Family Deity Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

It is my family God, made of stone,
Standing aloof away from my village.
What cult He belongs to, none of us knows.
He is not the one who has made the world.

Generation after generation,
We worship and propitiate to him,
A a warrior to ward off evils,
To fulfill boons and meet our curses.

Other gods we would change from time to time
And space to space according to fashion
But not He whom we more fear than love.
He is in our gene, no matter where we live.

In spite of tragedy we encounter,
Suffering and sorrow we undergo,
Still we believe in His efficacy,
And do tonsuring to each child born.

Only philosophy we know of Him
Is we should forget Him on no account
Lest we invite His wrath and cost our lives.
He is the one by whom we swear no lies.
11.09.2015.