It is said that a common belief in traditional (though perhaps not ancient) India was that travelling beyond the seas that surround the subcontinent would make a man impure... robbed of his caste, his religion. It was also said that travelling to the char dhams would bring salvation from the cycle of births and deaths, will wash our sins. Today an Indian eyes new York accross 2 seas (why is it seven seas by the way?), and may not have visted his neighbourhood shrine.
The average countryside man in europe or Russia prior to the Rennaissance would have scoffed at a desire to go beyond his town. When a passionate marxist youth tells a bunch of jew men in Fiddler on the Roof that the 'world out there is changing', they said what does it have to do with us. And moreover were they not safe in their haven odf a jew community in roman catholic Russia? Did not the Good Book say that we are one kind of people, the chosen people and they another?
When the colonial era arose on the world did Europe set out the discover the world! To conqure, civilise, explore, educate, proselytise or in some cases to free their own souls. The churning of time and ideolgies brought the formation of America, the land where all our highest ideals were to be realised and lived. Such an ideal land that there is nothing beyond to be seen. Its borders mark the end of the modern, liberal, civilised world, bracketing it off from the rest of the vast mass of barbarians, underdeveloped, pitiable and recently terrorist elements. An average american feels no need to know where India lies on the map, while even small town indians could correct you that Washington lies on the east coast, and california on the other.
And the buddhist monk who travels all over Asia, or the muslim historian of yesteryear.
Aggassi who breakfasts in USA and travels to london from Lunch.
Our ideas of travel have much to do with our beliefs. Not all nations at all times have had a culture of travelling beyond their borders. It is a mindset. When Brit upon brit would travel to Africa and asia and write books about how 'they live out there' you are bound to have an influx, and not so before.
Even our books... lord of the rings, eragon, a travl to another universe, science fiction... a move beyond current paradigms...
These trends speak much of the ways in which we view the world and live our lives... Travl sparks off conquest and spiritual quest,
2 comments:
It would be quiite an interesting convo if we ever had one...
Someone talking about paradigms with books in current context hasn't happened in a long time...
ha ha...ya its queeit an interesting area to discuss...tho i dint know where to go with it at that time...as you will see i left it at a comma..was blank after it...
say wot u think of it...perhaps more dimensions will emerge...
Post a Comment