A friend from Chennai told me that on Diwali night, the fireworks stopped at exactly ten o’clock. “People here actually obey the law,” he said proudly, “even when it’s a festival.” I sighed in disbelief, thinking of Mumbai where rules are treated as mere suggestions and laws as polite requests to be ignored.
In Mumbai, the noise of crackers and bombs continues well past midnight. Old people clutch their chests, babies wake up screaming, and dogs howl in confusion. Yet, those who set off the fireworks say they are doing it for God. I sometimes wonder what kind of God gets pleasure from watching His children terrify one another in His name.
Some years ago, a part of a church was demolished, and I was called to visit the site. The people there wanted me to write about the injustice done to them. “It was just a temporary extension,” they said. I bent down and picked up a piece of rubble. It was concrete. “You said this was a temporary shed,” I told them quietly, “but this is solid construction.” They looked uncomfortable and said, “Yes, but it was for the church.” I shook my head. “That makes it illegal,” I said. They asked me to keep quiet and said they were planning a protest march. I refused to join them.
That moment stayed with me. We so easily break rules in the name of faith and then expect divine approval. We build illegal shrines on roads, loudspeakers blare through the night, and processions block traffic. When someone dares to question it, we shout that religion is under attack.
No, my friends, what is under attack is respect for others.
The truth is that if God Himself walked among us today, He would be the first to follow the rules. He would not approve of us disturbing the sick or the elderly or breaking the law in His honour.
God does not need a loudspeaker to hear our prayers.
He does not need a temple on the footpath, a cross on a highway, or a mosque blocking the road. What He wants is honesty, fairness, and love for our neighbour.
It is time we stopped hiding behind religion to justify our selfishness. The commandments of every faith begin with reverence for God and end with compassion for man. Yet, we have turned both into excuses for noise, nuisance, and disobedience.
So, the next time you light that cracker after the permitted hour, or defend an illegal structure, or join a protest that has no moral ground, remember this: God would not be with you. He would be standing quietly beside the baby who woke up crying, or the old woman covering her ears in pain.
Shame on us for thinking we honour Him by breaking the very rules He expects us to follow.
Shame too on a government that doesn’t have the guts to enforce the law…!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
