Mumbai; religion and spirituality

Mike, the jeweler's full name is Makesh Sahijwani and his company is called Ashoka Jewellers. An incipient friendship developed. The morning of my last day in Goa, I met Mike is his shop around 10:30 a.m. to pick up the two rings I had purchased and which were produced during the night. I was very pleased with with the result. When I get an independent opinion of price vs value, I hope to remain as pleased. He opened and we walked into his shop together. As soon as he unlocked the door and we entered he lit an incense stick and proceeded for the next 2-3 minutes to wave the smoldering stick throughout the shop, in the corners, under the counters and even outside of the display window. He then removed his shoes, placed his hands in a prayer position and bowed silently before two idols on a shelf. I was to learn that one was of Sai Baba, an Hindu saint, and the other of Ganesh,the elephant god who is the son of Shiva and Pavrati. My look of wonderment led to a half hour discussion concerning the Hindu religion with Mike. Mike is admittedly very religious. He opens each day in his shop by cleansing the air of bad spirits ( he used the words "evil eye") and offering his prayers to his personal saint and to Ganesh, the god of good business. When I told him that I thought that Lakshmi was the goddess of good fortune and business, he corrected me-Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth but first you must have good business. He told me of several events during his life where the gods have given him signs and showed me a Hinduized horoscope recently presented to him by his good friend, the astrologer who officed in the space next door.According to the horoscope, Mike was strongly advised to respect and treat well his daughter-in-law as she is a goddess.
Mike , who revealed that this astrologer is well known throughout India, then called out and introduced me to the astrologer, who, I must say, appeared to be a dignified, rational and educated man. We talked briefly. When I told him I was on my way to the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, he smiled and said that the owner of the Taj hotel chain (similar in stature to the Four Seasons or Ritz)was a client and close friend and offered to contact him on my behalf. I thanked him but said it was unnecessary. Not only was I given an unusually splendid room at the Taj, but in it when I arrived was a huge basket of fruit, a bottle of wine and and invitation to a free dinner, complements of my astrologer.

Took an hour to reach the airport from Ft Aguado Hotel, during which my driver riddled me with questions concerning the U.S., employment opportunities and difficulties of gaining entry. He earns , as a driver, 3000 rupees a month ($75), in season, an additional 3000 rupees a month in tips, puts away in savings 1000 rupees per month, all while supporting his two daughters and his wife. Interesting comment--of all tourists, he like Americans the best. The worst are Russians and Israelis, particularly Israelis, who do drugs, bigtime, and often land up in prison.

Flight to Mumbai was uneventful, although I continue to be impressed by Jet Airlines, a recently created domestic carrier. Should that company open in Chicago, United would be gone within weeks. The drive from the airport to the Taj Mahal Hotel, covered the entire city from north to south, a distance of 45 kilometers, all without a single expressway. The driver was an accomplished honker.

OBSERVATION 2 ON RELIGION--India's mysticism or spirituality is the magnet which has always drawn me to visit India. My visit not only compelled me to read up on the subject pre-trip, but has afforded me a wonderful opportunity to speak to many Indians about their beliefs and attitudes concerning their religion, philosophy or related cosmic concepts.

The people of India, except for the 500 or so years of Muslim rule when Muslim rulers tried to Islamize the subcontinent, have been free to believe as they chose and practice whatever supported those beliefs. Given that freedom coupled with the permissive and humanistic nature of primitive religious development on the subcontinent it is not surprising that Indians, more than any other people, have created a society built on religion, the complexity and elasticity of which confounds all but who have been raised in it's traditions. Mark Twain said, when it comes to religion, all countries are paupers but India is millionaire.

Pre-Aryan Indian history does not exist. Hinduis is drived from the four Vedas, unwritten sciptures ( I guess they can't be scriptures if they're unwritten)consisting not as history but of hymnals, orally passed down from generation to generations by the Brahmins and ultimately written in Sanskrit as the Book of Knowledge, and amplified by further by the Laws of Manu and written liturgy call the Upanishads covering human duties. Around 1000 B.C. as Aryan civilization spread further east to occupy the Gangetic plain (surrounding the Ganges) two epics, the Maharabata and the Ramayana were written much in the form of the Iliad and Odyssey but much greater in length containing aside from their inherherant poetic richness, further rules for "right living" The Mahabatata, a story about a monumental struggle for territorial power around the plains of Delhiamong rival Aryan cousins, contains a religiophilosophic dialogue Called Bhagavad Gita ("Song of the Blessed Lord") which has since become to Hindus as the Bible is to Jews and Christians. I often find a bible in the nite stand of the the rooms that I occupy; I always find a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. (I was just brought an unrequested pot of coffee by the Business Center staff who noticed that I been typing for more than a half hour and the waiter is standing behind me apparently waiting to refill the cup when necessary--what a joint!!!)

I'll have more to say on this fascinating and absorbing subject, but I've got a date at the Maharashtra Lawn Tennis Club. See you.