The God between people

Once, a 95-year-old man who was considered a great spiritual teacher came to see my 'philosopher' friend U G Krishnamurthi. The old man asked him, ''What is the meaning of life?'' This man had written hundreds of books on spiritual life, quoted the scriptures to his followers and interpreted them to the world. But he himself hadn't understood the meaning of life.UG answered, ''Look, you have lived for 95 years and not found the meaning of life. Have you ever thought that there may not be any?'' The tragic old man had wrongly believed that fame and power would bring him spiritual wealth as well. Too often we forget that real satisfaction visits us only when we feel we have been 'good.' Today, there are fewer and fewer times when we find ourselves being 'good'. India is in the midst of a 'spiritual' catastrophe. Look at the violence, the exploitation which is unleashed on our people in the name of 'Belief.' And when a religious belief becomes an instrument of power in the hands of power hungry leaders, it devastates. The communal riots of 1992 and 1993 which tore Mumbai apart taught me a significant lesson. I realised that it is the 'believer' who kills. I would like to propose that we engage in deep introspection and understand that endless spiritual rhetoric has not solved any of our vast problems. Our problems are rooted in the way modern society resists addressing our reality. And we can do it. Recently, travelling through Bastar I discovered India has pockets of deep resilience from where we can all draw our spiritual strength. I got this great lesson when I met a tribal boatman, whom I asked, ''How much money do you earn in a day by carrying people across the river?'' ''Twenty rupees,'' he said, giving me a contented smile. ''Are you not worried that the bridge the government is planning to build will deprive you of your livelihood?'' I asked. ''I am,'' he replied, ''but the bridge will ultimately help my people make a better living. I and my family will have to find some other way to make ends meet.'' His simplicity was heartbreaking. He did not have the 95-year-old's vast arsenal of spiritual words, but he had a natural spiritual wisdom and the ability to adapt to the world around him. He was too immersed in the act of living to ask the question, ''What is the meaning of life.'' I felt blessed to have met him. I understood what a European writer had meant when he said, ''God is not found in people; God is found between people.'' In witnessing the dignified way in which he was swimming with the current of life, I felt great empathy for him. This connected my heart with his. And in this filling out of the spaces between people, in this narrowing of the gaps between us, I imagine one would find any ''meaning of life''. (The writer is a filmmaker)