Super Identity: Anchored To The Ultimate Aadhar

I’ve been loyally linking everything—from my mobile number to my IT returns and bank account—to that all-encompassing Aadhar card that has got me photographed, fingerprinted, numbered and indexed. I guard my Aadhar under lock and key only to be produced when i travel or seek governmental goodies that i hope are forthcoming. But, there’s an Aadhar that i’ve been anchored to since my birth and beyond, who keeps me safe amidst stormy seas of life, and that is: God.

Aadhar is rich in meaning. It refers to foundation, root, stronghold, refuge, shelter, rock, fortress, security, ultimate, substratum and so on. The Bible uses these words as metaphors and similes to describe God. In other religions, too, nuances of Aadhar appear as appellations and attributes of the Absolute Being called by different names.

In the Bible, saved from his foes, King David calls God: “My rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my refuge, my stronghold, my shield and my saviour—worthy to be praised” (2 Samuel 22:1-4). Psalm 91 describes God as: “My shelter, my shadow, refuge and my fortress.” As response, God promises: “I will deliver you, protect you, be with you in trouble, rescue you and show you my salvation.”

The biblical believer is exhorted to trust God totally since one is primarily a pilgrim on a lifelong yatra. Psalm 121 reminds the pilgrim: “God who neither slumbers nor sleeps is your keeper, your shade at your right hand. God will keep you safe from evil … will keep your going out and your coming in secure now and forevermore.”