I had been contemplating of the story which should be the first among my blog on the View Point then I remember the incidence which I had heard so many times from Dadi (my Grandmother). It was the story of Swami Dayanand Saraswati's start of journey which led to the slogan of "Back to the Vedas".
It was the story of a small boy from a Brahmin family from a staunch and orthodox Shaiv family on the day of the Shivratri. As per the norms of the family the boy who had not even entered his teens took the pledge to fast the whole day on the occasion of Shivratri. It so happened that everyone in his family had gone to sleep while he was still awake, both in awe and admiration, in front of the Idol of Lord Shiva, to whom the festival and festivities were dedicated. As the wee hours of the night the boy saw a small mouse eating away the sweets and all the goodies the family had so religiously offered in front of the idol. The small boy waited for the God in Idol of Lord Shiva to show the miracle and protect the edibles which even the boy's family had not tasted as it was offered to GOD Himself and that the family was fasting as part of the festivity.
At last the complete offerings were consumed by the mouse. A petty little mouse which could have been ridden off even by a small boy like himself, the boy thought. Certainly, GOD has to be someone who is much stronger than this Stone Idol, which cannot even protect its own offerings, thought the boy. The very next morning he discussed the incident with his father but could not get convinced. The boy then left his home in search of a true teacher who could explain to the boy his GOD.
The story used to leave me as a little boy with the same kind of questions which had Swami Dayanand Saraswati become what he later became. I too discussed with my mother about the incident who is a religious lady, herself. For the story she saw GOD in the mouse who had come to consume the offerings that had been made by the family. Further she explained to me that its a matter of faith as to what a particular individual chooses to believe. One may believe that there is not GOD in the stone idol as was understood by the boy in the story or that the GOD in the Idol came to consume the offerings in the form of the mouse.
I thought of choosing this story as the first because it was this story and subsequent discussions I had with my elders that I learnt to look at the things from more than one side and be able to respect both the viewpoints at the same time.
