The Power of Positive Text Messages: Ali in Diwali – Ram in Ramzan

Usually, a lot of jokes are traded on SMS. The right word for it is of course ‘text’ or ‘text message’. Sometimes, malicious messages are perpetrated – to flare up communal passions: these messages talk of some hundred people of one community being killed by another community. There is little truth in them; but some people are easily affected by the written word, even if it is as ephemeral as a text message. On the other hand, there are positive messages that try to build unity and a sense of brotherhood (well, sisterhood) among people. Nivedita sent me one such: “Who is a Hindu? Who is a Muslim? There is Ali in Diwali and Ram in Ramzan. We are all one. Send this message to all your friends on the eve of 24 September 2010.”

Well, the judgment is now postponed by a week. More power to the positive vibes that will surely be generated by the text message, which I hope reaches the vast millions of mobile users. For my bit, I wanted to put it up on this blog and urge all of you to share this lovely message with everyone on your social networks. Obviously, it is a rather childish play on words, but then it delivers a powerful message and creates positive vibes. The courts have banned bulk sending of text messages, but this message should be put up on a ticker on all major cable channels.

As I was waiting for my ‘motor bike driver’ who brings me to this office out of which I work, I saw a ‘muslim’ boy (I put that in quotes for reasons that will become clear presently) with bowl of coals and incense in his bag. He would go to the cash till of the shops and put some incense in the bowl, and blow the smoke in the direction of the till. The shopkeepers give him a small sum. I don’t know about other parts of India but this is a common occurrence in Andhra Pradesh. The shopkeepers are all kinds, by religion, but Indian in essence. The boy is an Indian, a Hyderabadi, and a muslim – in that order. In one rare case, in the auto I was riding, I saw the auto driver wave this incense-boy away. That never used to happen in the past: fault lines are beginning to occur in our age old traditions.

Vivekananda said that throwing religion out of the window is not the solution for the problems we are facing. We are not following what is set down in the religious code (al qaida) in spirit and letter. All religions teach us to be humane; to give shelter to the homeless, to give food to the hungry, to give solace to the desperate. Do we, as Hindus, as Muslims, as Christians, follow any of this in spirit? Do we care for the people sleeping on empty stomach by the roadside. Do we care for those who set up leper colonies in the midst of the city, by the side of a hospital or railway station? We don’t. But we talk glibly about religion being the stumbling block to progress. We need to focus on material progress but it has to be tempered with spirituality; otherwise we cannot call ourselves human.

America has a hard core Bible belt (similar to the cow belt in India). Did it stop the progress of the U.S. A. to the position of the only super power? The banks in Pakistan don’t pay an interest on the savings accounts; many middle class people believe (and rightly so) that it is against Islam to collect interest. I don’t know what the investment bankers do, but ordinary people don’t want interest. Did this stop the progress of Pakistan to become a nuclear power? Come on, keep aside the jingoism and anti-paki feelings we all have: Pakistan is a powerful nation, a force to reckon with in Asia. Imagine a world where India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh join forces and not fight one another. The world better watch out!

But back to text messages: there is one that Vasant sent me. “Whiskey mein base Vishnu; rum mein base ram; gin me hain Janki aur beer mein hain veer hanuman – ab kya pioon main?” This is not really a positive text message, it is more of a joke. Still, it is not malicious; no one is making fun of the Hindu Gods. A really God-loving person will stop drinking all these and stick to champagne.

However, a malicious message would be like this: “Holi has a Hole in it; Ramzan has rum; and X-mas is X-rated. All religions should be thrown out the window.” (no one sent me this one; I cooked it up. Please don’t spread this). This kind of a message would only create negative vibes and has to be suppressed.