Actually, India is much more than an intriguing setting to see anything a westerner would consider insane.
When asked why I came to India I said I wanted "to see humanity in the wild". But the fact is, in many ways, North America is more wild than India. Indians generally seem at peace--even despite the overpopulation, the poverty, the Brahman bulls clogging the streets, the thieving monkeys, the mangy dogs... Americans and Canadians would be eating--if not each other--then at least the monkeys.
I've seen wild boars here, animals that will kill you in the Southern USA, happily rooting in the sewage gutters. No one bothers them and they are peaceful. Our Yogi-loving fellow traveler says India is so relaxed because people were very spiritual in past centuries. But, he says, they are not spiritual now.
I flatly disagree with that notion. For the present to be this peaceful, many must be at peace.
I saw a great metaphor for India while on a public bus: A truck loaded almost to the top with chicken eggs bobbed along the ill-formed streets; thousands of eggs were separated into rows by thin slices of cardboard; then, to literally top it all off, a man reclined on a wooden slab that had been laid flat ACROSS THE TOP of the eggs. That is India for you, sitting precariously but adroitly atop too many eggs.
That said, we are in Pushkar, which is a rather annoying place. This is supposed to be a holy city, and many touts and fake priests try to take advantage of that. Many "priests" have tried to sell us braided string "Pushkar Passports" and special things (pepper and curry powder, flowers, rice balls, coconut drops, etceteras) to put into the lake.
When I informed a priest that I did not want these items, he said that I would damage my karma if I did not participate. I retorted that I expected a karmic benefit if I choose NOT to pollute the lake.
When I pressed my point and refused to add my (or rather his) stuff to the water, he said I would have a bad life.
To that I said, "Well, it's been pretty good so far. I guess I'll remain as I am." But he wasn't listening.
Next time: Swastikas, and the power of fear in advertising.
When asked why I came to India I said I wanted "to see humanity in the wild". But the fact is, in many ways, North America is more wild than India. Indians generally seem at peace--even despite the overpopulation, the poverty, the Brahman bulls clogging the streets, the thieving monkeys, the mangy dogs... Americans and Canadians would be eating--if not each other--then at least the monkeys.
I've seen wild boars here, animals that will kill you in the Southern USA, happily rooting in the sewage gutters. No one bothers them and they are peaceful. Our Yogi-loving fellow traveler says India is so relaxed because people were very spiritual in past centuries. But, he says, they are not spiritual now.
I flatly disagree with that notion. For the present to be this peaceful, many must be at peace.
I saw a great metaphor for India while on a public bus: A truck loaded almost to the top with chicken eggs bobbed along the ill-formed streets; thousands of eggs were separated into rows by thin slices of cardboard; then, to literally top it all off, a man reclined on a wooden slab that had been laid flat ACROSS THE TOP of the eggs. That is India for you, sitting precariously but adroitly atop too many eggs.
That said, we are in Pushkar, which is a rather annoying place. This is supposed to be a holy city, and many touts and fake priests try to take advantage of that. Many "priests" have tried to sell us braided string "Pushkar Passports" and special things (pepper and curry powder, flowers, rice balls, coconut drops, etceteras) to put into the lake.
When I informed a priest that I did not want these items, he said that I would damage my karma if I did not participate. I retorted that I expected a karmic benefit if I choose NOT to pollute the lake.
When I pressed my point and refused to add my (or rather his) stuff to the water, he said I would have a bad life.
To that I said, "Well, it's been pretty good so far. I guess I'll remain as I am." But he wasn't listening.
Next time: Swastikas, and the power of fear in advertising.
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