The Indian/Mayan Dilemma
Gordon R Fields III
As a “Westerner” who has grown up in the United Sates of America, I have had little exposure to Eastern ideas and culture, aside from what my culture has to offer me concerning the East. Crazy enough, I have spoken with many people that have been in or are currently in China and they even say that Chinese food in the U.S.A. is not quite what they serve in China. Paradox? I think so! We in the U.S. believe cultures elsewhere are as we perceive them to be. But this is nowhere a reality. While on a recent trip to India, I began to see that I have been given a great miss-service. While there, I was shown that in the U.S., people are rarely given the opportunity to see other cultures in their actuality.The problem is we can only see the culture from the lens that we are exposed to, but is our exposure a farce?
When I was in India, I was profoundly intrigued by the culture, the lives, the organization and the idea that I was taught about this culture. I was intrigued by the idea because it functioned beyond what I understood. It was as if “there is another world out there” and everything that I thought of it was so small as compared to the enormity of it. I came to this end by asking questions like:
-Who are these people?
-What in the world are they doing? It seems like an ant colony in India- people are everywhere and everything seems to get done with no one doing anything.Please don’t take offense.
-And, who in the world taught them to drive?
After questions like these arose, I began to question who I was and what I was doing.
Recently, I was researching the demographics and history of India. Did you know that the written English language, as it was originally derived, came from ancient Indian script? I also didn’t really understand how old the Indian culture really was. It could be the oldest, original, functioning culture in the world today. After finding out this information, I began to reflect. In the West, to our disgrace, we are taught that India is in the “Dark Ages”, as far as advancement. We are only given images of poverty, gender segregation, and little children with no chance to succeed. While this is somewhat true, we need to also learn that India is one of the fastest growing countries in the world when it comes to large business. India also has one of the largest concentrations of small, individually owned businesses in the world. We in the U.S. forget that India practically runs our own Silicon Valley. Some of the best doctors in the U.S. come from India and much of the treatment taken by cancer and chronic patients in the world has been developed by Indian doctors.
But I wonder…the southern part of Mexico had an advanced culture that was later termed the “Mayan Empire”. The Mayan Empire was far more advanced beyond any other culture in that area at that time. However, one day, the whole empire virtually disappeared. How could such a phenomenal culture be wiped out so suddenly and quickly? Was it God?
I am beginning to be of the mind that what we think of in the “Advanced West” isn’t really all that advanced. I am beginning to wonder if “advanced” really matters. What happened to the Mayan Empire? For some reason, the God that I worship decided that the Mayans were no longer needed. But why eliminate such an advanced culture? Maybe it’s because God keeps cultures around that he deems necessary to accomplish his goals.
Now, when I look at India, I see advancement beyond anything my culture taught me about. And, maybe my culture is not so advanced. Maybe my culture is following the examples of the ones they call primitive. And maybe God has kept India around because he isn’t done with it yet. What if God is using India as an example for the world? What if God stirs something up in India this next year for Jesus Christ? What if he has already started? What do you think? Do the gods still have control over India, or does God still have India in his grip?
I am encouraged by Hebrews 3:13-14. It is in this passage that Jesus is being compared to Moses and the teachers are wondering who is greater. It is important to understand that Jesus is God and that he is the greatest but the answer he gives is quite pertinent to what I have written. He says: “…the builder of the house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by some one but God is the builder of everything.”
It is God that has placed me in a culture that is learning to be advanced. Though we may be building a U.S. culture, it is God that has allowed India to be advanced and it is God who has allowed India to stay just that, India.
Email me your questions and comments to:
budgfields@yahoo.com |
