When on the tenth day Salman Khan decides to grant everyone’s wishes, all hell breaks loose. The girl he was supposed to marry falls in love with someone else who wished she were his. A man who spent his whole life dreaming of a motorcycle gets one, but since he doesn’t know how to drive it, gets into an accident. And the maid who buys lottery tickets everyday finally wins, prompting her husband (named Dagdu) to take all the money and leave her and her children without any way to support themselves.

After seeing all of this Salman Khan goes back to Amitabh Bhagavan and begs him to undo the disaster he caused. God explains that before Salman Khan ruined everything, people didn’t have everything they wanted, and all of their dreams were not fulfilled, but they were all considerably better off than after Salman Khan answered all their prayers. So even though there are setbacks in our lives, we should be content with what we have and understand that everything happens for a reason.

But sometimes I feel that these explanations fall a little short. Sometimes I feel that really unfortunate things happen to good people. Young children lose a parent to a terminal illness. Or sober bystanders become victims in drunk driving accidents. How can not having a parent be a better situation than having one? How can one argue that being in that accident was better than not being on the road? And why is it that these things seem to happen to good people so often?

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“Those of you who can afford it will do better to have a room for this practice alone; do not sleep in that room, it must be kept holy; you must not enter the room until you have bathed, and are perfectly clean in body and mind. Place flowers in that room always; they are the best surroundings for a Yogi; also pictures that are pleasing. Burn incense morning and evening. Have no quarrelling, or anger, or unholy thought in that room. Only allow those persons to enter it who are of the same thought as you. Then by and by there will be an atmosphere of holiness in the room, so that when you are miserable, sorrowful, doubtful, or your mind is disturbed, the very fact of entering that room will make you calm. This was the idea of the temple and the church, and in some temples and churches you will find it even now, but in the majority of them the very idea has been lost. The idea is that by keeping holy vibrations there the place becomes and remains illumined.”

What is a prayer room, and why is it sacred? Is it an innately holy place because God’s image resides there, or do we only ascribe it holiness because of the effect it has on us? Before we can consider what should and should not happen in a prayer room, it is imperative that we first define what produces the atmosphere we are trying to preserve, if that is indeed our goal.

Arguably, the reason we have prayer rooms is, as Swami Vivekananda pointed out, because they are places that can calm us or help us focus our minds. They are removed from the hectic shuffle of the everyday, and remain peaceful and undisturbed. If only prayer takes place there, the mood will always be a restful and spiritual one.

So theoretically, it seems reasonable that we should not allow things like cursing and gossip in the prayer space, because these things would ruin the mood. But how much does this translate to in practice? Let’s take a look at some hypothetical situations: Applesauce and Broccoli are talking about the drama in their love lives while Chimichanga and Dunkaroo are trying to pray. Clearly, it is more difficult for Chimichanga and Dunkaroo to focus on God with the ridiculous banter about the cute cereal jocks in the background. But now, let’s say Applesauce and Broccoli are talking about Captain Crunch’s biceps in the prayer room alone for a little bit, and then go for dinner (the dinner has no significance to this metaphor). Half an hour later, Chimichanga and Dunkaroo come in for some evening meditation. Are they going to have more trouble focusing because of what went on in the prayer space thirty minutes ago? I am inclined to believe that they are not, because they believe that the space has been kept holy. The sanctity of the prayer space, then, is just a human construct (or at least this is what I believe).

That being said, I absolutely think that this is a construct that needs to be respected. This means that Applesauce and Broccoli need to hold their tongues when Chimichanga and Dunkaroo are praying, but does it mean that they shouldn’t be talking about Captain Crunch when there’s no one there? Maybe, but maybe not. You could argue that there’s no reason for them to be talking about that in the prayer room — why can’t they discuss it at Quincy Grille or in the Pusey Library stacks, or in just about any other place on campus? And this might be valid, but the line becomes more blurred when we broaden our question to things like eating, sleeping, and studying.

• Eating: We eat prasad in the prayer space, so how much changes if I’m crunching on a bag of Doritos in there too?
• Sleeping: What if my roommate is throwing a crazy party, but I haven’t slept in days because I’ve been participating in the largest cultural show on campus, and I just need a place I can count on to be quiet to crash for a few hours?
• Studying: It’s after twelve, and my group and I need a place to work on a project. We’re really behind and need a decent place where we can work in peace. The prayer space does help me focus my mind…

And what about Dharma Board meetings? Dharma helped create this prayer space, so shouldn’t we be allowed to discuss events and activities that raise awareness of Hinduism in the prayer space whenever the Women’s Center is closed? This sounds appropriate, but is it appropriate only while we’re talking about Board business? Should we not allow the conversation to veer off more casual things? Because if that’s the case, I would argue that Board meeting should not be in there at all, since we’re also a group of friends and are bound to go off track.

Finally, I pose this question: if Eggnog curses in the prayer space during a discussion because Fruitcake completely destroyed his argument, Eggnog might feel bad. But twenty minutes later, when they go to enjoy a collective dinner (again, no metaphoric meaning), Eggnog trips on an overgrown root, and curses again. This time he feels nothing, and continues along his merry way. Is it a little hypocritical to be observing a set of rules only sometimes, but being entirely unaffected by them the rest of the time, or is this acceptable because the difference in his actions in the prayer room is out of respect for others?

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