330 Million Gods & Goddesses.

Topics such as politics and religion never fail to raise tensions, generating lots of heat and often very little light.  Maybe it is not the topics per se but how we deal with them.

Not long ago a potential customer living overseas came to visit us in India. He was aggressive about his religion as was apparent in his attire, manner and speech. Our guest never passed an opportunity to lecture me on the wonders of his faith.

'Athithi Devo Bhava'  is an ancient Indian tradition  meaning 'our guest is like God'. This gentleman was pushing his welcome to the maximum and it was all getting a bit tiring.  

Our work took us to several cities all across India and our guest got to see a bit of our great country. I tried to show him the kindness and spirituality of our people, the depth of our compassion and knowledge and the beauty of our land. What he chose to see was the squalor of our cities, the bazar like manner of our driving. He was particularly fascinated and confused by the existence of so many cultures, religions and also the  temples devoted to  so many different Gods and Goddesses.

Our guest can be forgiven for he had inherited a very successful business, He was very wealthy  and was also a prospective customer. This combination produces a heady mix which often breeds arrogance and blinds people.

During a tour, one of our flights was delayed for a while and as we waited in the airport lounge he asked me a question "Exactly how many Gods and Goddesses do you Hindus have?". 

I told him that we had 330 million of them.

"Incredible", he said "no wonder there is so much confusion in your country". Then he went on to deliver a long lecture on what was wrong with India and Indians. He eventually asked, "Why do you not believe in only one God like we all do? ".

Is it not puzzling that even though we grow up in age and like to believe we are all grown up and mature we very often behave rather childishly? 

We are always squabbling, arguing about silly things and trying to outdo each, boasting about what we possess. We are always comparing with others in silly ways. 'I am bigger and wealthier than you, my country, my family, are greater than yours' and of course we must not forget that to mention 'my religion is better than yours and my God is the only true one and greater than your God'.

Had this conversation taken place a decade ago I might have reacted with anger and entered into a fruitless debate. Now I was older and a bit wiser, thanks to the teachings of my Guru. I merely smiled.

I responded by asking him a question " Can you tell me with confidence that there is no violence, nor disagreement nor strife between the followers of these religions that believe in one God you so proudly speak off?"

He replied " of course there are differences, but this cannot be helped."

I informed him that even though there were 330 million Gods and Goddesses that are worshiped by a billion Hindus  across the world, there was no strife, nor hatred nor any disagreement between the followers on account of the Gods. They have existed in total harmony since time immemorial.

"There is only one God and he is known by countless names for He manifests Himself in countless forms", I explained

No conversation took place after that  until we arrived at our destination.  My customer was lost in thought. En route to our hotel we drove past a  temple lit up with lamps for the evening prayer and people were singing hymns joyously. My guest asked if we could stop for a while and enter the temple. We removed our shoes and washed our hands and went in. We sat there for a while enjoying that feeling of closeness with The Almighty. Then we took the 'prasad' and left for our hotel.

My customer looked at me and said sheepishly "I have behaved rather insensitively.  I did not realise that it is the same one God we all believe in, it is just His countless forms that you worship. I am very sorry for much of what I have uttered"

No business was transacted between us but we became friends.