I Have Fleas
INDIA | Wednesday, 9 January 2008 | Views [717]
When I was getting my vaccinations, the nurse asked me if I thought I would need a rabies vaccination. I remember that I was laughing hysterically and told her that it would the dumbest thing ever for me to get one, there was NO WAY any sane person would play with the feral dogs in India. I figured that the only reason I would need one was if I got bit by a monkey, in which case I would have to be immediately rushed to the hospital anyway, so I'd take my chances. And then, I met Tommy. He was rescued from a oil spill down the road and has the prettiest blue eyes you have ever seen. It really was love at first sight with this little puppy, and I have been feeding him my breakfast every day since we met. I figure he is about 12 weeks old, so I have convinced myself there is no way he has had time to contract anything too bad. We play carefully, he doesn't bite too hard and I wash my hands afterwards. Theykeep him tied to a chain outside the hotel and he sits in one spot, in his own excrement, all day. The man that owns the hotel thinks its fun too kick him and run at him to scare him. I finally got so angry that I told him to stop in my pathetic excuse for Hindi. His response? "You buy him for 6,000 rupees." Asshole. Tommy's only freedom is when we play. Unfortunately though, as I was falling asleep last night, I found a flee on my neck, and soon realized i was infested. I never want to spend another night searching for fleas with a flashlight again...I will have to stick to feeding him and giving him pump up talks from a distance. It seems odd that in a place where animals are not eaten and are revered as having their own spirits and souls, they are left to such a pathetic existence.
A few days ago, we went to a Jain convention. FOr those that don't know what Jainism is, let me explain. Basically, it is a religious practice that is completely founded aroun the idea of nonvoilence. It sounds so great in theory, but the devoted take it to an insane extreme. Jains believe that everything has a soul. Both animate and inanimate objects depend on eachother for life, therefore everything should be respected. The devout opt not to wear clothes, or to wear all white cotton, and they sweep the floor they walk on with a soft broom, lest they exterminate the life of an innocent termite of maggot. They also believe in reincarnation, and so by killing another soul, they not only accumulate their own bad karma, but also end another's soul's path in reaching "omniscence," or nirvana. I don't really have time to explain the religion in depth, but the more I study (i'm taking a class) the more disturbed and irrational it all seems. The basic teachings are wonderful, but in so many ways, it is not different than the brain washing, extreme beliefs of christians or muslims, and the convention we went to was, to me, downright scary.
I feel horrible saying it was scary, it should have been an enormous honor, but I couldn't help but find it very unsettling. Our Jainist professor arranged for us to meet India's holiest man, a Jain, who is revereed as a modern day Gandhi. He was speaking to a convention of about 2,000 followers that day, and somehow, our professor (who is a very prestigious man and is speaking for the UN on October) arranged for us to have a personal meetin with this man before his speech. All ascetic Jain monks wear masks over their mouths to avoid killing the spirits, or Jivas, in the air. The man sat on a bench, above everyone, and hundereds of people lined up outside for the chance to pray before him and kiss his feet. He is called "his holiness" and we were instructed to always try to keep out heads below his. The six of us were rushed ahead of the line, past his hundreds of devotees that had travelled for days to meet him. We were shooed into the room and asked to sit right before him. The Indian women were not allowed to sit near him, but as white women, we got a front row seat. Immediately, we were introduced, as "pursuers of knowledge" and given encouragement to continue in our pursuit. In India, educational experience is most highly regarded. Meanwhile, people who actually knew who this monk was, prayed to him everry day, followed his teachings, had pictures of him in their home, were in tears over being there, and cared enough to drive for hundreds of miles, were forced to pray though the window. I felt so uncomfortable and selfish I wanted to leave which, unfortunately, would have been an even more selfish. After my professor introduced himself, the translator asked if we had any questions. Keep in mind, we were speaking to the holiest man in India and there were around 50 other prestigious men and women in there, begging for the opportunity to speak to this man. Immediately, my professor looks at me, and says, "Annie, I know that you will have questions, anything you would like to ask?" I felt retarded. I just sat there like, "uhhhhhhhhh..." thinking, "oh my god, I have t freaking TALK to the HOLIEST man in INDIA!??" I was sure that I would offend him, say something about how I ate steak sometimes and had killed so many jiva I would be banished to a maggot existence for the rest of my life. Somehow, I pulled through, and instead of admitting my cariverous history and to my mass-mosquito killing lifestyle, I asked if he could give us, as journalism students, guidance in finding a way to promote his peaceful teachings in the media. And if so, how that would coincide with the war and destruction that IS the news. Not terrible. I must say that I didn't really care ALL that much about what I asked, as long as something intelligent came out. He responded to my question with something like, "yes, we need to teach peace. We need to promote non-violence (prounounced non-Wiolence) and offer some columns for people to discuss peace in the newspaper."
After me, discussion continued, I asked a few more questions and other people did the same. Every answer was some form of the above response and I left thinking, "I don't think this man has ever met a redneck."
When we left, we walked out to an enourmous crowd of people, all reciting Jain mantras with the holy man. Some were crying, all had covered mouths, and instead of seeming happy and non violent, they seemed miserable and sad over all the Jivas they had killed.
Moderation in everything, I suppose. The Jains have some great ideas, but when it gets too extreme, it can become more of a burden and blind than anything.
Hope all is well with everyone!
Tags: I should have known better!
