The past two days, we have met some sage people in our session work. The one theme that seems to prevail over the days is dharma. Now, I have taught a section of the Ramayana before, and I am aware of at least one translation, which is duty/purpose, according to the editors of that Prentice-Hall textbook. Mr. Chiranagu Singh, who was kind enough to give us a background introduction to Indian culture and someone I want to “take home with me” as we say in the South, described dharma as the unifying force for the Indian people through many years of change. He also defined it through parable. There was a boy who sat by the river and saw a scorpion drowning. As he picked it up, it stung him. He threw it back in the river. It started to drown again. He picked it back up and it stung him again. He threw it back in the river. And so on. A man asked the boy why he kept repeating the same action and the boy replied, because it is my dharma to save the scorpion and it is his dharma to sting. Mr. Singh defined dharma as that which holds or sustains us; in other words, duty or purpose. I learned that Bangalore, the city where we are staying, is considered the Silicon Valley of India. From 2001 as a city of 5 million, it has grown since the last census to 8.4 million. That blows my mind, equivalent to NYC. I guess if I did the least bit of research before I ventured across the world, I would have known this, but wow, that’s a lot of folks. And the impact on the city and people of that growth is hugely significant. In 1947 India won its independence from Britain and the caste system was officially abolished by the Constitution in 1950. However, caste still exists as is readily evident. Mr. Singh told us that the vertical caste system is abolished, but the horizontal caste remains. For example, one of the TGC participants proposed the question that he saw ladies in the street crying over the death of a little squirrel, but why do the people do not see the water and nature of alive. Singh replied that the abundance of trash is leftover from caste. The upper castes depended on the untouchables to clean up their mess for thousands of years. Since the caste system was abolished, most people still do not place their trash in proper receptacles, and I only saw one at the park we went to yesterday. The upper castes think they are above it, and if my family came from a former untouchable class, I wouldn’t pick up anyone’s mess either. However, Singh told us that there was a governmental campaign to clean up India and begin a system of trash collection and disposal. And obviously education plays an enormous role in that. I have not been to a rural area yet, but my guess is that the garbage isn’t as prevalent there. Now, the hotel is quite clean. This is in the streets I am talking about. Another way caste still remains is in the family structure. 90% of all marriages are still arranged, and most people do not marry outside of their caste. Indira, who is the lovely lady, responsible for coordinating our trip on the India end, told us last night at dinner that the servers at our restaurant were primarily from the northeast, where I am going on Sunday, were from an impoverished caste. She knows this, she says, by last name and by regional dialect. Yet another example of caste lingering exists in access to clean water in Bangalore, and maybe other parts of India, but I am not sure. An engineer from the Biome project came to talk to us about the water problems in the city. This situation is complex, and although I now understand it, I don’t want to go into it here. And I’m no engineer. The previous main river source has dried up and water is being pumped in from another area. The ramifications of the lack of access exist in scarcity, flooding and pollution. But the water has become a commodity and although the utility subsidizes it, there has been a rise of entrepreneurs who own tanks and disposal tanks and even on a smaller scale, property owners who bore groundwater and sell it to their neighbors. The government is unable to regulate these markets. But the interesting thing is that people are adapting and finding creative ways to solve the problems, when the infrastructure fails to do so. He told us of a partner project with schools where they offer rainwater collection bins and then work with the schools (teachers and students) to find the best use of that water in their particular schools. He said, “every crisis is an opportunity.” We would all do well to remember that phrase in the trying times of our lives. From what little I have observed, the Indian people have a powerful sense of purpose, family and place. And that dharma has been able to sustain their plural culture through occupation, political and cultural change and remain diverse and mostly tolerant of each other. How inspiring! On a personal level, I often forget what my dharma is in the midst of work and family and day-to-day chaos. But distance has its advantages, and one of them is perspective. In the three days I have been here, I know my purpose is to learn and help others achieve their best potential and be a loving, generous, kind person to those I love. My other conceptions of dharma might change as I do, but those remain constant. After a long day of getting up too early and working out and walks and seminars and a late dinner, I was questioning my dharma on this trip. I came back to the hotel, exhausted, and a more than a little home sick. After visiting a local school today and interacting with the students and teachers, I am re-energized and confirmed why I am here in the first place: to make connections, learn from others so I can be a better guru to my students.
2 Comments
Libbie Lowe
7/6/2017 11:05:34 am
Oh, dear Robin; how you are growing already in your thinking in just five days. Your students there and your students @ Watauga are so blessed with your experience and wisdom that you share with them!
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David Mahaffey
7/7/2017 06:07:00 am
Enjoying reading your about that there learning experiences your a having! 😃 In all seriousness though, I'm enjoying reading what you're sharing/learning. I especially like the statement, "every crisis is an opportunity!" Gives everyone a new perspective. Thanks for sharing Robin!
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