Even if that's so, why should it matter? If people are attracted to an idea, be it religious, philosophical, whatever...sometimes it's sincere, sometimes they're attracted to certain elements and pick and choose...that's completely fine. Isn't life about discovery and evolution? It's their personal journey. Why should even bits and pieces of Hinduism be off limits just because it's "Indian"? If a person is white, and into yoga, and they have a murti or framed picture with a mala draped around it....how does that matter to others? On what basis does anyone have a right to judge that person?
They have none.
I have several murtis, which have been gifted to me, as well as some I've bought myself. I have a Sivalingam stone, gifted to me. I have several Buddhas. I even have an Orthodox Christian triptych my brother brought back from a trip to Romania. I have I have an entire library of Hindu and Buddhist books. I went through periods of my life where bits and pieces of each thing appealed to me. I liked parts, and that coalesced eventually into the philosophy I live by, personally.
And now I'm an atheist. But that doesn't make the things I liked about the books I read, and the journey I took, invalid. I didn't "appropriate" anyone's damn culture.
I have several kurtas, both gifted to me and that I've bought myself. Both decorative and plain. Do I wear them in public? No, because that's a conscious choice I make. But if I did wear them in public, like to Walmart or something, I would love to see someone try to tell me I shouldn't be wearing it, because I'm white, or that I was "taking the piss" appropriating another culture.
Y'know why that doesn't work? Because you're making a presumption. You're judging. You're assuming. You don't know what someone has been through. You don't know anything about them. You're just assuming that they're doing it because of some pop psychology, or they think it's cool, and they don't know how deeply disrespectful it is because of the history of white subjugation of other cultures (of which I know more than most, because of my historical background, so I'd like to see someone challenge me on that, too. They'd lose, pretty badly).
And that's just crap. First of all, you shouldn't judge. And second, what business is it of yours? It's none. Even if someone has a Ganesh statue on their desk and they're white and they're doing it because they think it's cool....who cares? Go after the Indian guy at some stall in Jaipur that sold it to them in the first place. Then go after the whole bazaar and shut it down, because they're allowing white tourists to carry all those kurtas, paintings, murtis, aarti sets, etc. home to the West where they're decorating their homes and office desks. Oh the humanity!!!!!
The entire argument starts to fall apart.
Seriously. Live and Let Live. Even if you start differentiating on who is doing it out of "genuine cultural interest" vs. "taking the piss", you're judging. And when you start judging, it's a slippery slope of muddled preconceptions.
Live your life and let people live theirs. Their fashion choices and how they decorate their home/office are the least of your worries in this big, bad world of ours.
As you can all see, I feel very strongly about this. But I'm leaving this thread now. My blood pressure will thank me later.
