About the gods

From my childhood, I have been quite interested in the myths and folk stories. Thus, one thing that interests me a lot is the system of gods in Hinduism.

Compared to Christianity, within which people believe there is only one almighty God, the Hindu god system is similar to that of Greece: every god represents one or several related characteristics or issues. However, different from the Greek system, within Hindu system there are many subsystems, such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism, in which the responsibilities and the name varies a little bit. This makes the gods system even more complicated. Another distinction from the Greek system is that in India, the god system is more likely to be the religion of somebody rather than a mere myth or story. Most of Indians worship their god(s), but they are able to choose whatever god they believe. There are no rights or wrongs to worship a god that is different from another's. And it is so common to see a muslin temple within a Hindu community.

Religion in India, from this, I pulled out another metaphor for the Indian Way. We can easily tell from the phenomenon the complexity and openness of the fragmented India. It provides me with some hints and justifications for understanding the major theme in We Are Like that Only - as revealed in the book title - the importance of understanding customization. In the book, customization is repeatedly mentioned. Not only does it emphasize the importance of keeping that in mind when entering Indian market, the Indian wisdom is teaching us about true customization. There are so many differences, if not trivial, between individuals. Considering the collective nature of the Indian society, rather than extremely detailed customization, to show your care and respect to the values of others (markets) is the key to apply the true customization. Because of the complexity, openness is needed for people to survive. And being truly open means that people living in a same community have to show greatest respect to each other without any violation. That is what the harmonious Indian culture as a live textbook tells us about customization, which is integrated in the culture.

Now, you see that "We Are like that only" not only describes the entire India society, but also reflects the spirit within.

P.S.
Photo is from Don, taken at an airport
Video was taken at a family temple.