The da Vinci Code

A breezy read, and a fantastic one at that. I have often wondered whether the phenomenon of world domination by the western civilization was a consequence of the emergence of Christianity. Not that I got an answer to my question, but the book sure did highlight certain aspects of Western Christian Thought that were though not completely alien but were surely obscure earlier. For starters, I found the book delving deep into the American film genre of 'Conspiracy Theories'. The deeply ingrained fascination of the West for shrouding its belief systems in absolute mystery and then embarking on a journey to unravel it step by one excruciatingly slow step sets the stage for an intriguing real-life drama. This is not to say that the East doesn't mystify its existence by seamlessly interweaving religion and life. Just that by virtue of the West being more wealthy and pompous in its pursuits, it is always the more conspicuous of the two.

That aside, if the conspiracy theories discussed in the book are anything to go by, my ever-increasing faith in the plagiarising and pillaging image of the West seems to have be strengthened even further. The notion of squashing the pagan religions of the time, stealing their symbols and symbolisms, and rewriting entire characters in the biblical lore seems too much for comfort. It reminds me of 1984 yet again, with the elaborate machinery deployed by radicals with the sole purpose of rewriting the history of the world to suit their conceited ends. Why go as far as the West, let's talk of the rewriting of history textbooks by the BJP back home itself. I sometimes wonder whether this is a consequence of the corruption of mindset by the West through its unabashed display of wealth and prosperity acquired by wielding more power than the others, or is it inherent human nature. It is all too easy to conveniently lay one's blame on someone else but ever so difficult to own up to one's own folly.

I wonder whether the world would be a better place to live in if all its conflicting forces were allowed to mature unhampered. After all, every conspiracy theory tries to go against the establishment of a certain system of beliefs and functioning, and in effect professes a return to the originally prevailing chaos.