At my German friend’s home, I met again his wife and his son, the jolly 5-year-old boy whom I had met with him on the plane and then on Mallorca, too. In the next days I again made several new experiences.
As he had told me on our flight to Mallorca, my friend was a doctor and psychotherapist. He took me to his praxis in the town of Lüneburg, where he worked, and showed me around. We went shopping together and I cooked Indian food in their kitchen.
He had invited some friends to come by so that they could get to know me and I could get to know them. I showed them some yoga in his living room and they tried to do along with me. Of course they had fun copying me but also just enjoyed watching me. Everybody enjoyed the time very much and they were curious about me. I was just as curious about them.
It was really a very new experience for me. It was actually the first time that I lived with a foreigner in one house. The first time I was together for a long time with someone who was not from my country, not from my culture and who did not speak my language. In Itzehoe I had been with my Indian friend and also on Mallorca, in London and in Thailand I had been with Indian families, surrounded by people who came from India, had their roots there, spoke and understood Hindi and understood who I was.
I had got in contact with westerners before, too. Getting in contact is however something fully different than actually living together with them. I got to know about the food habits in Germany, about the living style and many small things which just belong to the way how life works there differently than in India.
Another difference living in a western family was how they saw me. My new friend was not a religious person. Wherever I had been before, people had been religious and respected me as a holy person. Of course, in London it had been a little bit more relaxed and more close but now I felt really just like among friends. There was curiosity and a respect for what the other one has experienced but not the awe that had started making me feel a bit uncomfortable.
So we did not know too much about each other’s culture but nevertheless he and his wife were brave enough to host me and I was brave enough to be their guest. It was the house of a foreigner but their love gave me the feeling of being at home. We did many things together and got to know each other better. I realized that he might not be a religious person but a very spiritual man. This is how we found out that we both liked to meditate and spent some time in meditation together.
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How exciting this time must have been to you! A new country, a new place, new people and a fully different atmosphere! I love such situations. I would love to experience such a situation some time in your Ashram, too. Maybe next year?
It was very nice to hear about your experiences at Lueneburg. You are correct. I can understand that it sometimes feels strange to live with unknown people. Unknown in the sense, unknown about their culture, beliefs and attitude. May be sometimes it can miss lead to miss understandings and land up with bitter arrogance too.Anyways I too experienced the same while I was in United States. It was very difficult, rather extremely difficult to find people having same thinking as me. To find folks having same attitude like me. To find someone who could enjoy and love having conversations with me. To find people who were calm, gentle, humble, and affectionate. Those who would not be addicted to bitter addictions of alcohol, tobacco, sex and many others. Those who had a balanced personality without anger, hatred and frustrations. Someone who was open spiritually rather than being an orthodox, superstitious and religious.
It is quite true that enjoyment is possible only when philosophical ideas match. Only when two people can have belief in principles to achieve humble objective, or purpose of life. Thus, it was very difficult for me to live in United States.
After reading your letters, I am very much impressed, to realize that there are many more better places other than US where in I can find my livelihood. It is very important for me to be with loved ones who can understand philosophically.
I encourage, and also make a humble request to write more about people and places and their views. This would be an incredible help for me to decide where to move, to earn my humble livelihood.
i like it somehow. being in unfamiliar surroundings. though i haven’t done it in a different country, i did stay with a family once in goa; a family i didn’t know. ah yes, and once i went for this trip with a completely different team. 18 people who were complete strangers. and both these times, and also a couple of other times, i ended up making great friends. the family in goa was so warm and so accommodating, we (me and my daughter) didn’t feel like we were strangers in their pretty, little village. i think it depends a lot of the environment you find yourself in; the people. how inviting, accommodating and tolerant they are.
manoj, as compared to the US, i think many countries in europe are a better option. people-wise, environment-wise, culture-wise. i could be wrong, but that has been my impression.
Thank you, Manoj for your comment. Sorry to hear about your experience in the USA. I had a great experience most of the time. It was wonderful for me to be with them. Much Love
Yes Jagdeep, me too, I always enjoyed this kind of situations and still do. And it’s true, you make lots of friends and learn new things. And I also found Europe is much better in comparison to the USA, although I enjoyed my time there, too. Thank you for your comment and much Love