Hi,
In a farewell party on Saturday at our IEP program Director's house (Prof Reimers) I greeted Indian style -a senior professor of mine (Prof. Sheifelbein -former UNESCO director for Latin America, former Education Minister of Chile and current President of the largest Univ in Chile) recently back from Hiroshima (we had a gilr from Nagasaki in our class too) to spark creativity in Japanese secondary school students ---by touching his feet and seeking his blessings -by asking him to touch my head. He seemed rather moved by the experience - like I was. I later realized that even among Christians - the Pope is expected to bless people in this way.
Well, I think he then realized that Indians (including Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists and all other faiths) place great importance on teachers -infact I had narrated in his class the Gita Shloka (the little I remembered) that if the Guru and Govind (God) are both standing in front of you --u should touch the feet of the Guru --since he/she can lead u to God. Ofcourse , these days all teachers do not behave like Gurus in India either --accept bribes and force students to take private coaching from them-and so face parents ire and student's disrespect.
However, books are still treated with respect in India , if u touch it with your feet you place it on your forehead - as atonement for your "sin." In US noone bothers and frequently place their feet on the school-bag. However, Indian books are sacred only as long as they are useful, then they are dumped and sold to the scrap dealer. In US the libraries atleast - take great care fo the books. In the conservation Department each book is handled like a jewel.
I wonder who pays more respect to knowledge?
Umesh
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