Does it Relate to the Human Condition, that is Looking for a Greater Unity of Purpose?
We are living in an era where religions have come to matter more than they should. Where, one had always thought it was everyman’s personal faith, best left to be exercised in peace and without fear and favour, all within the confines of our homes. It was not meant to be broadcast, except that in today’s world of social media, channels are replete in singing one faith or the other, most of all, these are 24×7. And why not, you could ask, and there wouldn’t be an answer.
Simultaneously, one can search for new religions, that go above individual faiths, those that find a common chord, those that bring a higher sense of unity. Of purpose, bonding, humanity. History is replete with examples when an enlightened one suggested something different. Guru Nanak was one such. Gautam Buddha is another. Such situations to arise in our times look challenged, but then one never knows. Regardless of possibilities, some more mundane and even less driven by a person, is an ideal card to pick. One that has no precedent, one that has no baggage, not clouded in origin, earlier nationality, where abouts. Each may have its own issues. This one has become truly international. Nobody is complaining. More and more nations are adopting it, year on year.
India’s One Religion that All Religions Swear by! Imagine, it is here, right before us, going unrecognized for its true worth. It rests in equality, gives more than equal opportunity, even promotes gender equality like no other, without any reservations; uplifts weaker sections of society automatically on merit, doles out money on performance basis; it is transparent, at least as far as we can see, it is. Above all, when in service, or in the form of prayer, in action mode, it also provides a DRS type of solution. It calls out offenders, retracts decisions made in good intention but not correct. It has within its own order, an independent observer, who is above all respected. It goes by a rules-based order, which otherwise in our lives is increasingly becoming difficult to find.
There is a religion, or at least it has become one such. In India, it is endorsed openly and 1.4 billion Indians swear by it. Cricket.
The game has its own idols. They come and go; some object and don’t walk away that easily, but ultimately accept change as the inevitable passage of time. The foremost name will be that of Sachin Tendulkar who was actually extolled as the God of Cricket! Then there is MSD, on whom all of Chennai swore by. There is now the end of the saga beginning for King Virat, giving way to the new Gods, almost like a change in governments, a change in the order, flawlessly executed and with due reverence. The likes of Jaiswal, Abhishek and Sooryavanshi are becoming the new idols of cricket. Every year, an annual fixture produces its own idols. They are trolled, made into national heroes, and people swear by them.
The new God on the horizon: also, the youngest of them all, the 15-year-old opener, Sooryavanshi, has become the youngest player ever to reach 500 IPL runs, surpassing Prithvi Shaw (19 years and 164 days), and also the fastest to the milestone by balls faced, getting there in just 227 deliveries. At the time of writing this piece, the youngster remains RR’s top scorer this season with 254 runs, including two explosive fifties off just 15 balls each — joint third-fastest in league history. His numbers underline his impact: 506 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.14 and a staggering strike rate above 213. Last season, he hit a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans — the fastest by an Indian in IPL history and second-fastest overall.
Given the obsession with cricket, the time may soon come when the IPL final day can be declared a half day holiday? Or, as and when India wins a major tournament, declare a national holiday. On the lighter side, in the election process, there is this provision of NOTA, ‘none of the above’, when you wish to vote but not for any candidate. But vote you must, and hence the inclusion of NOTA among the candidates. It would be interesting if one can opt for ‘cricket’ when signing important documents that require you to state your religion. It might just give you easier access given that many a country is fixed on checking religion first.
More than Cricket, a Deeply Felt Gap
All this is true about cricket but facetious about taking on a role as religion. What it does underscore is perhaps a deeper and more significant development of our times. Yes, people swear by cricket but is there also the need for a new religion that over rides all. One that unites and not divides. One that says that yes, you pray to your Gods, and yet also endorse this other new one, the unifier.
Has the time come to find this new religion, one that makes all the present ones not irrelevant, but contribute to the success of one another, one that rings in a common chord. Will this unite the global citizen? Bring them together in times of war, say with a game of cricket, to be won?
Whatever be the reason, or answer, cricket does indeed underscore the relevance of a new religion, simply by itself, or be this new global understanding of one plus one – if it’s doable in defence and in manufacturing, why not in religion, too, underscoring the need for global peace. Indeed, a new global order awaits us!
People who have little else in common find themselves aligned, invested in the same moment, responding to the same turn of events. The boundaries that define everyday life—profession, class, region—recede, if only briefly. It feels larger than the sum of its parts. Which is why it is tempting to call it a kind of religion.
Not in the doctrinal sense, not in terms of belief or faith, but in the way it gathers people, gives them a shared language, and allows them to participate in something beyond themselves. There are symbols, there are rituals, there are heroes. There is anticipation, disappointment, redemption.
There is meaning. But the comparison also reveals its limits. Conversely, the opposite could also be true. Cricket, for all its unifying force, does not dissolve boundaries entirely, as it often reinforces them. The same passion that brings people together within a group can sharpen divisions across groups. Rivalries, loyalties, allegiances—these are as much a part of the experience as the moments of unity, as it in that sense, mirrors the broader human condition.
There is a gap, a space between the global nature of our problems and the limited scope of our collective responses. Perhaps what is being felt—without always being articulated—is the need for a shared reference point that is not confined by nationality, or defined by opposition. Something that allows for belonging without exclusion. Something that does not require an ‘other’ to sustain itself.
Not a replacement for existing beliefs or identities, but a layer above them. A way of seeing that accommodates difference without being fractured by it.
This is where the idea of a “new religion,” however loosely expressed, begins to take shape—not as doctrine, not as organised belief, but as a shorthand for something more fundamental: a common ethic, a shared understanding of coexistence. It may not look like religion in any traditional sense. It may not have rituals or institutions. It may not even be consciously defined. But it would carry certain essentials. It underscores a willingness to engage beyond immediate identities.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Navin Berry, Editor, CS Conversations, over five decades has edited publications like CityScan, India Debates and Travel Trends Today. He is the founder of SATTE, India’s first inbound tourism mart, biggest in Asia.
Blogs at: https://www.csconversations.in/nb-blogs
