What has Ilayaraja got wrong about Jesus?
For those who do not know, Ilayaraja is the king of music in South Indian cinema.
He has composed music for over 1000 movies with over 6500 songs. That is a phenomenal achievement for anyone in their life-time. He is considered a God among his fans — we Indians tend to exaggerate things a bit whether it is music or sport :)
Recently his home had been attacked by Christian Fanatics in TamilNadu. Obviously, no TV Channel or popular print media in TamilNadu covered this and only Ilayaraja’s fans cried foul in the online forums. This is of course a reflection of the sick state of ‘Dravidian’ Tamilnadu where every tom, dick and harry can criticize Hindu Gods but a single statement by a popular person results in him being physically attacked. Many right-wingers jumped on the bandwagon supporting Ilayaraja. However, this post is not about whether I support Ilayaraja or not.
This is also not about how sickular and ‘Dravidian-party’ controlled media in Tamilnadu specifically targets anyone who supports Hindu culture. No, that’s for a different time.
On any given day, I would blindly admit that Ilayaraja has been the most talented cinema musician ever produced by Tamilnadu, past or present. I do not know much about him as an individual but I do have some concerns with the views he expressed. Here is the video that sparked the entire controversy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DROr3e9hKI
Newsminute has transcripted the speech of Ilayaraja as follows:
“This is a song I wrote about Bhagwan Ramana. After writing this song, I never thought of writing another song. Don’t think this is unrelated. Of all the enlightened thinkers who have appeared on earth, there is none like Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi. They say of Jesus Christ that after he died there was a resurrection and he came back to life. I usually watch YouTube documentaries when I get the time. Now they are saying there was no resurrection. They have produced all the proofs possible and they are saying that he did not come back to life. The foundation on which Christianity is built and the basis on which Christianity has grown for over 2,000 years — they have correctly proven historically on YouTube that it has not happened,” he said.
“Whether that happened or not, the one and only person who has truly experienced resurrection is Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi. That too, when he was a 16-year-old boy. He was overcome with the fear of death. He wanted to see what death will do to his body. He decided to lie down on the ground, hold his breath and his blood flow stopped. His heart stopped and his body became cold. He died. It’s his own statement that he died. His body froze and even though his body froze one unknown is seen. He went to that state of realization,” he added.
Now, here are my arguments against anyone making such statements.
(1) Mr.Ilayaraja — did you personally see Ramana Maharishi’s resurrection or self-realization? You have not. Your knowledge of this incident comes from books and perhaps interactions with people who were closely associated with Ramana. So, how can you claim it so authoritatively?
(2) Mr.Ilayaraja — you might have a deep sense of devotion towards Ramana Maharishi and that is a beautiful state to be in as a devotee. But, who gives you the right to denounce others who are seen by others as a guru or God or demi-god or a son of God in this case? Isn’t this behaviour a sham on your part?
Bhakti or Devotion is a beautiful process in the Indian culture. A true Bhakta or Devotee would see his object of devotion in everything.
But when someone claims only my object of Devotion is the highest, that is when he crosses the border of fanaticism.
In this specific context, I do not see any difference between Ilayaraja and a common Christian religious fanatic operating in Tamilnadu — both claim that they know best & ‘only’ their object of devotion is the best denouncing others! This is not Devotion, this is sickness.
It is not also a question of whether Jesus really had a resurrection or not. For all I know, it could be a completely fake thing invented by someone. I would however not choose to hurt someone who believes that, in a public forum!
The only silver lining in this whole incident is that the TN media still stands exposed for their Hindu-hatred and at least someone popular has spoken against the rampant Christian conversions, even if indirectly, happening in Tamilnadu.
I definitely dislike the TN media’s general stand and am a great admirer or Raja Sir. But if I am Ilayaraja, I would choose my words more carefully next time. After all, my words are a reflection of my interiority.
