First Glimpse at India from Siddhartha

After walking the surrounding of Fireflies Ashram and enjoying lunch on the first day, we had a meeting at the conference room with social anthropologist, Siddhartha. Siddhartha is an author of several books who attended the University of Paris and is the owner of the Fireflies ashram. The timing for this meeting was perfect because it was the first day of the study tour and he put our purpose of going India in perspective and triggered a deeper interest in me to discover India's rich culture and to understand the changes that the nation is going through as it prepares to be one of the worlds leading nations.

Siddhartha gave a brief overview of India's economy and role as a superpower in the age of globalization. For instance, I was impressed by the contrast of a nation that has 500 million people living on $1 a day while it continues to thrive as the 2nd fastest growing economy in the world. Also, the strength of domestic investment which shields India from any economic recession compared to other nations around the world. In addition, Siddhartha reinforced the lack of compassion and sensitivity for the poor. New development also resulted in enmassing rural land from the city suburbs to accommodate the multi-national corporations who have chosen to outsource their business practices to India. Equally detrimental to India is the scale of corruption and how it effects the entire population.

One of Siddhartha's main concern is global warming and how much people really consider it as a threat to our society. The phases in climate change effect everyone around the globe especially in the rural areas. Farmers who depend on their harvests to make a living have been affected by the constant climate changes and need to change farming tactics to make a living. Siddhartha questioned multi-national corporations who claim to be socially responsible while simultaneously continue to build power plants increasing the volume of emissions. I agree with his statement and I believe there needs to be conscientious effort from human being and corporations to take better care of our planet.

Along with the preservation of our planet in which we live in, Siddhartha brought up the question "What is the good life". If you ask that question to 50 different people, you will get 50 different responses. Some believe that consumption of material goods brings happiness while others believe that family and tradition bring happiness. The movement from a collectivist society to an individualist society is one of the many differences between the eastern and western cultures. Siddhartha pointed out that a major part of society thinking is going vertical instead of having a horizontal philosophy of life as Gandhi suggested.

I found it very interesting about the caste system in the Indian society and the many differences. From my understanding, one can never change caste and will always be part of the same caste even if you become prime minister. Also, one can never marry outside of one's caste. Siddhartha as well as a few other individuals that I met on the trip have pointed out that the caste system is less strict and not practiced to the core.

One of my favorite part of the meeting with Siddhartha was when he began speaking about religion and spirituality. He referred to religion as rivers that lead to the sea. The sea being the total understanding of life which Buddist and Hindus call Nirvana.

Last but not least, Siddhartha described India as a very complex society and finished off with this quote:

"One lives in India for one month, one thinks he/she can write a book,

One lives in India for 6 months, one thinks he/she can write an article,

One lives in India for 1 year one can't begin to write because of the society's complexity"

A couple of questions that Siddhartha raised during the meeting were:

What is the model of development that benefits entire society?

&

What is a sustainable model of development?

We are living in the age of Globalization and these two questions are important ones that I know will keep reoccurring as I continue my studies of Global Management.