A Traveller's Dilemmas

Hello Friends and Family
Thought id add a post here with some more personal notes and reflections on the travels instead of the routine chronological monologue.
Many thoughts, reflections and theories accur to me in moments when i have a chance to ponder what is the meaning of all that i am being exposed to - q's like- what is the point of all this travel?- it is for seeing things, taking snaps and haiving the satisfaction to be able to say 'i went there and i did this!'? Or is it the more personal journey that matters? is the destination or how one gets there of importance? Falling again back upon buddhist thought- in this case backed by 'convential wisdom'- i have to say it is the journey which is of real significance- although i need to keep reminding myself of this lest i get continually caught up in the swirl of sightseeing and organising the trip. A valuable travelling partner i met along the way- Mukti (a.k.a Rudolf) was very helpful in reminding me of this in the context of my fervour to keep to a tight travel itinerary. Our discussions about what makes 'a good or worthwhile man' and the poem 'Percival' from the composer Wagner were also absorbing.
Overall, the major sense of unease that experienced during my trip has come from a lack of understanding of locals. I have come to see it is to establishing genuine inter-personal connections with people in the places you visit as a fundamental part of any travel experience - and really how can anyone claim to know a place without having met and got to know some of its people? Language plays a big part in this. As well as just stopping, listening and watching, responding, smiling at the right times- exhibiting goodwill. My Hindi is very limited so this hasnt helped me much. Otherwise my attempts at goodwill sharing have, with notable exceptions often come against a brick wall of Indian people's disinterest. Mostly they seem more occuped by their attempts to gather income or maintain their fragile ego. It is almost all males that i have a chance to interact with and younger males seem to almost ineveitably behave with outward agression, portraying an accusing frown when i look questioningly in their direction. Manners (that i can sense) and hospitality towards outsiders are not a strong feature of the general population- 'externalities' are left unconsidered in public spitting, urination, defecation, pushing in lines and it seems that the strong rule over the weak in almost every sense. As my friend mukti quoted 'you really have to force them to do anything'. Another traveller i met said 'nah, you can't be friends with them' when speaking from his experience of rip-offs and false friendliness with Indian people.
When this gets me down, and i feel myself starting to wear the frown that alot of folks are showing me i use tactics like reminding myself- just observe, don't react, don't judge, just be where i am, open eyed- and it seems to work. Another sure fire way when walking along is to start humming to myself the old tune- 'don't worry, be happy' and work myself up to contended song- what kind of idiot could react badly to that tune!
Perhaps in time (with the spread of education and better standards of living) the situation will improve, but my opinion of Hinduism in so much as its commonly practised in Indian society has taken a battering, from a previously idealised image that had survived 3 previous trips to India. Though generalisations are bound to have their limits, I can theorise that Hinduism (poorly understood by most) and the caste system (though officially abolished) doesnt provide a strong enough moral basis for responsible citizens and reinforces human irresponsibility by attributing all outcomes to the will of various gods. In practice Karma seems forgotten, personal flaws are seemingly excused if one shows deference and makes token offerings to various deities, proceeds forked in by greedy temple acolytes. A lack of pride or understanding of the indigenous cultural fruits and achievements of India seems also prevalent.
In trying to answer the question of which religion realises the best practice of social behaviour My friend Mukti who had travelled right across the middle east and central asia en route to India- had a much higher opinion of the behaviour of people in those muslim countries than people in India and spent alot of time trying to tell Indians (mostly hostile to Pakistan) that Pakistanis are good people! He also agreed that buddhists have perhaps the best practice of all religionists. I started to be able to relate a little to those (e.g. Islamists) who dismiss Hinduism as 'idol worship' rather than a genuine delving into the circumstances of human existence- but it depends if you read the vedas or watch the hordes. To be fair, modern moralistic teachers like swami RamaKrishna & Vivekanda seem to have some following.
Perhaps a solution for India could be a broad uprising of the lower caste people to demand equal status and opportunity and take responsibility, affirmative action, for their own plight- why not convert to buddhism en masse? (it has already started in some places) as i'm pretty sure after discussing this with many that most higher castes won't give up their prejudice unless forced.
A question hat has kept reccurring to me when visiting many sacred and anceint temple sites is- why was it that in anceint India, after the great rising of Buddhism, led by kings like Ashoka, cleaning Hinduism of its idolatry and inequality, after 750 years or so, Hinduism again came to hold sway and 'reabosrb' Buddhism into its fold? Hinduisms adaptability is notorious- it's flexibility allowed it to reincorporate Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, while perhaps holding his teachings sacred for a time, while today Buddhas message seems largely forgotten. buddhism placed more personal responsibility on people, it was less mesmirising compared to the flashily impressive, visually stimulating hindu temples (see notes on temples at Ellora caves) and it is a hard message to sell to people that what they think is good for them (i.e. their desires and attachments) is actually the cause of their suffering. Whereas hinduism embraces and worships human life, human emotions and human limitations, Buddhism asks us to rise above and beyond our petty limits using the power of our minds.
I also want to make a note about the male-female balance of Indian society. While it may seem a male dominated society when one considers the trends of dowry, female infanticide, 'sutee' tradition and womens illiteracy, i see a deeper trend of 'femininity' within the culture. Men don't come accross as particularly 'masculine' - they are mostly small and scrawny (though in Mumbai better nourished) and do not appear disciplined or morally upstanding. In the home i would imagine that women are obliged to exercise control beyond their outward appearance of subservience, and here in the home at a young age the motherly ego-buttering of boys begins, increasing male dependence upon female attachment. At least i can say that the masculinity/feminity of a culture is not so simple as it is sometimes portrayed, and i would say both forces need to be cultivated and in balance to promote social progress. Perhaps im also a little frustrated here at the lack of access to female company- for research purposes of course!

In terms of local interaction, perhaps because of the differences mentioned earlier, many travellers in India (and elsewhere) have a tendency to congregate together, seek solace in each others company, sharing complaints about the rip-offs or shoddy transportation system etc. etc. Though this is tempting, to me it kind of defeats the purpose of travelling to another country if one is to privately bag the place and reminisce about home instead of making renewed attempts to discover the place you're in. Keeping in mind that the reception you get from people is often a reaction to the energy that you yourself convey is probably also important, and you've really got to put yourself outside your comfort zone, take some risks to be rewarded with the kind of memorable interactions with locals that really 'make' a trip- learned this in Se Asia where language was a big factor. Next time i'm gonna learn some decent Hindi first- this could make all the difference in India and i'll take at least a few months so i won't be in such a rush. Now im in the south of India Hindi is a less-important language but i'ill still keep learning, and i will try to s l o w d o w n and not be under pressure to hurriedly see what there is to see and get to the next place for the next few weeks (though there's still many places to visit- Hampi, Gokarna, Kerala, Chennai, Mamallapuram)
so the next entry (hopefully in a few days) will introduce the thriving metropolis, economic capital of India- Mumbai, the beaches of Goa at Xmas and ancient Vijaynagar kingdom capital of Hampi. see you then!! merry Xmas and happy new years if i don't write u before then!