Understanding(,) Religion & Cults

Yesterday I attended a class on Bhagavad Gita. It did not cover all of it, just a few verses - I had missed the earlier sessions. And will probably miss the remaining ones. Not because I did not like what was said. What was said made sense. But perhaps because of the way it was said. There was no to and fro, no questioning, no encouragement to think, to debate. I may be wrong, but then I want to be told why. I may not understand, but then I want to try. I don't like being told that 1 + 1 = 2 even if it is true. Or rather, I don't like accepting it blindly. I like to take one apple and one banana and realise that I now have a total of two fruits. I like to hold up one finger on each hand and realise there are now 2 fingers being held up. I like to understand what addition is all about - and I like to be able to question the teacher until I do. Not because I doubt the teacher. But then, the teacher may just happen to be wrong.

More so when it is a question of religious scripture, of philosphy. The Guruji who conducted the class was speaking from a purely advaitic point of view. Which suited me perfectly, because if I believe anything in Hinduism it is the advaitic concept. But the fact is, there is an equally valid dvaitic school of thought as well. The same scriptures that were explained from an advaitic angle will definitely have another explanation from a dvaitic angle - even if the difference does not seem huge - even if it is a just a minor difference - it is still a difference. So then, why should I not be able to question? If I can question mathematics, a subject where there is no scope for interpretation, why not religious philosphy?

But you know what, that is not what bothered me the most. There were two things that bothered me more than the above - after all, one-sided classes are nothing new to someone schooled in India. The first thing that bothered me extremely was that, when the whole congregation chanted mantras at the start of class, before the Guruji had come to the podium, it reminded me of a cult gathering. Believe me, I adore listening to mantras. And it is not as though they were sounding horrible. But this was the first time I have been surrounded by people chanting. No, I am not saying I attended a cult meeting. But it made me think about what a cult really is. I mean, what is a cult? Isn't it the same as a religious gathering? Except that the leader is considered insane and/or a bad influence by most of society? But then, who decides? I liked this Guruji. I am not expecting him to slip subliminal messages of evil into his lectures. But then, then, then... who decides? Do I? Maybe it is in this context that questioning becomes important. You need to be able to question. You need to be allowed to think differently, of alternatives, debate, discuss, anything, to keep your mind alive, alert, so you can discern between truth and falsehood when it is presented to you. Even if you don't quite know what the truth is, yet.

The second thing that really bothered me was seeing people prostrate themselves in front of the Guruji. Seeing them bow before him touching their head to the ground. Ironically, seeing this, made me think of Islam - the aversion Muslims have to bowing to anyone other than God. I have no problem touching the Guruji's feet, and I did. It is the traditional way to show respect and seek blessings. And as far as I could see, he deserves to be respected. But prostrating? Bowing? I have seen people do that when doing puja. But to another human being? I wanted to ask him what he thinks of that. I didn't. Perhaps I will if I go again.