We have inborn and inbred habits which we use diligently all life long. Then there are those acquired ones too. We gather them from others as we sail along in life. Habits makes us different from every other person as we get molded by them.
You are told how to do certain things right from birth. You adapt these methodologies as you grow. In India we use water or health faucet but abroad they all use paper rolls. Each can tell you the advantages or disadvantages. The reluctance to use each others methods stems from ingrained habits. Like they say habits die hard! We brush our teeth with a particular methodology. Using Ayurvedic formulations or some other. Our breakfast is also different. We eat stuff like idli dosa, vadas, fafda, toast, biscuit, rice preparations, chapati, roti, omelet or jelebis. Don’t worry I will also include so much more. But when you have to live abroad then you have cereals, oats, bacon, eggs, etc.. It’s tough to adapt to the new regime of such delicate oil less stuff! Ghee, butter, milk and lots of fat too comprises our meals. Then to eat pasta or noodles becomes painful. But we adapt. Imagine a lion or tiger needs to adapt to pure vegetarian meal! We feel terribly disoriented.
When you visit south Asian countries and smell their kitchens you may feel nauseated and the same is the case when Americans or Europeans visit ours. Everything smells too spicy. It stinks to the heavens. Their food seems extremely bland and tasteless. We use groundnut, sunflower or til oil and the food tastes so well. They all use olive oil and God knows how they eat? They use 1 liter oil in six months and we use one liter gingelly oil in ten days. Our consumption is tens of times higher than theirs.
We soap the head and they don’t. Now with the coming of sophistication we use shampoos, sanitary pads, bathing oils and gels, cosmetics, bikini wax or Brazilian, carry tissues to the toilets, baby diapers and dusting powders, hand lotions and sanitizers, iPads and iPhones, Samsung gadgets and google goggles.
The world is achanging and we are too. We have habits from the past which makes us helpless or tied down and yet we have to adapt to newer ones too.
Going to church on Sunday for mass or temple on Thursdays, praying to Fire or bowing down to the west or sun god, taking prasada or eating fasting foods. Touching feet of elders or doing namaskara.
All these and much more are habits and cultural attributions we gathered in our life times. Some make us who we are and some imitate the west or ape others.
All in all these are certain sanskars that have been imparted by your elders which you may retain. Sometimes we take from others.
Remember to act on those good habits that you have given by your country and culture. Respect elders and pray to God the way you have been taught. Don’t be scared when you suddenly bow down in the middle of a thoroughfare when you see an image of Christ or some God. That’s who we are. Ready to adapt and yet ready to follow our traditional past. Have no qualms to ape the adopted country or follow your hearts call. Retain your image and adapt the new too. Be a World citizen and not a biased human. All gods are one and no one is greater than the other. Each follow their own but we Indians follow all including our own. Such is our habit! “We are like that only! “
