When God is Dethroned

 WHEN GOD IS DETHRONED

After Rabindranath Tagore

"There is no God in this much disputed temple", said the sage

"In fact, God was never here to begin with", continued the wise one 

while the walls were freshly haunted with the dismembered wails of a pogrom.

"What, no God?!", inflamed the King who was found huddled beside his precious glittering throne

Amidst breath forsaken poverty and covid.

"You are sounding like one of them. A dissenter", further preyed the King from his scorn frothed mouth.

"Everything I do is always and only in the name of God. The absolute One. How dare you say no God?!", proclaimed the King amidst blood gushing like the molten red river of his people's hearts.

The wise sage calmly replied, "I understand all this too well. But God is a traveller now. This is only because all that you say you do is nothing but an act of overthrowing God. You've dethroned God when you stole the voices of your people, of democracy, of truth."

"The very founders of modern India knew

democracy to be for the mature among us.

But alas, you, steadfastly cling to adolescence. Nafz."

Overcome with Krodh, the king growled to say,

"Nafz? An Urdu term? How you have the pluck to utter an Urdu word in my presence! Our Hindu scriptures are rich with terms and stories for you to resort to. Isn't that enough? And to think that you call yourself a saint!"

"But again, you are mistaken. I am no saint. I am merely a sage. There is a subtle difference between the two. 

And you continue to further prove what I just said. Your Regal Self, your ego, your Nafz blinds you."

"Nafz is the only virtue blazing with life here. 

You've sent God to exile. 

You've maimed the constitution. 

And you are resolutely deaf to the truth that monarchy doesn't exist in this land anymore.

All truth, all that can bring us together is

Banished, buried- snuffing out all the lights. 

Relegating your conscience to your dungeon.

All, in darkness.

And in the process, you've been castrated Of truth. Of God.

Truth is in Kashmir, O'King

Truth is in the colour Red."

"I see you want to ambush me too", remarked the sage, gently.

"Do not take yourself too seriously, O'King. Remember, God hasn't forsaken any of us and that includes you as well", the sage wanted to add but where blood and breath must be flowing within, 

now also flows without.

Democracy is the sun gone ominously cold-

a Blue Sun

a Pale Fire