Raconteurs #12

Dad: I am going to tell you a story today about a girl who grew up to become a wise and a beautiful queen. Do you want to be a queen when you grow up?

Daughter: I have made up my mind. I will start my own religion. That will be my career.

Dad: You can’t just wake up and start your own religion.

Daughter: Well then what do I need?

Dad: Religion and faith is a very personal thing. It is not a career option.

Daughter: But so many people have made a career out of it. Why can’t I do it?

Dad: Because it is wrong. I don’t want you to use people’s beliefs and faith for your selfish motives.

Daughter: I am not being selfish. I have my own set of beliefs and I want to preach the world about it. I want to see how many people I can connect with.

Dad: Really? Who shall be your God? You?

Daughter: Mine will be a religion without any God.

Dad: Well what will it be about then? What will you be preaching? What will your followers believe in?

Daughter: Kindness. My religion will be about kindness and nothing else. I will preach kindness and my followers will believe in kindness.

Dad: Oh I think you are a little late… because all religions already do that.

Daughters: Yes, they do but they also are so complicated that people forget that they need to be kind. People remember to be offended — like you do — but they never remember to be kind.

Dad: I’m not offended. I am just having a conversation with you.

Daughter: Oh really? Then why don’t you support me?

Dad: My girl, you are so innocent. You should really be playing with your friends instead of thinking about all this. Imagine you did go and try to start your own religion. Who do you think will believe in you? Who do you think will follow you? Why will people leave their existing faith and put it in your hands? How will you feel when your plan doesn’t go as intended? Plans fail. Hardly anything ever goes to plan. Your plan is already so whimsical that something or the other is bound to go in a way you cannot expect.

Daughter: Oh we shall see. I will go play with my friends and I will have my followers. We will be kinder than followers of any other religion.

Dad: Is this some sort of a competition?

Daughter: Not at all. If others can claim their beliefs to be better then even I have the right to do so.

Dad: You sure are a stubborn girl

Daughter: It’s strong-willed.

Dad: So let us go back to the story about the queen, shall we? Once upon a time in a kingdom by the sea…

(To be continued)