Today man has drowned himself in a thousand garbs of civilization and modernity. What is true is what is inherent I remember reading Tagore recently, and his ideas about how modern technology’s major drawback has been preserving information. Tagore blames technology for contaminating or memories of great personalities of this age. People don’t hold modern great men in as much awe because they simply know more about them- their flaws and their shortcomings. Just like a photograph would capture every little detail of a scenery whereas a painter would paint only the most magnificent part of it, we know only the best part of ancient ideas. The rest was lost along the way. And, it was lost because it was irrelevant. What is left of Asian traditions and cultures with us is indeed the part of ancient human civilization.

A test for strength is survival. Cultures that survive thousands of years of time, ideas and people endure this test of strength. Strong cultures are not preserved, they naturally survive. I come from on such great Asian civilization.

It was not until I came to the United States that I realized that growing up in India was not easy- it is a developing country. You don’t know the difference until you have seen it just like the cultural difference. At home, I took my cultural and my roots for granted. In America, I discovered how rich and powerful it is. It is important to bring two contrasting colors together to appreciate each one’s beauty, and we see that happening today with cultures.

Globalization is the new buzz world of the world economic order. People and cultures are coming closer along with economies. Where globalization is taking over local economies, the sister concept of hybridization is taking over the world culture order. Hybridization is about breeding diversity. The essence of life on earth is it variety which fits like parts of puzzle to complement each other. The more individualistic western society complements the more community oriented eastern society. The more material western thought complements the more spiritual eastern thought. Really, only a balance of the two sets humans on the path to self development. Such a balance can only be achieved by respecting different cultural aspects and providing a healthy environment for various cultures to mingle and thrive at the same time. Here I see the need of initiative to maintain one’s traditions in multicultural settings.

Right and wrong or good and bad depend not on each other but also on one’s up bringing. I grew up in an Asian society, and hence my ethics and morals go by Asian cultural standards. To give up on these standards would put more out of place than I really am by infringing on the space within me. But, of the many good reasons it is my love and respect for Asian thought that would keep me most from giving up my Asian tradition in the United States.