the ills that we are bent upon creating for ourselves.

Eric Hoffer said, "The majority of people cannot endure the barrenness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves. Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent - a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves''.

It needs a fanatical faith to rationalise our cowardice. Faith, enthusiasm, and passionate intensity in general are substitutes for the self-confidence born of experience and skill. Where there is available the necessary skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that 'moves mountains'.

According to Hoffer, in a man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is embraced with vehemence and extremism, for we have to convince ourselves that what we took as second choice is the best there ever was.

Thus, blind faith is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in us.

''We put our kids to quick-cut advertising, passive television, and sadistic video games, and we expect to see the emergence of a new generation of calm, compassionate, and engaged human beings?'' Wrote Sidney Poitier in The Measure of a Man.

Quite predictably, the coming generations cannot be expected to do justice to our faiths, since there is among them little urge to explore and understand, but an almost pressing anxiety to pronounce their commitment to different faiths. But external decibels can never reach inner depths.

The unimaginable happens when the expression of faith loses respect for human life and thereby losing sight of the founding tenet of the faith itself.

According to the Bhagavad Gita: ''Adhering to twisted, diabolic views of religion, degraded souls - with small intellects and cruel deeds - are born as enemies for the destruction of the world.'' Unfortunately, religious ostentation is fast becoming a tool to camouflage a deficient intellect and a decadent morality. ntains, there is no need for the faith that 'moves mountains'.

According to Hoffer, in a man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is embraced with vehemence and extremism, for we have to convince ourselves that what we took as second choice is the best there ever was.

Quite predictably, the coming generations cannot be expected to do justice to our faiths, since there is among them little urge to explore and understand, but an almost pressing anxiety to pronounce their commitment to different faiths. But external decibels can never reach inner depths.

The unimaginable happens when the expression of faith loses respect for human life and thereby losing sight of the founding tenet of the faith itself.

According to the Bhagavad Gita: ''Adhering to twisted, diabolic views of religion, degraded souls - with small intellects and cruel deeds - are born as enemies for the destruction of the world.'' Unfortunately, religious ostentation is fast becoming a tool to camouflage a deficient intellect and a decadent morality.

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More from same author see: Harsh Kabra  

See also: Faith and Devotion, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)