A matter of faith

On Monday, a photograph of a devotee sporting burning camphor on his tongue while participating in Dussehra festivities on the front page of a newspaper caught my attention. My immediate reaction was a shudder. How could one bear such pain and what purpose will it serve? Unfortunately, India is full of instances of devotees inflicting pain upon themselves to please their gods, express their faith or even exhibit repentance. Ev­en today, there are reports about children being “sacrificed” in remote, under-developed areas by people who believe that this “offering” would bring them wealth and success. There are many exampl­es where devotees inflict pain or inconvenience upon themselves — be it walking barefoot for miles to pilgrimage sites, crawling or dragging themselves to reach a deity or piercing their cheeks to get a wish granted — a tradition borne out of instances of sages and heroes or, for that matter, even demons, undergoing self-punishment to pl­ease the gods and get boons that would greatly enhance their stren­gth. However, Hindu religion is not unique in this respect. In the Philippines and various other pl­aces in Latin America, where Christianity is followed, many devotees re-enact the crucification of Jesus Christ to experience his pain. Closer home, the tradition of self-flagellation on Moharram by Shia youth is a common feature across India to Iran and elsewhere in West Asia, where the sect has a considerable following. However, it is still not clear to me as to what all this pain is meant to achieve. It is a matter of faith, no doubt. But as most religions emphasis relief and recovery to all those who follow the basic tenets of faith, these extreme actions do appear inexplicable to those who cannot invoke a similar emotion in themselves despite being religious. Ultimately, people are free to follow their own road to faith and deliverance, as long as they do not force others to follow suit.