Indo-German Connections

Separated by approximately 6,000 kilometres, India and Germany share a surprising depth of connection. In India, German engineering excellence is abundant through brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi. We listen to the compositions of German masters—Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven. We study German philosophers—Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Karl Marx. We celebrate Oktoberfest with Hefeweizen and Pilsner. Reciprocally, Germany boasts numerous scholars of Indology and Indian languages, with arguably the finest library collection on Indian studies anywhere in the world.

Germany's fascination with India runs deep and has endured for generations. In 1911, Hermann Hesse—later to become a celebrated author—travelled to India on a spiritual quest. He arrived with an idealised vision of the subcontinent, expecting to find sadhus meditating everywhere and hoping to discover definitive answers to his religious questions. Instead, what he encountered was quite different: he found neither the abundance of meditating monks he had imagined nor the spiritual certainty he sought. Rather, he discovered a nation of seekers—a people still searching for what the West believed it had already found. Though Hesse fell deeply in love with Indian philosophy, he left somewhat disillusioned by the social and colonial realities he witnessed.

Upon his return, Hesse's Indian experience directly inspired his most renowned novel, Siddhartha (1922), which chronicles one man's spiritual quest for enlightenment. The narrative follows a young Brahmin's journey through ancient India as he abandons a privileged but hollow existence to seek enlightenment through personal experience rather than religious doctrine. The book weaves together Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, reflecting Hesse's profound engagement with Indian and Chinese thought.

His later work, Narcissus and Goldmund (1930), continues this exploration of spiritual seeking. This novel contrasts the lives of two friends who embody different paths to fulfilment: Narcissus represents the ascetic, intellectual life, whilst Goldmund pursues a wandering, sensual, and artistic existence. Through their parallel journeys, Hesse examines the duality of spirit and nature, ultimately suggesting that both paths hold value in the quest for a complete life.

India's greatest strength lies in its plurality and diversity, yet this very strength presents its most formidable challenge. To live in India is to live in solidarity and understanding with others. In this context, everyday encounters with difference become moments of grace—almost prayerful in their significance. One need not retreat to an ashram or monastery to find spiritual meaning; simply being present and mindful of the rich tapestry of life unfolding around us can itself be a profound spiritual practice.

Comments

New Year, New Beginning

The past year was different to different people. Some of us were very successful, won every battle we fought. Some others of us did not win every battle that we fought, might have found difficult even to get up from bed everyday, we just survived. But for both it is a new year. For those very successful, it is time to stand on the ground and not be overconfident, complacent, arrogant and egoistic. And it is also time to give back. And for those of us not very successful we have another new year with 365 blank pages, 365 blank days. It is a fresh new beginning. Start your dream and go all the way. “There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth—not going all the way, and not starting”, said Buddha. Every New Year tells that we cannot eternally postpone important things in our lives. We must begin somewhere. How many lives do we have on this earth? One, two, three, four, or more? One of the foremost thinkers and philosophers of China, Confucius, four centuries before ...

2025 Must Create Its Own Art

People are afraid of art, because real art brings the question and the answer into your house. Tonight’s art becomes inadequate and useless when the sun rises in the morning. The mistake lies not in creating art for tonight, but in assuming tonight’s answers will serve tomorrow’s questions. Louise Bourgeois, a French American artist, reflected, “art is a guaranty of sanity;” but that guarantee must be renewed with each dawn, each cultural shift, and each evolution of human consciousness. If some art endures through generations, it is only because of its capacity to speak, its ability to demand fresh interpretations that test and challenge the new. To guarantee sanity in the coming year, 2025 must create its own art. Why create art? Why watch art? Why read literature? True art, in the words of Sunil P Ilayidam, shakes that which is rigid and unchangeable. Art serves as humanity’s persistent earthquake, destabilising comfortable certainties and creating space for new ways of...

Fine Ways of Disregarding Vital Issues

Observing the preoccupations of Pharisees, scribes and religious leaders of his time (Mark 7: 1-23) Jesus commended that they have fine ways of disregarding the commandments of God in order to maintain human traditions and interests. They put aside weightier matters to uphold human decrees. In modern politics we hear the jargon, ‘politics of distraction’. In a country of mass illiteracy and unemployment, farmers’ suicide, etc. politicians and other key people divert public attention by discussing building temples, girls wearing hijab to college, etc. Noam Chomsky, an American social commentator says, “The key element of social control is the strategy of distraction that is to divert public attention from important issues and changes decided by political and economic elites, through the technique of flood or flooding continuous distractions and insignificant information.” The corrupt politicians must have learned this strategy from the pickpockets (or is it visa versa): they di...

