A Lesson For Life

My father worked for 10 years as a pundit in the Swami Padmanabhan temple on the holy streets of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He would daily hold onto my tiny finger and walk me down the streets of Kerala to study the religious scriptures. Even at the age of 8, he read me the Vedas and Puranas.

Among the other pundits, one was Shashtri Ji, a close friend of my father. He was a strict Hindu and kept discipline in his life. One day a queer man walked into the temple. His appearance and style showed that he was a Muslim. People glanced at him with strange looks. I heard one mummer, " Has he forgotten the way to the masjid ?". Between the crowd, I saw Shashtri Ji. He walked towards the man and stood before him. I held my heart in my hands."What will happen now?!". I thought to myself. Surprisingly Shashtri Ji didn't have a stern look on his face. Instead, he approached the newcomer with utmost joy and asked him for a Quaran! I was surprised to see his reaction.

The following day I approached Shashtri Ji and asked him," Didn't the presence of a Muslim in the holy temple bother you?". In return he gave me a valuable treasure, a lesson I would never forget. He said with a heavenly smile, "I might be a Hindu, but I am a human first."