The West and India – Preservation vs. Letting Go

                                                        The West:

Preservation in the West is done for two main purposes –

• Historic & cultural purposes to preserve and propagate a group identity
• Commercial purposes

Most preservation is of course commercialised and packed in with the tourist industry.

The culture of preservation:

Climate: Cultures from Cold Cold climates are psychologically attuned to ‘preservation’ since low temperatures preserve objects for longer durations and preservation of food was always a critical activity for survival.

Commerce:  In Europe, there has been the culture of commercialising religious artefacts for centuries which has contributed substantially to the culture of preservation. The declaration of ‘Heritage’ buildings and sites and of course, dating of events – History and the preservation of chronology all derive from this culture both for the preservation of knowledge as well as the generation of revenue. The translation of the culture of preservation to life, health and beauty was only a logical step with the growth of technology, and extensive research still goes on into prolonging life and beauty.

Scientific Temper and the conquest of nature: Science aims at the understanding of as well as, through it’s application, the conquest of nature. Time is seen as ‘Linear’, Creation a one-off accident and Life, a single timeline which must be extended as much as possible.

India:

India today is much affected by the West and is changing, but the impacts of millennia of a certain thought process do not go away in a few centuries of change.  The thought process in India of  yore has always been cyclic – one that seeks to be in harmony with nature.  Everything in nature, including Time is seen as a cycle.

In Hindu cosmology, the Universe is dissolved and recreated every 3.114 Trillion years and Time starts over.  Life and death are seen as cycles, just as a day is the cycle of the earth turning on it’s axis and a year is the cycle of a Solar revolution.

Climate:  The Indian subcontinent is mostly hot and psychologically, the visuals are not of a preservation variety. Food and objects do not get preserved long and the cycles of destruction are fast evident.

It is quite likely that climate has had an important part in the psychology of Indians in focussing on the cycles of creation and destruction, just as preservation could have had a part in impacting the psyche of the inhabitants of colder climates in the West.

Confused India: Because of huge cultural flux and western influence due to education and media, there is much cultural confusion in India today, although most are unaware of it.  For instance, admirers of the West in India (Potentially the whole of India) often complain about the tendency of Indians not to preserve their monuments and history. ‘Look at the West’ they say, ‘See how they preserve their monuments and artefacts and we let them crumble to dust. 

Many Indians today are not aware of their roots hence do not generally understand why India has never been a culture of preservation.

 One of the root principles in Hindu/Jain and Buddhist thought is that everything will eventually be destroyed, so why hold on? Let go and learn to be detached; this has been a very basic principle in almost every philosophy and every religion that has arisen on the subcontinent.

Ganesha and Durga Festivals:

The elephant headed god Ganesha and the Goddess Durga who symbolises Shakti or female strength, are two very popular deities in India. Every year, the festivals of Ganesha and Durga are celebrated with much pomp and fervour.

Skilled artists create statues of Ganesha and Durga and sometimes work on these statues for months before the festivals. During the festivals the statues are worshipped for several days. Many statues are sponsored by local communities ad organisations and can be up to 60 feet in height.

Once the festivities are over, these beautiful statues are taken to the nearest water body (Rivers, wells and seas all qualify) and immersed, amidst much pomp and music of course.

This symbolises the cycle of creation and destruction, even a god must be destroyed… 

The Indian view: Destruction is a certain eventuality so acceptance is the way to go. What is sought is Harmony with, and not the conquest of Nature. Preservation is thus regarded as an exercise in futility.

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