Redefining our prayers in the coming year
AMID the ceaseless flow of clock time and associated tales of despair and hope, we will find ourselves in yet another ‘new’ year with celebrations, pledges, promises and apprehensions. Possibly, as the ‘pessimism of the intellect’ indicates, the year 2023 will not be qualitatively different from what we have been experiencing for quite some time — the smell of violence and cultural decadence in a divided and fragmented society like ours with gross socio-economic inequality. Yet, some of us — possibly, because of our desperate urge to see the trace of light even in a dark tunnel — will not lose hope and will cherish the ‘optimism of the will’ and continue to strive for a meaningful social action enriched by prayers.
Well, prayers need not necessarily be equated with the ritualism of organised religions; instead, prayers can emanate from our humanistic urge to find our hidden possibilities and inner strength to create a better world. In fact, prayers act as a process of self-cleansing, reminding us that we are endowed with possibilities and are capable of creating a spiritually elevated, ecologically sensitive and egalitarian world. In this sense, from Karl Marx to Antonio Gramsci, or from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Singh, all were enchanted by the spirit of prayers. As we welcome the arrival of another ‘new’ year, is it possible for us to redefine our socio-political and cultural praxis with the following prayers?
First, as there seems to be no end to hatred, violence and ghettoisation of consciousness in the name of militant nationalism, is it possible to rediscover ourselves as oceanic beings filled with the power of love and empathy? Imagine what it means if our destiny is to become what, say, Hindu nationalists want us to be: militant and loud ‘Hindus’ intoxicated with the cacophony of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and seeing every Muslim as a traitor or an enemy of the nation.
Yes, this narrow identity brutalises us, limits our possibilities, and robs us of our awakened intelligence — the ability to see the world beyond these ‘Hindu’/‘Muslim’ categories, embrace the world as a whole, and find our real strength in love, reciprocity, empathy and appreciation of plurality and diversity.
Accept it: militant nationalism or religious fundamentalism of any variety dehumanises us. There is nothing heroic in living as just a ‘Hindu’ or a ‘Muslim’ or a ‘Christian’, and following what the unholy nexus of the orthodox priestcraft and hyper-masculine political bosses prescribes.
Instead, it is truly heroic to reclaim our shared humanity, and realise that inter-connectedness is our real substance, whereas divisiveness is a violent aberration.
In 2023, is it, therefore, possible for us to pray that we need the abundance of inner strength and clarity to recover our lost potential, and realise that the divisive politics implicit in militant nationalism, or the orthodoxy of religious fundamentalism is against our humanity, our spirituality, our positivity and our capacity to expand our horizons?
Second, can it be our prayer that we alter our thinking and priorities so that we can give our children a breathing space — an environment that encourages them to blossom, realise their unique aptitudes, and evolve as sensitive, compassionate and integrated human beings?
Yes, the future depends on our children — the way they grow up, or the kind of education they receive. It seems that we are not very serious about it. We tend to impose our own fear and anxiety, our greed and ambition on our children. No wonder, we confuse education with mere training for a job; we equate learning with mere accumulation of academic knowledge; and we condition our children to believe that there is no other mode of living except following the path of ‘non-risky’ and ‘secure’ careers. No wonder, through family socialisation and the education industry, we rob them of even the slightest trace of an alternative imagination. Is it, therefore, surprising that these days our children are behaving like cynical and defeated adults so quickly?
The result is that they lose the courage to question the mantra of this rotten society — social Darwinism as a way of life, a purely instrumental/strategic orientation as ‘smartness’, the temporality of consumerist pleasure as happiness, and the mindless act of running towards the mirage of a ‘settled’/‘successful’ life as the ultimate dharma.
Hence, the question is whether, as parents/teachers, we are ready to invoke the likes of Rabindranath Tagore and Jiddu Krishnamurti in our prayers, and encourage our children to get the kind of education that opens their eyes, activates their creativity, makes them life-affirming, and gives them the courage to say ‘no’ to a world that is corrupt and violent.
Well, we are continually visiting the officially declared religious sites, consulting all sorts of priests and astrologers, and with fear and folded hands, praying. And generally, in these prayers we are asking God to give us material wealth and good health for our own prosperity. Beyond one’s daughter’s marriage, or son’s job, or the construction of a new house, there is not much in these self-centric prayers.
These prayers do not broaden our consciousness. Or, in lavish parties as we celebrate the New Year, there is not much we do except eating, boozing and dancing. And once again, we come back to the usual routine — the same politics, the same cult of narcissism, and the same rat race.
However, the point is whether we can redefine the meaning of prayers, realise our inner treasure of love and compassion that a violent/corrupt society has always tried to hide, and initiate a refreshingly different mode of socio-political thinking and ethically enriched praxis as we welcome 2023.
