This Buddhist Monk Is My Bro

This post will be a bit long; I have a lot to cover since my last post. My week in Rishikesh ended up being very relaxing. I was living in an ashram, which is a center of learning and healing through either the ayurvedic, naturopathic, or homeopathic style of medicine depending on the ashram’s focus. The one I was staying at was a naturopathic ashram. I hadn’t learned anything about naturopathy in any of my previous rotations so I was excited to learn a lot. Naturopathic doctors do not prescribe medicine, as they believe “food is medicine” and by eating certain foods in varying amounts (fasting included) they can cure disease and sickness. Here’s how my day went: 8-9 AM yoga; 9:30-10 AM breakfast; 11-11:50 lecture on naturopathy given by the doctor in the ashram; lunch from 1-1:30 PM; 4-5 PM meditation/relaxation class; 6 PM dinner. As you can see, I had a lot of free time. During all of my free time, I would read, go into town, and meditate (to my best effort). On the second day in the ashram I met Anna and Surrein, 22 and 27 years of age respectively, and they were also staying in the ashram undergoing treatments and relaxing. Surrein had been in India for a year and was a complete hippie, through and through. The 22-year-old from Germany was much more like myself, much more independent (some would say liberal) in my political stances. The friend from Holland was extremely nice and compassionate but would say things that Anna and I thought were jokes. We were wrong on a few accounts. I had to train myself to simply nod my head when she would say things like (Anna told me about this conversation she had with Surrein), “I just visited Jupiter and saw my family on Saturn. They’re doing great.” She admitted that she was close to reaching enlightenment, which I just found fascinating, as most monks don’t reach this state over a lifetime of praying, meditating, and studying. I think I remember responding, “Wow, that’s amazing. Good job.” Anna and I would have more normal conversations on our own, which was nice. Don’t get me wrong though, I very much enjoyed conversing and getting to know both girls. That’s one of the main reasons I’m in India, to listen and learn from those who are different from myself. I had planned to go to Dharamsala two weeks later (where the Dalai Lama lives) for the weekend, and so too had Anna. So we parted thinking it would be great to see a familiar face in the future, but if not, we thoroughly enjoyed the week getting to know each other. I think Surrein wanted to stay in India until September when her visa expires. She was so nice, and I really did appreciate hearing about her perspective and her friendliness in general.

Thanks to the efforts and flexibility of the directors and coordinators of CFHI, I was able to switch programs halfway through the month so that I could experience two weeks of the Public Health rotations in Delhi and the city of Chandigarh. I am so grateful for the switch as I have gotten to see some very interesting things that I wouldn’t otherwise have seen in the Dehradun rotation. This past week my new group headed a few hours north by train to the city of Chandigarh to work with the program SWACH – Survival of Women and Children. This NGO blew me away. The government is adopting their programs to implement them nationwide. I have learned a lot about the mainstream Indian perspectives on family, health issues, and other topics of debate including homosexuality. SWACH is running some programs that are very progressive even by American standards. One of these programs includes “Harm reduction among Female Sex Workers” due to the fact that the STI rates are so high among the FSW population. Over the past few years, they have been trying to get in contact with as many of these women as possible to educate them about HIV/AIDS, proper condom use, and other safe sex practices. They provide free medication to all women in need, and will take any to the hospital to get tested for sexually transmitted infections. They communicate with over 3,000 FSW in the area via direct communication with peer educators. These peer educators are prostitutes as well, but have been trained and educated very thoroughly on the aforementioned subjects. Over just a few years, they have seen a significant decrease in sexually transmitted infections among FSW, and therefore, among the men they have had sex with as well. We went to a few different hidden brothels throughout the city, including one in the slums. For those who have seen Slumdog Millionaire: the movie did not dramatize the living conditions in the slums. I have a few pictures below. On the second day of the rotation, we sat down with about 20 FSW and asked them whatever we wanted. Here are some of the surprising/interesting things I found out: almost all FSW are married with children, however, most of their husbands are alcoholics and don’t provide financial assistance so they must make money to support themselves and their children; most would prefer not to be prostitutes, but were happy with the fact that they were putting food on the table for their kids; no one in their families knows what they are doing, and if they did, they would be kicked out of the family forever. Throughout the day, I found that the women were very easy-going and nice. They got along with each other so well. SWACH has brought them together and provided a network so that if anything ever goes wrong on or off the job, they can call each other for help. A latent effect that has come about is the fact that this network has improved their business. If a FSW is called for a job and cannot meet with the man at the time, she can call another FSW to please the man. I found this very interesting. The main criticism we had with this program was the fact that there was not much encouragement to pursue other vocations. We suggested that they use funding to provide paid training to the FSW so that they can go into another field qualified and not behind financially. We asked the women why they don’t do something else, and they responded by asking, “Why would I risk going into another career unsure if I’d make money, while I have a paying job now that provides food for me and my family?” They mentioned that they’d prefer to have a job they could be more proud of, but at the end of the day, all that matters is whether or not there is food on the table. I felt the program was amazing for all of the education they were providing, but it almost seemed like they were putting a Band-Aid on a broken arm. This program will solve these problems short term, but to be comprehensively harm reducing, they should be leading these women into a field where they won’t regularly be threatened and in danger. I was so impressed with the staff and progress the program has made.

