Sunday, February 16, 2014

Christopher Moses

To try and sum up my experiences in India in writing is an impossible task. Although it felt at the time as though we were in India forever, it is a struggle now to remember everything that occurred; it seems as though the impact of India on my life has far more to do with how my way of looking at things and thought processes have changed, rather than how each event and experience in that awesome country has left me with a vivid and unique memory. I have therefore separated the different thoughts of mine into two categories; spirituality and individuality / fulfilment, as well as the overarching theme of life and death that intermingles with each of these in turn.

 

1)     Spirituality

 

I’ll start with the obvious: I have been, and hopefully will be, a Christian my whole life. Whilst I wouldn’t ordinarily write about this side of my life, this was no ordinary trip, and India no ordinary country. I have been ridiculously blessed throughout my life: I was born into a wealthy, loving, and kind Christian family in Epsom, grew up overseas and experienced much of the world before even reaching my teenage years; I have never had any close family members I know die before their time, and on top of this I attended one of the top schools in the country for my high school years. Because of all this, I find it extremely challenging to go to a country of 1.2 billion people, most with different beliefs to me and from far less privileged backgrounds, and tell them that they’ve got it wrong. I find it hard to say this because of the blindingly obvious, even to the most staunch and conservative Westerner: to do so would be wrong.

 

I am eighteen years old, and the traditions and practices in India are ancient. How can it be right for an eighteen year old Westerner to have a more ‘correct’ spirituality than a poverty stricken Indian with years of dedication and faith under his belt, not to mention a far older and more rich tradition than my own?

 

Yet amidst all the confusion of different religions, different cultures and different beliefs, I was struck by how similar the central aspects of each religion are. Even Hinduism, which I had always believed to be completely alien to me and to my own beliefs, teaches of an all-encompassing divinity, Om, a three-in-one spiritual essence not too dissimilar from the three-in-one ‘God of Christianity’.  Whilst I am not saying that all religions are the same, I do now think that each religion has a purpose in this world, and that each facet of these religions has a specific niche in the grand scheme of things. I am still grappling with this concept, and with how far it can go before it directly opposes my own beliefs.

 

But as with all issues religious and spiritual, whenever I am confronted with doubt, I go back to what I know about the God I believe in. And the God I believe in is a loving and fair God. I believe that a loving and fair God will give credit where credit is due; regardless of how ‘correct’ or ‘incorrect’ a person is; because we can only play with the cards we have been dealt in life.

 

2)     Fulfillment and Individuality

 

What I mean by the above two words is that whilst in India, one of the questions that kept getting repeated in various forms was, ‘What is the meaning of life?’. Whilst we can never answer this question, I believe that the question itself hinges on fulfilment, and on where each of us as individuals find our fulfilment in life. Or as Mr Skeen often puts it, ‘what makes you tick’. What is it that drives you, that makes you want to get up in the morning, and that keeps you going when everything else is stripped away? In India, we grappled with the ‘problems’ in the society, and how we might even start to consider trying to ‘fix’ these problems. What I often observed, however, was that despite the fact that the people we met lived lifestyles we consider

 

 

to be far inferior to our own, these people often still managed to find fulfilment in life. I am not saying, nor ever will say, that there are not some serious issues in that country that need addressing, but in terms of where we seek fulfilment in life, there is a lot to be learned from India.

 

India is unique, and the Western standard of living is too high for our own good. Life should be about fulfilment, and each individual finds this in his/her own unique way. No way is better than the other; I am not saying we have to abandon any career path that is high paying because it would be ‘wrong’ to do so, but I am suggesting that we should do activities in life that primarily give us a sense of fulfilment.

 

I myself find fulfilment when I experience joy, when I contribute to something beyond myself, when I enjoy success, and when I see my mates do the same. I find fulfilment in God. But this is just my own fulfilment, and I am not claiming to know where other people will find theirs. I just know that they will not be truly content until they have experienced it for themselves.

 

My thanks must go to the wonderful teachers, Ms Candy, Mr Jordan and Mr Skeen, who all helped to make India such a wonderful experience for all 22 of us boys. Till next time!

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