As most friends know, I am currently in India and backpacking parts of Asia. I have recently saved enough money to afford this opportunity and I am very glad to say I did. For lack of better words, this opportunity has been more than incredible. As incredible it has been, it has also been very eye-opening. I wish everyone could come and see for themselves the equally amazing and unfortunate scenarios taking place within this country- but, if you can't, that is okay, I am here to shed some light on my experience and help you get some insight into another world and a necessary change that needs to happen within the international mindset.
Let's begin.
On my train from Vrindavan, the city of 5000 temples, to Agra, I made a group of Indian friends. These young men stopped in their tracks when they saw me reading a book on the floor of a passenger train. Their eyes fixed on me as I looked up from my book and waved. They immediately surrounded me and squatted next to me. Only 2 could speak decent English and all of them kept asking them to ask me questions. "Where are you from?", "What is your name?", "How old are you?" "Are you married?", "Do you know Robert Downey Jr.?" The last one made me laugh out loud. For 30 minutes I was being interviewed like a celebrity by this group of 18 year old school kids who had probably never seen or talked to a white person before. I was happy to make their day. In turn, they were unknowingly making mine as well. They asked many questions about myself and America. Then one asked, "Do you ever feel lonely traveling alone as a foreigner?"
I had not thought about it up until that moment. Of course I miss home at times, but I won't be away forever, so the feeling of the momentous experience is more powerful than loneliness.
Volunteering in Vrindavan opened my eyes to many things. For one, my life is very good, and I do not mean this to brag, but more as a means to reflect how self-centered I can be. How much we can all be. Especially living in western societies, closed off from this world entirely, forgetting it exists. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the moment of discomfort when we feel it that complaints start to come, and they do not stop as easy as they come. Being conscious of complaints is the first step to ceasing them and heading to India will prove how minuscule your "relative" problems are. The streets are lined with trash. The rivers are incredibly polluted. The water is loaded with parasites. Animals are dying everywhere. The malnourished "untouchables" starve to death because no one will touch them or feed them for fear of having to be purified by their religion. The traffic appears to be one of the most dangerous activities to partake in, but it is also kind of entertaining and fun as well. All of this is happening while the government builds billion dollar religious monuments that give the people a false sense of hope and security, "Pray to me and your soul will be wealthy, just don't ask me for food, clean water, or a place to sleep." Although I hate the idea of comparing myself to others, if it is going to happen, comparing down, to more unfortunate situations, is one way to instantly feel a sense of gratitude. While this sense of gratitude may fade eventually, the memory is sure to keep one humbled in the future.
I've always believed in sustainability within our planet, but being here and spending time in Vrindavan, and India in general, has blown the door open on why it not only makes sense, but is absolutely critical. For any type of world or system we live in, we need to ensure our consumption habits are in line with the advent of tomorrow's world. Do we want our children to grow up with less than us or just about the same (there is no way they can have more, we already have enough)? If we want our children to have less, we should continue along our current path. If not then we should question the source of products we hold dear to us. Where does it come from? Who made it? What material was it made from? What was the cost of labor and who is the labor? Does it regrow? How long does it take to replenish? When I have used it up, do I throw it away and buy more/another? What does it cost in terms of worldly consumption? I know older generations will tell us not to worry about the importance of this, and that everything is okay and our lifestyles are normal and "civilized", but they are not the ones who have to deal with the repercussions. We are. They are wrong and I do not mind telling any who disagree with that statement the same thing: you are wrong.
I am not turning into an Eco-warrior, but I see the fight and why it is necessary for all of humanity. Mankind has always been comfortable in using as much as possible until the resource is depleted and then moving onto the next, sort of like a virus. We are the only being on the planet to place a higher value price on maximizing profits on resources instead of the sustainability of discovering ways to use those resources indefinitely. Many will say, "Because we are conscious beings who need money to survive in our societies." To which I would reply, "Are we? Do we?" We have a dependency on plastic and using, on materialism, and our comfortable ways of life, especially in the west. The majority of the entire world uses in an unsustainable manner as if we are all afraid everyone else is going to use it up if we don't first. But what happens when we all use it all? When all of the trees are chopped down, all of the rivers depleted, all of the gas guzzled, all of the planet is barren, where do we go? Back to dust and nothingness.
This brings me to spirituality. While the outlook above is somewhat gloomy, and we will simply ignore it because it hits too close to home and our fragile minds can't grasp such a real scenario in which we have nothing of which we have always had. I do not feel anxious about it. The materialistic lifestyle causes us to care about this physical world to point of worrying about death and nothingness. Relax, the body is not what you should be worried about. Death comes to us all but how is your soul doing? Being in Vrindavan allowed me to see firsthand how people with "nothing" are seemingly happier than us in the western world. They do not worship the demigods of technology, fame, social media, clothes, cars, sex, etc., but instead they are sold on "Hare Krishna", which basically means glory to God. They repeat mantras, chanting to Krishna, and live completely for their deity. While I am not completely sold on the religious aspect of it, I respect the movement of using less and putting yourself aside for the sake of compassion towards a cleaner planet and taking care of fellow man. One might be wondering, but isn't India trashed? Yes it is, but many people are not following a guideline of how to live here. Also, their infrastructure is maddeningly nonexistent.