Later in the week, we met with the gay community in Chandigarh. Homosexuality is extremely frowned-upon in Indian society. In fact, there is a law that is currently being amended to legalize the act of consensual gay sex. These men were so fun to interact with because of their very outgoing and perky personalities. Like the FSW, almost all of these men were married with children, mainly to mask their homosexual nature. Meanwhile, they were wearing heels and preferred that we refer to them as Ms., not Mr. It made me happy that they had somewhere they could meet together and be who they were. I always sympathize for the LGBT community because they have to hide who they are in many situations in fear of judgment and discrimination (cough Notre Dame cough). I could see the contentment in all of their eyes due to the fact they were being themselves and with others like themselves. Also like the FSW community, their families and communities did not know they were gay for the same reasons the FSW would keep quiet. They talked to us about everything from where they would meet to have sex, to the safety measures they now take thanks to SWACH. The gay community has very high rates of HIV/AIDS so that is why SWACH is working them.

We lived with a very nice Indian family in Chandigarh. I befriended the brothers Krishna and Rama who are 20 and 19 years of age respectively. We all wanted to see Batman on Friday, which was so freaking amazing. However, I had found out just before the movie about the incident in Colorado. I was pretty shaken up, and still can’t stop thinking about the madness of it all. I feel so bad for those who were killed and their families. My heart really does go out to all families involved, I simply can’t imagine sending my kid to a movie and not having him or her return. So unbelievably sad. After the movie, I went to the bus stop to take a bus to the town of Dharamsala. Long story short, my 11:30 PM bus did not stop where I was, so I missed it. A bit frustrated thinking I was going to be spending the night with the dogs in the station, I stumbled upon four guys my age asking if I needed help. I said I was trying to get to Dharamsala and that I missed my bus. They then told me that they too were trying to get to Dharamsala and that they were waiting for a 1:30 AM bus. I was so gracious for their help. We immediately became friends and spent most of the weekend together. On Saturday, I was on my way to a restaurant to take cooking lessons when a Buddhist monk stopped me and asked me if I could talk with him for a while so he could improve his English. I immediately said yes thinking, “How many times will a Tibetan Buddhist monk come looking to me for help?” We ended up talking for about five hours and went to his favorite momo café for lunch. It was delicious. I learned that he was a Tibetan refugee, and he walked over the Himalayas at the age of 13 in fear of Chinese oppression. This problem continues to go on without much international intervention due to the fact that China is a world superpower now. They have killed over one million Tibetans and forced many others into exile. What amazed me was the modesty in which these monks spoke. They had climbed some of the biggest peaks in the world wearing nothing more than the clothes they had on their backs at the time of exile and walked for 20 days. He told me that the first couple days were hard, but the rest were normal after having accepted the conditions. I loved talking to Tsudu, and I consider him a good friend now.

Walking to another cooking lesson after not making it to the one I had originally planned on going to, I spotted Anna from Rishikesh walking around. We caught up and she introduced me to some other friends she had just met in Dharamsala from Wales, Belgium, France, Australia, and Palestine. My friends from the bus station included, we all had dinner and a few drinks that night. The environment could not have been better. We were sitting on the rooftop of a cafe with the stars out, looking at the silhouette of the Himalayas, listening to some Tibetans play their bongos and guitars, performing The Wall by Pink Floyd. That to me has been the most fun part of traveling alone: meeting new people from around the world and getting along so well. Even though I only got to know them for a few hours, I will miss them greatly.

