Bodh Gaya and Kolkata

After our stay in Hyderabad, we flew to Patna and hopped on a bus to Bodh Gaya, the place of the Buddha’s enlightenment. After a five-hour bus ride, we settled in for the evening, had a discussion on one of the Buddhists’ holy texts, and rested up for the next day.

It was very different than the other temples we had been to up to this point. The temple was located in a beautiful location, surrounded by trees and flowers. Because it was so far out in the countryside, it was quiet, which is a rarity in India. Everywhere you looked, monks and visitors alike were meditating through sitting, prostrating, and walking. Others chanted prayers and still others sat under the Bodhi Tree, the tree under which Buddha received enlightenment. From the moment we stepped into the gate, it was obvious to all of us that this was a very sacred place to many people.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed our time here. As I walked around the grounds, I was moved and inspired by the monks’ devotion to their spiritual disciplines. I thought about how different our lives as Christians could be if we took our devotion to the teachings of Jesus as seriously as these monks took their devotions to the teachings of Buddha. How much stronger would our faith be if we took the time to seek God through prayer and sit in God’s presence through meditation consistently? How different would our lives be if we prayed Holy Scripture daily? I think many Christians could learn much from the devotion of the Buddhist monks we encountered that day.

Inspired, I took some time to meditate. I sat under a tree, closed my eyes, and concentrated on one thing I am usually quick to forget about:  the peace of God. Every time my mind wondered, I repeated the word “shalom”, the Hebrew word for peace, over and over until I regained my focus. Honestly, it is the most relaxed and peace-filled I have been in months. It felt as though the peace of God was wrapped around me like a blanket and I felt at comforted. Before I knew it, a half-hour had passed. It seemed like no time at all.

After my time of meditation, I ran into a monk. He invited me to participate in a prayer. After a moment’s consideration, I decided to do it. I am secure in my faith, I know that God is the god of all, and that Buddha was just a man. I wanted to show this man the love of Christ by learning more about his tradition. Honestly, the prayers were prayers that any good Christian should pray anyways:  help me not to lie; help me not to steal; help me be patient; help me be generous; help me fight against injustice. For me, it was a time to reassess my values and the way I walk out my Christian faith. I asked God to help me in all of those areas. It was a nice moment. He then asked for the first names of my family members so that he could pray for them. I wrote them down, touched that he wanted to pray for my family. Then, things became a little awkward; he wanted money for walking me through the prayer. I gave a little, but I felt uneasy about it. For me, it kind of ruined the sweet moment of interfaith conversation we had just had.

Later, I found out that some of my classmates experienced the same thing with the same monk. One of our professors helped us process the situation; I am so thankful for his wise words. He reminded us that in every religion, Christianity included, there are people who will use faith to their advantage to get something that they want. I thought of televangelists who always ask for money, organizations who ask for money but do very little ministry, and Christians who justify their actions by saying “it’s ok; we prayed first.” This helped me to not judge the entire Buddhist community by the actions of one corrupt monk. My hope is that my Christian brothers and sisters around the world can do the same for every religion, race, and ethnic group. We do others a grave injustice when we judge their entire group by the actions of just a few.

Our stay in Bodh Gaya was short, just one day. After that, we flew to Kolkata. This is the part of the trip I was the most excited about. Since my freshman year of undergrad, I have felt as if the Lord is calling me to do long-term ministry in Kolkata to work with victims of human trafficking. It was hard to believe that I was going to walk the streets of this city. I was nervous, excited, and happy all at the same time.

Kolkata is very different from Hyderabad. It is busier, more Western, and hotter. There was also more poverty than we had seen in Hyderabad; people slept on the sidewalks during all times of the day, clothed in little more than rags. Men washed themselves on the sides of the road, drinking that same water as it rolled down their bodies. Older women sat on the sides of the road, collection bowl in front of them, too tired to ask people for money. In contrast to this awful poverty is the Westernization of the city. More people drove individual cars instead of riding public transit. More people walked around in blue jeans and t-shirts. More restaurants like Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald’s were everywhere. In many ways, it is not much different than the poorest parts of Atlanta. There are just many, many more people

Our first full day contained more contrast than I think I’ve ever seen in my life. We started the day with another temple visit. It was the Kalighat Durgakali temple, another Kali temple. This Kali temple was about as different as it could be from the Mahankali temple in Hyderabad. As soon as we entered the domain, we felt a desperation, almost frenzy, among the people. Our guide instructed us to stay close to the group, hold tight to our bags, and to not lose sight of the group. As we approached the temple, we were pushed by the people trying to get inside. When we got to where the image of the deity was, the people showed no reverence. They pushed and shoved each other out of the way, desperate to get to the deity. I didn’t even see a priest giving out blessings. Our guide explained to us that because Kali destroys evil, everyone was desperate to get to her to get rid of the bad things in their lives (anger, etc). I can write all day and never find the words to describe the darkness of that place. At least at the other temples I could see why it was a sacred place to the Hindu people. Nothing about this temple felt sacred.

