Wrap-Up

 

Well, I just thought I’d look through my journal from the trip, and pick out some highlights (and maybe a few lowlights) to share with y’all in a kind of recap/reflection post. Events and ideas presented below do not follow any chronological order.

 

First, I want to recount an experience that I did not transcribe in my notebook, but which remains firm in my memory. When we went to the McDonald’s outside of Agra, I met a white gentleman in the bathroom. I asked him his name, I think it was Chris, but I don’t remember. He had a thick Texan accent. He told me that he works for Dell in New Delhi. He does software interfacing for them. “Basically they have a hotch-potch of different codes and I interface between them so that they are mutually intelligible. I can code in six languages. That’s how I got my job. It’s funny, I have degrees in business and biology, but I was a really big gamer as a kid. So, I learned how to code in a few different languages to help me with the games, and now that’s my job.”

“Well, that’s incredible that your hobby turned into your job. There’s a lesson in that, I think.” I replied. I still think there is a great lesson in that. One of my favorite hobbies is to travel and try to learn new languages, so maybe I’ll be able to turn that into a job someday. I also read somewhere that people, who do jobs they enjoy rather than pursue jobs with high monetary compensation, actually make more in the long-run.

Anyway, an Indian fellow came up to us, and Chris introduced me to him. “Pierce, this is Rakesh (I forget the guy’s real name, I just inserted a random Hindi name) my driver/translator/if-you-try-to-rip-me-off-he’ll-beat-your-a**/best friend/everything. He’s been working with me ever since I came here to work for Dell more than two years ago.” The conversation proceeded and Chris gave me some tips as a tourist in India. “Yeah, since I’ve been here I’ve traveled to 19 countries on my passport. Because once you’re here, everything’s dirt-cheap. Like, I’m flying to Thailand next weekend. $300 total. First class tickets, staying in the Hilton over there. $300 total. But anyway, while you’re in India you need to visit Goa and Kerala, man. No hurries, no worries, just a laid-back good time. Anyway, where are you planning to visit?”

“We’re just staying in the Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.”

“Oh, when you’re in Delhi you gotta go to this mosque by Chandni Chowk. On a clear day, you can climb the minuets (sic) and see the whole city.” My new friend had to go shortly after that, but he did leave me with some good tourist knowledge of India. Another thing I learned from him was that it really does not matter if you are “uncultured,” as long as you bring a good skill to the table. The fact that this guy didn’t know that the spires around mosques are called “minarets” and not “minuets” doesn’t matter at all (he said some other stuff that gave me the feeling he wasn’t the most “cultured” person, but again it doesn’t matter at all). He’s been able to manage in India for more than two years, and seems like he’s really enjoying his time there. In a nutshell, it doesn’t matter if you call the spires, “minarets” or “minuets,” as long as you enjoy the view!

 

 

Ryoji has already written fairly extensively about Maj. DP Singh’s inspiring remarks. But I just wanted to mention that listening to his speech was one of the highlights of the trip for me as well. I will always remember his acronym ASK, and try to have a positive attitude in all situations and apply whatever skills and knowledge I can to that situation.

 

Looking back on my notes from all the corporate visits it is just staggering how much knowledge those corporate leaders imparted to us. I don’t want to reel off statistics here, but my notebook is packed with so many interesting ones about the Indian economy and its various sectors. What a privilege it was to meet those people. I wish I had done a better job of networking, and obtained a few more business cards. Those would all be great contacts to have. Thanks again to Professor Gupta for arranging all of that for us.

Now, I do want to cite one tidbit that we picked up from the speakers. Apurva’s father said something that was very interesting to me. He said something like, “Because there is instability in Jammu & Kashmir, you might think that loaning to people there is very risky, but actually because their culture places a high value on honoring one’s debts, the repayment rate is very high! This shows that you must pay attention to the local culture, and the culture of each caste when you are doing business.” I was impressed by that. I was also impressed by the decentralized, local-focused business model, which Mr. Aggarwal’s NBFC employed.

Another quote that made me ponder came from Oxigen’s CEO. He was discussing the ways in which Oxigen’s services benefited the rural poor, and he said, “Indian rural poor are not poor because they don’t have money, they’re poor because they don’t have access.” I think he meant they are poor because they don’t have access to modern infrastructure etc. But I am still not really sure. Looking back, I really should have questioned him further about this.

 

As I recall the trip, I have one major regret. I should have had a notebook on my person at all times to write down each and every new Hindi word or phrase that someone taught me. I had a notebook (affectionately known by myself and all my classmates as my xiao benzi) on me at all time in China, and I wrote down every new word I was taught. I don’t know why I didn’t do this in India. I guess I just felt like more of a tourist being there for only two weeks or something. It makes me mad to think of the lost opportunity to learn. That’s my biggest regret by far.

