4 Holidays

 School vacations

Unlike many other students, I did not look forward to school holidays during my first two years. My father appointed a social worker, who helped me enjoy the holidays. I overcame the situation by accepting the holiday as an adventure. He set up his Ashram to serve as an educational institution for students from surrounding villages in a town. He was an elderly man caring for the Ashram. I was supposed to stay there, but he took me to his home instead, so I spent my first vacation settling in and learning the local language.

During the school holidays, I began to travel from this town to the villages where my parents grew up. My ancestors came from a rural region of India. My grandfather was a carpenter on my father's side. On my mother's side, some potters made earthen pots. I spent a few weeks of the holidays with them. They were among the poorest of the poor. Most were tradesmen, and every penny they made was dependent on one person, but the elder's trade involved the entire family. There would be no income if they did not work. Schooling in those areas was barely up to the primary level. I happened to walk into a pre-primary school and was surprised to see how the 5 and 6-year-olds were taught how to write. They had a small stool with a flat wood surface on which they neatly spread fine river sand to form a uniform layer. They wrote the vernacular alphabets and numbers as instructed by the teacher on the sand, exposing the wooden bottom. In synchronizing sound and action, it continued. Yes, they couldn't afford paper and pens like many of us, but the desire to educate was visible. To learn whether money was an influential issue, the simple answer was no. If there was a will, there was a way.

Despite life's difficulties, I was surprised to find a high cultural standard, high moral values, and deep religious beliefs. I finally understood my grandmother's upbringing. Each followed a way of life, which I later called Dharma.

During one such vacation, as I was growing older, I was inspired to learn more about my family. Therefore, I walked around the villages, asking people about their lifestyles and observing their daily lives. The villagers were mostly self-sufficient. An ancient economic system was still in place. Money was exchanged, but only in small amounts for goods and services. Much of it was done based on barter. Skills were exchanged for grains, milk, vegetables, and other necessities. The entire community was self-sufficient. When there was an abundance of something, it was sold to other nearby villagers in exchange for money or needed goods and skills. Many villagers also exchanged their skills for money to travel to other places to work. My aunt worked in the fields, where she planted the majority of the cash crops. Cotton plantations were common in this area. Milk was wholesome, nutritious, and fresh. People were healthy and happy, and the majority of them lived in mud houses. Cultural festivals were celebrated with zeal. I discovered people who were full of love, respect, and honesty. Poverty did not bother them. It was a maturing realization for me when I realized I was becoming dissatisfied with the modern world's luxuries. I couldn't stay in the villages for more than a couple of days. I've noticed that once in a comfort zone, the mind and body become addicted.

My maternal uncles had just returned from East Africa on another holiday, and I spent a week touring the surrounding area. I was shocked to learn that during British rule, most town and village entrances had bars serving liquor. The British had clearly mastered this. The average person was taken in by an edict, and as a result, they spent the majority of their earnings on alcohol, plunging them into poverty. It was an ideal method of creating slaves. The proceeds from the sale were returned to the rulers. The British Raj was only interested in removing cotton from this region, leaving nothing but poverty behind. As foreigners continued to loot, the masses were never provided with much-needed health care and education. The prohibition of liquor came after the country's independence. Old habits die hard, and the edicts destroyed families, resulting in total poverty. It was here that the Indian history lessons paid off. In a few hundred years, numerous invaders reduced the land of milk and honey to slavery and poverty. “Why?” Just for the sake of wealth that could be converted into money in a distant land. To facilitate the popularity of barter trading, the colonial rule created money as a medium of exchange since barter was not transferable or divisible. This was done to persuade the people that it would bring them peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, it was all a trick of the light. By looting a wealthy country, such as India, an individual loses their well-being.

My maternal uncle was a skilled carpenter who earned his living in East Africa with the family. His children settled there before moving to England. He counseled me on social values and warned me about the dangers of alcohol addiction, advising me to avoid it.

I was confused and filled with mixed emotions after seeing the poorest of the poor and the ultra-rich. After observing people, their attitudes, and their lifestyles, I came to the following conclusion: "Education will raise one's standard of living." I was separated from my immediate family and abandoned in the harsh world. Like many other teenagers, I had neglected my work on occasion and had become a loner and a rebel. This was the reason for the lack of parental or guardian guidance.

My vacations became the foundation for my future path. On one of the agitated days of a boring school holiday, I resolved to become a focused and inspired learner. I would like to alter my past and present to create a better future for myself. I started paying more attention to my schoolwork. I gradually developed a study method that allowed me to read, write, and comprehend effectively. I only needed money and dedicated work to achieve my ultimate goal.

My school holidays were a time of self-realization for me as I approached the maturity age of 16 to 18 years. History lessons were revived and some significant facts were established. When the British left, the British Raj's goals of poor education, destruction of all ancient knowledge, and looting of wealth were realized. The British helped the Moguls create India's slums. The most tragic fact is that the Mogul rulers used the sword to destroy ancient temples and loot gold from their safes. This was done in the name of religion rather than money. As an Indian history student, I was surprised to learn that in its 8000-year history, India has never attacked or captured another country or nation. The greatest genocide was committed against Indians, not Jews, as history claims. The British wrote India's history books in their favor to demonstrate superiority and to humiliate and enslave Indians. This was because they recognized that Indians were very skilled, intelligent, hardworking, and faithful. This is where I realized the true potential of my genetic makeup and the knowledge that was passed down to me.

