No, I know I'm not technically an Indian. It's not a debate I have inside even, I am very American, even though I only feel this when I'm in India. When I'm in the U.S. I feel very Indian. I don't like things when I'm there that even remind me that I'm not there, lol, yes I'm a bit ridiculous.
But this term going around a LOT these days is cultural appropriation. I don't like the term, I just looked it up to make sure what the exact definition of it is and to see how I felt about it. I don't like it. Here's the meaning from wikipedia: Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture. ... Often, the original meaning of these cultural elements is lost or distorted, and such displays are often viewed as disrespectful by members of the originating culture, or even as a form of desecration.
I do not feel like this applies to me at all and I've never been accused of this, so I'm not so sure why it bothers me so much. I also read an article yesterday written by a girl who was raised in one country but was of two different origins nationality wise and so was cross cultural in every way, but because she looked Asian she was often given shit about those things that are stereotypically someone of Chinese origin. These are her words, not mine. God knows I"m not politically correct, so I don't know if I'm wording these thing properly or not, so forgive me if I'm not.
Anyhow, the point of her writing, and it was a long one, but was very interesting, was that no one really knows her origins so even though they were assuming she's Chinese, she's not, but if she were using the stereotypes to get away with shit then it would be culturally appropriating those things. And she was not was her point. And how can we really do this without actually knowing what culture someone comes from? If you're looking at a woman who looks Asian and assume she's Chinese you're kind of fucked up anyway as there are tons of others such as Korean, Vietnamese, etc, etc... And Indians are Asian, so are Russians technically, and many others that don't look Chinese.
Like I said it was an interesting article and made me think a lot, but I forgot about it until today when I started the first few lines of this book by Shankaranarayana Jois about traditional yoga (and it's in the Green House, and yes he's likely one of Pattabhi's relatives) and the village he came from and all his beginnings, then I remembered the article and then I decided I wanted to write to rid myself of some of these thoughts about this stuff.
I'm reading just the first few paragraphs literally, and I've not gotten any further just yet, but I was wondering about myself. I feel Indian, I know I'm not. I feel I understand many things of their way of life. I feel very in touch with a deeper sense of spirit due to my asana practice, and even more so from my greater yoga practice. Also from going to temples daily. Today even is an auspicious day to visit a Shiva temple because it's a new moon and also a special day for those who worship Shiva, so my friend and drove to Nanjangud and visited the Srikanteshwara temple there, which is about 45 minutes away. We even left super early to avoid the huge crowds that will descend upon this temple on these special days.
But if I had not done that I would have went to my local Shiva temple near Loyal World, because this feels like my tradition. Not some Indian tradition I picked up and blindly follow because I think I'm supposed to, but because in my heart it felt like the thing to do today. So does that make me a cultural appropriator? No, I don't think so.
When I came to yoga in 2000 I immediately was drawn to the stories of how yoga came to us from Shivaa and was studying them and the eight limbs and felt like this was it for me. Like I knew this stuff and had heard of it a long time before. In the US much of the yoga is very separated from it's Hindu roots but for me this has never been the case. So I follow much of the Hindu, or Sanatana Dharma as it's really called, path and do my best to live my life by it.
Do I see much cultural appropriation going on around me? Maybe so, but not so much in the Ashtanga Yoga world, moreso in the other sub sections of "yoga." Am I judgmental about it? Yes but not really at the same time.
My first instinct is to judge them and then I can remember that in the Shaivite teachings that all is Shiva, or all is God and so how can it be wrong what they're doing? It is only one expression of an experience from someone who maybe is not so in touch with their inner divine roots. Ummm, maybe that was judgemental too? Yes, it was, but it's okay. I feel the way I feel.
I love yoga, it's hard, some days feels like it's going to kill me, can be annoying to always be working on myself, but I still love it. I love living my life as a Hindu, going to temple, having my own altar in my home and worshipping at both daily. I love being connected with Indians in general and I love that when someone asks me where I'm from and I say the US but I'm here and love it and won't be going back, they're so proud of their country and say thanks for feeling this way (even though they are usually wanting to leave and go to the US...lol). I also love that often when Indians find out I teach yoga they are thankful for me spreading their culture and then they want me to teach them yoga since it's a lost art among their own people. I also tell them I'm seeing more and more coming to yoga so it will slowly spread around again here.
But most of all what I love is how they are always connecting with you, with me. Good example, Friday night my friend and I went to a local Adi Shakti temple, a Goddess temple and Friday is the typical day to celebrate worshipping the divine feminine, but that Friday in particular was the end of a month of a big celebration of the Goddess so was extra special. So they serve prasad, food offered to the deity first thereby blessed and then given to us. We had already been inside the temple, taken our dracaena with the deity, been given the blessings they typically bestow, we walked around her, and were outside sitting in the courtyard, where there was much activity as those were doing the extra little worshipful things they do on these days. That's too much to share here, maybe another post sometime.
But then they started giving out food inside and many had has their own food they brought blessed by the goddess as well. And all were sharing. So one man came and gestured for us to get inside and get our prasad, his words were all in Kannada the local language but we understood what he meant. Then another and then another, then a man came with his own prasad he'd had blessed and brought it to us so we didn't even have to move. But it was dusk, there was that surreal quality that twilight holds and then all this love towards those, not just us but everyone was making sure everyone was getting food blessed by the goddess, of us who hadn't realised they were serving or hadn't gotten our food yet. That just makes my heart melt and makes me so proud to be a part of this culture, and yes I do feel a part.
I can't explain much more about that experience, maybe in person because you can feel my energy when I'm telling it or see the expression on my face, or hear the intonation in my voice and that would make the experience more palpable for you. But it was something that warms me and makes me feel love for this place I call home and these people I consider my own.
So no, I don't culturally appropriate anything from them. They are happy that I share all the knowledge I have of their culture with other Westerners and are excited to talk about it. They love to hear how much I love it here and that I feel it's my home. And the love to tell me that I've been Indian in past lives otherwise these things would not have blossomed inside me the way they have, so I am an Indian to them. I also love hearing them as well.
Thanks for reading!
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