Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Is Religion more important than a HUMAN BEING?

2.5-yr-old boy fasts for 40 hrs
Manan Sanghavi is the youngest Jain to accomplish feat


Is it a feat or a curse? We keep a child of 30 months old hungry in the name of God. A child has no religion. He has no faith or belief. A child is said to be demi version of God. How can you not feed the God? Of all the religions that I have known/understand, Jainism is one community which only believes in causing pain to its followers. They are forbidden from eating some of the finest foods in this World. What good a religion will do to its followers if they prohibit them from eating? All of them know and understand, we have reached the stage when its practically impossible to follow such religious practices. Nowadays all food stuff are adulterated.

From that point of view, Sikhism is the best religion that I have known. It’s a new religion and does not bent on the old age archaic farcical so-called customs or traditions which are the foundation of all the living practices in India. Although some debate it as a Style of Living. Well the Style of Living becomes the Faith for Living. I would say it’s a very healthy style of living.

Secondly it’s the parents, besides doing something exceptional for themselves in their lives. They give all their desires and failures to their children to achieve something. I am still wondering is this a feat or a CURSE?

Read the following news item which appeared on front page of DNA newspaper on 25th April 2009.

A two-and-a-half year-old boy has shot to stardom within his community by becoming the youngest Jain to fast for 40 hours. Manan Sanghavi, a "fickle-minded naughty boy", as described by family members, started the fast on the evening of August 15 and ended it on the morning of August 17 with nothing but boiled water for comfort.

"We did not force him. It was his will that got him to fast for such a long time. His mother asked him if he wanted to fast and he readily agreed," said Manan's father, Sohil Shah, a Mumbai Central resident.
"His sister, 8, had done it when she was around his age. That was when I thought of asking him if he would like to fast. I explained it to him and he agreed," said Manan's mother, Dipali.

Manan's fast was part of Paryushan, a 980-year-old ritual comprising eight days of fasting during which priests preach the teachings of Mahavira. The first fast is for 40 hours. Jains believe fasting purifies the soul, kills greed and allows one to attain spirituality. "We never thought he would be able to do it. He is fussy and naughty and has several mood swings in a day. We even attempted to feed him midway when we thought he was feeling hungry," said Prakash Sanghavi, the boy's grandfather. "Normally, he cries for milk at five every morning. But when we took him to Jinsundar Maharaj Saheb, our local guru, he refused milk saying he was fasting. That is when we knew he would pull th...

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