Hello God! Are You Sick?

Balajee · Jul 2, 2022

One picture can speak more than a 1,000 words, A photograph in the media says more than 10,000 words about human stupidity.

The picture shows a doctor putting a stethoscope on the idol of Puri Jagannatha just before the start of the annual Rath Yatra to check the almighty for cold or fever.
And the doctor looked real earnest, believe me. Had I been in his place I would have been giggling away to glory,
Now imagine a dialogue like this: " Doctor sahib how is the lord? Hope he is in good shape for the rath yatra?

" When I put the steth on his chest I couldn't detect any heartbeats"

"Of course you couldn't . You are wearing the steth like a garland in your neck the other ends are not in your ears"

"Even when the other ends were in the right place I couldn't detect the heartbeats"

"What do you mean you couldn't detect heartbeats? You better BELIEVE you heard the heartbeats? Are you an atheist or something?"

Doctor (fearing the loss of his valuable client): Huh, the lord is in perfect shape for the procession

Years ago, when I was a kid, a family friend narrated a story. He had gone to Tirupati once and on the day of his visit he saw a bandage around the Venkateswara idol's head. When he asked the priest what was it all aboput, the priest said the good god had a headache and herbs had been applied on his forehead to cure it and they have been covered with bandage.

This guy had a hearty laugh about the lord's headache . That night (he claimed), he developed a splitting headache. People told him that it was becaus he laughed at god's headache, He paid another visit to the temple and said sorry to the god and the headache ceased.

Wonderful yarn. I am sure lot of people must have heard it with open mouths and become even more "god-fearing"
This gives me a greet c idea. Lot of guys must have passed out of medical colleges with mediocre grades who are unable to find jobs or patients And there are gazillion temples in this country from footpath cottage industries to large scale divine businesses, Each of them should appoint a doctor to regularly give a medical checkup to the gods there. .

The gods have a very good chances of catching a cold or fever as they are frequently given a cold water path . And all that milk and honey poured over them are enough to make anyone sick , If you don't believe me try pouring milk and honey all over you every day. Soon you'll have ant and flies swarming over you. Don't envy poor gods guys. All this torture in the name of abhishekham is bound to make them sick. If someone offers you God;s job refuse it, whatever the perks might be.

Religion is a funny business. You don't know what can become an object of worship. In a Tamil movie, a comedian after a long walk sits on a milestone. Immediately he is set upon by devotees who thrash him for committing sacrilege by sitting on "mile swamy".

In a Rajasthan city a motorbike is worshipped with offerings of booze. Blessed are these townsfolk. If one of them goes home dead drunk. there is always the excuse that it was the bike god's prasad. Having a few pegs becomes a religious act you see.

And these guys must be heaving a sigh of relief that gods don't speak. For if the bike god speaks out he/she/it would demand petrol as prasad spoiling all that booze party.

Viswamitra · Jul 3, 2022

Dear Balajee,

You have shared hillarious photos along with your humorous thread. Deva's are supposed to be disease free and humans are bringing down devas by treating them like humans.

Watching all that is happening in the name of God, even people from Deva Loka must have hypertension. The amount of honey and sugar poured on them, they should be diabetic as well. Pulse or no pulse, they must be otherwise healthy.

HariLakhera · Jul 3, 2022

Reminds me of Ganesha Idol drinking milk.

chanchitra · Jul 3, 2022

This is a custom followed every year.
The Puri temple is the only one-of-its-kind where the almighty is said to reside in human form. Hence, the lord too has to follow the natural laws applicable to living beings. He bears the sufferings like his subjects and has his own share of joy and pain.

During the snana yatra day, Lord Jagannath stands in the sun throughout the day and also takes bath with cold water. So, he gets sick. He catches fever. So, he is shifted to a sick room for treatment.
Then after 14 days , lord is brought out for Rath yatra.
Hindu religion is not boring. Devotees interact with God's .That's exactly why there is no blasphemy.
Villages in TN used to have their own festivals . They have a kaaval deivam called Ayyanar.

Thyagarajan · Jul 3, 2022

Dear @Balajee
When fans are saturated with love for their hero or heroines they treat the as Almighty & they exhibit their deep craze by pouring on the images enormous quantities of milk and honey. They do construct temples. Others may call their act as madness but they never mind. For them, their act and their hero matters most.

With this background, I am not at all surprised with the act of a doctor checking heart beat or pulse of the Lord in stone. He can be called a devotee at peak of its bhakthi.

In devotion and bhakthi, bhava is paramount. Lord says to Arjuna in Gita, cleaning or wiping the idol done with bhava as if one is handling an infant is more pleasing to him. Similarly, He says He likes offerings non-ostentatious as simple as water and Tulsi with purity of mind.

When u r in Rome you do as romans.

Similarly when Jagganth among devotees is treated as Human. When baby is given bath after oil massage, one takes enormous care. In the same manner,
after holy bath called abishekam, Jagganth is treated like a holy-person.

I consider the person with stethoscope depicted his bhakthi and devotion with bhava and sure this act would have pleased the Lord Jagganath.
If the world laughs at him, he the Doctor will laugh at them in turn.

Balajee · Jul 4, 2022

Tyagu sir looks like this bhava thing erodes your reason and common sense, here the bhava is harmless and risible, it could lead to violence and pogroms in different circumstances, Whether it is your favorite movie star or some deity, Bhava must be a prisoner of reason. Blind belie0f can be injurious to health, both that of the believer and the community.

chanchitra · Jul 4, 2022

Balajee said: ↑

Blind belie0f can be injurious to health, both that of the believer and the community.
Click to expand...

yes, true.
its applicable to all religions as well
waiting for your fun posts on them as well

Balajee · Jul 7, 2022

chanchitra said: ↑

yes, true.
its applicable to all religions as well
waiting for your fun posts on them as well
Click to expand...

When I talk of belief I mean acceptance witho0ut unquestionable evidence. W#hen you say "I believe" that is a euphemism for "I don't know" . You are accepting your ignorance and that applies to all religions.

Balajee · Jul 7, 2022

Viswamitra said: ↑

Dear Balajee,

You have shared hillarious photos along with your humorous thread. Deva's are supposed to be disease free and humans are bringing down devas by treating them like humans.

Watching all that is happening in the name of God, even people from Deva Loka must have hypertension. The amount of honey and sugar poured on them, they should be diabetic as well. Pulse or no pulse, they must be otherwise healthy.
Click to expand...

Dear Vuiswa the Buddha once said:"Do not believe what others say. Do not believe even what i say. Accept things only after examining everything and finding them to be true", Here the Buddha is attacking the very notion of belief. As I said in my rewply to Chanchitra when you say "I believe" you are actually saying "I doin't know" We should be knowing not believing. Then such ridiculous , risible practices will disappear without trace.

Viswamitra · Jul 8, 2022

Balajee said: ↑

Dear Vuiswa the Buddha once said:"Do not believe what others say. Do not believe even what i say. Accept things only after examining everything and finding them to be true", Here the Buddha is attacking the very notion of belief. As I said in my rewply to Chanchitra when you say "I believe" you are actually saying "I doin't know" We should be knowing not believing. Then such ridiculous , risible practices will disappear without trace.
Click to expand...

Frankly, Sanata Dharma advices to inquire before accepting anything including its own scriptural texts. Buddha suggested to stay away from rituals and blind beliefs unless it is investigated by ourselves to be truthful. Most practices claimed to be part of the religion are man made more than the religion itself. "Who am I?" question is a step towards investigating our Being, Awareness and Existence.