The Ayodhya Column

       

     

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 When the God created man and woman in the form of Adam and Eve, he was so pleased with his creation that he decided, they will stay with him forever. They lived in Eden; another of God's master piece, a garden. With greenery all the time. With flowers blooming all the time. With fruits hanging all the time. Of all these fruits there was a fruit red in color, shaped like an apple; hanging on a dense green tree. Adam and Eve were allowed by the God to eat all fruits, but this one. They called it the forbidden fruit. It is said that it’s in human nature to try the forbidden. This happened to Adam and Eve as well. They took a bite from the fruit. The wrath of God unveiled. Adam and Eve got expelled from the Eden just for their interest in the forbidden fruit. They pleaded and apologized. Only as a sign of some mercy, God asked them to go to earth and populate it, but God himself will not live with them on earth. With heavy heart Adam and Eve did relocate to earth and became the first human inhabitants of earth. Earth was a place close to God's heart, his favorite planet. However, in order to punish Adam and Eve for their deeds God decided never to visit earth. Hundreds of years passed, human dominated the earth, they were ruling over all other forms of life, formulated by the God. Adam and Eve were not there anymore, but their legend was alive. Those legends kept the concept of god in the human mind. Nevertheless, God himself had decided that he would never visit the earth so did he. 

       Finally, one day the king of humans decided that he would invite God on the earth. He started constructing a big temple where the God would live. Hired several priests to serve “The Almighty”. Spread the words that God will soon be on earth. He then started praying the god in order to invite him. After long prayers that lasted for years, God finally agreed to revisit earth and live with once his favorite creation; human. He gave a date when he would arrive and start living on earth. The news spread like wildfire. People went insane. Each and every person was willing to prove as a bigger devotee of God than anyone else. Everyone was trying to prove that he had more right on God than anyone else. That faithful day, thousands chaotically queued. They had garlands of flowers. Each bigger than the other. They had offerings in the form of sweets. Inform of fruits. Milk. Grain. Wine. And what not. They were fighting with each other to reach the God first, to offer their things before others could. Fighting to prove that their garland was better. Fighting to prove that the fragrance of their flower was better. Fighting to prove that their offering was better. The priests could see that from the temple that was supposed to be God's abode on the earth. The huge crowd actually frightened and pleased them at the same time. They saw an opportunity for themselves in the crowd. The priests looked at each other and winked. 

       The God appeared at the designated time in the temple. Anxiety in the crowd reached new levels. They started running towards god. Chaos and more chaos. The priests played their card. One said those with milk, coconut come towards me. Another priest said those with wine follow me. Third said I am the priest for those carrying dates. And so on. All claimed to offer them a better path to the same and only God who appeared in the temple. People in different queues ran towards the God. They ran over each other. Each person wanted to prove he could reach God faster and easier than any other. All of them wanted to show that their offering for their God was better than all others. They did not care about their fellow devotees or even the God. Those who managed to reach near the God started putting their offerings, flowers, garlands near God. They started throwing their gifts towards the God. Finally, the ordeal came to an end. People ran out of offerings; they ran out of energy. Those who survived looked around. The bodies which they ran over. Bodies that they pushed and hit in order to reach the God first. And finally, they looked for the God. No one could find him. They could only see a pile of offerings. A pile with flowers, garlands, sweets, fruits, grain, coconut, dates, wine barrels, milk containers, among the other things. The priests started moving things they wanted from the pile and stocking them by their side. At the end they found the God, found the God dead. They were scared, each group started blaming the other. However, no use. The God died of suffocation and weight of wishes and offerings, or perhaps of the shock when he saw the way once his favourite creation behaved. 

         The king who invited the God died grieving for all what happened. In the heaven he met God. He requested the God go to the earth once again, give his devotees a second chance. The God declined. He said, I am dead now, killed by the people you call devotees, it will be against the laws of nature if I go back. Now people have to imagine me in things on the earth; in rocks and stones, in fire and water, in land and sky. They can only have symbols, but the God is dead. Human there on wards strived hard to make earth better. They built big concrete buildings, to live in. Big factories to produce stuff. Automobiles and aircraft to travel around. All sorts of food growing, all sorts of drinks brewed. They create a symbol every day, trying to imagine the God in it, with it. Try proving each symbol representing the God better than the other. The God, they killed that day.

With inspiration from "Nisha Nimantran"; By Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan