The faith devils

I am no atheist. However, I have come to believe that God brings out the devil in us. In most large temples, the closer people get to the sanctum sanctorum, the more devilish they become in behaviour. It’s a mob with a task at hand. We are as close to a stampede as we can be. It is indeed a miracle that we have so few tragedies in religious places despite all this. I requested a muscleman shouldering his way through (he had just felled an old lady) to ease off, but the man was in no mood to relent. Indeed, he told me, “Tirupati mein dhakka diye bina darshan nahi hota (You can’t get darshan in Tirupati without pushing and shoving).” However, watching some of the faithful is a humbling experience. People with babies in arms, old people who can barely walk, the infirm, all come with hope and...