Cultural Values

Many years ago a student from India named Hari Dam came to America for an education. After many years in the American culture he made many observations relating to the differences between the Indian culture he was raised and the American culture to which he was introduced. Just before leaving America he published his observations in the school paper. The following are his words.

" You live in time; we live in space. You’re always on the move; we’re always at rest.

You’re aggressive; we’re passive. You like to act; we like to contemplate.

We always hark back to the past; you always look forward to the future. We pine for the lost paradise; you wait for the millennium.

We accept the world as it is; you try to change it according to your blueprint. We live in peace with nature; you try to impose your will on her.

Religion is our first love; we revel in metaphysics. Science is your passion; you delight in physics.

You believe in freedom of speech; you strive for articulation. We believe in freedom of silence; we lapse into meditation.

You first love, then you marry. We first marry, then we love. Your marriage is the happy end of a romance; our marriage is the beginning of a love affair. Your marriage is a contract; our marriage is and indissoluble bond.

Your love is vocal; our love is mute. You delight in showing it to others; we try hard to conceal it from the world.

Self-assertiveness is the key of your success; self-abnegation is the secret of our survival.

You’re urged every day to want more and more; we’ve taught from the cradle to want less and less. Joie de vivre is your ideal; conquest of desires is our goal.

We glorify austerity and renunciation; you emphasize gracious living and enjoyment. Poverty to you is a sign of degradation; it is to us a badge of spiritual elevation.

In the sunset years of life, you retire to enjoy the fruits of your labor; we renounce the world and prepare ourselves for the hereafter."


(Hari Dam, student from India, cited in Religions of the World, 7.)