Faith - Religion (and everything in between)

After having spent 23 years of my life in a city, it was a very difficult phase in my life to move to a relatively small town for my job. Nevertheless, I settled in the new place. After getting acquainted with the place I started to search out for good spots to dine. I did find a nice hotel but what excited me more was the ubiquitous Paan Stall outside the restaurant.

The Paanwalla served the most delicious paans I had ever tasted. He soon understood my likings and designed a paan especially for me. I started frequenting him more often. He was a chatterbox of sorts and loved talking and after six years of married life, I have become a very good listener. So we gelled quite nicely; a college lecturer and Zakirbhai, the paanwalla.

There was a quaint quality about Zakirbhai. He wouldn’t just ramble on any topic in the world. He chatted quite a bit but he was an intelligent conversationalist. I would spend at least half an hour for every paan I used to enjoy.

Every time I visited his shop I couldn’t stop myself from wondering at an object placed in his shop. It was the photograph of Lord Ganesha and Lord Sri Krishna. Whenever I visited his shop, there would be a fresh garland of flowers around both deities and mellifluously fragrant incense. On exactly the opposite side, I could see the picture of the Holy Ka’aba in Mecca adorned with fresh flowers.

Finally after five years I found the courage to ask him one day. “Zakirbhai, why do you have Hindu deities in your shop?” He smiled and said, “Sir, it is a long story. Actually, they were part of a shop I used to run in the city before I came to this place. I ran a paan shop which was owned by a Hindu. These photos were in his shop. Now I being a devout Muslim, brought my Ka’aba to the shop. I used to pray to the Holy Ka’aba daily and used to decorate it with fresh flowers everyday.

“The shop owner used to come to the shop daily and he used to garland the photos and perform his puja. After a couple of months, he stopped coming due to health reasons, so I continued his tradition of garlanding the photos. The shop owner died and his sons decided to sell off his shop. I decided to move into this place, but something made me bring these photos with me.”

Then Zakirbhai narrated to me one of the most fantastic incidents of his life. He told me that one night, Lord Ganesha appeared in his dreams. The lord asked him to put a garland around His neck. Dumbfounded, he tried to do what he was told to. But as soon as he reached out to put a garland around the Lord’s neck, the Lord increased His size and Zakirbhai could not reach it. The lord again asked him to put the garland around His neck. But again, when Zakirbhai tried to reach Him, He increased His size. This occurred for quite a few times and Zakirbhai was frustrated.

When the Lord invited him again to put the garland, Zakirbhai said, “How am I supposed to do that? Every time I try, you increase Your size and I can’t reach you!” The Lord smiled and said, “Why don’t you put your foot on my lap and reach out for my neck.” Zakirbhai said that how could he put his foot on the Lord’s lap. The Lord said that it was alright. After some time, Zakirbhai put his right foot on the Lord’s lap and tried to reach for his neck. This time the Lord did not increase His size and the garland fell on His neck. Zakirbhai immediately jumped down from the Lord’s lap. And then the most extraordinary thing happened. The Lord got up and started dancing.

Zakirbhai confessed to me that it was the most amazingly beautiful dance he had ever seen in his life. He was sweating from excitement when he suddenly awoke from his sleep. He realised that he was drenched in his sweat. He gulped down a glass of water and remain awoke for the rest of the night, not able to forget what he had just seen.

“That vision changed my life, Sir. I decided to bring these photos with me. Never has a day passed when I have not put fresh garlands around them and lighted the diya (ceremonial lamp). I am a sincere Muslim by heart and I have always strove to uphold the laws and teachings of Islam. For example, we believe that a true Muslim should never lend money on interest. My Uncle was a moneylender. When he was about to die, he left everything in his will to me, since his only son had died. I told him that I cannot possibly take your money since you have garnered this money against the laws of Islam. I asked him to donate all the money in charity and after he died I performed all the ceremonies from my own money.”

“Sir, I am not an educated man but I believe that whether you are a Muslim or a Hindu, we are searching for the same Supreme Soul and we are all part and parcel of Him. Religion is just a way to glorify and reach Him. He is our final destination. On the Day of Judgment, he will not choose you because you are a Hindu or a Muslim or of any particular religion. He will choose you on the basis of how much good you have done to others.”

I was dumbstruck. I was humbled. Zakirbhai, a man who had studied only four classes was speaking, with utmost sincerity and honesty, the biggest truths of Life. He gave me my third paan of the evening. I paid him. And as I walked away, I realised that sitting in that paan shop was not a man but a saint. Where most “religious” Hindus would die without ever seeing their God, in any of his myriad forms, even in their dreams, this man, a Muslim no less, had seen Him. Zakirbhai ceased to be a follower of any religion in my eyes. He was the most beautiful and pure of His creations. If only we would understand.