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“Instead of preaching forty year / I wish I had stuck
to pipes and beer,” says Parson Thirdly in Thomas Hardy’s poem Channel
Firing. The parson is dead and is lying in his tomb when he is awakened
by the sound of cannons. He and many other dead people sit up in their tombs thinking
that the Judgement Day has arrived. But God tells them to go back to sleep. “It’s
gunnery practice out at sea,” God says, “Just as before you went below; / The
world is as it used to be.” God goes on to say that He may abandon the idea of the
final Judgement altogether “for you are men / And rest eternal sorely need.”
Parson Thirdly’s skeleton nods his head in agreement.
Then he turns to his neighbour-skeleton and says that all his preaching and teaching
of morality and spirituality was in vain since the world never improved a bit
with all that. It was better to enjoy life when he had the time.
The parson feels that he wasted a whole lifetime doing
something that was of no use to anyone. He should have followed his own heart rather
than the catechism taught to him when he was little.
I was a student of priesthood for a few years. That
was not the only mistake that happened in my life. It won’t be an exaggeration to
say that my life has been a series of mistakes. Almost everyone on earth will
have to say the same thing if they are honest enough, my friend told me when I
voiced my self-analysis one day as we were sipping a drink each sitting in the
side yard of my house enjoying the cool breeze after sunset.
No wonder they say that to err is human. Perhaps,
human life is just that: a series of errors.
I gave up religion for many reasons one of which is
that my heart as well as my brain rebelled against it. I chose to follow my own
way. It is far too easy to follow the way shown by others. The responsibility
shifts from you to the system that you follow. When you blaze your own trail,
you are taking up a lot of responsibilities on yourself. When you go wrong, you
are to be blamed. Otherwise, you could put pretty much of the blame on your god
or the system or something like that.
I took that responsibility as I followed the path that
I traced as I went on. It wasn’t a pleasant journey. Far from that. But I am
happy that the path has been mine. Not borrowed. The wrongs are mine. So are
the rights too.
Parson Thirdly’s disappointment won’t be mine.
PS.
Written for Indispire Edition 451: To go wrong in one's own way
is better than to go right in another's way. Do you agree? #OnesOwnWay
Great! Living life on ones own terms should be the ideal way! Good on you!
ReplyDeleteAlbert Camus would call it intellectual honesty. He was one of my inspirations.
DeleteI think the one reason why many are giving up religion is because the religious insitutions are not able to answer several of the questions and queries a learned person may ask.
ReplyDeleteReligion has only one answer in the end: faith. That's not quite enough in today's faithless world.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteTaking full responsibility for onself is the central tenet of Advaita - one does not have to sacrifice philosophy ("faith") in order to traipse the lesser-traveled path. Then again, if faith is not to be signage on the path chosen, then so be it! YAM xx
Unfortunately Advaita is not popular among the votaries of Hindutva today. It's all about dividing India into two sects. Religion is rendered absolutely absurd.
DeleteNothing in life is a mistake, Tomi. They are all experiences, which contribute towards us becoming a better human being. We learn from each of those experiences, and we become not only wiser but also stronger.
ReplyDeleteThat's an optimistic view of life which is certainly better than being cynical. I've seen many people going through far more painful experiences than mine and bearing it all with a grin.
Delete