The Human Cohesion Project — 18 Apr 2021
#TheHumanCohesionProject
Watching a beautiful movie — Babette’s Feast — brought to mind Indian poet Nida Fazli’s poem titled Dohe (Couplets). There’s a verse that says:
सब कि पूजा एक सी, अलग अलग है रीत
मस्जिद जाये मौलवी, कोयल गाए गीत
Loosely translated, it says: everyone has the same prayer, only the methods of offering it differ. A cleric goes to the mosque, a cuckoo sings a song.
I notice a longing in me for all of humanity to remember this, particularly in the times we are living through. There are horrific stories of Covid-19 patients in India struggling to find hospital beds and over-crowded crematoriums that do not have the capacity to handle the rate at which bodies are coming in. Against this backdrop, the Kumbh Mela, a religious gathering of millions, is underway till the end of April, even as India social media is abuzz with the hashtag #BanRamzanGatherings. I wish we remembered the intent of prayer, instead of harping on the method of it.
How did you pray today?
Ramadan Kareem. May we listen to the core of our religion.
#RukminiIyer #ExultSolutions #peacebuilding #interfaith #religion #Islam
