Pooja




For those who do not know, pooja means worship. Looking at two things and two personalities is pooja.



The two things are:



  Holy place

  Holy book

The two personalities are:

  Master of the universe &

  Parents

The good lord has provided various means to earn brownie points. Heaven is not that difficult a place to get to. By doing good deeds and pooja we can reach there.

In my college days, I had a classmate by the name of Pooja. Whenever I had a chance, I would stare at her. Once she caught me staring at her. She asked, ‘Why do you keep looking at me?’ I replied ‘because I want to do pooja. I feel good after doing pooja.’ She burst out laughing. Thereafter, she did not ever stop me from staring at her (rather from doing pooja).

In reality though, only by looking at the things and personalities, as stated above is pooja. As far as two things are concerned, they will always be. So, no one can say that they cannot see them. But regarding two personalities the same cannot be said.

The master of the universe is not around physically. The parents can be dead. What should then be done? Love for the master of the universe is enough. That is pooja by itself. And if parents are dead, then looking at their picture will bring the same reward as by looking at their faces.

Those fortunate ones whose parents are still living; cast a benevolent glance at their faces. This single act of devotion is worth more than hundreds of nights spent in isolation doing pooja of various gods.          

-          NZ

28.9.2019

BN: 141

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Mother named me Haider

My mother named me Haider so said Ali son of Abu Talib to Marhab when he said that his mother had named him Marhab. If only Marhab had recalled, at this juncture, what his mother would tell him when he was a child. ‘My son, you’ll be a great warrior. Your fame would spread throughout the Arab world. But keep in mind one thing. If in any battle you come face to face with a man named Haider, do not fight him. Just lay down your sword.’ If Marhab had paid heed to his mother’s advice, he wouldn’t have met the fate he met with in Khaiber. But he was high on ego; drunk on his strength and fame, he thought, how anyone could fight him. He was Marhab – how anyone could challenge his might? In every battle, Ali always introduced himself as Ali son of Abu Talib. But in Khaiber, he introduced himself as Haider because he was aware of what Marhab’s mother had told Marhab. This is sufficient evidence of Ali’s knowledge of the unknown. If in Khaiber Ali had introduced himself as Ali a...
Read more

The Lady in Red

Yesterday after my morning prayer, I went for my 30- minute walk. My wife did not accompany me because she preferred the warmth of the bed to the cold outside. Usually, she does. I did not take the path that I normally take every day. The road was deserted and not a soul was in sight. I walked briskly, determined to do a certain number of steps within the time that I had. It was dark and the wintry breeze was making me shiver. I thought of the cosiness of my bed and for a moment was tempted to abandon the walk and go back home. But commitment is commitment. So, I kept walking. When I reached the end of the walking trail, I turned left instead of right. I don’t know why I did it. I should have turned right because that’s where the walker’s path continues. On the left is an alley between two high-rise buildings. Before I could turn back, I spotted a lady smoking a cigarette. She was wearing a long, red gown and her lips were painted with blood-red lipstick. Her tired eyes had da...
Read more

Zaidis and Wastis

                                                         Many people believe that Zaidis and Wastis are two separate surnames. The truth is that it isn’t. Zaidis and Wastis hail from a place in Iraq called Wasit. Wasti is actually Wasiti but over time, it became Wasti. They are descended from the fourth Imam Ali bin Hussain, also known as Zain-ul-Abedin. His eldest son’s name was Zaid. Hence the name Zaidi. These people are Sayyeds meaning they can trace their ancestry to the Holy Prophet. In the 11 th century, Sayyid Abul Farah Al Hussaini Al Wasti (son of Syed Daud al Hussaini), came to India from Iraq, with his twelve sons, and most of the Zaidis and Wastis in India and Pakistan are their descendants. Let me clarify one point here. There are Zaidis who are not Wastis. They are those who believe that Zaid and not Mohammad Baqir ...
Read more