Rose Mary

Put on the full armour of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
-Ephesians 6:11

One of the most profound verse dramas of the twentieth century is T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral that renders into poetry the historical murder of Thomas Beckett, who was later declared a saint and martyr for his fearless death in the face of opposition from royal authorities. The play personifies the temptations that Beckett had to overcome before he achieved the spirituality required to face death for his Lord. Three of the temptations were easily brushed aside as they were about worldly power and glory, but the fourth tempter was unexpected. He encourages Beckett to pursue martyrdom so that he may gain immortal fame and renown. The play suggests that the protagonist struggled to rectify his own mental desires for spiritual glory and finally sums up his response in pure poetry

The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

In two succinct lines, the great poet has pinned down and given form and structure to a universal flaw in human character. It underlines a perceived trend among people to polish unlawful and unjust acts with a veneer of respectability and piety in order to gain a popular vote among people. With the advent of social media and the opportunity to influence public opinion from an individual point of view, this particular tendency seems to have gathered momentum. The political and administrative leadership in our country has many examples of people who lead double lives, who are seen partaking in philanthropic activities and environmental movements with their focus firmly fixed on the vote bank. At one point or another, the paparazzi catches them red handed in clandestine relationships, money deals and what have you, and the mask is irreparably damaged.

While masking has been in vogue from time immemorial, its mode of expression which was largely social or environmental is slowly changing. Religion and its attendant rituals are the new smokescreens that give sanctity to many ambiguous causes. The traditions of prayer and fasting have been exploited by political activists and religious leaders to influence public opinion. The recently concluded outcry against the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala was a typical example of how religious conventions were used to whitewash what many believed was a purely political agenda. It gave hard-core RSS activists the opportunity to make speeches from a high moral ground as the protest took the form of weeklong prayer meetings rather than violent mob fights.

The guise of spirituality that covers these unholy protests may temporarily go down well with an Indian public whose psyche is highly influenced by religious convictions. But the perpetrators of these two-faced campaigns will do well to remember that, that the powerful instruments of prayer and fasting that have deep meaning across religions cannot be misused without a spiritual backlash that may reverberate across generations. Prayer is our communion with God – the medium that transports us into God’s presence. A combination of prayer and fasting was the solution given by the Lord to drive out demons of the most potent kind – Matthew 17:21. What would be the fallout of using these sacred interventions with such wanton disregard for its spiritual consequences?

The Bible gives us several reasons to pray. Jesus exhorts us to ask the Lord for anything in prayer with the promise that it will be granted, and that the peace of the Lord will remain with us. He personally taught us the Lord’s Prayer and instructed us to pray in privacy—But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you—Matthew 6:6. From a Catholic point of view the Holy Mass is the highest form of prayer where we commemorate and experience the crucifixion on Mount Calvary. These spiritual experiences are slowly being stripped of their profound reverence and divinity. Many who belong to ‘good catholic families’ come for Sunday Mass for social acceptability more than any other reason. It is up to us, who have received much from His abundance, to prevent this landslide that now threatens to destroy the very foundations of our relationship with God through the gross misuse of these spiritual tools. The need of the hour is indeed a combination of prayer and fasting, but this time it must be taken up to ensure that right things are done for right reasons.