Swamiji TV

Other links



Podcast details

Cultural shock

Culture shock arises from encountering profoundly unfamiliar ways of life. Growing up in a small village without modern addresses creates a different reality. Arriving in a vast, cold city presents immediate practical challenges, from frozen hands to navigating apartment buzzers. Simple, ingrained routines like personal hygiene become complex puzzles in a new environment, requiring improvisation with unfamiliar tools. Historical and regional differences in sanitation highlight that modern conveniences are recent developments. The visceral shock extends to encountering different dietary practices, where the sight and smell of meat and alcohol can be deeply distressing for those unaccustomed to them. This shared experience calls for greater sensitivity and accommodation in shared spaces like air travel.

"Of course, hygienic conditions are much better now than at that time. So, there are culture shocks."

"For such a person, seeing hanging dead bodies... it is very hard, very hard."

Filming location: Vép, Hungary

When I arrived, I experienced a profound culture shock. It took me a few months, or even two or three years, to overcome it. It is similar to when you go to India and face a culture shock. This entire kind of civilization was unknown to me, as I grew up in a small village of only fifty houses. There were no street names or house numbers. The address was simply the name of the village, "near the banyan tree, behind the water well." That was the address. It implies the banyan tree has been there forever. When I first landed at London airport, it was Christmas time. I was wearing only rubber sandals, like bathroom slippers, one lungi (dhoti), and a shawl, with a shaved head. Outside, it was minus 20 degrees Celsius. I landed at Heathrow, but my luggage landed at another airport. It took several hours for the luggage to be brought by bus from Birmingham to Heathrow. I had an old-style Indian suitcase made of metal—a painted metal box. They asked me to open it, but my hands were so frozen I couldn't even hold the key to unlock it. Eventually, I took a taxi. The driver dropped me in front of a building with about thirty floors, saying, "Here you are, sir." I got out, but where was I to go? There was no "Banyan Tree" address. I asked, "Which house? Where is it?" He just said, "There, there." There were buttons and bells. Which button should I press? I had never seen such a thing in my life; I didn't know how these buttons functioned. I stood there for a long time, freezing, until someone came out. I asked that person for help, and they took me to the seventh floor. The host, who was waiting for me, opened the door and gave me a blanket to sleep on the sofa in the living room. It was a Sunday, and they slept until 10 o'clock. Everything was dark; the sun still hadn't risen. In winter, especially in London, everything is foggy and dark. Then I needed to use the toilet. I went and sat on the commode, which was also a very new experience for me. I believe it was only the third time in my life I had sat on one. Afterwards, I searched for water, but there was none. What was I to do? I had never seen toilet paper in my life. For us, paper is not for cleaning oneself; you cannot clean properly with it. You must clean with water. I searched and saw a bathroom beside it, but there was no pot, no glass, nothing. There was a cold water tap. It was quite an interesting predicament: how to clean? You take water with your hands. Then I found a small pot outside. I think the family had a small child; it was a potty for a little child. Of course, it was clean. So I took that potty, filled it with water, went back to the toilet, and cleaned myself. This is what is called culture shock. It is like when you go to India and there is no toilet paper, only a pot and water. What do you do? And in some places, there are no toilets at all. The first time I used a proper toilet was in 1966 in Mumbai. But you all know this; you are now 60 or 70 years more developed. Throughout Hungary, for example, there used to be no toilets; you had the garden. Or in Slovakia, everywhere. Seventy years ago in Europe, having a toilet inside a flat was very, very unusual. All old city houses had toilets in the corridors. A toilet in my flat? Impossible. Now you have toilets, bathrooms, and kitchens. Of course, hygienic conditions are much better now than at that time. So, there are culture shocks. There is a joke: one man went to India and learned to eat with his hands. He was eating with his hands, and then he learned how to go to the bathroom and wash. He said, "I did not know these things till now—that God made such a nice fork for eating and for cleaning!" There are many such experiences. Of course, in India, many things are also sent to the villages. Many different things exist there, just as they do here, but it's still the case in farmhouses. When you go, you have everything in the garden. So, culture shock. The most horrible, or biggest shock for me, was going to the market and seeing the dead bodies of animals hanging—meat and dead chickens visible in the fridges where they sell them. Of course, this is also happening in India now, but still, in Rajasthan and Gujarat, it is not so widespread. In the village where I was born, you cannot even buy an egg. You cannot even buy alcohol for medicinal purposes. It is not allowed to bring alcohol, meat, or eggs, and it is not allowed to cut green, living trees. If you see a dead bird or a mouse, you must cover its mouth with a cloth, take it very far away slowly, throw it somewhere, and then come back and take a bath because you touched a dead body. This practice continues till now. For such a person, seeing hanging dead bodies and lying dead bodies, and then sitting on an aeroplane where one person is eating chicken, another is eating fish, and you are sitting there eating pomfret—it is very hard, very hard. But it should also prohibit alcohol and meat. For people who do not eat meat and do not drink alcohol, it is a horror. They suffer psychic damage. When they get off the plane, they still cannot think normally. The smell of alcohol makes many begin to vomit, along with the smell of spoiled fish and different kinds of meats. These few hours are a real trial for such a person. Therefore, Indian Airlines, which operates within India, provides only vegetarian meals, and consuming alcohol is not allowed because some people bring their own bottles and sit and drink. Of course, there are other private airlines; I am not speaking about them. They are commercial, so they do everything. It would be very good if you write collectively, sign a petition, and send it to the different airlines. If they don't prohibit it, at least they should have reserved seats only for people who do not consume meat and alcohol. I am sure one can survive a few hours without drinking alcohol and eating meat, just as one can survive without smoking for a few hours. It will be very great and good karma if we can begin to take action. Who doesn't agree? Raise your hand. So, it means you all agree. Okay, so on your level, get signatures from friends, parents, everyone, and begin the action. Sooner or later, it will come. It will take time, but it will be good. And in the world—I don't say only Indians—there are many people around the world who are vegetarian and do not drink alcohol, and they feel the same thing. It's not just about Indians; there are vegetarians all over the world, non-alcoholics, and they feel the same way.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

Email Notifications

You are welcome to subscribe to the Swamiji.tv Live Webcast announcements.

Contact Us

If you have any comments or technical problems with swamiji.tv website, please send us an email.

Download App

YouTube Channel