09 Oct 2009 Vrindavan, India
Category: Western culture
For the new design of the website and also for the profiles of the children, Ramona took pictures of many people. She noticed and then I also realized that Indian people, when they see that someone takes a picture of them, become very serious. One minute they are joking and the next minute they look very seriously into the camera.
Western people on the contrary say ‘Cheese’ and smile or laugh and try to look as happy as possible. I really laughed about this and we are always joking about it now. Then I thought a little bit about why it is like this.
Usually people in the west are very serious and suddenly, when they see a camera, they have a big smile on their faces. And in India it is the other way around! It is about the way that people want to be seen and how they want to present themselves. In the west every presentation is done with a smile because it makes a better impression there. And in India people want to show that they are very serious. So in the west I think people need to learn not only to smile on photos but also in their lives. And people here have to learn to smile in photos, too!
We are now waiting for our friends who will arrive tomorrow at the Ashram. Thomas, Iris, Regina, Jens, Celina and Helga will all arrive on the same date and we are looking forward to welcome them.
Tags:: Happiness, Indian culture, Western culture, Jokes
4 Comments
Posted By Swami Balendu
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What a funny cultural detail! Really precise observation! And it is not only one small empty detail. It is a meaningful indicator if you want to get to know basic features of another culture.
Reply By Mirela on August 23, 2012 02:33
Haha! A great photo to demonstrate your point.
Reply By Kendra from Florida on November 07, 2010 02:44
Today was the last day of the school year 11/12. The children got their report cards, the olde...
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As a person who does not believe in superstition, one sometimes has a difficult time convincing others that their belief is nonsense. You can try and put up the most scientific arguments but a really superstitious person will still not believe you. Nevertheless I believe that superstitions, just like religious belief in general, is in decline.
SourceWhen you trust that you were honest and had a good intention, don’t regret your decision or the result.
SourceEvery Non-Believer is too stupid to understand Religion! – Really?
SourceAs a guru, you can be very respected and holy one day but the next day you can be a nobody. It can happen quickly and for no reason at all. It does not take any time for the respect and love of followers to vanish.
SourceChange is normal and just a sign that you are alive and in the flow of life. We always change for the better when we make a conscious change and decide to change along with times. We are changing in every second and it is better to accept this change than to fight it.
SourceOur stress is created by thinking with ego: I have to do this, I have to be good in that and I should be perfect in another thing. Actually it would be good if I was perfect in everything! Of course this creates stress! We put such high demand on ourselves and on what we should be able to do and to achieve.
SourceReligion welcomes people with an option to only be partly religious. Take as much of it as you want: 20%, 40% or 60%. Hardly anybody will go with 100% but religion does not care, it wants to have you in any way. It is like sugar-coated poison, a drug that promises you a lot and you, carefully, take a bit and don’t notice how you are drawn into it even more.
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SourceVegetarianism starts at home. Show your kids how to caress animals, your cat just like farm cows! Why can you eat a cow, not a cat?
SourceInsecurity in life makes you need assurance by others!
SourceSoul is energy, the life in someone, our basic element, which moves us and keeps us alive. When there is no love in a relationship, we say it is dead. When there is no business in a company we say it is dead. Whenever the basic element of something is gone, we call it dead. When our basic element is gone, we are dead. And our soul is our basic element.
SourceDon’t let your ego keep you from saying sorry. It does not make you small to apologize. Overcome your ego and apologize for the wrong you did.
SourceYoga and Meditation help you lose Weight
SourceIf you are attached to something, you cannot leave expectations and your ego. Attachment always raises expectations.
SourceFull-time schools - are we turning our children into robots?
SourceThe fact that millions of people follow something is no proof that this action is good. Many people followed Hitler, too, but you cannot say that he was right!
SourceI don’t have any experience of God and the experience of others cannot help me. It does not make me believe in God if I read that Jesus talked to God, Mohammed experienced God or Tulsi or Surdas felt God. It even does not help me if my best friend tells me he has lots of experiences with God – as long as I have not had any, I cannot say that I believe in God!
SourceThere are places in this world where women are sold because religion says they are just like objects that a man possesses. Is religion really something you want to believe in?
Source
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