It has been a pretty incredible final week in India. We were able to spend some time traveling all over the country side near Coonoor: seeing the sights of Lamb's Rock and Dolphin's Nose. These are big tourist attractions but they grant sprawling views of the widening tea valleys and distant waterfalls that are worth the crowds and the wait. Most of the week I spent preparing for my final project: A sermon on the text John 12:31-36, with liberation theology emphasis, using some exegetical methods we learned from Indian scholars while we took classes here. I can't really complain about this homework assignment as I got to prepare it by walking around the market, sucking on ripe mangos as I thought about sermon topics and stories, or as I sat at the local tea cafe typing up my final manuscript. All went well and I am glad to report that, sermon already delivered and recieved, that I have officially survived my first year at Princeton Theological Seminary.
My favorite memory from this week is probably from meeting a poetically dualistic man at the nearest Chai (tea) Hut next to St. Andrews Center. It is literally a little road side stand that sells bags of fresh tea leaves, dried to perfection and mixed with local spices and herbs. I stopped by to buy a big bag of masala to bring home with me and stayed with a friend to drink a cup of hot and fresh tea for 7 rupees (about 13 cents) and chat with the proprietor. His names was Chandra and he lived in two worlds. The very name Chandra means "moon" in Hindi (one of the national languages of India) and "sun" in Tamil (the local language of Coonoor). He was a Hindu-Christian, trying fervently to embrace both faiths but struggling with the balance. He explained to me how he was born and raised Hindu and loves the traditions of the gods, narrative, colorful tales, and hospitality steeped within that culture. I shared with him my own experiences with my love for those things of Hinduism, in addition to how much the Upanishads have impacted my own spiritual growth. He recieved a tamil Bible as a gift and while reading it found so many links between Jesus peace making antics that he found it to align really well with his own Hindu mindset. So he began to embrace both worlds in tandem, a feat I respect and admire. However, his interactions with Christian missionaries in Coonoor have disappointed him in the actual practice of Christianity in India. "They drive their fancy cars and spend all of their money in the market place while simply getting up to preach on sundays. They dont treat the poor or work for peace the way Jesus did," he said. So instead he sends 100 rupees a month to a televangelist in Chennai to pray for his family. I shared with him why I was in Coonoor, and some of the things that I believe concerning the Sacred. We had a really pleasant and meaningful conversation about Hinduism and Christianity and the need in the world for authentic ministry. He asked if while I was here this summer, if I would come and pray for him and his family once a week. I said that of course I would, only if he didn't attempt to pay me. And he agreed to take me to his Hindu Temple for a fire walking festival later in this summer. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship, full of learning, prayer, and of course, tea.
I saw the Taj Mahal today, a beautiful tomb and mosque. There is something intriguiging to me about that combination and the toruism that surrounds it. In just a few hours I am off to Istanbul, Turkey with John and Carson and then onto the UK, Iceland, and eventually the great foreign land of Alabama.
Light and love and chai,
Brittany/Muskaan
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