Another View

For this post, I thought I'd share an email from a friend. It seems that India offers everyone what they're looking for. I'm searching for a little peace and some quality painting time, but if you're interested in a little more drama, well then there's some of that too.

Tiru is freaking intense- the real India- so far Ive seen a dead girl in the back of a truck with her eyes staring open in a milky glaze, sadhus vomiting in hepatitus guters, a 3 yr old walking a tightrope on a wheelwith 3 pots on her head and then an argument ensuing about child rights, and there is this creepy American hypnotherapist who looks like JimMorrison, hypnotizing all the drippy western hippy chicks ... Its full on - a bit of a low grade hippie sex scene.

So that is one view of India. It's a bit different then mine. Although I did see a girl on a type rope, but that's what I do all summer long, so to me it's good natural fun. And today I did see a dead cow. It was blocking the traffic in some back alley. Later in the day, I went to a friends house and he was having a puja - a religious ceremony. It was pretty interesting.

What I notice about other people's religious ceremonies is the laid back air to them. It seems when religion and ceremony is a part of your daily life, things are a little more laid back. I had the opportunity to attend a Native American healing ceremony one time. It was an amazing experience. From sunset to sunrise we were all chanting and singing. The intent was there, but there was still this laid back attitude. I remember the main holy man who was leading for most of the evening, would ask if anyone else wanted to lead, but people were like, no thanks, you go ahead. And he was laugh and his expression would say, 'alright lazy bones, I'll continue"

Here in India, it's the same way. There was a brahmin preist and five sadhus sitting around and chanting and focusing thier intent, yet there were all sorts of other people milling around, chatting, cooking, cleaning. It was like this ritual was just another part of a normal day. If you go to church and think about god for only an hour every week, then there's this formality to it, since you feel like you have to cram in all this piousness and piety into one hour. In the long run, you're only fooling yourself.