Religion, God, Belief and Coffee

What is God?

Debates about this have been on since God knows when (:)). So we at Christ University had our own discussion on  17th September in Chatting over Coffee on the topic ‘Religion…?’ Thirteen of us talked about what religion meant to each of us personally, what implications the concept of religion has on our society and whether this has been advantageous or not.

There were many interesting opinions that came out during our discussion. One being that religion along with the customs and rituals associated with it have become more of a commercial enterprise, and a lucrative one at that. People often take advantage of this and claim to have powers and abilities, using these as an excuse to earn incomes that are greater than those which most average families earn. Another aspect to look at this is that a person who believes in these ’specially gifted’ people also spend a considerable amount of money on them and at the end of the day are left with nothing except a blind trust.

Religion is a sensitive topic, and a discussion on it has the potential to turn into a very heated debate. CoC almost did, not very heated, but it did become a debate of sorts. This proves another point that came up- religion, whether we believe in it or not, has been so deeply ingrained in us from the moment we are born, that it is, somewhere deep inside, very close to our hearts. So then the question comes up- how does a person, who does not believe in God, feel so strongly about religion as a idea?

The answer to that is simply that religion does not only mean God. As one of the participants said, we often narrow our scope to think that religion refers only to that idea of a God, and lot of rituals to either please this God, or to gain something out of Him/Her. Religion, she said, could mean diferent things to different people. A person who loves his  or her work would consider work as his or her religion. Restricting ourselves by tying the concept of religion and the concept of God so tightly together would be problematic because it blinds us to the many other aspects of this concept.

To many, love is the only form of religion. Love and service are considered the two very important embodiments of the ‘God’ in a religious belief.

To some, God is simply an entity that one believes in. It can take up any form, it can even be oneself. If one truly loves oneself and believes in oneself then there is no greater temple than one’s own heart.

We also touched briefly on the different kinds of collective emotions that religion has evoked in us. Some say being God-fearing is being religious, some say that you cannot fear and love God at the same time. Again, how did these concepts of God originate? Probably these were moulded through the ages and evolved through human needs and aspirations.

‘Is religion only about God? And what is God? or who is God?’ Answers to these questions are intensely personal and subjective, and so we leave it there, to find out for yourself, for your answers will be different from ours.

The views presented in this post are just those which came up during the discussion and are not the authors personal views. Differences in opinion are welcome in the form of comments.

Camping with CSA!

CSA had quite an exciting weekend, with the first camp for the year happening at Kenjanapalya. As always, it was the camp that was organised by the Fredskorpset exchange participants of last year.

The participants for last year, Afreen, Sharath, Vandana and Vineeth organised the camp and had discussions and presentations on various aspects of Norwegian society and culture. We had animated and lively discussions, with first year volunteers actively taking part and expressing their opinions.

The other fun part was the campfire and the songs, dances and games around it. We took walks to the farm where we saw cows, pigs, a lot of piglets (:)) and even a deer. The place was wonderfully silent and peaceful. The camp was a refreshing break from our regular routines and a chance to get to know our new volunteers better.

A couple of thank yous are in order – to our co-ordinator, student co-ordinator, troop leaders, the four ex-FK partcipants and all the volunteers who came camping with us

Parivartan – The Drama of Their Anguish

On September 6th, Parivartan or Reformation- The Drama of Their Anguish took place in the Christ University auditorium. It was a musical by ECHO Theatre, a part of ECHO, an organisation which works for and with children in conflict with law.

The theatre told the stories of these children, and was performed by the children themselves. The programme was graced by many dignitaries whose presence was a mark of support and appreciation of the courage of these children. The most noted among these were His excellency the Governor of Karnataka,  Mr. H.R. Bharadwaj, his wife and the Archbishop of Bangalore Diocese.

The programme was facilitated by CSA. It was the performance that marked the formal inauguration of the ECHO Theatre group and we wish them all the best in all their upcoming ventures and initiatives.

The Reformation

Parivartan: The Reformation – The Drama of their Anguish is a performance by ECHO theatre. It is going to be staged in the Christ University main auditorium on Sunday the 6th of September.

ECHO is a non-governmental organisation that works towards empowering children who are in difficult circumstances and are in conflict with the law.

The show starts at 6 pm and promises to be an eye-opener, a musical that promises to give fresh perspective. As the poster reads – ‘the most disturbing musical you will ever see’.

We Care!

Social volunteering?

Racism?

Terrorism?

Politics?

Yes, We Care!

Our semester magazine We Care is out again, with an exciting new look and feel. We have expanded our scope to include a wider variety of topics and broader perspectives on various issues. So what can you expect in this issue?

