[While we were staying in Dharamsala we tutored adult students who were learning English through the Lha Charitable Trust, a self-help organization that assists Tibetan refugees in the relocation process. We probably learned more from our Tibetan learning partners than they learned from us!] July 8 [early] Waiting to go to meditation. Marcus [Kondkar, one of the group leaders] says everything is recycled in India; even the smallest pieces are re-used, e.g. disposable lighters are renewed. I recall from a Rotary presentation that the real problem isn’t so much water (potable water) but sanitation. You can have the cleanest water in the world but if waste treatment is inadequate, it doesn’t matter. The celebration of the Dalai Lama’s birthday [on July 6] was an awesome experience, especially with our learning partners. Just the thrill of a lifetime, really. The people actually sang their national anthem, unlike in the U.S. where some pop start sings it because the tune is unsingable. People were in very good spirits, dressed up in their best clothes. A bit like the Fourth of July, with drummers, pipers, dancers, drama, speeches. I felt their patriotism is more strongly felt than in the U.S. because they do not yet have their freedom. The families of our learning partners still live in Tibet (some members) and do keep photos of the Dalai Lama hidden in their homes. It seems as though they have a relatively okay life: one is a farmer, another a photographer, another in yet a different profession. Still, the pain of separation of Qi Gong [name changed to protect her identity] from her family is clear. Her mother lives and works in [the U.S.] and her goal is to get to America to help her mother. So her motivation to learn English is very high. I asked what she wanted to do (like, be a nurse, teacher, etc.) but her aspirations were limited to just getting to America and working. She has worked at a senior citizen residence here, and I told her that is good experience for an entry level job. She has been very sick, though I’m not sure with what, so is a little frail, but I think she is also kind of tough. [By the way, most of the excellent photos you see were taken by Marcus Kondkar, one of our group leaders. Thank you, Marcus!!] 5 July 2016 What a change being in Dharamsala, at least Upper Dharamsala, which seems more Asian (Tibetan) and less Indian in so many respects. The presence of so many young male monks is amazing. I saw a number of nuns as well, but they seemed to be an older generation. We are no longer in a sprawled out city, but in one that climbs up the mountainside, one with foggy shrouds and peaks appearing here and there. And rain, and cool. So of course very healing after what can only be called an authentic Indian Railway experience. The heat, the people, everything would have been tolerable is 2 people had not been very sick (or rather 3, or even 4) and if we had had more security in our seating. I thought of the German film “Enlightenment Guaranteed,” where the two seekers do the same thing at the beginning and end of the movie, but it is a completely different experience for them. A couple of observations. The toilets in our [railway] compartment started out okay, but by the end of the night they were shit holes. Which happens when you have hundreds of people using 2 toilets (or maybe dozens using them hundreds of times). In any case, I was struck by how people tried to maintain both dignity and cleanliness (apparently my current obsession). There was a family sitting on a sheet or blanket on the floor. Others had to step over them or wait for them to move. Finally the train cleared, and the mother and young son could lie down; her mother or sister could also lie down; and the man/husband kind of kept watch over everyone. He jumped off the train at one station to wash off in the faucets and sinks that are available. In the U.S. we would never allow people to sleep at a train station. We have designed benches in public places to prevent people from sleeping on them. Same for airport seating. Pema [our yoga teacher] said people would sleep @ the train station because they didn’t want to pay for a guest house. They’re poor but not destitute, since they can afford a trip on the train. I did see people sleeping on pallets on the street as the train rolled by. Again, it seemed more normalized, though perhaps it shouldn’t be. Everyone has a right to decent shelter, however humble it is. But India is so big and its problems so huge, it’s hard to imagine alternatives. And it would be fruitless and cruel to drive people from their sleeping places. It’s hard not to become calloused, though perhaps the Indians have it right: let people sleep where they will . . . ?? I don’t know. |
Author Rebecca Moore is Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at San Diego State University. She is currently Reviews Editor for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions and Co-Director of The Jonestown Institute. Archives
December 2021
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