Two Guys and the Holy Bible

March proved to be an eventful month for me. I celebrated my 22nd birthday, traveled on an all expenses paid trip to Seattle (where I flunked an interview and met a few interesting people), enjoyed a weekend road trip to Washington DC (where I met with those three dramatic incidents that I had described in much detail in the previous blog posts), experienced some mundane things like getting screwed in the mid term exams and some not so mundane things like watching India win the world cup.

And sometime in the middle of march, I had yet another interesting encounter that deserves mention on this blog.

It was around seven in the evening. I was sitting outside Starbucks (in the basement of the Purdue Memorial Union) with a delightful caramel Frappuchino to keep me company, as I pored over pages upon pages of intellectual hocus-pocus. I had a paper submission deadline in a couple of days' time and I had barely started off with the background research. I was fighting a losing battle against the sands of time.

From the corner of my eye, I could see two tall, well built blokes walking towards me. And I naturally assumed that they were coming to my table to grab a couple of empty chairs. The taller guy somehow looked distinctively familiar.

The shorter of the two guys spoke out in a thick Spanish accent, "Hi there! Do you have a moment?"

"Uhh...yes, I suppose so," I replied. I was in a weird position, holding the coffee cup in one hand and sucking on its straw, while holding on to a badly crumpled piece of paper on the other.

"We would like to ask you a few questions," the guy continued.

Questions? What sort of questions? I gulped looking at the size of those two guys* standing in front of me.

Without waiting for a reply, they sat down, one on either side. The taller guy put down a hard bound 'Holy Bible' on the table with a loud thump.

Oh my God! Now I know why he looks familiar. He looks just like Silas!**

The shorter guy took out a sheaf of papers from his bag. And the moment I saw those papers with their short one liners and distinctive bullets that followed, I realized what the rendezvous was all about.

"So, you're here for a survey?" I asked.

"Yes, yes," the shorter guy replied. "By the way," he continued, "my name is Carlos(name changed) and this is my friend Joe(name changed)." While Carlos grinned broadly, Joe gave a quiet and courteous nod.

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Sri," I smiled back and extended my hand. Although I knew that the hourglass would now become even more porous to the sands of time, I relished the prospect of having an interesting conversation with these two strangers.

"Okay Sri, here is the first question," Carlos said, making it sound more like a game show than a survey. "What are your opinions on pre-marital sex? Are you for it or against it?"

"I well...uhh" I was completely taken aback by the bluntness of the question. I continued, "Well I am not against pre-marital sex like I'm against say, violence or drugs..."

"So, does that mean that you are for it? You want pre-marital sex?" Carlos asked, twirling his pencil through his fingers, eager to jot down anything that I spoke.

"I just said that I'm not against the concept. But that does not mean that I will follow it." I replied.

Carlos looked at me confusedly and then continued, "Okay. Now on to the next question. Do you believe in euthanasia, or mercy killing?"

"Okay brother! I know where you are getting at!" I thought as I looked at the Bible that rested below Joe's big hands.

"I am not against Euthanasia. Frankly, I believe that if a person wishes that his life be taken, and that his loved ones wish that his life be taken, so that he need not endure endless pain and suffering, then I believe that he has every right to do so."

Carlos nodded and scribbled something down. He continued, "What do you think about abortion? Do you think it should be made legal?"

"Uhh...now that's a tricky question. I don't know what say. I mean, it probably depends on the situation."

"Now, don't be diplomatic, Sri." Joe spoke for the first time. He had a mischievous smile on his face.

"Well...I guess it is wrong to take an innocent life. Abortion does exactly that. But what if the child is born in an environment where he or she is forced to face a life of suffering and pain. I mean, the mother generally has a very strong reason, if she decides to abort the child. And considering the fact that no mother would want her child dead, that reason perhaps justifies her act," I replied.

"But who are we to decide that, my friend. It is the Lord who decides the fate of the child. He decides the fate for each and every one of us," Carlos said. His eyes were twinkling as he spoke.

"Maybe," I shrugged. "But there is an interesting thing about abortion."

Both Carlos and Joe raised their eyebrows as I continued further, "I read this book called Freakonomics. Heard of that one?"

"Uhhm. I guess I've heard of it," Carlos replied.

"Those guys proved that there was a direct relation between the legalization of abortion and the level of crime in the area. I don't remember which US state it was, but it seems that crime rate drastically declined after the state legalized abortion. And come to think of it, it could actually be true."

"How?"

"The children who would've otherwise been aborted, end up being orphans. And as they grow up, the lack of a family and parental love, takes a toll on them. Lack of education leads to unemployment and unemployment leads to crime." I sat back, put one leg on top of the other and sipped my coffee.

"Alright, now on to the next question," Carlos said in a very thoughtful voice, "Do you believe that Jesus is the son of God?"

