Positive living – breaking prejudices

Jhabua gave me the most important and precious paths of life – what it means to live as a true human being and what true humanity is. I went there wanting to see the problems they faced and to find a way to help…but I came back knowing that it is I who needs help. ‘Positive thinking’ and its power is something that we all like to talk about. The Bhils have gone beyond thinking; they live ‘positive living’. I got to experience it so much, that even as I stood there and everything was in plain sight before me, I was unable to feel, to realize any difficulties in life in tribal villages. We all talk about not complaining in life, about being grateful for what we have in life…but this is so much a part of that land, so much in the environment there, the very air there that just by being there you cannot feel anything worth complaining, and feel joy and happiness in everything that is. But we, on the other hand, if look at a plate without dal severed to us, first we see the missing dal and are blind to roti present there.

No one judges you, you’re simply a human.

We talk about not judging anyone and accepting everyone wholeheartedly. Imagine a stranger coming to your doorstep. Ask yourself how willing and comfortable and trusting you would be to let him in. And here, they just take you in… just like that. Inside their home, you are treated with full respect and love, whether you are visiting for a few minutes or staying with them for a few weeks. Where you are from, how much you earn, what your profession is, what family or caste you belong to……they are blind to it all. They don’t have a different set of crockery for the guests. With their whole heart open, they embrace you in. House after house, village after village, all you have is unconditional love to take away with you.

The true meaning of a society free for women.

We talk about women rights. Just look at the Bhili women dancing, and you will realize what the true absence of the concept of women being oppressed Women here work more and are more active than men, both inside and outside their homes, and live with full freedom and respect. We dream of a land where women are treated with respect, where they can live freely…. I have already seen that place. The love and the purity of it, if I am not exaggerating, touch our soul and changes us. It breaks all the prejudice-filled concepts within us, and makes us change ourself and our perspective of looking at the world. It makes us hopeful, makes us believe that there still exists humanity. That a land of pure love can exist. And to not give up, ever give up, on the dream of Dharti par Swarg.

As I sit here, I can still feel their love…I can still feel the warmth inside me. And for all I know…I will keep going back there…to learn the lessons of humanity.