Watched a cute video this evening. It showed kids crying their hearts out as they had to bid good bye to Lord Ganesha on the occasion of the Anant Chaturdashi. This is truly child like, absolutely innocent and genuine.
The kids were really small. Looked as young as eighteen months to five years tops. They were not childish though. So they may not call the Lord 'Gampu'! Why, they seemed too small to be able to even properly say 'Bappa'!
What was truly moving was their total emotional investment in the idol. For them, it was real, like a beloved friend, a much admired relative whose arrival brings forth in the family the happy, festive feel.
May be, true devotion is made of this self effacing oneness with the Lord. No wonder, the entire Bhakti tradition repeatedly evokes the child metaphor for the devotee's relationship with the deity. By the way, even in the Romantic literature, the child allusion with all its nuances is central hence.
Such dedicated devotion needs no deafening DJ's, no ugly, obscene dances cum procession. It requires no LED lights. That is but obvious as there is no show-sha involved, there is no attempt, neither the desire to show off something, nor the viciousness to show down someone.
The sensitive amongst adults, we, too, feel the empty vacant space in the 'devhara' after the immersion. Honestly, every year, after the immersion, for about two to three hours, i cannot bring myself to look at the 'devhara', the lovely 'makhar', the decorative arch, now empty, the lovely idol missing, without a pang, the 'good bye' tugging at the strings of my heart.
But as adults, we have inured ourselves to countless bye's! Moreover, we have the intellectual finesse to tell ourselves that no 'bye' is a real ' good bye' because despite bidding adieu physically, the feel, the spirit is to continue forever with us, in us, though the body, the idol may not. Why, the linguistic expressions include this feel, too. 'Adieu', 'Adios' literally mean 'may god be with you henceforth'.
In a way, we never really say 'good bye' actually, even when it comes to the last farewell to our near and dear ones. The body may be consigned to flames, the memories never. They chase us forever, everywhere. They guide us, they bide us from any negativity. We never bid any adieu!
Pratima@ In the end is a new beginning. Hidden within a good bye is a promise of meeting again, more enriched, enlarging the very experience.
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