You Have to Worship Your Mother as a God

"మాతృ దేవో భావ - Matru deyvo bhava - it means you have to worship your mother as a god."  said Varma this morning.  I raised my eyebrows and flattened my lips hoping to communicate "hmm that's interesting."  Varma is my language teacher and he is teaching me some sacred texts from the Vedas - ancient Hindu writings.  Basically this little part of the text outlines four commandments: Worship your mother as a god, worship your father as a god, worship your teacher as a god, and finally worship your guest as a god.  This core Hindu teaching reveals a lot about India.

First it shows the emphasis of strong family.  There is another Vedas commandment that says outright "don't leave your relatives."  For the most part in India children will not leave their parent's house until they get married; even if they are 35, and even when they do get married a lot of time they move in with Mom and Dad or at least next door.  I remember one time in Delhi a shopkeeper told me to go find a phone and call my Mother immediately; she said she would die if her son was out traipsing around a foreign country.  In the rural areas of India the divorce rate is less than 1% and even in the modern cities it is below 7%; nursing homes don't even exist.

It also reveals the Indian view of education.  Education and learning are priorities here and teachers are to be respected and revered.  My language teacher Varma knows more facts about geography and even my own calendar than I do.  India had universities before the Roman empire even started.  (Unfortunately only the higher castes can afford to take advantage of this)

The last line shows just how important hospitality is to India.  Most families will give you a meal worth weeks of wages just because you are a stranger and a guest.  They treat foreigners like they are Bollywood stars. 

Busy India street in central Hyderabad (just to break up the text really)

It's important to really try to get to know a people before you make assumptions about what they need or don't need, what they believe or don't believe, and why they hold onto their traditions.  Without having discovered these core beliefs it would have been easy to assume that because Indians live at home so late they are fearful and dependent, or that Indian teachers are prideful and condescending, or that Indians' over-the-top hospitality is because they find you exceptionally attractive; when really it is stemming from a tradition of honor.  Honor that extends to the point of divine reverence albeit, but that can be addressed later. 

This is just one tiny example, but immersing yourself as a foreigner and studying a different culture can be incredibly interesting and rewarding.  You can join me if you like…