Preparing for the India

This week's read is "Holy Cow", by Sarah MacDonald, who goes on her own personal adventure to India. As she finds herself in a near fatal situation, she is presented with the realization that she doesn't really know what comes after death. Being in India provides a golden opportunity to ask big questions about the afterlife because it is home to a variety of faiths and an attitude of religious freedom that few countries have. India is home to Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. As she searches for an answer to her questions, she meets people from each walk of life who allow her into their inner circles.

After all of her searching, I find it very enlightening that when she is faced with another life or death situation, she is confronted with the reality that knowing one God who exists to bring control and peace is the only answer that satisfies.

As she chats on the plane with a fellow passenger "...about the wonderful nature of Buddhism, she asks me if I'll stick to his teachings. Seeing I can't be a Jew, I begin to say yes. But I stop. We are high above the Himalayas and I just heard a propeller splutter and stall... [M]y two weeks of Buddhist training practically fall into my pants. I scream. My hands are sweating, my heart is pumping and my mind is clutching at life like a randy dog to a leg. The propeller starts again but I've buried my Buddhist belief. I don't want to die. I like life. I'm completely attached to this body and this realm. I try to stop trembling and meditate. I can't... The emptiness of Buddhism sits heavy in my stomach. I actually find myself praying. For the first time in my life I want to believe there's a God who's in control. I realize I desire salvation more than the prospect of centuries of learning to control my mind."

I am both nervous and excited about my upcoming trip to India. I know that I will be faced with a variety of faith paths and a plethora of gods, each seeking to provide for my every need. The reality that I have one God who can do 1000 times more than any of theirs, even all put together, gives me this amazing sense of peace. However, I want to honor and respect those people who hold their faith as dear as I hold mine. I am eager to learn from others and an eager to see what God shows me in this new country.

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