BETA

I am a Hindu, but not a strong Hindu. I respect not only my religion but
all other religions that are practiced all over the world. I have been to almost all the
religious worshiping places of the major religious sections in various parts of the world and have a fair knowledge of how people behave in their respective places of worship.

Although people may argue that Hindus have a unique way of worshiping
their gods, it makes me to come to a conclusion that the Hindu gods are merciless
towards their devotees. This is the only religion that allows it's followers being
self tortured by various ways, such as fire walking, rolling on sun baked sand, piercing parts of  the body with
sharp objects, carrying earthenware pots containing burning camphor and
worst of  all hanging on flexible poles with metal hooks pierced through the skin
in the back.

So much noise is created during worshiping time in a Hindu temple by
beating the  drums, ringing the bells and shouting various mantras as if the god they
are praying is deaf. Most of us do not realise the fact that a quiet serene place
provides the ideal environment to meditate and pray.

One cannot guess the religion of a person when he or she emerges from
their  respective places of worship. When a Hindu comes out of the kovil we can
easily spot them by the prominent patch of holy ash, the sandal pottu and the
flowers tucked on their ears. This sounds funny in a western land.With the ever
increasing opening of Hindu temples all over the UK, the annual Ther festival is
allowed to parade the busy streets of London. Nobody has given any thought that
life is moving fast here and the pace of slow moving Ther is no match for the
fast moving motorised vehicles that are carrying people who are always in a hurry,
especially on a weekend or a Bank Holiday. Can these things be allowed to go ahead
in a country like Saudi Arabia?.

Aadi Vel in Colombo and the Perahera in Kandy are different from this,
because all communities in Sri Lanka look forward for these annual events in a
country where time stands still for most of the people, who can freely indulge in pomp
and pageantry. Most of the Hindu kovils in Sri Lanka are blessed with wide open areas surrounding the temples and the majestically decorated Ther pulled by devotees,
taking their own time, without disrupting the normal life on the streets, is a sight
to see.

The good old saying 'When you are in Rome behave like a Roman' still
stands. I would like to ask from those who oppose my views - are they prepared
to tolerate a re-enactment of a 'Notting Hill Carnival', parading the Main Street in
Jaffna, or scantly clad ladies from the west basking in the sun on the palm fringed
beech at Keerimalai?.

Religious and cultural activities should be confined to in-doors.
Imagine a newly married couple marching the streets like in Jaffna and India, with the
accomplishment of drummers and musicians!.

God is nature and nature is god. When the nature gets angry with the
mankind the end result is disasters such as earth quakes, tsunamis, hurricanes,
floods, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions and destruction by fire. There is no life after
death, there is life before death. There is no hell or heaven. This earth is hell or heaven, depending on what human beings are doing with their one and only life on this beautiful planet earth.