The British rewrote history to claim that the Aryans brought knowledge of the Vedas and Indian cultures, but later intellectuals on Indian wisdom proved it to be a myth. In its most common form, the Aryan myth is about a group of people calling themselves 'Aryans' who invaded India before the Christian era. They settled in the Indus Valley. The western world joined in spreading the Aryan myth and began to mock the Hindus, who were joined by converted Muslims from the Mughal era. The Congress government worked with the Muslims, and with British assistance, independent India faced many challenges in becoming a superpower like it was in ancient times. This inspired me to learn about the rich Sanatan Vedic Dharma scriptures, and my intuitive mind focused on the true Hindu systems, rituals, and culture.

College vacations

During college vacations, I began to build a framework for my future by focusing on studies, identifying pleasure and pain, and researching my family's Sanatan Dharma fellowship. During my first holiday at college, I met with South African students who had arrived after matriculation. Junior was the first to introduce me to spending quality time during the holidays. We spent many hours discussing apartheid, the ANC, and the political climate in South Africa. Choosing a career based on job reservations was the first topic of discussion. Engineering had no future for non-whites in South Africa because all such jobs were reserved for Europeans only. Here, I made the decision to pursue engineering studies and fight job reservations to find my rightful place. College vacations were always followed by a search for a place to stay and chaotic college admissions.

Vacations in tertiary education

Every university vacation was an adventure. I stopped making trips to the villages and found other ways to spend my vacation. Poverty all around me was a constant reminder of human suffering. During one of my vacations, I participated in a social service camp that visited India's poorest communities. There had been a severe drought, and many social service organizations had traveled to these areas to assist. We arrived in a remote area of central India after a long train journey. We were greeted by a group of religious organizations and devotees. I volunteered to assist a mechanic in repairing a bulldozer. Everyone involved had a positive experience. Some were digging a well, while others were doctors assisting with health care. Money had no meaning for the poor community. They required food, medical attention, and a safe place to live.

They remained in the jungles of central India, relying on Mother Nature. Their lives were jeopardized when the rains failed for a couple of years. During our visit, we stayed in a mud and stick hut. There was nothing but the odor of burned wood. A couple of grave-like holes had been dug in the soil. Just then, a completely naked man with only his private parts closed came in, greeting us with his hands folded. The devotee who led us there proceeded to explain how the grave holes were used. Summers are warm and pleasant. Winters are typically bitterly cold. These individuals filled the holes with dry leaves and grass. On a cold winter night, they would light a fire in the center hole, enter the grave, and cover themselves with leaves and grass. This would keep them warm until the sun came out. My heart sank with sadness as I remembered all the comforts I had.

On our next trip, we headed to a small village in need of a water well. A group of volunteers was looking for a suitable location to begin work. The villagers were all hiding in various locations, and the majority of them, including women and children, were naked. A woman screamed as we passed beneath a hut. When questioned, she stated that her husband had recently died. She had just fulfilled his last wish for a cup of tea. I was speechless when I found out she used her breast milk to make a cup of tea. "Humanity shame," I exclaimed. There is no amount of money in the world that could fulfill this dead man's wish. Only love, in the end, fulfilled the dying wish.

There were also numerous religious organizations engaged in charitable work. Money and various religions play a large but critical role in relief efforts. This is what I discovered in one of the villages we visited. On one side, there was a picture of Jesus Christ. The other was a popular Indian idol. The mercenaries inquired about the villagers' gods. Initially, it was always the Indian one. They were instructed to make offerings to their respective deities and request food. They knew they were going to die, so they knelt and prayed. Nothing noteworthy occurred. Then they were told to go to the cross and ask Jesus for food. A packet of rice and milk powder fell from the tree above, along with a few capers. As soon as they saw it, they grabbed it and ran for the hills. When I saw this, I said to myself, "Hunger has no religion."

The experience of witnessing such a frustrating event disturbed my first impression. Then an enticing thought took me back to India's past when the British Raj drained the country of its wealth. Some of the wealth was actually returned to its original location by Christian missionaries. This viewpoint did not express gratitude for the work that these people were doing. Although money cannot buy or compensate for evil deeds, religious guilt makes religion more humane. The point is, this is what I've realized.

Despite financial constraints and hostel rules, I was allowed to stay in the hostel for vacations with some allowances. This was the most memorable vacation I've ever had. The Bhagavad Gita was to be read with my understanding of the scripture based on my father's recommendation in his most recent letter.

So I ventured to the library and got a few Bhagavad Gitas from various authors with English translations. First, I established a ritual and adhered to strict discipline in food, sleep, and meditation. Next, I read various commentaries on my way of life and realized that loneliness was the only way to assess my personal values and the path forward. That holiday was the most rewarding for me because I became focused. With positive inspiration, I was once again at the forefront of achieving my goal of getting very high grades in all semesters.

The last holiday was spent in the hostel, where previous years' experience allowed me to skim through most of the Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, Upanishads, and Purans. I also seized the chance and utilized the vacation to get ready for the final two semesters. With my engineering knowledge at the time, I began the initial concept of writing a book on the theory of creation.

I came to understand that the holidays were a busy time for knowledge seekers to hunt for information for the hungry and inquisitive mind. The holidays afterward were planned to activate my intelligence to get focused for the period following the break and it started to work wonders.

Holidays are a great opportunity to learn new things. The topic was history, the information came from libraries, and being alone in nature sparked the inquisitive mind. This caused me to become conscious of my surroundings.