Leaving Amdavad... for now.

Tomorrow... we head for Delhi... here are some random thoughts, observations, etc.. so far. (This started out as an email to Manks.. but, then, morphed into a blog entry.... so it's written in the classic Raj email format. =)

It's been quite the learning experience out here in A-bad. We were definitely lucky to have some contacts already out here.. and through those contacts, we've already made numerous other contacts. We've met with all sorts of inspiring people, visited sites where there's just amazing work being done and amazing transformations taking place. With all this said, if a common person walked through Amdavad, they still probably wouldn't know that any NGO's were doing any work. It's a strange phenomenon. So many inspiring, enthusiastic people... doing a lot of great work... yet... something still seems to be missing. Maybe it's a unity amongst all these different groups... maybe it's the sense of a common purpose. Maybe, it's just that a little more time is required.

We've learned all sorts things out here already based on our observations and talking to people.... for one, the education system is terrible. It's completely stratified. You only go to school with kids in the same social class as you.. same economic class.. same religion.. etc. Obviously there are exceptions... but this is the norm. No wonder there are communal problems in India... from a young age, kids are completely separated from kids of other religions, caste, etc... well, at least this seems to be the case in the big cities. I'm sure there are villages where they still live side-by-side. Private schools... there are all sorts of them, basically for kids of different economic/social/religious backgrounds. THerefore, the schools where the upper middle class kids go are pretty good. But, when looked upon in the bigger picture... this is such a small percentage. The public school system is completely shameful... the gov't just has never put enough money and effort into improving the system. Also, it seems like the public and private instituions don't develop any type of leadership skills or creativity in their kids/youth, either. Indian students will usually be more disciplined and studious... but they seem to lack creativity and leadership because schools don't seem to develop these. A person who is "well-educated" in India means someone who can get a high-paying job overseas. That's the ultimate.

Now, even with all this.... India continues to produce amazing people, spiritual giants, who are doing great work in India. How do they do this? How is it possible with the infrastructure in such shambles? I think that really goes to show the power of the Indian culture... and Indian spirituality. Even with all these shortcomings of the gov't and system, great minds are still being produced.

(as I write this email.. I realize.. this probably should be a blog entry...)

It's weird.. cause out here.. there seems to be two gov'ts working at the same time.... the actual gov't... which is corrupt at almost every single level. And the NGO's which basically does all the work that normal gov'ts would/should do.

We met this girl, Sylvie, from Geneva. She's a phD student, writing her thesis on the education system of India... she's found that there are teachers in the public school system who don't even attend their classes. They get paid by the gov't (well-paid), keep some % of it, and give the rest to someone else to teach their class. This way... they can get this money by basically doing nothing, and, then... do some other business and make more money... or do nothing at all, and get a salary!!! A huge problem out here is that there are no checks and balances. This leads to corruption in all facets. The gov't party in power doesn't really have any checks on it... gov't officials - accepting bribes, etc. is the norm so no one really stops them... gov't employees - basically never get fired so they don't really have any motivation to do their job well.... and even in the private sector, for some reason, job security is taken as a given in India, instead of something that is earned by good productivity... so, there's no motivation to maintain a quality product and high productivity.

Now the question... where do we start fitting into the pciture....

Can we change the world? No and yes... Vivekananda says (well, sampat told me this) that many great men have tried to make the "perfect world", and it SEEMS like they have accomplished it. But, once they let go, things just go back to the way they used to me. He uses the analogy of the dog's tail... you can hold it so it's straight, but as soon as you let it go, it's going to be curved again.

However, we still have to work for Good...just because we know and feel that that's right. We must work for the "work's sake". We have to start somewhere. And that somewhere may be small... that somewhere may be changing the world around you... that may be serving those less fortunate than you... that may be motivating others to start thinking along these terms.... that may be making others aware of realities that they aren't aware of, otherwise....

If you go along with this little plan.... this is the way the world changes (or so, Anand says..). You start creating this critical mass of people that do Good... and, it seems like all the orgs and people we've talked to... have this same basis... do Good because that's what's instinctual, that is what feels right and others will see this, be affected by this, and start acting on their natural instinct to do Good, as well.

We went and visited the Indicorps orientation today... and they had this discussion on "what is service? what does service mean to me?" One of the conclusions that I came away with... is that service is a two-way street. If you're "doing service", you're helping someone else out, BUT you're also learning so much and developing yourself. You're connecting to other human beings on a level of love and compassion. In the end, it's a step in the realization of God and the Oneness of everyone/everything. You should be just as thankful to the person that you are "serving" as he/she should be to you. That's a really interesting, powerful concept.
It was a solid discussion, and during the discussion, the same conclusion was made... even without the addition of the spiritual and God factor. =)

For now.. that's it.. we're headed to Delhi tomorrow morning... and our adventures will continue. It will get a little more difficult, as our contacts aren't as strong... but, I'm sure we'll manage.