Worship

Beliefs in God

If following religion and offering prayers becomes not everyone's priority then some opt to boost their security with the support of counselors and mentors as they prefer to call them, writes Sonali Desai.

But to people who worship idols and believe in the existence of God, it is only by knocking at the door of the almighty that they feel relieved and morally heightened. Some of the ardent believers in God address the rest of the folks who don’t share in their spiritual beliefs as immoral and devoid of ethics. The stereotypes attached to the atheists, often labeled as 'immoral' holds true for not for many but to some of the religious people.
Talking to a couple of students on their religious beliefs and the stereotype attached to such practices reveals a mixed picture. Some of them insist it’s cool to be an atheist because it depends on different perspectives of studying religion and praying to God.
"I guess it is cool and someone’s personal choice,” says Saheli Choudhari, a firm believer of goddess Durga. “I believe in God and that does not mean I am completely ethical and all clean, without making any mistakes. It is the way you look at it.”
But revealing the point of view of priests, Shivanna, at T C Palya, who said that the reason for today's youngsters to not respect their elders and end up into dirty habits is because they don't follow religion and don't worship God.
Another Software Engineer has his own say on the issue. "I believe that there is something so called 'God' just because I have a hope when things don't go as planned in life. Only thing I do not understand is what do atheists do when they need moral support," said Deepak Badami, presently working in US.
But to the families who have been facing flux of beliefs compared to their ancestral times have a different opinion about the issue.
"I did not have children even after nine years of marriage. I prayed to many Gods and I believe in God, in fact I have seen God. When I prayed continuously for more than eight months I was blessed with a son," said Kariappa, Chennapatna.
He also added that his son is an atheist and does not believe in God. In fact in the whole family his son is the first to be labeled as a nonbeliever and despite of requesting him to offer prayers to the God, which is why he is here in this world, as Kariappa believes, his son pays no heed to his words.
Kariappa who begins his day from walking to the temple at around 5 am every morning also believes that there are certain problems if one does not believe in God. This makes them less responsible as there is no fear of anyone and drops him on to the immoral category.
This stereotype is moreover seen in the rural areas who, determinedly believe in God and also think that if certain rituals are not followed and also if someone utters words like, "God does not exist" then that certainly is a big issue to them.
According to a villager, Manju, who is a firm believer of God, if one does not follow the holy book practices then they are sure to land into big troubles.
"This is undoubtedly a question mark on their morality," she added.
Apart from the rural areas of Bangalore, even the distant district of Belgaum is not spared such stereotypes. Take for instance the village of Sulebhavi which is thirteen kilometers far from the Belgaum city and considered to be the holy because of the goddess temple, Sulebhavi Lakshmi.
This place is bounded with the beliefs of offering prayers for any troubled mind and for sure they would be blessed with whatever they desire to. And if someone talks about not believing in the powers of the goddesses, then he for sure has got lots to get in returns as a remark.
"I pray to God because I believe in her. But most of them in the village look down upon them who do not pray and visit temples. This is a wrong attitude, may be also because they are mislead, said Utsahi Deshpande, a student of engineering student in Belgaum.
Another resident Surekha Desai, of Belgaum district informs that, in the month of June and July in a particular village called Mutga, which is seven kilometers far from the city, celebrates a fair. This particular fair is organized on the name of the Goddess Bhaukeshwari. It is during this time people from the surrounding areas of this village are forced to not travel from their house to the city for a week.
This agitates most of the residents here, as these fair organizers believe that if they don’t stick to the restrictions in place, then they are not principled.
"If after violating their rules something goes wrong in the family then they say because you did not follow what we said this was sure to happen," added Surekha Desai.

Sonali S. Desai is a BA (Journalism) alumnus of GCC, Class of 2008 currently pursuing her post grad training at IIJNM, Bangalore.