'he who seeks truth..

he who seeks truth
shall find beauty

he who seeks beauty
shall find vanity

he who seeks order
shall find gratification

he who seeks gratification
shall be disappointed

he who considers himself as the servant of his fellow being
shall find the joy of self-expression

he who seeks self-expression
shall fall into the pit of arrogance

arrogance is incompatible with nature
through the nature of the universe
and the nature of man
we shall seek truth

if we seek truth we shall find beauty
-moshe sadfie, architecht



i have been struggling to write my blog entries for india and as a result have spent a significant amount of time looking though quotations on wikiquote. there is a great feature which pulls up a random page, and that is how i found this poem. i think that the sentiment is striking, a juxtaposition of motivations and the subsequent results. so many people talk about having an open mind and to take in the world around us, but its so easy to get caught up in the excitement and to forget about why we are here.

we enter these wonderful port cities and see the surroundings, listen to guides explain monuments and histories and then quickly forget when we try to go out or expect things to be like home. we need to seek truth; which i felt i found in india, in order to take away more than cheap souvenirs and photos. we can read all the guide books we want, we can trudge around from monument to monument and we can check off the sights we've seen. but what we need to do is to truly listen to people when they are speaking and to hear what they are saying. we need to make connections, and share pieces of ourselves. we must not be afraid to talk to strangers, to offer our snacks to the starving children. we must let ourselves become immersed in the culture around ourselves.

i found india to be a juxtaposition; rich & poor, dirty & clean, young & old, run-down & breathtaking. some students expressed that they were 'over it' when it came to navigating the city and experiencing the culture because they were too hot, too bothered, too superficial. however, it was only when one was hot, sweaty, dirty, thirsty, hungry and in need of a helping hand or a stranger's input, that the true india came into sight.

i must say, that everywhere we have been, we've been welcomed and treated very well. from the hotel staff in morocco offering directions to our guides in namibia assisting the novice campers. the treatment extends to the ship, where we are treated like princes and princesses by the amazing crew. in india, however, this took on a whole new meaning. i have never met such hospitable people, willing to offer a hand or a meal without thinking twice.

at the post-port reflections i heard stories that reiterated that fact; from students who were offered meals, a place to stay, a cold drink, directions, a friendly hello, gifts and a simple smile.

when in the united states would someone offer directions to a person who is lost and then invite them home for dinner, spur of the moment, having just met? i'm sure it has happened, though not nearly as often as it happens in india.

for me, the simple gestures of my host family were beyond thoughtful. a roll of toilet paper, an extra towel, bottled water. advice on what to eat, what to buy, how much things should cost. a scoop of ice cream after dinner, air conditioning on high, coffee in the morning. thoughtful answers to personal questions of religion, the caste system, arranged marriages and polite inquiries about our families and beliefs. a helping hand at the buffet line, a hard bargain at the street stall.

i believe that regardless of caste or position in society, anyone i would have met would have helped me.

i would never have felt this way if i had not looked for the truth and had focused solely on the beauty.

in my next ports i will focus my energy on seeking truth over beauty; of order over gratification. its imperative to my experience on this ship; its the line between a tourist sightseeing and a traveler learning.