The Indian Mindset

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The Indian Mindset

Post02 Jun 2008

The Indian Mindset - posted by: Paul on May 5, 2004

“East is East and West is West, and never the two shall meet”†

I thought that I would open up this topic, as it actually underlies a lot of the differences of opinion and perspective evident in this forum. Let me say, first of all, that I am mindful of the sensitivities here and in no way do I pander to prejudiced stereotyping - I find that abhorrent. However, that said, I think that there is such a thing as general national or cultural traits in different geographic areas of the world and India is no exception. The Indian traits, or ’sanskars’ if you like, are, to my mind, both positive and negative

Looking at the positive:

* Respect for elders.

* Strong family values.

* Thrift.

* Patriotism.

* Being God fearing.

Now, looking at the other side of the equation:

* Realism is not a strong point. Just look at a few Hindi movies and you’ll see what I mean. Was it Karl Marx who remarked about the ‘infantile Asian mind’?

* Unity is a problem. They moan and groan about the Muslim and other invaders and pillagers of the past. The fact is if they were more unified as a society they could have easily withstood those assaults. But, instead, the Brahmin sniffed and said “Defending is not my task, that is for the Kshatriya”, and the Vaishyas were too busy being merchants and making money to care about national defence. The caste system itself perpetuates disunity and inequality.

* Complete and unquestioned devotion to a ‘guru’. I have listed this as a negative because the soul surrenders its autonomy and lets another think for it and decide what’s best for it.

There have been some discussions in this forum about prehistoric creatures. Someone I know who went to Mount Abu a few years ago said he could not find a single book on that subject in the Madhuban bookstores. Now, why isn’t that surprising? Scan a thousand Murlis and the only comment you’ll see is this: “Forget the aspect of the animals”. Now, on such a major topic, is that satisfactory to enquiring logical minds? Apparently, for many Indians it is. The same person I mentioned, who went to Abu, said that as he was departing he was waiting at Abu Road train station and, seated on the bench next to him was an Indian engineer who resides in America. He brought up the topic with this engineer and was told “You know, this question of dinosaurs is only raised by people outside of India.” And this is coming from an engineer!! The statement may be true, but what does it tell you?

Someone in this forum said that, after a period of being immersed in things Indian, the Western mind will eventually reassert itself. The facts show this to be true. The French famously put it this way “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” - the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Administrator inserted notes:

† Taken from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Ballad of East and West”.

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