Their Prayers left Unanswered

I offer my heartfelt condolenses to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the recent Nainadevi temple stampede. This is not the first occurance and certainly not the last one if the authorities don't take stricter measures. Agreed handling a large number of pilgrims is always a problem but the flow can be regulated with smaller groups at a time.

The site of small children and women as they lay dead with flowers strewn around will stay a long time in memory.

The Naina Devi temple is situated on a hill top in Bilaspur District of Himachal Pradesh in India. And so even in slightly bad weather reaching the temple has its risk. This is not the first time that the temple has been in news for the wrong reasons. Way back in 1981 more than 50 people lost their lives in a similar stampede.

These are the times when you question your devotion but so are the ways of God almighty!

We can take solace in the following beautiful lines-

"Tumhara kya gaya jo tum rote ho
Tum kya laaye the jo tumne kho diya
Tumne kya paida kiya jo nasht ho gaya
Tumne jo liya yahan se liya
Jo diya yahan par diya
Jo aaj tumhara hai
Kal kisi aur ka tha
Parso aur ka ho jayega
Parivartan sansaar ka niyam hai"

"What have you lost that you cry
What did you bring that you loose
What did you produce that has been destroyed
Whatever you have earned, you earned in this life
Whatever you gave is in this world only
What's with you today
Was with someone else yesterday
And will be with somebody else tomorrow
Nothing is permanent but change"

---Taken from Bhagwat Geeta