For starters, we have the cover story – Four Hours a Week, which is about two Christites who work toward change in their own ways. Another feature to look out for is the one on Sri Lanka which gives us two perspectives on the Sri lanka crisis – a pro Tamil and a pro Sinhalese – along with a brief historical overview of the issue. A case study on Uchengamma and her fight against child marriage also proves to be an interesting read.

A big thank you to everyone who worked toward making this experiment a reality, and a huge congratulations to Publications and everyone who helped, in every little way, in making this such a success. We at Publications hope that even this issue, like every other one, proves to be a catalyst in the change we are working towards.

Three cheers for the cause!

Juvenile Delinquency and the media influence

We all want to believe in that rosy picture of healthy, happy children playing with each other, in complete harmony with nature and the world. So where do we go wrong? When does this innocence give way to pent up emotions like anger, guilt and regret? At what point do we turn these children into anti-social elements? All these questions and more came up during this Friday’s Chatting over Coffee, which discussed juvenile delinquency and the media influence.

In a society like ours, where childhood and innocence are invariably linked, what gives rise to crime among children? To identify the root of this issue, it is necessary to probe a little deeper into our concepts of ‘childhood’. This, either by stepping into the shoes of a child who develops his or her sense of self based on societal pressures and expectations, or even just by going back to our childhood days.

To begin with, a child starts forming an identity, a sense of self, by exploring the world around him or her. This child shapes himself or herself based on the very strong influences of family and society. He or she learns that he or she will have to live up to certain expectations. These expectations are set by the society and the family based on popular notions which may or may not be healthy for the child. But being commonly accepted, the child is taught at a very young age, through his or her interactions with people around him or her, that these are the ideas that the child must believe in. For example, a child who wants to be a bus conductor is taught that it is a ‘lowly’ job and does not fit in the kind of role the child is expected or ‘supposed’ to play in the society.

Though this may seem to be a very trivial matter, this hinders the process of the child developing an identity for himself or herself, and forming interests, passions and beliefs which form the basis for the child’s sense of self. When this sense of self is built on such a shaky foundation, is it any wonder that it comes crashing down at some point of time? A minor is always looked down upon as one who cannot take decisions for oneself. This kind of undermining the child’s status also builds up resentment in the child.

So how does this connect to juvenile delinquency? Its pretty simple. These societal influences are the ones that shape a child’s behaviour. So now we can say that if a child indulges in crime of any sort, a major chunk of the responsibility must be borne by the society itself. A few examples might give us a clearer picture.

Take the case of a child who is beaten up every day for no reason, or maybe small mistakes. This child grows up learning and absorbing the wrong idea that violence is the only way to react to any unpleasant situation. Unpleasant situation as in one which does not work out in the way we want it to. So naturally when the child does not like something, violence is going to be the path he or she turns to in an attempt to set things right.

Or say a child who is hungry steals food…

Or a child who is angry kills…

Now to examine where the media comes into this. In today’s context it is not possible to distinguish the society from its media. People in a society are simply blind followers of values, beliefs and ideologies that are propagated by its various media. The same holds true for children. Violent video games, movies, cartoons and the like cater to young, impressionable minds and implant value systems which we would consider quite inappropriate in them. Insensitivity to the value of life, to ethics, to ethical practices is held in high esteem by the media we encounter every single day of our lives. This passes on to children and invariably they end up believing in things that can lead them to get themselves involved in anti social activities. The protagonist in a movie might kill a villain and harp about this as a great achievement. Here the value of life is understated and not given due importance. Minor, everyday things like these build up, starting small but growing into something quit big and sinister.

How do we change? Change can come about only through conscious effort. A better approach by juvenile rehabilitation homes, less stigma, less of blind media propagated beliefs may be a start. Once again, it all comes down to us. The change starts within ourselves, and then moves on to family, community, society and ultimately the nation. Lets try to be a little less judgemental, a little more trusting, and learn to question what we think is wrong. Let us stand on our own feet and decide our own beliefs rather than let someone else do it for us. Then we can hope for a better place, a better world. Where childhood is still beautiful.

For a healthier tomorrow

The health camp for the Rajendranagar children was conducted on Saturday, the 29^th of August. A team of three doctors from Sri Venkateshwara Hospital, headed by Dr. Vijaya Kumar conducted the check ups ffor the children.

Around 120 children had their general health evaluated at the camp. It was a proud moment for Activity Centre when the doctors lauded the child sponsorship program and the volunteers for organising the camp. They also urged volunteers to conduct it on a larger scale and target more schools in the area. It was a fun day for us volunteers as well. Though we were tired after a day of running around filling forms and helping the doctors, spirits were high at the close of the camp.

