When Michael N. Syiem, former president of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and chairman of the Maitshaphrang Movement in Shillong, Meghalaya, invited me to his unique musical play After Ayodhya: Its Conscience and Man, I sensed it would be more than just music. It was an invitation to step into a world where conscience speaks louder than chants. Michael Syiem has always been concerned about injustice and the many forms of discrimination that plague modern society. He often speaks about the ignored voices of single mothers, marginalized communities, and the downtrodden. These are concerns we have discussed together many times, and they remain central to his vision of a more humane and inclusive society.
When the play unfolded, I was filled with awe. To be honest, it does not take long for the play to grip you. Yes, the play asks a brutal question --- what happens when “conscience” is silenced in the name of religion? This question deeply touched me. Through songs, poetry, and dialogue, Michael exposes the rot of fanaticism and the shameless commercialisation of faith by unscrupulous godmen.
Indeed, the first scene where representatives of different religions fight over a patch of holy land, tearing down the sacred structures of others one after another and erecting their own, is not mere theatre. It, in fact, is a mirror one that feels uncomfortably real because we see ourselves in it. How can one justify destroying a sacred structure of another faith, only to raise their own upon its ruins? To truly understand who, when, how, and why the sacred Ayodhya site became a ground of discord, one should have enough patience to look into history.
Countless sacred structures in India, standing for millennia, were struck down with ruthless brutality by invading forces beginning in 711 CE. Their misdeeds are etched in history, though some have persistently tried to bury them beneath the shroud of pseudointellectualism. Very strangely, such intellectuals, plentiful in India, have developed a proclivity to marvel at the despotism of foreign attackers while finding fault with indigenous warriors, heritage and culture. This remains the darkest irony in Indian history.
What can be said with certainty is that people following specific faiths are usually “weighed down” by distorted interpretations of sacred teachings rather than by sincere devotion to the Almighty. They hardly acknowledge that the Almighty belongs to “all,”.
Therefore, Michael thoughtfully chooses “conscience” as the central voice of his work, revealing a profound understanding of faith and humanity. Clearly, he is not merely telling a story; he is striving to awaken a moral awareness that many of us have allowed to lie dormant. Yes, I salute Michael for daring to bring such lofty ideas to the stage in the form of a musical play. He strongly believes that when conscience bleeds, society suffers. The play emphatically reminds us that without “conscience”, religion becomes a hollow ritual, politics turns into cruelty, and humanity loses its soul. In other words, once conscience is gone, everything else slowly falls apart. Ultimately, it is a clarion call to awaken the inner voice, the only guide capable of leading us toward compassion, justice, and genuine human dignity.
The play very aptly underlines Karl Marx famous proclamation that “religion is the opium of the masses.” But today, I personally feel it is much worse. It has become soil that breeds hatred and nourishes bloodshed. At times, one wonders how something meant to unite every human being ends up dividing so fiercely. How did God, the symbol of eternal love and compassion, become the excuse for devilish violence? If a mother’s name sparks a quarrel among her children, the fault lies with the children. Likewise, the Almighty is not diminished by our quarrels, but we are, becoming “unworthy” even to approach Him. Strangely enough, we rarely pause to think about this.
To me, nothing is more absurd than believing in the exclusivity of one religion as the sole truth in the universe while dismissing all others as inferior. Such shouts of absolutism have long been taking a heavy toll on humanity. In this twenty‑first century, those who claim that ‘my religion alone is the pathway to God’ must be reminded of one scientific fact. We now know how unimaginably vast this universe is. With today’s incredible advances in technology, astrophysicists have concluded that there could be millions of Earth-like planets in our galaxy, the Milky Way. And what about Andromeda, which is twice the size of the Milky Way? The most astounding thing is not just the Milky Way and Andromeda together, but the entire Local Group, comprising over 54 galaxies, which itself is nothing more than a “speck of dust” when compared to the observable universe. Can we seriously believe that the inhabitants of an infinite number of Earth‑like worlds across the cosmos are lining up to recite the same sermons and hymns that originated in ancient India, Judea, Mecca, or Nepal? The fanaticism of such a thought, and the supremacy of one religion, is not only comical but pathetically absurd, collapsing into insignificance before the inconceivable vastness of the Almighty.
An eminent journalist and my mentor, Patricia Mukhim, perhaps a little disillusioned, a few days ago posted on her Facebook wall: “We live on this planet for a limited period, yet we are filled with hate for fellow humans, hatred based on religious differences, ethnicities, and more. Did any of the religious leaders teach hatred? Is hatred a human construct that blinds people into believing theirs is the only true religion?” I must say these words hit the nail on the head.
Michael’s play strikes even deeper when it invokes Tagore’s poem “Leave This Chanting.” The Nobel laureate poet reminds us that God cannot be confined to places of worship alone. He lives most clearly among the poor, the farmers, and the hungry child, where the tiller ploughs the soil and the labourers toil for their daily bread.
True worship is not chanting alone; it is serving the needy with compassion and without discrimination.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa humbled himself and extinguished the ember of ego by serving those whom society branded as “low caste.” He welcomed devotees of every background and blessed them with equal warmth, seeing no distinction of caste or creed before God. Inspired by his master’s teachings to see God in every being, Vivekananda declared service to humanity as the highest worship. Jesus Christ taught that feeding the hungry and healing the sick were acts of serving Him directly, and he upheld forgiveness as one of the highest virtues. These are not rituals; they are conscience in action for self-evolution. The Prophet Muhammad, too, embodied mercy and compassion. He gave freely to the poor, choosing generosity over possession, and showed through his life that true wealth lies in service, not in accumulation.
Alas, the saddest reality today is that instead of serving humanity and striving for self-purification, followers of different faiths are busy sharpening their knives in the name of God. Sacred places of worship are often transformed into centres of “narrow indoctrination” and battlegrounds. Why can we not first believe that the true temple of God lies within our hearts, not merely outside. “Tat Tvam Asi” — “You Are That” (You are identical to the universal, absolute reality and absolute bliss) — is among the most profound proclamations of the ancient Upanishads – books of wisdom. This doctrine of the East evoked an incredible “wow” among leading modern scientists such as Niels Bohr, Schrödinger, Brian David Josephson, and Robert Oppenheimer, as well as philosophers and writers like Schopenhauer, Emerson, Thoreau, Aldous Huxley, Eliot, and Butler Yeats. It profoundly reshaped their vision of reality and revealed the all-pervasive nature of consciousness.
It reminds us that divinity is not remote but “innate”. Any person, irrespective of caste, creed, or status, can realise God -- or more precisely, discover his or her own true Self by practising detached action to calm the hankering mental noise. At the same time, the cultivation of purity of thought, compassion, and selfless service becomes the highway to that supreme realisation.
Hence, it may be said that this musical play by Michael reinforces that we must stop fighting over God and start living with Him by serving, by loving, and by being truly human. That alone is the religion worthy of both ourselves and society. By hurting others, we end up hurting ourselves. God does not play dice with the Universe!
[VP]
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