DIVINITY, RELIGION AND CULTURE

Divinity, Religion and Culture

I was at the Basilica of Our Lady of Snow at Thoothukudi  aka Tutticorin, a sea port city located at the south west of India. My visit there coincided with the church’s annual feast celebration. The city has an equally mixed population of Hindus, Moslems and Christians. 

I was particularly intrigued by how the celebration had turned the entire city into a celebrative mood regardless of religious belief.  Furthermore, Catholicism in itself is prescribed here with much blend of local culture and value system.  Interestingly, it should be noted that when Vasco Da Gama landed on Indian shores, he was shocked to find that there were already a local Christian community there. According to historians, Christianity was brought into India by St Thomas the Apostle way before the European dark ages.

As such Christianity in India has evolved on its own, void of European religious order, blending with the local sociocultural paradigm.  Rituals performed are very localised but never straying from divine purpose.  I was amazed to see how, be it political, social or even economic functionaries networked in a web of interdependence, glueing everyday life of society. Perhaps it would be naïve to say that there hasn’t been any major communal conflict, and conflicts if any, apparently usually get settled within community dialogue. 

The month of July/August is also an auspicious month for both Moslems and Hindus alike. Moslems all over the world go through a month of reverence via 30 days of fasting from dawn to dusk in the month of Ramzan (Moslem calendar) which ended with the Eid Mubarak celebration on the of 9^th of August, this year.

As for the Hindus this period is equally auspicious which is considered a month for purification of body and soul via spiritual contemplation.  The month of Aadi (Hindu calendar) is devoted to spiritual activities which includes Aadi Pirappu (1^st day of Month of Aadi),  Aadi Velli (Auspicious Friday of the month),  Aadi Ammavasai (No moon Day ie. Blessing from ancestors),  Aadi Pooram (New Moon Day i.e The birthday of Saint Poet Aandal who wrote Thirupavai), Varalakhsmi Pooja (Worship of Goddess Mahalakshmi  i.e blessings for prosperity),  Aadi Perukku (Celebration for Fertility),  Aadi Karthigai (Worship of Lord Muruga i.e. Blessing for knowledge).

The activities I witnessed in Tutticorin appeared to reflect a clash of civilizations. Everyone was busy doing their own thing side by side without any inhibitions nor ‘tolerance’. On the contrary the correct word would be ‘acceptance’ and everything was going about as a matter of fact. The Azan prayer in the evening, was followed by the sermon from the Basilica and then the chanting from a nearby Hindu temple could be heard clearly beaming out from modern loudspeakers, but never at the same time. Whether it was coincidental or not, I am not too sure, but what I witnessed that day was something beyond my imagination.

  

One common feature I saw at the entrance of all the places of worship and homes was the presence of Kolam (designs made of coloured rice). The only difference was that the designs depicted symbols of each faith but the act in itself is very much cultural in nature.

  

My experience there further reasserts my own conviction on the philosophy of Unity in Diversity. Whether it is coffee, tea or simply natural milk, what evaporates would be plain H2O.

I fervently hope for greater awareness amongst more people in this world of the above philosophy – I believe then the world will be a better place to live.