Yesterday I had been to a temple in Guruvayoor in Kerala in India, and I had to stand in the meandering queue which moved like a python which had just completed its food, for three hours just to have a glimpse of the Lord. When I discussed this pleasant torture with my friend he told me that three hours is nothing when compared to twenty two hours, the time that he took to have a glimpse of the Lord Venkateswara of Tirupathy in Andhra Pradesh. This prolonged wait to see the Lord is a regular feature in almost all the temples of India where people wait with utmost patience as they know that they have to earn the vision of the Lord in a hard way.

When I was talking about this eternal crowd in holy places in India with my friend he told me that people go to holy places to wash away their sins, and if this is true, is India full of sinners? This kind of crowds are not seen in churches and mosques and so can it be assumed that Christians and Muslims are not sinners.

Perhaps Hindus blindly believe in the Lord and what ever happens to them is because of the Lord. Perhaps Hindus are fatalists. When I think of fate I remember the famous line of Thomas Hardy who wrote
“As flies to wanton boys are we to gods, they kill us or their sport”