HOLINESS IS FROM WITHIN

By - Sachi Singhal
Bells ringing, bhajans blasting from enormous speakers, ladies singing all night, ending with a lavish 5 course meal for 200 odd people, who are there just to have free food….No this is not a festival scenario, but a scene straight out of the jagraata organized by Mrs. A, who has kept this to “please” God, by singing out His praises all night, and giving modest donations to the main singers, namely “Rama company and Co. – we make a jagraata unforgettable.”
Don’t we see such scenarios every other day, where fat wealthy ladies like to splash money in order to “please” god all the offerings and those off-tune bhajans ... making herself a public nuisance, as their neighbor’s daughter has an entrance exam tomorrow, and cannot study, and no car can pass that street, because it has been thoroughly encroached upon my the tent company – we provide tents for all jagraatas…
And there you are left wondering… Isn’t spirituality supposed to come from within…??
What happened to those people who used to meditate and pray sincerely every night, thanking Him for each day as it comes by. Have they been replaced by these show offs, who believe singing on blaring loudspeakers is holy, where as helping a poor child get food is just so “low class”…???
Holiness is a feeling, a divine pure feeling of serenity and security , which cannot be achieved through these bhajans and jagraatas, but instead come from WITHIN…
Being kind to the needy, helping those in distress, putting those going off track right back on the track, these philanthropic deeds will actually give rise to those positive serene feelings, not littering the land after hefty jagraata and bragging about just how holy and pure hearted creature you are, while running your car over a stray dog.
Be good, be honest, live your life well, and just enjoy each and every moment innocently…God could never be more pleased with you