Here is a short follow-up on the Indian trip I returned home from less than two weeks ago.
To me, the degree of religiousness – as far as I can judge from our guides and through close observation – seems amazing. Apparently, there are many Gods in India.
Naturally, this means that there are good and evil Gods. There are “utility Gods” used for a certain purpose. For instance in order to be prosperous as a merchant or in order not to be caught thieving. Some Gods seem to exist for the sole purpose of luxury. You do not need them, but they are quite impressive. For lovers, there are allegedly also very romantic types.
Also, the gods always have some connection or other with animals. For example someone told me that inside a cow’s stomach there are more than three million Gods, all of which, however, are a little different from the next one.
I also got the impression that Indians sometimes create their own God. In my opinion, this is quite an attractive idea – design your “do-it-yourself” God that exactly matches your personal need. After all, we are all individuals and have our very personal “world”, so why not also have our very personal/private God?
More often than not, I got the impression that, in India, there is plenty of religious freedom. However, there are also some Christians and Islamists. In Southern India, for instance, we saw many churches. This was particularly obvious in areas such as GOA, where the Portuguese influence used to be quite strong. Among the Christian Gods, the dominant ones are Jesus and Mary. You will find many images showing them, often pathetically kitschy.
The reason why I noticed Islamists was that I heard the Muezzin calling to prayers everywhere night after night. As I perceived it, there were fewer women on the streets in Islamic areas. And if they were seen, they were mostly wearing Burkas. I saw only few headscarves. Consequently, I am assuming that the Islam in Southern India is a stricter variety. Of course, you will not see images of God.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
On the picture, you can see my office god Ganesh. He is sitting in my managing director’s office and sees to it that all is well at InterFace.
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