Celebrating a doomed future?

For the uninformed, almost all parts of the country celebrated a one-day festival last Thursday, Janmashtami. It is an annual celebration of the birth of lord Krishna. Devotees across the country celebrated the festival with great fervour and enthusiasm. While the Rasa Lila re-creates the flirtatious aspects of Krishna’s youthful days, the Dahi Handi celebrate god’s playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human towers to reach a high-hanging pot of curd and break it. 

When the whole country and people from across the world were busy celebrating the festivities, I happened to stumble upon a few news articles. I was shocked to notice that just as millions of idols were being worshipped nationwide, by each passing hour, a student hung himself. For every coconut being broken in a temple, a hungry farmer committed suicide in the country. With one more bundle of cash being given away to the gods, one more toddler started begging on the streets. For every swimming pool being constructed in our ‘smart cities’, a farmland goes barren without water. 

The question which remains is, what are we practising now? Should we practice religion or humanity?

Is religion all about giving to the gods and his children? Or is it to follow a religious path, blindly? Just asking... Happy Janmashtami!