Guest guest Posted February 12, 2003 Report Share Posted February 12, 2003 - <sriprank <> Wednesday, February 12, 2003 04:51 PM From HPI > Friends always ask me 'why I am always going to India'. <SNIP> Hiya Frank, Some on asked " tell me about India. Ahaaa, India What specifically do you wish to know? India represents a state of beingness. Yes there is also a physical mass of land which has been delineated by human hands and demented minds to represent national boundaries to form a "country". Have you considered Lisa, that nations do not have an existential reality, that nationality is a myth. Nations are myths existing on the pages of a geography text book and in the mind of demented leaders. The ocean bed, rising up to form the New York City, on US East Coast becoming the massive hinter land of thousands and thousands of miles, finally "reaches" the beaches of California. And then slopes down to become some of the deepest troughs on the crusts of the Earth, the Mariana trench, in the Pacific Ocean. Runs thousands and thousands of miles, to rise and become the land know as Asia. Which is turn runs for thousands and thousands of miles to become Europe. And then slopes down from the lovely nudist beaches of Europe to become the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. Which runs thousands or miles and rises to become New York City. And "Americans", "Europeans", 'Indians", "Japanese", "Asians" have the gall to have an Immigration policies for bestowing citizenship. Today practically all conflicts are conflicts related to possession of land as my state, my land, my nation. Whereas, that very land has buried 7 civilizations, each of whom, at a point of time claimed ownership. Amusing isn't it? Yes India is a "country" ..........racked by a population of a Billion plus, thus reeking in poverty, and yet has islands of prosperity which would make Donald Trump salivate. A country which for thousands of years explored the reality of the Truth of existence, when other civilizations were hunting animals with stone weapons. And which now is raked by religious fundamentalism. A country in which was born the concept of Ahimsa (non-violence), Kutumba (Global Village), some 3,000 years ago. And which is now a nuclear armed state. A poor country, materially and yet having a vast majority of people, who would break their only bread left for the day into halve and offer that to an unexpected guest in the house, because Athiti is Iswar----> a Guest is God visiting. A country, which has the capablity to put satellite into orbits, but cannot make a car-windshield wiper that works properly. A country which swears by "Satya may Vijayat" (In Truth is Victory) and is now rated as the 3rd or 4th most corrupt country in the world. A chaos A sublime stoicism at the chaos, for India has seen all chaos, as part of the cycle of evolution. A sublime Stith-Pragya ( a gestalt of equanimity) for it has seen that out of chaos are stars born. Out of chaos is cosmos. And one of the countries outside the African continent, where deaths due to starvation, due to illness, run in thousands and thousands. Where death due to floods and death due to famine, simultaneously happens. Every year. And yet is one of the largest contributor of talent to the world, whether it is fundamental science, computer software geeks, engineers, genetic researchers, fashion designing, art, music, cusine. And Gurus. A mosaic of all possibilities. A mosaic of all exasperations. A sense of "reaching". The biggest feeling to escape, also hits you when you land up in any Indian airport, and you see the multitude of people, poverty and dirt. The ridicluous. And the sublime. The ugliness And the beauty. The profane And the profound. All existing simultaneously side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 , Sandeep Chatterjee <sandeepc@b...> wrote: Dear Sandeep, I wanted to acknowledge your beautiful post. Very poetetic and really captures the essence of my experience. i am going to snip a few things and add comments. > > > And which now is raked by religious fundamentalism.> This is perhaps the saddest part for me. I talk to many young students on my travels and have noticed what was perhaps indifference years ago has now been replaced by 'hate'. There is no future in this path only random violence which breeds more hate which breeds violence.... > > A poor country, materially and yet having a vast majority of people, who would break their only bread left for the day into halve and offer that to an unexpected guest in the house, because Athiti is Iswar----> a Guest is God visiting.> When i first came to India in 1970 i came overland. One of the 'things to do' was while in Afghanistan was to purchase an Afghan coat. they were quite the style at the time. Of course once you got to India they were quite useless and really bulky to carryaround. A friend had spent the day in the bazzar selling his coat to a shopowner. That evening in December ( it can be quite chilly in Delhi that time of year) we were walking around and happened upon the same shop owner. He immediatly noticed that my friend was cold and did not have proper clothing. He took us back to his shop and gave to my friend a sweater. My friend noted that they had spent much time that day 'in negotiation' for the coat. The shop owner commented that during the day at my business i saw you as another customer tonight I saw you as a man who was cold. > > A country, which has the capablity to put satellite into orbits, but cannot make a car-windshield wiper that works properly.> I have a close friend who was a Submarine Captain during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. He is also a great yogi. I often comment to others on his bravery. In 1971 in all of India you could not find a battery which didn't leak and this man is in a submarine. > The biggest feeling to escape, also hits you when you land up in any Indian airport, and you see the multitude of people, poverty and dirt.