Aha! Eventually it had to boil down to a religious discussion!

I chose my words very carefully as I spoke, "Well, maybe I'm not the right person to answer this question." The sentence ended up being quite awkward. I quickly continued, "What I mean to say is that I am not a follower of Christianity, so my ignorance prevents me from speaking much about this question."

"I see." Joe smiled and dragged his chair forward and peered into my eyes as he spoke, "So, what religion do you follow?"

"I am a Hindu. Hinduism is not just a religion though, it's a way of life." I stared back into his eyes.

"So, what do you know about Christianity?" Carlos asked.

"Just the basic stuff that I gathered from books and movies."

Carlos immediately began his excited talk about Jesus's life, the miracles that he performed, the last supper, the crucifixion and the resurrection.

"Yes, yes. I am familiar with that legend." I interrupted him.

"Not legend, my friend. It's a historical truth. A lot of archaeologists around the world have proved it."

"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"What do you mean?"

"All that matters is faith. I mean it really doesn't matter if Jesus actually walked amongst us or not." Carlos and Joe seemed shocked. I twirled the straw around the coffee cup as I continued, "What I mean to say is that, irrespective of what the historical truth is, the story of Jesus is a symbol. It teaches us to be good moral human beings and reminds us that we are eternally under the grace of the Lord. Be it or fact or fiction. It's the faith that matters."

"Hmmm...well said." Joe nodded.

"So, coming back to my original question, do you believe that Jesus is the son of God?" Carlos asked.

"I believe that Jesus was a great messiah."

"That does not answer my question." Carlos repeatedly tapped his pencil on the table.

"And that's the only answer that I have." I shrugged and pretended to sip my coffee.

Joe pushed forward the Bible that he was holding in his hands. "Have you read the Holy Bible?" he asked.

"I've read some of it. I've read the Genesis."

"So, did you like it?" Carlos interrupted.

"Yeah. Genesis is more like a history lesson. I enjoyed reading it. And I love some of the verses in the Bible. They are very good."

"If you like the Bible so much, why don't you follow Christianity?" Joe blurted out.

I let out a half-grunt cleared my throat and countered, "Do you believe in God?"
Both of them nodded. I continued, "And I do too. So, what difference does it make, if I follow the Christian ways or not...when the both of us believe in the existence of an almighty being?"

"Jesus sacrificed his life to pay for our sins. And that is what prevents us from getting sent to hell despite of all the sins that we commit."

"I don't think we should look at it that way. See, we must respect the fact that Jesus sacrificed his own life to pay for our sins. If we continue to sin thinking that Jesus will save us, of what use would his sacrifice be? We must honor that sacrifice by not committing any sin in the first place."

For a moment, none of them spoke. They seemed to be lost in their thoughts.

It was Joe who broke the silence. "I believe in Jesus because he saved my life." He stared at me through his dreamy eyes. "A few years back, I was an atheist. My life had become a complete wreck. I was addicted to drugs. I had troubles with my relationships. I flunked all my exams. And just when I thought that my life was over, Jesus showed himself to me. I saw him. And that's when I started believing in God. I have been praying to him ever since. And because of his grace, I've reclaimed my life. I've stopped with the drugs. I got into Purdue and I'm doing well in my courses. My relationships are back on track. Jesus is real, my friend. And he is watching us right now."

"Good for you, mate," I said and shuddered a little.

"Jesus will reveal himself to you, if you do not believe in his existence. And when he does, you will change your mind," Joe said in a hypnotic voice.

"Yes, my friend. Jesus can come in any form. If you want to meet him and see how it feels like to connect to God-"

I interrupted Carlos midway through his sentence,

"I don't need God to reveal himself for me to believe in his existence. I just believe. As I told you before, faith does not need evidence."

"What you say is true," Carlos smiled politely. He continued, "Thank you very much Sri for your time. I really enjoyed talking to you."

"Yeah," Joe added.

"And now we'd like to give you back something in return." He had a mysterious smile on his face. "Do you believe in the power of prayers?" he asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Then we'd like to pray for you. Is there any wish that you have, anything that you'd like God to hear?"

"Well...uhm...as of the moment, I guess I'd be glad if I get a summer internship."

"Okay. We will pray for you now."

With that Carlos closed his eyes, bowed his head and joined his hands. Joe did the same.

"Sri would like to get a summer internship. And together we pray for the same. Please God, listen to our prayer and grant him this summer internship. Amen."

"Amen," I said softly.

With that, both Carlos and Joe got up, shook my hands and blended into the crowd of students. ***



* Invariably, everyone is taller and larger than me.

** The pitiable villain from the hit fiction novel, The Da Vinci Code, and the role played by Paul Bettany in the movie of the same name.

***Although I did not get through in Microsoft, I did manage to get an internship with Simplex Investments. Maybe that collective prayer really paid off!