Modern transport is a truly fascinating thing. First you have the pantomime of safety concerns at the departure airport and then within a few hours you are zapped into a different world.
Vikid had just spent a few days in India and everything about India is different, or as we like to say “same same but different”.
India is the Land of The Lord.
To begin, you have the overt differences. Vikid was currently living in the Middle East, a great place for a hero. You avoided the crazy postmodern leftist hell of the West and the over authoritarian impulses of the Far East.
Strange thing to say, but parts of the Middle East are “freer” than their flanking poles because the rules of living here are well defined, practical and outside of that you are pretty much left alone.
That’s what Vikid calls freedom. Not ultimate freedom, but freedom from harassment.
India is different. Within all its chaotic buzz, the bazar of spicy food options, temples and monuments, the country is pretty oppressive.
It all starts as soon as you get off the airplane. Armies of officials, government employees, scrutinize you as if you’re a petty criminal. They scan you with there beady eyes, head to toe. They ask for your documents and take an uncomfortably long time to verify your name and credentials. Then the process is repeated by a new official. Then again, several times. Then there are forms to fill, biometrics to record, full body scans and handbags to be checked, just in case there is something personal of yours the authorities disagree with. This could be anything from a humble vape pen to a bracelet or perhaps an extra mobile phone. Then you have to brave the custom officials who will try and scam you for some minor infringement. Then, only then, you can finally exit the airport gate.
If that’s not enough, getting to your accommodation is the next challenge but that’s easy enough, if you’ve prearranged a private driver (if not, good luck to you). If you can withstand an hour or so of bumpy roads and noisy traffic, all is well. If you are staying at a hotel, then there will be more scans, document checks and what not.
Furthermore, the country is the process of a digital transformation. Everything goes through a Digital ID called the Aadhar Card. Indians, Vikid finds, without exception are very proud of the system. Some boast about the technological prowess of the country. Their ability to hold everyone’s information in a master database. That’s 1.5bn people. It only costs Rs 50, not even 1 US dollar to get you up and running! But to get it, you have to tell them everything about yourself, not a stone left unturned.
Where some see convenience, Vikid sees is something else.
What interests Vikid more though, is the mindset. Indians have been programmed in a unique way. Not that western minds haven’t. We will examine the western mind in another post. It’s just the difference in programming produces stark visible results. Today we discuss Indian programming with a broad brush. This obviously doesn’t include everyone in the country, that would be unfair. This analysis is more Picasso than Rembrandt. An observation through a cubic prism, not a thousand page microscopic treatise. Keep that in mind.
Firstly Indians really think their country is the greatest and by greatest, we mean THE GREATEST. They believe that the whole world has their eyes on India, knows its history and is aware of it’s burgeoning ascent.
And ascending it is…
(It’s the direction of ascent that has Vikid concerned)
There is a certain pride for their country Vikid hasn’t seen anywhere else, not even China, where people are far more critical of their government. It’s probably closer to the USA or Germany but much deeper. Indian culture is older than the USA and wasn’t destroyed as Germany’s was by The War. Instead it was transformed by a bunch of invaders through many thousands of years. In the late 40’s a new “independent” country was invented, out of the remnants Empire and ancient Kingdoms . “India” in its modern form was born.
It’s the results of this invention that Vikid was thinking about.
When Modi, the current Prime Minister, Reviver Incarnate, meets with a foreign leader, Indians believe the whole world is watching, that all eyes are on what he said. They are completely convinced by this narrative. They are borderline obsessed with it.
Vikid on the other hand having travelled just about everywhere knows that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Mostly, India is completely opaque to the West and the Far East.
They have no clue.
For example, you could pick up any book on Pop Psychology in a western book store or even a serious piece of work out of a University or well known Philosopher and they wax lyrical about Buddhism, having no concept that many of the ideas actually come from the Hindu Tradition that preceded it. They ignore not only where most of these ideas originated, but also that they have been evolving, perhaps more deeply than current Buddhist thinking.
Secondly, Indians have a very rigid education process that focuses on memorization and exam results. This is perfect producing swathes of the aforementioned “government officials”, computer engineers, technicians and doctors. These professionals excel as rule followers, the algorithmic thinking pattern that requires little creativity but a lot of hard work and skill. Vikid has little doubt this system was put into place by the British on their last stint in the country. A system in which the few can control the many, very efficiently. Now the Indian elite, who schmooze in Dubai, London, New York and The Silicon Valley control the present situation with equal zeal.
Indians are very proud of their elite. Again a pride I have not seen elsewhere. In the US, the billionaire class are admired for their entrepreneurial capabilities, there is celebrity culture etc., in Europe they are more likely despised and in India they are closer to worshiped as Gods.
Thirdly, most Indians have very little idea about what is happening outside their borders. (This may be true everywhere but particularly true for India). Partly this is due to the toughness of life, daily obstacles for doing the routine are tediously strenuous but also it is inherent to the institutional constructs.
This, Vikid believes gives Indians a massive blind spot. They are controlled by foreign powers, foreign capital markets, energy flows etc… in ways they don’t fully comprehend. It’s also partly to blame for the “brain drain” whereby the best and brightest end up elsewhere, usually the US, UK, Canada, Australia or the Middle East. More on the brain drain later.
Fourthly, government control is comprehensive and effects all aspects of life. However due to the fact that people born in India have never known different, they simply don’t see it. In many cases they think it is necessary, “otherwise people would take advantage, no?”. That’s the excuse Vikid gets whenever he questions some very questionable rule in the country.
Fifthly, there is a very strong cultural code here. It’s difficult to describe but where the government stops the culture begins… Everything from what you are allowed to eat, what you wear, whether you have a girl friend, what time you get home, the number of prayers or cultural events you have to attend, etc… etc… is controlled by invisible agreements and taboos.
On the other hand, things are free, if you want to do them on the sly. So for example, you can get a beef burger (a big no no) if you know to order “Beep” Burgers. Vikid learnt about this on his recent trip. You can get weed quite easily if you know who to contact. You can certainly have a girl on the side, party in a private ranch… but it all requires a level of secrecy that seems unnecessary.
This is probably the main cause of the “brain drain” - all these rules and regulations make it hard to succeed and success, so heartily sought after by the mindset, is much easily achieved by moving abroad, by hook or crook.
So anyone who can, does.
Vikid thought about programming, having once been heavily programmed himself. He had been programmed by The Lord of Programming.
It took a certain amount of luck, a few special herbs, a lot of meditation, unstoppable curiosity and a natural rebelliousness, that allowed him to see it. To see The Lord for who he was. A force that invaded everything. The language you learned when growing up is programming. So is your sense of justice, morality, success, friendship etc… you get it all from your surroundings. It seeps into, then gets hammered into you at school, lastly society makes sure you comply or end up on the streets.
Nowhere is the more true than in the Land of the Lord.
So Vikid started to self program himself (and it is debatable about the success of this endeavor). We are all running programs in our minds and in our hearts, whether we like it or not and more importantly, whether we see it or not. The work of deprogramming is done by other programs already installed. Thus, it’s a tricky business. You have to go to the deepest program, the one called intuition, to have a luck.
The work of the Lord is going strong in India, though there are glimmers of hope. Entrepreneurs building their own businesses, Internet opening corridors of thought, brave intellectuals breaking ground and a country finding its feet.
But is it enough?
Vikid is unsure…
And that is,