Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

It's a day of mixed emotions today. While Thanksgiving is being celebrated in an economically-ravaged America, millions of people in India sit glued to their TV sets watching the today's terror attacks in Mumbai. God's name is surely being invoked on this day, perhaps more than usual.

Thanksgiving was a holiday that was meant to be thankful to God for providing us with prosperity. As I reflected on the economic and civil unrest that we are experiencing today, as well as on God's possible role in the situation, a quote came to mind: " You ask, 'In the Holocaust, where was God?' The question is 'Where was man?'"

God created a perfect world, with flawless laws of nature. However, in our own greed, we have egregiously exploited our environment and fellow man--and the karmic repercussions had to emerge eventually. Today, people might look to the heavens in their search for an answer to how their home was snatched from them, or why innocent people have become victims of terrorist attacks. But, as Neil Peart wrote in the Rush song Territories:
The whole wide word and endless universe
Yet we keep looking through the eyeglass in reverse.
Did you know that the popular notion of the original Thanksgiving being celebrated as a harmonious union of Pilgrims and Indians has been has been significantly romanticized by historians and teachers. Many of the early settlers arrived in the Americas knowing full well of the natives there, and with the intent of grabbing their land and riches. Check out this article Deconstructing the Myths of “The First Thanksgiving”,to read 11 myths about the holiday. Considering the complete disenfranchisement of the native Americans over the last two centuries, it seems as though the day should not be one merely of thanks, but also one of acknowledgment that the riches they enjoy today came at a great expense for an entire race of people.

In an equally interesting article, David Hulme writes about the first American astronaut's return to earth, and how their belief in God was galvanized upon seeing earth from space. Yet upon their return, they realized what a mess man was making of the place:

They did not return to a place as beautiful as they had seen it from a distance. Once close enough, they could see the pollution and despoliation of the earth by man's hand. In orbit they could probably barely identify the countries where war was still raging. Once back on the ground they could see the violence on the streets.
Perhaps its a good time for all of us to look within--to dig a bit deeper into our own souls for answers rather than appeal to God for answers. Vedic philosophy explains how we are each responsible for our own circumstances; it is our own desire and karmas that bring us into every new context. By looking into our own actions and misdeeds as individuals and communities--we will see how, through our own unbridled deisres and insensitivity, we have mistreated each other, animals, and the environment, and created these social and economic problems that are plaguing us today. In the process, we will also find that God has provided us with the wonderful capacity for humility, generosity, and empathy--the exact tools we need to create a true and lasting climate of peace and prosperity.

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