India; first impressions
Every American should visit India. The cultural contrast is so powerful that it is life transforming. No one can go to India and come back home the same.
I don’t think there are any atheists in India. The whole culture embraces spirituality, divinity and the existence of gods. There would never be an attempt to amputate the spiritual aspect of life out of personal life or social or political life. So westerners may be shocked, amazed or intrigued by this cultural contrast.
Also there may be a cultural time warp when entering India. The area I visited was southern India, Tamil Nadu. I felt I had entered the pages of the Bible stories, of Abraham and Sarah and their flocks of animals, of women carrying water from the well, of bare feet and open sewers. When I thought on the story of Jesus washing the feet of his friends, I understood the context better. I understood why in most ancient cultures removing shoes when coming into the house is crucial for cleanliness.
When Americans or people of other wealthy countries meet real poverty face to face it must sow the seeds of change. We see people that walk everywhere, and yet are content. For thousands of years humanity walked, and as they walked they prayed, sang a song or talked. I saw school kids who had dirt floors and no running water in their houses, but yet their loving mothers made sure they had clean uniforms and aromatic flowers for their beautiful hair. This must force me to examine my American obsessions.
