Indian Honor Killings
I had never heard of honor killings with religious Hindus before this New York Times article. So crazy sad.
I have sketchy memories of middle school world history classes talking about castes and being really disturbed (even then I had these shiny, spiritual, fresh-from-the-Ganges images of India). This article got me taking a look at what I think about when I think about India.
When I think of India and yoga, they are as much linked in the present as the past, like I'll have to go there someday if I'm serious about this path. It's certainly reinforced by many of the blogs I read. But although the seed of yoga began there, the branches have spread damn far (and good on it). Not always so sure I have to go to India to truly "be" a yogi. Holiness doesn't exist more in India than it does anywhere else in the world, and to place Indians on a pedestal like that isn't fair, either. Revelation occurs in the mind and not in a location.
It isn't too far off to say that the India I have in my head involves a fair amount of the population walking around with beatific expressions on their face, while the other half tug on my clothes for basic human needs. It's a mixture of Kumbh Mela and Slumdog Millionaire. Honestly, what it comes down to is, I don't know enough. And the envisioning I sometimes get myself into isn't good for me, and isn't true for India.
For a sequence, I recommend checking out Maria Cristina's Moving Through My Vinyasa. In addition to often posting great sequences, her posts help me when I'm feeling as meandering and unsure as this entry sounds.
I have sketchy memories of middle school world history classes talking about castes and being really disturbed (even then I had these shiny, spiritual, fresh-from-the-Ganges images of India). This article got me taking a look at what I think about when I think about India.
When I think of India and yoga, they are as much linked in the present as the past, like I'll have to go there someday if I'm serious about this path. It's certainly reinforced by many of the blogs I read. But although the seed of yoga began there, the branches have spread damn far (and good on it). Not always so sure I have to go to India to truly "be" a yogi. Holiness doesn't exist more in India than it does anywhere else in the world, and to place Indians on a pedestal like that isn't fair, either. Revelation occurs in the mind and not in a location.
It isn't too far off to say that the India I have in my head involves a fair amount of the population walking around with beatific expressions on their face, while the other half tug on my clothes for basic human needs. It's a mixture of Kumbh Mela and Slumdog Millionaire. Honestly, what it comes down to is, I don't know enough. And the envisioning I sometimes get myself into isn't good for me, and isn't true for India.
For a sequence, I recommend checking out Maria Cristina's Moving Through My Vinyasa. In addition to often posting great sequences, her posts help me when I'm feeling as meandering and unsure as this entry sounds.
