Topic 2 A Stranger in Strange Lands Word 97.docx
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Topic 2 A Stranger in Strange Lands Word 97.docx
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Topic2AStrangerinStrangeLandsWord97
Topic2–AStrangerinStrangeLands
(Doweallchoosethesameway?
)
30/9/2010
[ThistopicisbasedprimarilyonSheenaIyengar(2010),TheArtofChoosing,Little,Brown,chapter2‘AStrangerinStrangeLands’,p.22-73.]
TheauthorSheenaIyengaroriginallystudieddifferentreligiousgroupstofindouthowreligionaffectsone’soutlookonlife.Later,asadoctoralstudentshecomparedtheconstructionandpracticeofchoiceacrosscultures.Sheexaminedculturaldifferencesandalsoeverydayfactorsthataffectourchoices.Thisisthefocusofherbook‘TheArtofChoosing’,whichdrawsontheacademicfieldsofpsychology,business,economics,biology,philosophy,culturalstudies,publicpolicyandmedicine.
I.ABlessedUnion
OnanAugustmorningover40yearsago,KanwarJitSinghSethiwokeatdawntopreparefortheday.Hebeganwithaceremonialbath;wearingonlyhiskachchha,thetraditionalSikhundergarmentofwhitedrawstringshorts,hewalkedintothebathingroomofhisfamily’sDelhihome.Inthesmallspacelitbyasinglewindow,hesatonashortwoodenstool,thestonefloorcoldbeneathhisbarefeet.Hismotherandgrandmotherenteredthebathingroomandanointedhimwithvatna,afragrantpasteofturmeric,sandalwood,milk,androsewater.Thentheyfilledabucketwithwaterandpouredcupfulsoverhisheadandshoulders.
KanwarJit’smotherwashedhishair,whichfelltothemiddleofhisback,andhisbeard,whichreachedtohisbreastbone;inaccordancewithSikhtradition,theyhadneverbeencut.Afterhishairwasclean,shevigorouslymassageditwithfragrantoilandrolleditintotightknots,tyinghishairatophisheadandbeardbeneathhischin.Afterdonninghisbestsuit,KunwarJitcutanimpressivefigure:
28yearsold,160pounds,sixfeettallinhisbrightredturban.Onecouldnothelpbutbedrawntohisappearanceandjollydemeanour,hissofteyesandeasyway.Hewalkedthroughthedoorsintothecourtyard,wherenearlyahundredfriendsandrelativeshadgathered,tobeginhiscelebrations.
Severalblocksaway,23-year-oldKuldeepKaurAnandstartedhermorninginmuchthesameway,thoughshewas,inmanyrespects,KanwarJit’sopposite.Atadiminutivefivefootoneand85pounds,andasshyasKanwarJitwasoutgoing,shedidn’tcallattentiontoherself,insteadfocusingherkeeneyesonothers.Aftertheceremonialbath,shedressedinanorangesarithatmatchedtheonewornbyMumtaz,herfavouriteactress,inthatyear’shitfilmBrahmachari.Shewelcomedthemanyguestsnowarrivingatherhouse,allofthemsmilingandwishingherthebestforthefuture.
Inbothhomes,thefestivitiescontinuedthroughoutthedaywithplattersofcheeseandvegetablepakorasprovidingsustenanceforallthemeetingandgreeting.Atdusk,eachhouseholdbegantopreparefortheMilni,theceremonyinwhichthetwofamilieswouldcometogether.AtKanwarJit’shome,abandarrived,playingatraditionalsongontheshehnai,areedinstrumentthoughttobringgoodluck.Awhitehorsecoveredwithabrownembroideredrugcametoo;KanwarJitwouldrideittoKuldeep’shome.Butbeforehesetoff,hissistercoveredhisfacewithasehra,severaltasselsofgoldentwinedwithflowersthathungfromhisturban.ThenKanwarJitmountedthehorseand,flankedbyhisfamily,rodetohisdestination,thebandleadingtheway.
Atherhome,Kuldeepstoodatthefrontdoorsinginghymnswithherfamily.HerfacewascoveredbyanornatelyembroideredveilgiventoheryKanwarJit’smother.Whentheprocessionarrived,shehnaiblaringandtablabeating,KanwarJitandKuldeepexchangedgarlandsofrosesandjasmine.Atthesametime,eachmemberofonefamilyspeciallygreetedhisorhercounterpartintheotherfamily.Mothergreetedmother,sistergreetedsister,andsoon.Thesefamilial“couples”alsoexchangedgarlands.ThefamiliesthencelebratedbysinginganddancinguntilitwastimeforKanwarJit’sfamilytodepart.
Thenestdayatdawn,Kuldeep’sandKanwarJit’sfamiliestravelledtoanearbytemplefortheceremonyofAnandKaraj,orBlessedUnion.KanwarJit,againwearingaredturbananddarksuit,kneltinfrontofthewoodenaltarthatheldtheGuruGranthSahib,theSikhholybook.Kuldeep,wearingapinksalwarkameez,andoutfitofloosepantsandalongtunic,kneltbesidehim,anopaqueveilwithgoldtasselscoveringheralmosttothewaist.Aftersinginghymnsandsayingprayers,KanwarJit’sgrandfathertiedoneendofalongscarftohisgrandson’shandandtheotherendtoKuldeep’shand.Connectedinthisway,thecouplecircledtheGuruGranthSahibfourtimes.TheypausedaftereachcircuittoheartheSant,orholyman,readaprayerrelatedtotheirunion:
karma,dharma,trust,andblessings.Afterward,incelebration,bothfamiliestossedmoneyandgarlandsatthecouple’sfeet.ThenKanwarJitliftedtheveiland,forthefirsttime,sawhiswife’sface.
