Religious Deities And Their Followers' Lives

I passed by a church and saw the image of a saint built into the walls. The image was of a simply dressed woman standing straight in a long robe, fully covering her form except for the face. It had a soft, pious expression. Inside, I saw the image of Jesus and other saints. Those were all similar too - a serious or slight smile in expression, sober or solemn in mood. The clothing and attire of all the deities were of a simple, muted colours that did stand out - they appeared a plain, off-white or very pale colours that were almost not there and matched their mood and expressions. The poses or expressions of the deities were of moments of no agitation but calm. Even in crucifixion the expression of Jesus shown was of calm and serenity. Even the people that came to church service dressed 'down' in very elegant, neat and 'quiet' clothes.

I recollected my impressions of visiting a Hindu temple. The images outside and inside were quite different. Even from a distance, most of the images carved outside had a great variety of men, women and creatures, some real and some fantastic, in many kinds and stages of attire. The limbs and body barely covered in a few critical parts, fancy ornaments, jewelry on most. The poses too were not simple and showed contortions and such wild abandon that it would it would have passed for a yoga, gymnastic session or an energetic dance floor. Inside, the main deities were decked in great splendor with bright colours, shining gold, silver, gems and diamonds flashing. The main deities at the sanctum sanctorum too had deities in a standard pose, but they were attired in the finest silk. The expressions depicted in the various deities around the temple varied from the quiet, the serene, to joy, anger, to the humorous. It was a vast collection of human feelings and moods. The people visiting the temple too came dressed in a vast variety of clothes and in different moods, matching the deities.

This contrast set me thinking about the kinds of lives that the vast number of followers of Eastern and Western religions actually lead in 'normal real life' as compared with the kinds of people or deities they worship. 

It struck me that the vast majority of the followers of Western religions lead more active, colourful, lives experiencing a great spectrum of human feelings and experiences, as opposed to the vast number majority followers of Eastern religions who lead simpler lives with less variety. People's lives generally seem the opposite of the saints and deities that they idolize and worship. The Westerners seem to lead the life of Eastern deities and vice-versa!

This is just my observation, what do you think?


Copyright  (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2015
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