Our first full day in India has come to an end here in Haridwar, on the banks of the Ganges—and what a day it has been. We rose well before the dawn in order to catch our train to the foothills of the Himalayas. Somehow, that four hour journey ended up taking six, but with an abundance of spiritually fortified Corn Flakes in our system, we managed to persevere.
More seriously, though, for those of us who had never been to India, the train ride was an eye-opening survey of life in this part of the country. For quite some time—particularly while we were still in the Delhi metropolitan area— I was captivated by the world outside the window. This world, with its myriad inhabitants in a sea of sprawl, was unlike any I had ever experienced. And truthfully (even as fascinated as I was), it was difficult to take in.
First and foremost, there are a host of emotions that arise when one witnesses firsthand the differences in material standards of living across the world—or even within the same country. I’ve felt these complicated emotions elsewhere before, but never like I have here; my companions seemed to feel similarly. Consequently, I suspect that these feelings will stick with us all well into the future.
Then there’s the fact that most of the knowledge I have about “how the world works” doesn’t apply here. For someone interested in the social sciences, this is a jarring realization. In the States, I take for granted that I can look around and have a decent idea of what’s going on around me. I know the general laws, both cultural and governmental, governing peoples’ behavior. The more I looked out the train window today, however, the more humbled I was about claiming any such knowledge in this country. To borrow a phrase, I am not in Kansas anymore.
All told, living in this reality for the first time raised more questions than it answered. But, the experience definitely put us all in a reflective (and grateful) mood, which inspired great conversations throughout the day.
Personally, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about staying as open as possible to my surroundings, foreign as they may be. I take this to mean staying open to both tangible experiences, like trying new foods, and more cerebral ones, like compassionately analyzing religious ideas from other traditions. This latter idea is particularly important to me, because I believe that a practitioner of any religion has much to gain from the refined wisdom of another tradition.
Much as I would like to expand on these reflections from today, it’s getting late, and we have a packed schedule tomorrow. I hope you keep following our adventures through the blogs of my fellow Fellows. And with that, dear readers, I bid thee goodnight!
— Shanon FitzGerald
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