I am now sitting on my 12 hour bus ride back to Delhi for my last week in India. I do feel ready to get back home, but I am already getting sad thinking about leaving the country I can now call home. I will especially miss the people. I have only met the nicest of people since being here, and I will always remember India for that.

Well, I should try to get some sleep, although it will be difficult, as the Bollywood films playing out loud are not fit for the tired.

Namaste,

Clayton

I could just see it on the Indians' faces: "Damn Americans,  smh."

On the way to Dharamsala

Dharamsala

The Dalai Lama's residency

My new friend Sunny

Last couple weeks

Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks. I don't have much time with the internet, so I'll definitely add to this later.

Meditating With The Beatles

Sorry for the long gap between posts, I haven’t been able to make it to an internet café lately due to traveling, and to be frank, laziness. This past week was great, as I got to better understand the alternative medicine that is widely accepted and practiced in India. I worked with one of the most successful doctors in Dehradun, Dr. Gandhi, who in 10 years has built a hospital consisting of 100 beds with $400 in his pocket coming out of medical school. I greatly respect his keen business sense and ability to remain deeply dedicated to each and every patient he admits and cares for. Throughout the week, I constantly heard patients say, “I hope you know how special Dr. Gandhi is. He runs this high quality hospital, comes in at any hour of the day for all emergencies, and remains sincere and kind.” I hope that I too will remain dedicated to my patients and astute in my business decisions throughout my career. My next rotation of the day was actually a lecture given by a 100 year-old-man named Dr. Prem Nath. He has been practicing Ayurveda, Reki, and Accupressure/puncture for over 70 years. He spoke with flawless English in a Yoda-like manner. Although I had some difficulty grasping some of the theory behind Reki (taking energy from the universe and focusing it into the appropriate Chakra, or energy center, most closely related to the problem that the patient has) and Accupressure (putting pressure on designated parts of the body that are connected to the health issue at hand), I found it all fascinating and eye-opening. Genetics is a large age-determining factor, but Dr. Nath must be doing something right to reach 100 with a healthy mind and body!

After getting my Chakras checked (all of which were healthy, except my digestion Chakra, I could’ve called that one), I headed to Dr. Nanda’s Homeopathic Clinic for two hours. While waiting for that rotation to start I would go to my favorite baker in town, Kumar Sweets, and get a cold coffee. By the end of the week, the whole store knew my name and story of coming to India (I definitely attended to my sweet tooth that’s been demanding some attention throughout the whole trip). I’ve now got some favorite Indian sweets and a good friend, Krishna, who has told me all about his life in India and how he prefers to be single over “tied up” because he thinks being single “has its more better benefits.” I would then leave Kumar Sweets while hearing a superbly warm but strained, “See you next time my bro” from Krishna to go play Cricket with a few kids I met while waiting for Dr. Nanda to show up. They thought I was an amazing player. I’m either a Cricket prodigy or a very shameful 20-year-old taking advantage of his 8-year-old opponents. Nevertheless, I enjoyed getting in my 25 minutes of Cricket with some newfound friends before another sedentary two-hour clinical rotation.

I went into Homeopathy not having a clue as to what it was about, so I was looking forward to learning a lot. More so than Reki and Accupressure, I could wrap my head around homeopathy and found it to be a very fascinating and effective treatment style. Homeopathic medicine essentially gives the body’s repair and healing systems a “push” in the right direction to heal the patient’s ailment. As Dr. Nanda described it, homeopathic medicine “would make a healthy person feel pain or extra feeling in the location where the sick person feels the pain or sickness. In this way, the body brings more attention to this area of the body, therefore healing the patient with its own abilities, not with a foreign chemical’s abilities.” I was very curious to see some patients and ask them questions about their experiences and was simply blown away. Just in this week, I saw five cases that appeared groundbreaking to me, but very average to Dr. Nanda. One man came in who had had terrible migraines for 10 years, to the point where he would become unconscious due to the extreme pain. He went to an allopathic doctor for most of this time. Eventually, after the prescribed morphine was not helping, he decided to try homeopathy. Dr. Nanda has been treating him for the past two years, in which this man has had only one migraine.  Dr. Nanda has been giving this man a placebo the past few months because his body has done its job in healing itself. He will be off all medicine after this month. I saw a couple other similar cases where allopathic treatment failed (in treating a woman’s growing benign brain tumor and a boy’s life-threatening asthma), and homeopathic treatment completely succeeded in curing the patients. While some aspects of homeopathy are difficult to grasp, its effects are evident. I could see myself practicing both as an allopathic doctor and homeopathic doctor. If one treatment style isn’t working, I could suggest another. I think this would be very interesting and more beneficial to a greater number of patients.

