4 July 2016 This a.m. I was struck by how much stuff we have all brought . . . We are all carrying more stuff than many Indians own, myself included. As I was preparing for the trip I tried to anticipate every possible illness, contingency, clothing need, etc. I sort of gave up when I saw some Tibetan pilgrims (in photographs) on their way carrying a single bag over their shoulder. Granted, that’s a different type of trip, with fewer needs, or perhaps more needs met, but still . . . For me Navdanya has been a wonderful antidote to New Delhi and Rishikesh. N.D. was overwhelming, R. made me sick (though I liked the setting and or course loved seeing the Ganga) but here I was able to actually listen to and talk with some Indians as well. Working in the rice field was absolutely healing, and I could do that for a long time. I’ve always found gardening to get me out of myself. Of course, the women with whom I was working were making a living, and if they have a quota system, perhaps it’s not a restful job. But nobody here seemed oppressed, everyone had good, healthy food to eat (though eaten in separate quarters and separate styles) and so even though it is labor, and wage labor at that, I think there is a sense of purpose (or imagine such) among those who are fortunate enough to work here. The woman who showed us the ropes has 2 children—a 21-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son—and I admit that I was pleased to learn that neither was married and both are in school. One last thing, I am writing this because the stench of bug spray . . . is making me sick. [Navdanya is an organic farm that does not utilize insecticide; but those of us in the group used it liberally.] 3 July ? Yesterday was a lost day, but not completely: went with Tsering, Nati, and Joanna to the Ganges, so I didn’t miss that! I am obsessing on garbage. Today in Rishikesh I saw two garbage men loading waste into a small cart. Bailing water with a teaspoon. Then I thought if all bottled drinks were in glass and there was a market for it (or even plastic, with a re-use) then at least a major pollutant might be eliminated. Yet even in the U.S., in Iowa where my daughter lives, they cancelled the recycling program that was putting mentally challenged adults to work, for some bogus reason. So all the bottles, cans, etc. go into the landfill. The U.S. is not the only model, as Navdanya shows. I liked the “Coke and Pepsi Free Zone sign. [We visited an organic farm called Navdanya, which has a large seed bank and cultivates more than 700 types of rice. That's me picking up garbage at the farm! That's me picking up garbage as one of our morning chores.] Though Gandhi’s name never came up, certainly the idea of sustainable agriculture built on an Indian model is or would be part of his program. The seed bank was awesome, and I think about the future, when GMO products introduce sterility into all plants. Kind of like Ice-9 in Cat’s Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut). I can understand why the Indian government might introduce GMO products for the short term alleviation of the food problem, but long term, it is simply not sustainable. I’m sure there must be a science fiction book/movie that deals with saving the earth through a seed bank. 2 July 2016 (12:03 a.m.) Train to Haridwar today. Mountains of trash along the railways. Scott [a group leader] mentioned the statistic that India is 1/3 the size of the U.S. with 3x the people. I think of all those potato chip/water stands, and a billion people buying, consuming, and then tossing. As I said earlier, it’s not a lack of interest in cleanliness or sanitation, it’s just an absence of the possibility. I’ve seen this in other places, e.g. Mexico has a trash problem. The only difference between the U.S. and these countries is that we have hidden our trash in landfills, where it is not visible. It’s still trash, and it’s still there. The disposable society will dispose of humans. Felt weird in the pedicab. British Empire, Memsahib, etc. I could put a gloss on it and say we were giving some men the opportunity to make some money. And given the horrible pollution, these cabs are definitely superior. Still, humans as beasts of burden? Again, I suppose that in the U.S. the people who do the heavy lifting—such as those immigrants who work in slaughterhouses—are simply invisible. They’re still there . . . The lecture on Indian history is a good supplement to the Intro and first chapter of the textbook [by Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby]. I had also slogged through about 1/2 to 1/3 of John Key’s massive history of India (should have bought it on Kindle) and that also was reinforced by the lecture. I thought it odd that Michael [a group leader] said that the Baptist Church had no connection to water, given that the baptismal pool is front and center in the church and in the theology. I think all religions have the idea of sacred and profane (okay, that’s Mircea Eliade, but I think he’s right), though it probably isn’t articulated that way by practitioners. The Mandaeans repeatedly baptize, and though Christians do it only once, they are supposed to regularly renew their baptismal vows. Still, it’s not quite the same as getting into the water all the time, though witnessing the baptism of others might be one way of participation. Important Notice : These are journal entries from my trip to India in July. I’m currently back in Friday Harbor for now. 30 June [New Delhi How do you stay clean in a city with no sanitation? Each morning before yoga, I watch the street below from the roof top. Men bathe quite thoroughly and vigorously out of buckets. Very methodical. They are clean. A woman rinses garbage into the center of the street, sweeping it out of the shop. She scrubs the cement with water and a bruch. Today small girls in clean and tidy dresses were aggressively selling pencils at Connaught Place. So it’s not that people aren’t clean: they are. But the social structures of garbage collection, waste management, recycling, etc. are missing. (I understand that plastic bottles are recycled. I hope so!). Tsering [Lama Tsering Phuntsok] showed us a restroom stall for men, and I noticed two street-side urinals. But today I did see the apocryphal man defecating in public. Thank God! The trip to India would have been incomplete without that. My point is that Indians share so-called Western standards and values of cleanliness as individuals. However, I guess the sheer numbers make these standards daunting to achieve as a collective body. [We went to a cremation ground that day which left me with questions.] Q. Why aren’t women at funerals? A. Because they’re at home preparing the funeral meal for the men. Or, lower caste/class funerals may have more men in attendance than higher status individuals. A random question. |
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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