Being a Chrindu

[To all Non-Chrindus out there - Google cannot help you with this word, because this is not an accepted usage. As a pre-requisite for reading this you should be aware of the fact that I was born in a secular country. Though we preach secularism, we are not very accomodating in our actions. There is a clear demarcation amongst the religion, caste, sub-caste and so on.]

I am a Chrindu and I want to share few thoughts about what it is like to be one.

I am part of a close-knit family. My family meets all conditions for being classified as a normal Indian family. Four abnormal people, namely the father, mother and two kids put together(phew!!! sometimes the staying together part could be trying) makes a normal Indian family.

Both my parents are religious, but not fanatics. They do the usual routine of daily prayers, visits to places of worship, offerings, fasting and celebrating all religious events(only if its a public holiday).

I forgot to mention a trivial fact there. They dont follow the same religion.

They were one of those couples who braved the inter-religious resistance to share a life. And till-date I have never heard them speak a negative word about the others' religion or faith. As it happens in most inter-religion or inter-caste marriages, my parents' marriage was accepted by their families after my birth. Their first-born, became their re-entry visa.

Owing to their choice of life-partners, I turned out to be a Hindu by law and a Christian by faith. In other words a Chrindu. An odd sense of humor, inspired me and my sister to coin that term. Infact my partner-in-crime(my sister) came up with two suggestions, Chrindu and Histian. Using my privilege of being the elder one, I made the final choice.

I was baptised and I attend church regularly. I also go to temples and attend poojas. My family celebrates Christmas and Onam with the same fervour. We participate whole-heartedly.

All this was the fun part. But it was not easy growing up, torn between two faiths.

One that claimed to have 33 crores gods and one that claimed that there was only one God.

One where the god-figure has 16008 wives and one where the god-figure is a chronic bachelor.

One which mandates that the body should be clean when visiting the diety and one that says your mind should be clean before praying.

One which doesnt complain about your attention and worship wandering elsewhere and one which commands you to believe only in one God or suffer forever in hell.

One in which the god destroyed creation in a fit of anger and one in which a father gave up His son to save all humanity.

I grew up with my grandmother who told me stories from the epics and vedas, and attended a school run by nuns who taught Catechism for an hour everyday. I was taken to the temple by my Mom and to the church by my Dad. My Mom insisted that I be clean and neatly dressed when going to a temple. My Dad insisted that I dont miss church or Sunday school. It might sound odd, but my Mom was the Christian and my Dad the Hindu.

I was so confused about which was right and which was wrong. My parents, thankfully, didnt try to influence my views. While growing up I realised that not many men allow their children to be brought up in their wife's beliefs. I asked my father about this and he replied that our ancestors were Hindus until St. Thomas turned up. Smart answer!! But that still didnt help me overcome my confusion.

As with everything else, I was able to understand things better with the passage of time. I realised that I didnt have to make a choice between them and I didnt have to judge which was right. All I had to do was pick the best things in both and build my faith on that.

I didnt care if God was a bachelor or had wives; to me only His teachings mattered. I didnt care if He was depicted as half-human, half-elephant or with a snake around His neck or with a cross on His shoulders; I held equal reverence for all of them. I didnt care if there was only one God or crores of them, because I addressed Him as Father. And He has always answered my plea.

I have been blessed with knowledge of the rich culture of Hinduism and Christianity. I have read the Bible and the Mahabharatha. I know of the trinity in Christianity and that in Hinduism. I am familiar with the stories of Ganesha and Muruga, as well as Noah and Moses. I can go to a church and make the sign of cross as easily as I can go to a temple and recite the mantras. I feel at peace when I am in a church and I feel the same serenity when I am in a temple.

I respect both religions and their teachings. And I would never say that one is above the other.

I am a Chrindu and proud of being one.