Page 54 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

22 Glimpses of Traditional Indian Life

a typical Muslim beard turned to his companion and
with sparkling eyes said, “Just see Allah’s māyā.” That was
a revelation for me: how a person from an apparently
less developed religious tradition had unquestioning
axiomatic belief in God and saw His hand in everything.

On another occasion, when traveling during the rainy
season in Sylhet district, we were taking a flimsy
country boat upstream against a strong current, which
was intensifying as rain poured increasingly harder.
Despite struggling, eventually the boatman couldn’t go
any farther, and upon seeing a dead body coming the
other way, we knew it was time to stop. So we pulled in
at the nearest village — a mere patch of high ground
with a few houses on it. But as the water level rose, the
land was gradually disappearing. That evening we fell
asleep not knowing if we would be washed away during
the night. Fortunately we awoke next morning to find the
rain had stopped. Seeing the water gradually receding,
we continued our journey.

Simple Living

Bangladesh means village life. And village life is suitable
for cultivating the mode of goodness and thus preferable
to life in cities, which for all their comforts are dominated
by lower modes. Although by far the world’s most densely
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17. As described in Bhagavad-gītā, the mode of goodness, the
highest mode, is represented by peacefulness, self-control, and
spiritual understanding. The lower modes are those of passion
and ignorance.