My recent trip to India was a real experience and I had a lot of transformational experiences there! There's so much I want to say, but I'll keep it succinct:
Great Things About India
Growth - As India is developing, its slowly creating modern cities like Jalandhar, Chandigarh and Gurgaon, which are in complete contrast to other cities like Amritsar that still need massive redevelopment. Slow and steady wins the race
Efficiency - I've learnt that everything is possible, for example, travelling with your entire family (4 people) on standard a bicycle or motorcycle. Indians always make the most of what they have, rather than buying new equipment or infrastructure. If you don't have a ladder, use the wood in your garden (or your neighbour's garden) to build one
Spirituality - Its built into the fabric of the society with rituals, temples and ashrams at every corner. However, a lot of Indians take their spiritual heritage for granted and do not practice its teachings, which is a shame, but everyone respects their religion and other religions and ways of life too
Hospitality & Humility - Indians understand how to host people and are really a humble people at their core. Their hospitality is unrivalled to anything I've seen elsewhere.
Not-So-Great Things About India
Waste management - A lot of India stinks of not so nice things: urine and faeces. There needs to be a law passed to ban people from peeing on the pavement in public and also there's needs to be a government initiative to recycle and dispose waste properly. Currently most Indians just throw litter on the street or dump their rubbish into large mounds of waste which are usually in public places - horrible! This is a reflection of India's emotional consciousness too, of not properly disposing their internal emotional waste
Road safety - There are no laws of the road, anything goes. You can even go in the reverse direction on a motorway! Although I personally did not see any accidents, a recent article by Times of India claims 14 people died every hour in India in 2008. They go on to say that, "While trucks/lorries and two-wheelers were responsible for over 40% deaths, the rush during afternoon and evening hours were the most fatal phases". I have to say I'm not surprised and this is in line with what I have seen
Anger & Sexual Repression - I saw a lot of anger and sexual repression - which are often linked together. The more sexually repressed a society is, the more anger which is prevalent. India has just awoken to the sexual freedom of the West, where sex is seen as important for pleasure just as much as it is for procreation. However, in becoming more sexually expressed, India is losing its grace and humility, the roots from which it came, and this goes onto my second point...
Still Growing - Because India is in massive growth and transition, its like a child trying to act like its older Western brother and in the process forgetting its identity, its values and its roots. Sure, the western lifestyle is appealing, but India has still yet to mature and learn how to balance its values with the new wave of Western culture.
Initially therefore, a lot of the younger generation are experimenting with new ideas of having boyfriends and girlfriends, going to night clubs, partying, taking drugs, indulging in all the things their parents would never indulge in. Eventually though, when India matures it will rediscover its spiritual roots, its grace from which is came, and the peace India has shared with the world shall again be restored back to India.
Great Things About India
Growth - As India is developing, its slowly creating modern cities like Jalandhar, Chandigarh and Gurgaon, which are in complete contrast to other cities like Amritsar that still need massive redevelopment. Slow and steady wins the race
Efficiency - I've learnt that everything is possible, for example, travelling with your entire family (4 people) on standard a bicycle or motorcycle. Indians always make the most of what they have, rather than buying new equipment or infrastructure. If you don't have a ladder, use the wood in your garden (or your neighbour's garden) to build one
Spirituality - Its built into the fabric of the society with rituals, temples and ashrams at every corner. However, a lot of Indians take their spiritual heritage for granted and do not practice its teachings, which is a shame, but everyone respects their religion and other religions and ways of life too
Hospitality & Humility - Indians understand how to host people and are really a humble people at their core. Their hospitality is unrivalled to anything I've seen elsewhere.
Not-So-Great Things About India
Waste management - A lot of India stinks of not so nice things: urine and faeces. There needs to be a law passed to ban people from peeing on the pavement in public and also there's needs to be a government initiative to recycle and dispose waste properly. Currently most Indians just throw litter on the street or dump their rubbish into large mounds of waste which are usually in public places - horrible! This is a reflection of India's emotional consciousness too, of not properly disposing their internal emotional waste
Road safety - There are no laws of the road, anything goes. You can even go in the reverse direction on a motorway! Although I personally did not see any accidents, a recent article by Times of India claims 14 people died every hour in India in 2008. They go on to say that, "While trucks/lorries and two-wheelers were responsible for over 40% deaths, the rush during afternoon and evening hours were the most fatal phases". I have to say I'm not surprised and this is in line with what I have seen
Anger & Sexual Repression - I saw a lot of anger and sexual repression - which are often linked together. The more sexually repressed a society is, the more anger which is prevalent. India has just awoken to the sexual freedom of the West, where sex is seen as important for pleasure just as much as it is for procreation. However, in becoming more sexually expressed, India is losing its grace and humility, the roots from which it came, and this goes onto my second point...
Still Growing - Because India is in massive growth and transition, its like a child trying to act like its older Western brother and in the process forgetting its identity, its values and its roots. Sure, the western lifestyle is appealing, but India has still yet to mature and learn how to balance its values with the new wave of Western culture.
Initially therefore, a lot of the younger generation are experimenting with new ideas of having boyfriends and girlfriends, going to night clubs, partying, taking drugs, indulging in all the things their parents would never indulge in. Eventually though, when India matures it will rediscover its spiritual roots, its grace from which is came, and the peace India has shared with the world shall again be restored back to India.
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