United Friends Challenge #227 - On a Mission with a Missionary

Bonnymom's Challenge

We learn a great deal about others from conversation. Imagine you are engaged in conversation with someone. This can be a conversation between you and someone whom you wish to know -- you decide whom -- or between two fictional characters. Write that conversation. In either case, it will clearly be fictional. Try to make it clear in the conversation whom you are talking to, and also what the subject is.

DIALOGUE ONLY, PLEASE!

 

"Hi, you must be from Mexico."

"No, I am not."

"From Pakistan."

"OK, you are almost there."

"From India."

"Yes, The third guess, is a charm."

"My brother visited India and brought back such beautiful pictures and memories."

"Yes, India is that kind of place, it makes you  pay attention, even when you are asleep."

"He loved the Food, the people, the colours, though he was aghast at the levels of Poverty and of course the Rigid Caste system."

"Of course, India is well known for her Poverty and Caste system. Where did he visit?"

"He was in the Slums of Mumbai."

"Hmm.. why the Slums when he could have visited the usual tourist spots with a more grand view of what India is, like Jaipur, Agra, Delhi? Is he a missionary?"

"Yes he is."

"Ah! I see."

"I notice you have a dot on your forehead, so you are  a Hindoo?"

"Yes, I am."

"I dont mean to offend you but I am curious. May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, I will try to answer."

"What caste are you?"

"I am a Kshatriya."

"What does that mean?"

"The Warrior Caste."

"So then  you have to marry within your own caste."

"No, not really, my husband isnt the same caste as mine and we are doing fine."

"Oh! Does that mean you are now Out of Caste?"

"How do you mean out of caste?"

"Like Ex-communicated from your caste, being boycotted and ties severed between your people and you."

"No, I haven’t been boycotted by my people. Our families and clans are still our family and clan."

"I heard that the caste system is rigid.  My brother thought it was very discriminatory the way it worked in the community.  The lower caste not allowed to the temple is kind of sad, dont you think?"

"Yes, it is rigid in villages and remote areas of India where the levels of education(not literacy) is low.  It is different in the cities. I havent seen anyone barred from temples in cities.  It is very discriminatory.  No matter where you go in this world you will find prejudiced people practicing some form of discrimination, only the name will be different. India is no different. Only the Ratio is very visible cause we make 15% of the world's population."

"Forgive my ignorance, I heard that the Hindus worship a Million Gods, is that true? "

"We don’t have a Million Gods, but A Higher power, who appears to us in a Million forms. To each individual God appears in the form they are most receptive to. But yes, to an outsider who doesnt understand the nuance of Hindu Philosophy, it does look like a Million Gods being worshipped."

"So why do you have so many idols your Temples with so many different names?"

"The same reason you have Jesus on the Cross in your Churches.  It is an object to help us Focus our Intent and Attention or in your case remind you of sacrifice.  Hindus believe every mind, though from the same source has different properties. Therefore each person will perceive in accordance to the property of their mind. Very much like the properties of the different elements in Chemistry, each element has atoms in their basic makeup but they all behave differently to different factors. So we have many forms and names for our Idols/God depending on how we perceive the energy."

"How do you get salvation?"

"Salvation? as in Saved ?"

"Yes."

"We dont believe we need to be saved.  To be saved, you must be in Danger. When all of existence is God, what are we being saved from?"

"So what does a Hindu believe happens when you die?  "

"The answer to that would depend on the individual Hindu you ask. Some believe they will re-incarnate according to their Karma, some believe that they will be part of Nature’s recycle bin, some believe they will attain Moksha – liberation from the cycle of birth and death in Form. I believe, it will depend on where I am in my soul’s learning experience.  But whatever will be, Will be what it should be."

"So you could re-incarnate as a lowly animal?"

"I could be re-incarnated as an Animal, Yes! But I don’t think it is lowly. "

"What do you mean?"

"Hindus believe, Everything Emanated(not created), from the All pervading Source, called God, for purposes of communication.  Creating is taking some form of matter and forcibly make it into something that it wasn’t going to be. Emanate on the other hand is “coming out” from something that was Already There.  Since all of existence is Emanate, there is no HIGH or LOW forms of  existence.  Everything that exists in its manifest and unmanifest forms are here because they were to be here. So Yes, I could be incarnated as an Animal... but the reality is, it isn’t High or Low to be one. "

"That sounds like New-Age philosophy."

"Well, New-Age Philosophy is nothing but Old-Age Philosophy re-packaged Newly. If you have doubts, you could check out the translations of books of the Hindus, called the Upanishads, Darshanas and the Epics of Ramayana and Mahabharatha or just the Bhagawad Gita which is a part of the Mahabharatha."

"Does that mean that you never look for salvation?"

"I don’t think we have that concept in Hinduism… We have the concept of Being Whole or Being One which means we learn through our experiences as Human beings to cultivate - acceptance of what we are, being grateful for what we have, being responsible for the choices we make, knowing that nothing is impossible as long as we are willing to do, aligning ourselves through our thoughts, intentions, words and actions to live in Harmony with all that is around us, knowing what we see outside, is what we are within ourselves."

"What about Sin? Do you have the concept of Sin and Punishment?"

"We Call it Karma, but it isnt like Sin.  Karma is a natural consequence to an action or inaction(Choice).   Sin is missing the mark. In Hinduism we dont miss a mark cause that is where we were supposed to be.  We are in constant state of change and each place we reach is a place we made a choice to be. Every choice has a consequence(Karma), which You call it punishment when it pains you, and call it reward, when it gives you pleasure. "

"Oh! its late, I have a train to catch.  It was a pleasure talking to you."

"Thank you…The pleasure was mine, cause your asking has made it more evident of what I know for myself."

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