I am now in Rishikesh for the second time this summer, and this second trip has been very different. After one week of monsoon rains, most of India, Rishikesh included, looks very different. The first trip was hot and dry, with most of the flora consisting of browns and light greens. Now, I feel as if I’m in the jungle (which I am), with dark, deep greens with a roaring Ganges river alongside. While the mosquitos are more prevalent, the cooler temperatures and the enhanced aesthetic beauty more than make up for the few itchy spots on my skin. I went along with the group to go shopping on Saturday telling myself I would not buy anything as I’ve been here before. That failed. Miserably, in fact. Oh well, YOLO. This morning (I’m writing this on Sunday night), we went to the ashram where The Beatles spent much time meditating and composing music for The White Album. I was so excited to go, and I must say that the experience exceeded my expectations. For those of you who have seen my room and known me for a while, you probably know that I have always been a huge Beatles fan, so this opportunity was incredibly exciting for me. I was expecting a busy and commercialized tourist attraction, but fortunately I was wrong. We had to find our way to this uninhabited ashram via a very poorly marked, rugged path. When we finally found it, there was one man standing there collecting money to enter (50 Indian rupees, or about 90 cents). As we walked up the mountain heading deeper into the jungle and ashram itself, we found a multitude of cone-like structures scattered throughout the deserted ashram. We ran into a man who was standing outside of one of these edifices with a paintbrush in hand and “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” playing off his laptop. As I was both excited and curious, I asked him what he was doing. He went on to explain to us that each Beatle had his own “dome” to meditate in, and he was painting the inside of George Harrison’s at the moment. Without hesitation, I walked up the very sketchy set of stairs and peered into this meditation dome where George Harrison spent much of his time. It was spectacular. I got chills thinking about the fact that I was sitting in the same spot George Harrison once had, looking out at the Ganges and Himalayas, listening to the album he was working on while sitting in this same spot. It was a memorable moment to say the least. I really don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

We then proceeded to look at John Lennon’s meditation dome, which was just as amazing. The whole time there were monkeys jumping and playing all around us. As if the experience couldn’t have gotten any better, we walked into this very large building that had the most beautiful murals covering the interior walls. The building was falling apart (and had been for quite some time), but some very talented and united artists from around the world once again made this structure beautiful. The old building had flora growing through its floor, water dripping in through its already fallen apart ceiling, and some of the most inspiring and enlightening works of art scattered across its walls. I will be here in Rishikesh this whole week, and I will for sure be returning to this very serene, peaceful and inspiring place. I can’t wait to go back already and it’s only been 10 hours since I left.

I’m 5 weeks into this 8-week adventure. I am consistently being shocked, encouraged, and loved by the people and things that inhabit this wonderful country. I still haven’t gotten over the immense poverty or the filthy conditions, but I’ve tried to remain focused on the deeper, more foundational aspects of the country and people. It’s been such a great a great trip learning about a culture first-hand. I know it’s cliché to say as an abroad student, but I’ve learned so much about this culture at an immensely personal level, much more so than any class has taught me about any other culture.

To my family, girlfriend, and friends: I miss you very much and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks.

Clayton

Much greener and wetter than before.

Feeding a baby monkey! I was so excited.

The entrance to The Beatles Ashram.

Exploring some of the old buildings in the ashram.

The artwork inside John Lennon's meditation dome.

Standing in front of the dome where John Lennon spent much of his time meditating and writing lyrics.

Anna walking up the steps into George Harrison's meditation dome.

The many "meditation domes" as I've decided to name them.

Me, Roshan, Alex, Claire, and Anna in "The Beatles Cathedral"

