Born again

it is distressing to see people misuse religion, says hemant trevedi i believe in the supreme power. that is the reason why we exclaim ‘oh god’ so often in our everyday conversation. to me, god is the captain of my ship. i personally feel that god is within us and we do not have to go anywhere to reach out to him. looking back at life after my nearfatal accident, i must say that i have changed a lot.i have become humble and more tolerant. i attribute my recovery to the supreme power. yes, there was the fabulous medical team and also the prayers of so many people from diverse faith. also, somewhere perhaps i also had the will to live. and when i opened my eyes i got the news of lara dutta winning the miss universe crown. for many years, i wore a chain around my neck with a crucifix on it. and after my accident, while other things were stolen from me, the chain and cross remained intact. after my recovery, i often questioned god as why the accident happen to me, till one day when i was in the process of recovery, i went to pali market where 80-year-old lady who knew me, stopped me and said: “hemant, you must be questioning god, as to why this accident happened to you. don’t ever do that, for god chose you as any other person could have died.� after that i never questioned god again. i do not perform any ritual of worshipping idols, not do i pray daily, but i love to collect ganesha idols. i do turn to ganesha at times. i also have many icons of different religion at home like goddesses laxmi, an altar from goa and a picture of mother mary which i got from mexico. as far as success is concerned, i think god only helps if one works hard in life. personally, i think most of us believe in god and that in our hour of need we instantly turn to him. also, in hour of need, this faith does gives us extra strength. i must admit that it is distressing for me, as i am sure it is for most of us, to see people misuse religion to instill hatred and fear. these ideas sway young receptive minds and there is terror in the world. religion and faith should give us inner peace, not fan hatred.