So I began to wonder, is ignorance bliss or do they actually have a powerful and uplifting spiritual movement? I came to realize the ladder is true. I say this because many of the people I saw practicing were former westerners. I talked to many of these intelligent people who have strong convictions on philosophy and life. They were people who lived the material rat race life and decided to choose a life lived with less stuff and more compassion. Entirely less consumption. They focus on sustainability and putting others before themselves. They went from "me me me", to "if I give, I get", to "giving is the getting". Honestly, it's intriguing to me and I would consider such a life but I am still hooked on western culture and the religious aspect can be overbearing and in your face.
I know I am no better than anyone else and not everyone is a self-centered asshole, but in many ways, we kind of are. I am not asking anyone to quit consuming (lol), but just begin questioning and being aware of habits and ask yourself more about the products you consume. You'd be surprised.
Monday starts a 10-day Vipassana retreat meaning no technology or talking. Wish me luck, I'll see you on the other side. Off to Thailand after the retreat :)
Let's begin.
On my train from Vrindavan, the city of 5000 temples, to Agra, I made a group of Indian friends. These young men stopped in their tracks when they saw me reading a book on the floor of a passenger train. Their eyes fixed on me as I looked up from my book and waved. They immediately surrounded me and squatted next to me. Only 2 could speak decent English and all of them kept asking them to ask me questions. "Where are you from?", "What is your name?", "How old are you?" "Are you married?", "Do you know Robert Downey Jr.?" The last one made me laugh out loud. For 30 minutes I was being interviewed like a celebrity by this group of 18 year old school kids who had probably never seen or talked to a white person before. I was happy to make their day. In turn, they were unknowingly making mine as well. They asked many questions about myself and America. Then one asked, "Do you ever feel lonely traveling alone as a foreigner?"
I had not thought about it up until that moment. Of course I miss home at times, but I won't be away forever, so the feeling of the momentous experience is more powerful than loneliness.
Volunteering in Vrindavan opened my eyes to many things. For one, my life is very good, and I do not mean this to brag, but more as a means to reflect how self-centered I can be. How much we can all be. Especially living in western societies, closed off from this world entirely, forgetting it exists. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the moment of discomfort when we feel it that complaints start to come, and they do not stop as easy as they come. Being conscious of complaints is the first step to ceasing them and heading to India will prove how minuscule your "relative" problems are. The streets are lined with trash. The rivers are incredibly polluted. The water is loaded with parasites. Animals are dying everywhere. The malnourished "untouchables" starve to death because no one will touch them or feed them for fear of having to be purified by their religion. The traffic appears to be one of the most dangerous activities to partake in, but it is also kind of entertaining and fun as well. All of this is happening while the government builds billion dollar religious monuments that give the people a false sense of hope and security, "Pray to me and your soul will be wealthy, just don't ask me for food, clean water, or a place to sleep." Although I hate the idea of comparing myself to others, if it is going to happen, comparing down, to more unfortunate situations, is one way to instantly feel a sense of gratitude. While this sense of gratitude may fade eventually, the memory is sure to keep one humbled in the future.
 |
| The school we were helping volunteer at. The school is made of trash covered in mud/clay. |
I am not turning into an Eco-warrior, but I see the fight and why it is necessary for all of humanity. Mankind has always been comfortable in using as much as possible until the resource is depleted and then moving onto the next, sort of like a virus. We are the only being on the planet to place a higher value price on maximizing profits on resources instead of the sustainability of discovering ways to use those resources indefinitely. Many will say, "Because we are conscious beings who need money to survive in our societies." To which I would reply, "Are we? Do we?" We have a dependency on plastic and using, on materialism, and our comfortable ways of life, especially in the west. The majority of the entire world uses in an unsustainable manner as if we are all afraid everyone else is going to use it up if we don't first. But what happens when we all use it all? When all of the trees are chopped down, all of the rivers depleted, all of the gas guzzled, all of the planet is barren, where do we go? Back to dust and nothingness.
This brings me to spirituality. While the outlook above is somewhat gloomy, and we will simply ignore it because it hits too close to home and our fragile minds can't grasp such a real scenario in which we have nothing of which we have always had. I do not feel anxious about it. The materialistic lifestyle causes us to care about this physical world to point of worrying about death and nothingness. Relax, the body is not what you should be worried about. Death comes to us all but how is your soul doing? Being in Vrindavan allowed me to see firsthand how people with "nothing" are seemingly happier than us in the western world. They do not worship the demigods of technology, fame, social media, clothes, cars, sex, etc., but instead they are sold on "Hare Krishna", which basically means glory to God. They repeat mantras, chanting to Krishna, and live completely for their deity. While I am not completely sold on the religious aspect of it, I respect the movement of using less and putting yourself aside for the sake of compassion towards a cleaner planet and taking care of fellow man. One might be wondering, but isn't India trashed? Yes it is, but many people are not following a guideline of how to live here. Also, their infrastructure is maddeningly nonexistent.
 |
| Participating in a Hindi Yamuna River ceremony that represented love and devotion to the planet. |
I know I am no better than anyone else and not everyone is a self-centered asshole, but in many ways, we kind of are. I am not asking anyone to quit consuming (lol), but just begin questioning and being aware of habits and ask yourself more about the products you consume. You'd be surprised.
Monday starts a 10-day Vipassana retreat meaning no technology or talking. Wish me luck, I'll see you on the other side. Off to Thailand after the retreat :)
