Judah’s Comments
Shorn of the inverted commas, the title would cause considerable discomfort to the Holy See (see news story below). Shows what difference these little quotation marks can make to a construction of a sentence, and the meaning it conveys! But the play with punctuation is only to dramatize the story. Actually we set off in a different direction.
Which is this somewhat insidious practice of conferring appellations with a view to invoking divine favour and hopefully influencing men . Ah.. it did not work in this instance. Indeed if you think of it, this practice is quite meaningless and the underlying hope completely misplaced. One might even say it is mischievous. If the constructors of the building hoped that such a name reeking with religion as “Holy Faith” would counterbalance the flagrant violation of the Coastal Regulatory Zone stipulations and win them ‘kid glove’ treatment from the Supreme Court, they were sadly mistaken. The rule of the law prevailed.
This doesn’t happen in all such cases of course. More often than not, these subtle supplications to God are backed up by some not so subtle display of political power and the courts manage to find some mitigating factor in the non-adherence to norms.
But that again is a tad tangential to our main point which is the hoisting of a talisman to ensure success in our endeavour. We try this in all spheres of life. There is this student who puts a cross mark on the answer paper and utters a super fast prayer for God to get him through. And the one who puts a பிள்ளயார் சுழி or writes இராம ஜெயம் on the exam answer paper with similar motives. Or performs so many தோப்புக்கரணம்s at a temple on the way to the examination hall. A rather easy way of scoring marks compared to burning the midnight oil, what!
And there’s the inevitable verse saying ” The thing proceedeth from the LORD ” atop wedding invitations howsoever colourful the path to the altar was and whatever compulsions led to the tying of the knot. Recently I was given a wedding invitation card. The bride works in California and the groom is based in Washington; and the card was dripping with Sanskritized Tamil which only the vedic could understand.
The city of Madras (or Chennai if you prefer) is teeming with what I call “christian” cars, autorickshaws, trucks and the like liberally sporting verses from the Bible. The owners conveniently leave out the concomitant command and clutch only the promises. Would these really prevent a road accident or protect the driver from the consequences of a traffic trespass? More to the point, would it mean that the driver is not unnecessarily aggressive, horn happy or that he respects traffic lights? Some years ago, I came across a little booklet entitled “The Christian Way of Driving”. Indeed would any one be able to tell you could be a Christian from the way you conduct yourself behind the wheel rather than from the Bible verses stuck on the rear?
The breaking of a coconut or dashing a pumpkin to pieces before a brand new motor vehicle or ahead of a long journey likewise is of no avail. That is not to say such practices do not afford some satisfaction to those involved in the sense that they are invoking the blessing of the divine. At least they recognize even if only in a talismanic way that not everything is in their hands.
And what about pilgrimages – to Velankanni, Vatican, Jerusalem, Kasi or Rameshwaram – or other religious observances?. Read what the Bible says quoting God:
“Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.”
It is clear that God accords top priority to “righteousness” above religion. Elsewhere the Bible says: ” And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Further, in some other place in the Scriptures we read: ” Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
There is little point approaching God with an unrepentant heart and perfunctory superficiality; we will only be deluding ourselves that we are pleasing Him. Yes,
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.”
– the Bible
மனத்துக்கண் மாசிலன் ஆதல் அனைத்து அறன்
ஆகுல நீர பிற.
– திருக்குறள்
Without righteous conduct, merely invoking the name of ‘Holy Faith’ will not grant us escape from the application of the rule of the land.
Coming to think of it, many of us are given to mouthing the name of God in a mechanical fashion while sitting down, getting up or anything that to us causes some discomfort. Could this be labeled as taking the name of the Lord in vain, a practice that the Bible denounces? Or is that a legitimate clutch to lean on for our comfort?
And then there are others who when they pray, use vain repetitions, thinking that they will be heard for their many words. They say “Lord,Lord” multiple times on the premise that the greater the number of times you say it, the close you are to the gates of heaven!
Have you heard about the elderly woman who could not bear to see the good guy getting beaten up in the movie and cried aloud,”Lord, save him”.
We can go on……. The point is you cannot hide a multitude of sins behind a façade of religiosity. And, there are many absurd ways in which you could call on the name of God in vain!
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Background News Story
Kochi Luxury Flats Come Crashing Down In Seconds During Demolition
Reported by Sneha Mary Koshy, Edited by Shylaja Varma (with inputs from AFP)Updated: January 12, 2020 08:06 IST
Dramatic scenes unfolded in Kochi this morning as two luxury apartment complexes – overlooking Kerala’s stunning backwaters – came crashing down in seconds in a highly controlled demolition process of four apartment complexes. Over 350 flats in the coastal city – that housed 240 families – will be razed to the ground over this weekend as the Kerala government conducts one of the largest demolition drives in India involving residential complexes. The unprecedented exercise comes four months after the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of four residential buildings in a posh lakeside location in the city over violation of coastal regulation norms.
The 19-floor H2O Holy Faith complex of 90 flats in Kochi’s Maradu was the first to go down today, collapsing in just a matter of a few seconds. Minutes later, the twin towers of Alfa Serene – separated by a narrow stretch of backwaters – tumbled down with an ear-splitting noise. A thick grey cloud of dust and debris cascaded down as the two residential complexes were demolished. The remaining two complexes will be razed tomorrow.
Kochi: Holy Faith H20 in Maradu was the first apartment complex to go down.
Massive arrangements have been made for the two-day demolition process that began a little after 11 am. Hundreds of kilograms of explosives were stacked in the buildings to demolish them in a manner of implosion where the debris fell inwards.
A crowd of onlookers who flocked to nearby terraces and roads watched the demolition, after officials onboard helicopters conducted aerial surveys.
Large gatherings have been banned in the evacuation zone of all the water front apartment complexes to be demolished in Kochi’s Maradu area, the police said. All traffic – air-borne, water-borne and on land – is prohibited in the evacuation zone.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch the buildings being demolished in Kochi’s Maradu.
The residents in the evacuation zone have been asked to switch off electricity and all the appliances before leaving their homes. They are advised to close all windows and doors to protect their home from dust. Temporary relief centres have been opened for the residents of the evacuation zone.
After all the occupants of the apartment complexes moved out, authorities had removed all the windows and other things from the building and all what remains is a skeleton structure.
Shamshudeen Karunagapally, who bought a flat for over Rs 1 crore, said his wife and children did not watch the buildings go down as it was “too painful for them to see their dreams shatter before their eyes”. “We are suffering without any fault,” he told news agency AFP.
In September last year, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of the four buildings in Maradu for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone rules. The top court gave 138 days for the demolition, a timeline set by the Kerala government.
The court also had ordered payment of a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to those who lost their homes.
While the 19-floor H2O Holyfaith apartment complex with 90 flats and the Alfa Serene complex with 73 flats were demolished today, two 17-storeyed residential buildings – Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram – will be demolished tomorrow, authorities said.
(With inputs from AFP)
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