We Europeans, regardless of which country we come from, can’t necessarily claim to be relaxed or cool enough to take this world as it is. In contrast, the image we have of Indians is relaxed, laid-back, and with a calm view of the present. I used to think that religion, its relentless caste system, and its view of its deities were the reason Indians view the world so coolly. Drought, flood, murder, and manslaughter – the Indians always seemed to me as if they could just take it all in stride.

Indians aren’t cooler; they just have the grace of early birth, the grace that they simply experience the least stress of all. Let’s take a look at the course of a day in our modern times. The globe turns and a new day begins:

➾ New day

➤ India wakes up, drinks some great tea, and watches all the crap from the previous day on TV. Chant a bit, relax in the lotus position, and look forward to the day. Ommm!

➤ Moscow wakes up and bombs kindergartens, shoots passenger planes out of the sky, sends killer drones into foreign countries, and massacres people just to have impressive images for its own breakfast TV.

➤ Europe awakens – BINGELING – Breaking news: Murder and manslaughter, grief and horror: How will Washington react? Panic! Conference here, conference there, someone decides to decide something, and some politician bites into a kebab and posts it on Twitter.

➤ The USA is waking up, someone is scratching their butt – Fox News is broadcasting the usual: murder and mayhem, long-haired hippies, and outrage over the world becoming too woke. A world leader steps in front of the camera and tells people not to be so upset, because their own butts are itching too, and then someone from Moscow gets invited to dinner in Alaska.

➾ New day

➤ India is waking up, drinks some great tea, and watches the crap from the previous day on TV….

Today I’m thinking, Indians aren’t any cooler. If India and Europe could just swap places, if India were caught between two hostile camps, then India would have all the stress, and Europe would wake up after all this news and chant – Ommmm!