After the Kali temple, we went to the home of the Sisters of Charity, the order that Mother Theresa founded. We registered to volunteer with them later in the week and looked around the monastery. We actually got to see Mother Theresa’s tomb. It was a somber and holy moment for the group. We sat on the benches surrounding the tomb and stared at the flowers on her grave. They spelled out the words “Prayer changes everything”. It was a peaceful place, but I found myself overwhelmed with the ministry of this woman. She was so brave and so obedient to the will of God. She literally changed the world and saved the lives of so many people in India. All she did was love. How different would the church be if we obeyed the command to simply love?

The next day, we went to Serempore. This is the place where William Carey, the first Baptist missionary, founded a university for the Indian peoples in the 1800’s. We had the opportunity to meet with the current president of the university, see the Carey museum, and see many of the original books from Carey’s library. As we walked through the library that students currently use, I was filled with so much hope. I saw books on equality, psychology, sociology, physics, every subject imaginable. It filled me with such hope to see such strides in education in a developing country. It gives me much hope for the future.

After we left the school, we went to Carey Baptist Church, which is still operational today. We got to see the baptismal where many people, including the Judsons and Corrie Tin Boom, were baptized and see Carey’s lecturn. The current pastor took the time to meet with us and share with us what the church is doing this summer (I must say, it was strange to be in such an old, historic building and see VBS posters everywhere!). He told us of the church’s partnership with anti-trafficking ministries in Kolkata; needless to say, this caught my attention. He explained the needs they have for house mothers, repairs to safe houses, and married couples to pastor the women. After he finished speaking to the whole group, I spoke with him one-on-one to share with him my call to long-term ministry in Kolkata. We talked for a while about the needs in the city, my heart in the matter, and the church’s current efforts. He gave me his contact information so we can stay in touch. Even if this is not the door that God is opening for me to stay in Kolkata in the future, I know it’s a hallway that can lead to several doors.

The next morning, we got up early to go to the Sisters of Charity to share breakfast with the other volunteers. Sleepily, we accepted our bread, bananas, and tea from the sisters and took a seat. Soon, other volunteers came in and did the same. It was beautiful to see people of all ages and nationalities there to serve God by serving others together. There were people from China, Brazil, France, literally all over the world to serve together. After we finished breakfast, we turned to one of the wall hangings and meditated on the prayer written there. Then, we prayed it aloud together and sang a worship song. All of us, brothers and sisters, Christians from all over the world, worshiped our God together as one body. It was such a beautiful moment, one I’m sure I will never forget.

After breakfast and prayer, we split into groups to go to the different ministry cites. I went with the group to Prem Dan, the home for the elderly and handicapped adults. It took us about forty-five minutes to walk there, but that was a good way to see the poorer parts of Kolkata and to bond with our teammates.

When we got to Prem Dan, we split:  boys to the men’s side and girls to the women’s side. The veteran volunteers took us to the break room and told us what we would be doing that day. It’s such a strange, yet beautiful, system. Because there are always new volunteers coming in and old volunteers leaving, each day the veteran volunteers explain to the new volunteers what tasks need to be done. Because there’s no way for all of the sisters and all of the aunties to know every language of every volunteer, this is the most effective way to pass the information along. Once they told us what to do, we each grabbed an apron and went to the main sleeping quarters to clean the beds and mop the floors. Once we finished those tasks, we went outside to the dining hall to help the sisters finish distributing breakfast. Then, we went around to each of the women and put lotion on their hands and feet, offered to paint their fingernails, and helped clean their hair.

As I was looking to see who needed lotion, I noticed a woman sitting by herself. I felt compelled to go over to her to put lotion on her hands. As I approached, she didn’t move. I think she was blind and I wasn’t sure if she could tell I was there. I reached out to touch her hand. As soon as my fingers made contact with hers, she grabbed my hand reached for my other. She held on tightly, as if she was afraid she would lose this moment. I sat next to her and held her hands for what must have been an hour. Every once in a while, she would scratch at some extremely dry skin and I would put lotion on it, or she would play with the hair on my arms. For the most part, we just sat in silence. She just wanted someone to be there.

Eventually, one of the aunties asked me to help feed some of the other women lunch and I left my post. She handed me a spoon and directed me to a mentally disabled woman who could not feed herself. She carried such joy! I smiled and said hello to her and she gave me the biggest, brightest smile back. As I blew off each steaming spoon full of rice and lentils, she smiled at me. She smiled when she opened her mouth. She smiled as she chewed her food. She smiled at everything; her smile was contagious. I couldn’t not smile while sitting with her. After she finished her food, I helped a friend clean the tables and chairs. While we were cleaning, the sisters were putting the women down for a nap. When we finished cleaning, we were told that we were done for the day.

The rest of that day was relaxed. We had the option to see a palace or to stay back and rest. Several of us, myself included, chose to take a much needed rest. We popped a movie into someone’s laptop, ate dinner, and enjoyed some wonderful girl time. The trip had been fantastic up to this point, but sometimes you just need a night in with the girls to relax and recharge =)

Our time in Kolkata was so affirming for me. As I walked down the sidewalks, something just felt right. I am excited about my future here, whenever it will happen. I can’t wait for God to open that door.