> I have known many who never made it 'out of the airport'. They got on the first plane home. For me when i land at Mumbai Airport the first thing i always do in go to the mens room and take a deep breath. There is a 'distinct ordor' there, not so much a bad ordor but one that you will not find anywhere else in the world and it has been the same as long as i can remember. What it does is knock the cobwebs from my brain and I am ready to face the chaos. I love the chaos. > > The ridicluous. > > And the sublime. > > The ugliness > > And the beauty. > > The profane > > And the profound. > > All existing simultaneously side by side. And this is really the essense. For me it is like my vision is 360 degrees. And everything is happening all around all the time and there is no escape from it. You see the 'most wonderful' the 'most horrible' the 'most beautiful', 'the most grotesque' all simultaneously. In America they try so hard 'to control' everything we would perhaps rather change the world than change ourselves, expose ourselves to life and its vulneribilities. You could go to India with all the money in the world, stay at the best hotel and travel by private car with darkened windows but the moment that you leave the protection of the car or hotel India is there, IN YOUR FACE. My hip has healed quite well and I miss india 'too much'. After monsoon i will again do yatra. Thank you for the beautiful post. f Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 - <sriprank <> Thursday, February 13, 2003 10:01 PM Re: From HPI > , Sandeep Chatterjee > <sandeepc@b...> wrote: > Dear Sandeep, > > I wanted to acknowledge your beautiful post. Very poetetic and really > captures the essence of my experience. i am going to snip a few > things and add comments. > > > > > > And which now is raked by religious fundamentalism.> > > This is perhaps the saddest part for me. I talk to many young > students on my travels and have noticed what was perhaps indifference > years ago has now been replaced by 'hate'. There is no future in this > path only random violence which breeds more hate which breeds violence.... Yes. And yet it is out of chaos, that stars are born. India is entering that chaos, where all the muck has to come up, in order to be churned out. > > > > > A poor country, materially and yet having a vast majority of > people, who would break their only bread left for the day into halve > and offer that to an unexpected guest in the house, because Athiti is > Iswar----> a Guest is God visiting.> > > > When i first came to India in 1970 i came overland. One of the > 'things to do' was while in Afghanistan was to purchase an Afghan > coat. they were quite the style at the time. Of course once you got > to India they were quite useless and really bulky to carryaround. A > friend had spent the day in the bazzar selling his coat to a > shopowner. That evening in December ( it can be quite chilly in Delhi > that time of year) we were walking around and happened upon the same > shop owner. He immediatly noticed that my friend was cold and did not > have proper clothing. He took us back to his shop and gave to my > friend a sweater. My friend noted that they had spent much time that > day 'in negotiation' for the coat. The shop owner commented that > during the day at my business i saw you as another customer tonight I > saw you as a man who was cold. :-) Yes, that is India. > > > > > > A country, which has the capablity to put satellite into orbits, but > cannot make a car-windshield wiper that works properly.> > > > I have a close friend who was a Submarine Captain during the Indo-Pak > war of 1971. He is also a great yogi. I often comment to others on > his bravery. In 1971 in all of India you could not find a battery > which didn't leak and this man is in a submarine. LOL. > > The biggest feeling to escape, also hits you when you land up in any > Indian airport, and you see the multitude of people, poverty and dirt.> > > I have known many who never made it 'out of the airport'. They got on > the first plane home. For me when i land at Mumbai Airport the first > thing i always do in go to the mens room and take a deep breath. > There is a 'distinct ordor' there, not so much a bad ordor but one > that you will not find anywhere else in the world and it has been the > same as long as i can remember. What it does is knock the cobwebs > from my brain and I am ready to face the chaos. I love the chaos. Yes, my friend. That eye of serenity which is in the midst of chaos, ..........that eye is to be discovered. That stillness which is apart from chaos, which thus gets affected by the chaos, is no stillness. > > > > The ridicluous. > > > > And the sublime. > > > > The ugliness > > > > And the beauty. > > > > The profane > > > > And the profound. > > > > All existing simultaneously side by side. > > And this is really the essense. For me it is like my vision is 360 > degrees. And everything is happening all around all the time and > there is no escape from it. You see the 'most wonderful' the 'most > horrible' the 'most beautiful', 'the most grotesque' all > simultaneously. In America they try so hard 'to control' everything > we would perhaps rather change the world than change ourselves, expose > ourselves to life and its vulneribilities. Yes. As if after all that control, in the US, they have been able to change anything of Life. Anything which is real. Control is always about the superficial and thus remains superficial. > You could go to India with > all the money in the world, stay at the best hotel and travel by > private car with darkened windows but the moment that you leave the > protection of the car or hotel India is there, IN YOUR FACE. > My hip has healed quite well and I miss india 'too much'. After > monsoon i will again do yatra. I wish you the eye of serenity, which no chaos, no teeeming multititudes, no deprivation, no horrors, no ugliness, no beauty, no happiness, can even touch it. > Thank you for the beautiful post. f You are welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Constructing a complete post requires more intelligence, more effort and more art than the task of tearing it down. , "medahavi1 <medahavi1>" <medahavi1> wrote: > Hiya Chatterbox, > > Bharat Mata is indeed proud of spokesmen like you. > > The ridicluous. > The ugly > The pretentious > The pompous > The vain > The Conundrum > > All existing simultaneously side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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