 

Looking back at my notes from the Rajasthan Police Academy, it is clear that the DGP H.C. Meena cares much more about using objective measures to recruit and promote officers than he does about physical fitness. It is lamentably predictable that the media would focus on this sub-point of his overall agenda, rather than his main point, objective measures. I gained a lot of respect for the police force through that visit. Though I must admit I was very uncomfortable interacting with the cadets. I just don’t like police. The type of person, who would join the police, and me are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Although as I get older I find it easier to comply with other people’s rules. Still, I’m not too fond of rule-enforcers. I thought H.C. Meena brought up some great points about how the police are seen as a tool of the rich. I feel that this is a cross-cultural problem. I mean, why do laws exist? If you look at human history, writing and laws have always followed the advent of agriculture and the establishment of settled villages. Why? In my opinion it is because once people settle down, they begin to accumulate possessions (i.e. property). Now, they need a framework to protect that property. Boom. It’s law time! So, the people who have property and interests to protect come up with laws that do just that. So, the whole legacy of legal structures is to protect the interests of those who have (i.e. the rich). In America, the law is now enforced more uniformly, but it still serves the interests of the rich in many ways. The most revolutionary part of H.C. Meena’s whole agenda is his focus on enforcing the law more uniformly. I remember this quote clearly:

“What can a police officer do for the poor? A poor man comes to me for money, I cannot give him a loan. I’m not authorized to do that. A poor man comes to me for a piece of land. I cannot give him land. A policeman can only enforce the law. So what can he do to help the poor? A policeman can give the poor a sympathetic hearing. All you can do is enforce the law, so enforce the law uniformly, fairly, and sympathetically.”

 

As I finish off this wrap-up, I figure I might as well express some controversial opinions about my experience at Akshardham, and opinions on religion in India and in general. I mean, why not make this post a little more interesting, right?

First, I want to say that I really believe in the values espoused at Akshardham. I remember walking through the garden of great Indian historical figures, and reading a plaque about one great person, whom I forget. The plaque said something like, “Our parents were here when we breathed our first, we should be there when they breathe their last.” I thought that was an eloquent way to express the filial piety we all should have. I also enjoyed reading about Sita, the wife of Ram in the epic poem, the Ramayan (which means something like “the journey of Ram.”). Her plaque talked about how she waited for Ram for 14 years while he was exiled, and maintained her purity etc. It said that she exemplified female loyalty. Again, this is a great virtue (although, male loyalty should be emphasized just as much). All men can only hope that we will find our own Sita.

Then, we went inside to watch the videos about the life of Bhagwan Swami Narayan. As soon as I saw the robot-child Nilkanth revive the fishes from the dead, I shook my head, and knew I was in for a long, painful experience at Akshardham. Actually it wasn’t painful at all. See, when you grow up in America and are bombarded by Christian nonsense on a daily basis (I spent five years at Catholic school where I won the award for best knowledge of scripture upon graduation. No big deal), you develop a great sense of humor about religion because it is your only defense mechanism. So, I enjoyed the outlandish adventures of Nilkanth.

But even though I can laugh about all the farfetched fairy tales, I still do believe in the values espoused by Bhagwan Swami Narayan. That’s why it saddens me so much that the values can’t be judged just on their own merits. No, most people couldn’t accept that. The values have to be couched in a mythical story with miracles. You know what would be a real life miracle? If there were a religious figure who didn’t need to perform miracles, and could just espouse his/her ideas in a humble and compelling way and people could follow that. That miracle has happened once so far. The man’s name was Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha is the only religious figure I know of who seems like he actually cared about the truth, and not just glorifying himself (I’m looking at you, Jesus. Even if you were the Son of God, did you have to go around bragging about it? If you really were, I should know that without you saying it. If someone is really smart, you should know that just from their words and actions. They shouldn’t have to explicitly say it. If someone is a great athlete you should see that from their movement and performance. They shouldn’t have to say anything about it. So, the fact that you preached so much about how you were the son of God, is a piece of evidence suggesting that you were not….I’m sorry I get really upset when I think about how many people have been brainwashed by religion, and how it’s taken the best thing humans have—our spirituality, and perverted it in such grotesque ways. Again, these are all just my opinions, and if your opinion is that you hate my opinions and hate me. That’s your opinion, and that’s okay.)

The other thing that is lamentable about Akshardham is the gaudy idolatry of it all. I thought Nilkanth preached about the simple life and helping the poor! How much of the money used to develop Akshardham could have helped improve physical and human capital in a poor, rural area? Whatever though, I understand the appeal of idolatry (I also understand the appeal of religion in general, I have a soul that “hungers and thirsts for righteousness” as it were). It’s hard for a guy sitting at his computer, as he looks at his statues of the Buddha, Krishna and Radha, and Shiva to complain too much about the baleful nature of idolatry!

You know, after seeing all the religious tolerance in India, it inspired me to try to be more tolerant in my own life. I don’t know if making an honest post like this is tolerant or intolerant, and I don’t really care because as Krishna told Arjun, “Think thou also of thy duty, and do not waver. There is no greater good for a warrior than to fight in a righteous war.” Fighting for the truth is a self-imposed duty that I bear. If thinking critically about religion, and expressing my views openly and honestly makes me intolerant, or a bigot, then so be it! I’m a warrior for the truth, and there’s no more righteous war than the battle for true spirituality. A spirituality unadulterated by religious institutions, which exist only to preserve and expand their power and influence.

Anyway, I hate to end on a controversial note, but I had some things to get off my chest (some of which I didn’t include in here for fear of even more opprobrium). It’s been a great journey, and many thanks to all the people who made it so special!