Thisishowmyparentsweremarried.Everydetailoftheceremonywasdecidedforthem,fromwhomtomarrytowhattoweartowhattoeat.ItwasallpartofacloselyfollowedculturalscriptthathadevolvedovertimeintotheSikhtraditionsthattheyandtheirfamiliesadheredtoonthatday.WheneverImentiontopeoplethatmyparentsmetforthefirsttimeontheirweddingday,themostcommonreactionisshock:
“Theirfamiliesdecidedonthematch?
Howcouldyourparentsletthathappentothem?
”Simplyexplainingtopeoplethatthisisthewaymarriagesweredecideduponinmyfamily–inmostIndianfamilies–doesnotseemtosatisfytheircuriosityordiminishtheirincredulity.Onthesurface,peopleunderstandthatthereareculturaldifferencesinthewaymarriagescomeabout.Butthepartthatreallydoesn’tsitwell,thepartthattheysimplycan’twraptheirheadsaround,isthatmyparentsallowedsuchanimportantchoicetobetakenoutoftheirhands.Howcouldtheydosuchathing,andwhy?
II.AMatterofFaith
[Keywords:
religiouscategories;fundamentalist;conservative;liberal.]
Domembersofreligiousfaithsexperiencegreaterhelplessnessintheirlives?
Idecidedtoembarkonastudyexaminingtheeffectsofreligiousadherenceonpeople’shealthandhappiness.ForthenexttwoyearsIvisitedsynagogues,mosquesandchurches,interviewingover600peoplefromninedifferentreligions.
Thesefaithswerecategorizedasfundamentalist(Calvanism,Islam,andOrthodoxJudaism),whichimposedmanyday-to-dayregulationsontheirfollowers;conservative(Catholicism,Lutheranism,Methodism,andConservativeJudaism);orliberal(UnitarianismandReformJudaism),whichimposedthefewestrestrictions.
Infact,somebranchesoftheliberalreligionsdon’tevenrequirememberstobelieveinGod,andthelargestpercentageofUnitarianUniversalistsdescribedthemselvesassecularhumanists,followedbythosewithanearth-ornature-centredspirituality.
Tomysurprise,itturnedoutthatmembersofmorefundamentalistfaithsexperiencedgreaterhope,weremoreoptimisticwhenfacedwithadversity,andwerelesslikelytobedepressedthantheircounterparts.Indeed,thepeoplemostsusceptibletopessimismanddepressionweretheUnitarians,especiallythosewhowereatheists.
Thepresenceofsomanyrulesdidn’tdebilitatepeople;instead,itseemedtoempowerthem.Manyoftheirchoicesweretakenaway,andyettheyexperiencedasenseofcontrolovertheirlives.
Restrictionsdonotnecessarilydiminishasenseofcontrol,andfreedomtothinkanddoasyoupleasedoesnotnecessarilyincreaseit.Theresolutionofthisseemingparadoxliesinthedifferentnarrativesaboutthenatureoftheworld–andourrolewithinit–thatarepasseddownfromgenerationtogeneration.
III.TheIndividualandtheCollective
Viewsonchoicevarybycultureandoneparticularfeaturehasprovedespeciallyusefulforunderstandinghowtheideasandpracticeofchoicevaryacrosstheglobe:
thedegreeofindividualismorcollectivism.JapanvstheUS(wherewearetaughttofocusprimarilyonthe“I”whenchoosing)provideausefulcasestudy.
Whenmakingachoice,doyoufirstandforemostconsiderwhatyouwant,whatwillmakeyouhappy,ordoyouconsiderwhatisbestforyouandthepeoplearoundyou?
Wherewefallonthecontinuumbetweenoneextremeandanotherisaproductofourculturalupbringingandthescriptwearegivenforhowtochoose–inmakingdecisions,arewetoldtofocusprimarilyonthe“I”oronthe“we”?
Individualism
ModernindividualismhasitsmostdirectrootsintheEnlightenmentof17thand18thcenturyEurope,whichitselfdrewonavarietyofinfluences:
theworksofGreekphilosophers,especiallySocrates,Plato,andAristotle;ReneDescartes’attempttoderiveallknowledgefromthemaxim“IthinkthereforeIam”;theProtestantReformation’schallengetothecentralauthorityoftheCatholicChurchwiththeideathateveryindividualhadadirectlinetoGod;andthescientificadvancesbysuchfiguresasGalileoandIsaacNewtonthatprovidedwaystounderstandtheworldwithoutrecoursetoreligion.
Theseledtoanewworldview,onethatrejectedthetraditionsthathadlongruledsocietyinfavourofthepowerofreason.Eachpersonpossessedtheabilitytodiscoverforhimselfwhatwasrightandbestinsteadofdependingonexternalsourceslikekingsandclergy.
ThefoundingfathersoftheUnitedStateswereheavilyinfluencedbyEnlightenmentphilosophy,inparticularJohnLocke’sargumentsfortheexistenceofuniversalindividualrights,andinturnincorporatedtheseideasintotheUSConstitutionandBillofRights.ThesigningoftheDeclarationofIndependencecoincidedwithanothermilestoneinthehistoryofindividualism:
A
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