The junior and senior volunteers alike deserve a pat on the back for their efforts and the camp’s success. Comgratulations, Activity Centre!

A Memorable Learning Experience:)

Saturday afternoon, its finally the weekend, a chance to hang out with friends. CSA did this – and added on to it to make it a memorable learning experience.

On August 8th, an exposure was held for all the volunteers of CSA to Infant Jesus Home, an NGO working with HIV affected children. It was not just a visit but also included interaction and involvement with the children. The volunteers enjoyed their time with the children by conducting various games and activities for them.

Though it was the first exposure for the new volunteers, being with the young and energetic children was a wonderful experience for them. The volunteers had a very enriching time and memorable moments with the children.

Its just the beginning!!

Daughters of Fire

Vimochana, in collaboration with Centre for Social Action conducted a three day (27.07.09 to 29.07.09) programme- Daughters of Fire, in Christ University, Bangalore. The major highlight of the event was ‘the court of women’ .The process towards the conduction of this ‘court of women’ started in January 2008, gathering together the experiences, knowledge and analyses on the changing face of dowry and related forms of violence against women from different parts of the state and country. This was done through small public hearings, workshops (theatre, film festivals,etc) and round table discussions and other interactive sessions between the rural and urban communities.

On July 27^th, a series of round table discussions were conducted by resource people from across the country. Media representation of violence against women, globalization and violence against women were a few among the many topics discussed in relation to dowry and violence against women. This was open to students and other invited guests.

The main event, on July 28th, was the Court of Women. The court, with a jury comprising of six women and men, drawn from the different fields of social activism, academia, justice and art and an audience of about 2000 commoners, listened to testimonies of survival and resistance against violence. Analyses and reflections on the roots and nature of such violence was conducted. The different themes covered during the progress of the court were – the violence of dowry murders, the changing forms of dowry violence, dowry in the context of globalization, dowry in the context of changing traditions and voices of resistance.

The last session included the responses of the jury members – Kamla Bhasin (poet, women’s activist, Sangat, New Delhi), Vandana Shiva (Environmental scholar, activist, Navadanya, Dehradun), Veena Talwar Oldenburg(Activist, Professor of History, City University of New York, USA), Shiv Vishwanathan (Social Scientist, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology,Ahmedabad), Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer (Former Justice, Supreme Court of India) and Mallika Sarabhai (Artist, activist, Darpana Academy of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad). The concluding speeches given by the  jury members sent across very strong messages and questioned the social system of dowry and the gender differences which are still prevalent today.

On July 29^th, a follow up session was conducted where the testifiers along with the supporting organizations and the core group members reflected together on the processes and outcomes of the Court towards planning a national level campaign. Policy makers and civil society representatives attempted to revisit policy and legal reforms in the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, based on the testimonies heard in court.

The three day programme came to an end leaving thousands of people who attended it, awakened, insprired and more knowledgeable about the different autrocities surrounding women with respect to dowry and other related forms of violence.

Violence Against Women– Destined to continue ???

That was our topic for last COC (Chatting Over Coffee) on 24.7.09, Friday. This topic was chosen in connection with the three day programme ‘Daughters of Fire’ conducted by Vimochana in collaboration with CSA.

Through this discussion, we, a group of CSA volunteers and other students ventured into this horrifying reality. We discussed about violence in terms of rape, molestation, verbal abuse, eve teasing and so on. Are women responsible at some level, for being raped? Is it the dressing style of women that lead to them being raped or is it the male hormones at play? A law in Saudi Arabia holds women solely responsible for being raped.

Looking down to everyday eve teasing that every women experiences, is there much one can do to stop it? Every woman is subject to at least one comment a day while walking or traveling by bus or at workplace, anywhere. Raising one’s voice against these comments, in most cases hurts the ego of the man and the woman is at risk of an acid attack or a gang rape in the next few days. Is being bold, then, an option? Is it, however, alright to let being commented on??

Does media have an upper hand in this whole issue? Can the media help reduce any of this to any extent? Commercializing of women, women being looked at as sex objects, women being thought of as having only an attractive biological make up- can the media not bring about a change, however small or big? Isn’t there more to a woman than just the physique?

In spite of knowing and being aware of most of these issues, at the end of the discussion, we were all awakened. Awakened to realities that, in a way, had faded into the background, realities that had being considered as ‘given’. We are not helpless, at times, we feel helpless, but there is something we can do about it. There is always a solution, the simplest one being sensitizing others. Change, not big not small but change nevertheless.