Familiarity

Today has been a very relaxing day, although I have to say that it is very sad not to have Zack and Callie in the house. I’ve been listening to lots of music, reading Harry Potter (I never read the whole series as a kid, so yes, I’m just finishing up the 5^th book now), doing laundry, and talking to Mrs. Sethi and her son Sunny. As it is the weekend and I’m the only student here, I’ve gotten a lot more time to talk at length with Sunny. He is very smart and has a keen sense for international relations. He has two graduate degrees, one being in international relations, and is now in the process of applying to universities in Europe in hopes of being hired to do research on the topic of international relations. We have been talking a lot about the rise in power of Asian countries (mostly China and India), and what that means for America and other Western countries. After living in England for 3 ½ years, he said that the work mentality needs to change if England wants to be a world power again. I asked him about the rise of India and China and how he thought they’ve become relevant and powerful at such an incredible rate. He said, “Well, when you have 1.2 billion people in India who work 6 days a week earning relatively small salaries, you’re going to have large advances at a very fast rate. And when you have a much smaller population in England with a much more relaxed work environment, with people living with less of a work hard mentality who expect to be given a lot, you’re not going to have the same power as you once did in the past.” He also mentioned the populations are much different age-wise. Over 60% of India’s population is under the age of 30, whereas, most of Western Europe is aging, and on average much older than the populations in India and China. Naturally, younger people are usually more capable of longer hours.

Religion in India fascinates me because its prevalence and dynamic is so incredibly different than in America. I was asking Sunny about religion and politics, and he simply said, “That is really a non-factor in politics for Indians. In fact, some argue that Indians are more advanced than many Western countries in these respects.” After talking further, he mentioned how young India is. It has only been a country for around 60 years (it has only been independent from British rule since the 40’s), and yet has already had a female president, a Muslim president (remember that India is a secular country with a Hindu majority, only comprising of approximately 20% Muslims, yet has the second largest population of Muslims in the world), and many other presidents of multiple religions. I remember saying, “That is so cool!” Just the fact that they’ve had such a diverse array of leaders shows how open-minded this country is when it comes to religion. I remember when Obama was running for president in 2008, there was a political war surrounding his true religion. Obama had to go to great lengths to assure the people that he wasn’t a Muslim, God forbid.

I have to remember that I have gotten very lucky in that my homestay family is very well educated and cognizant of current events and the world as a whole. Sunny reminded me that India is very diverse. Just when you think you know one part of the country well, don’t jump to the conclusion that you know India well. Some people are more conservative, less educated, and much more traditional in their beliefs and customs than others. So it was good to hear this because I’m only getting an insight into an Indian family from the northwest part of the country in a generally very well educated city. If I went further south to a more rural location, I would feel as if I was in a different country. Sunny told me that India was named the world’s most difficult place to live for a woman. The study was done analyzing 19 of the world’s developing countries, not including India’s neighbor Pakistan. I was in shock after living here for a month. How could this be when women in Saudi Arabia aren’t even allowed to drive? Yes, there is lots of poverty here, sure there are definitely some traditional family customs that are detrimental to females in some cases. But still, if the rest of India is anything like what I’ve seen, there’s no way this could have been a thorough analysis. Sunny didn’t seem as startled as I did, but I guess if it is an accurate claim, I have to remember how diverse India is.

Many Indians love America because of its diversity. I’ve heard many Indians say, “America is my second favorite country (behind India) because it’s diverse like India.” As the world progresses and power shifts to the East, it will be interesting to see how America continues to stretch its arms across the Pacific, and not just across the Atlantic like it has almost solely done in the past. China is buying any real estate for sale (Sunny said that China is investing hugely in Greece), and India is coming up in the world, and it’s coming up fast. India reminds me so much of America in many ways. I have grown very fond of this country partly because of the constant aspects that trigger thoughts of my country and home: the democratic government, the work hard mentality, the strong family values, and many other things I cannot think of now. Many people are calling the 21^st Century “The Asian Century.” As we see other countries join America as major world powers, it will be interesting who remains a power, and in what manner these countries conduct themselves to attain such power. China is very much a capitalistic economy with a Communist government with very little freedom of press and speech. India on the other hand, has chosen to be capitalistic as well, but with a more democratic government. With an American bias and having lived here for a month now, I can’t help but think, “How long can China last with the amount of censorship they place on their people, and the amount of power they hold in their leaders and not in their people? How can their people see the rest of the world and remain content?”

When coming to India, I knew it would be different, but I never thought I would feel the connection and familiarity between America and the country I’m calling home for now. It’s comforting and enlightening all at the same time.

 

Namaste,

Clayton

Fresh fruit and vegetable stand right near where I was staying in Mussoorie. Not everyone has refrigerators so most people have to get their fruits and veggies everyday.

A stretch of stores in Mussoorie

The Landour Community Hospital in Mussoorie where we stayed and worked

Apparently "Indiana Ladies" are revered here

Visiting the Buddhist Temple nearby in Dehradun. There are lots of Tibetan immigrants here.