Human Empowerment Vs Technological Determinism

This article, Seeking truth in a barrage of biases , presents an inspiring call to action for maintaining our intellectual autonomy in the digital age. Written by J Jehoson Jiresh, it addresses the critical challenge of navigating through algorithmic biases and misinformation while offering hope and practical solutions. The author beautifully frames our modern predicament - how even a simple online search for running shoes can shape our digital landscape - and transforms this everyday observation into a powerful message about reclaiming our agency in the digital world. What's particularly inspiring is the article's emphasis on human empowerment rather than technological determinism. The article presents three key strategies for hope and change: Active critical engagement to question assumptions and challenge biases Seeking diverse perspectives to break free from our echo chambers Demanding transparency and accountability in algorithmic systems Most uplifting is the article...

Religion Must Help Greater Acceptance And Not Control

What if you see people who never came to your church or never were part of the universal Church found with God; forgiven by god, loved by god, helped by god, and even pampered by god? Our average human spirit and mind will feel a bit of discomfort and repulsion. That exactly is what is happening with apostle John in Mark 9: 38-41. Membership in a religion in many phases in history, and religious practices like praying, church-going etc. has become tools and means of exercising superiority and control over others, or it becomes a means to exclude people. In the name of religion and religious practices we take control of what can be done, who can do it, what is good and bad, what is moral and what is immoral. This approach creates an exclusive moral, good, pure, and authentic race or people or group. We keep doing it as individuals and institutions for the fear of losing control over others. And that is the end of humanity. Stopping others from doing good comes from a sickening clo...

Zacchaeus’ Last Will

Zacchaeus, as we know, was a chief tax collector and a rich man (Luke 19: 1-10). He, as any tax collectors of his time would do, used to collect much more than due, even by force and violence. Now we might say, in a very self-justifying manner, that I am not a tax collector, thus this gospel does not concern my life and me. The figures of a survey done on taxes; taxpayers and tax collectors could be quite embarrassing. 72% people do not pay taxes fully or partially. They cheat the country and the government. 26% of people pay the full tax, not because they love their country and its development but because of fear of being caught and punished; they are in a search of completely safe ways of evading taxes. The rest 2% are involved in collecting taxes. They cheat the country and people by collecting more and not correctly accounting for it. That leaves us with a 100% of ‘Zacchaeuses’ in our societies. Thus most of us stand in need of salvation for our families and ourselves. Zacchae...

Great Teachers Create Vocal Students

Picture a classroom where questions are met with impatience, where unique perspectives are dismissed, where vulnerable thoughts are cut short. Gradually, hands stop rising, eyes avoid contact, and the once-vibrant space becomes a vacuum of missed opportunities and untapped potential. This silence is not respect—it is retreat, it is a silent protest, and it is dissent. When teachers fail to listen, they unwittingly construct invisible barriers. Students quickly sense when their contributions hold no value, when their voices are merely tolerated rather than treasured. The natural response is self-preservation through silence. Why risk sharing when no one is truly receiving? This silent classroom is a warning sign. A teacher who does not listen will soon be surrounded by students who do not speak. Andy Stanley has spoken about it on leadership, "a leader who does not listen will gradually be surrounded by people who do not speak." It is true in every field, including educatio...

Inter-religious Sensitivity in the Time of Covid-19

I was religiously pleased and humanly excited to read the story of a Hindu doctor reciting Kalima Shahada for a dying Muslim Covid patient in Kerala. Beevathu, 56 year old, was all isolated from her family in a covid ward. She had been there for 17 days, she was on a ventilator, and it was increasingly clear that there was no hope. After the consent from her family she was taken off from the ventilator. Beevathu lies there between life and death. Nothing more to happen. But like any good dying Muslim, she perhaps wanted to hear the Kalima Shahada (the Islamic oath of faith) to be chanted to her by one of her family members; but there was none, the situation made it so. Dr. Rekha, a Hindu doctor, was attending to her all these days. She knew what was happening, and she also knew what was not happening. Dr. Rekha knew the words of Kalima Shahada , thanks to her upbringing in UAE. She went close to Beevathu’s bed chanted into her ears, “ La ilaha illallah Muhammadur rasulullah...

Jesus Sends Seventy-Two To Meet And Get Transformed

For a person of faith, ‘God comes, ever comes’ is a constant experience; logically, it also means that God goes, ever goes to the other. We read in Romans, “God came to save us when we were still sinners.” At another point of time in history we were the other to whom God came. Throughout his earthly journey, Jesus demonstrated a radical commitment to crossing boundaries, meeting others. This wasn't merely a strategy for spreading his message—it was a fundamental aspect of his vision for humanity. He didn't establish a comfortable base and wait for people to come to him. Instead, he was constantly moving—crossing territorial boundaries, cultural divides, and social barriers. He didn't try to change people from a distance through arguments or condemnation. He shared meals with tax collectors, conversed with Samaritan women, touched lepers, and welcomed children. Each encounter was an act of radical hospitality that said, you matter and your story matters. Jesus didn't k...

SPRINGBOARDS and WALKING STICKS

Search This Blog