Musician
Phildas Surakshadevi Bhakta is currently gearing up to try and reclaim
her world-record for playing the drums the longest continuous time.
She is a devout Hindu, and a yoga and martial arts enthusiast. Hindu
Voice UK catches up with Suraksha for a talk about her life, music
and spirituality.
Tell
us a bit about your background before Hinduism
I was born in Switzerland and since a very young age was always attracted
to all things Indian and Hindu, but I didn't really get a chance to
explore it further until I moved to London in my late teens, because
the society was mainly white and Christian, with virtually no Hindus
except a small number of Hindu Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. In London
I studied various parts of Hinduism, like yoga and meditation, and
that set me off along my journey.
What
attracted to you to Hinduism?
From the age of seven I rejected the dogmas of the angry Biblical
God who would send us to an Eternal Hellfire if we didn't obey him.
Hinduism is so much more open and less judgemental. There is no insistence
to follow one set of practices to the exclusion of every other path.
There are teachings for all people at any stage of life and you are
encouraged to follow the path suited to your individual nature. I
also found the philosophy behind Hinduism to be very sophisticated
and made a lot of sense to me. Another big factor was the art; the
imagery of Hinduism is very enchanting to any person who has an artistic
nature.
You
played your drums for forty-one hours non-stop, how did you manage
to stay awake that long?
I did it as a tapas (austerity), to test how far I could go. To be
honest - it wasn't THAT hard, with the power of bhakti (devotion).
It certainly wasn't easy, but I wouldn't say it is the hardest thing
I've ever done.
And your record was later beaten, right?
Yes, it was beaten in 2004 by a Singhalese guy who took it to 84 hours
so my plan is to take it to 108 hours by 2007.
108!
I thought 41 hours was superhuman! Was it upsetting to see your record
broken?
Not really, records are made to be broken!
What
kind of music are you into?
As I grew up in the west I am very much into rock and pop. My favourite
are Genesis and Phil Collins and things like Dream Theatre and Frank
Zappa. I also appreciate classical Indian music very much.
Do you find any conflict between your music and Hinduism?
Not at all. You can be a rock star without taking on the excesses
of the so-called "rock&roll" lifestyle.
Have
you come across and prejudice on account of being a non-Asian Hindu?
There was one incident where some 'Nazi types' saw me and said, "What
are you, a Paki-lover or something?" They were so ignorant it
wasn't worth explaining to them.
How
about from Indian-origin Hindus?
Nothing too bad, but generally they find it a bit hard to accept non-Indian
Hindus, or automatically assume I'm a Hare Krishna.
When
I was trying to approach Hindu organisations in order to get my formal
initiation ceremony, people kept passing the bucket but not actually
organise anything. It took me six years before I found a group of
Hindus who were willing to arrange the ceremony for me. A lot of people
come up to me and say "Hare Krishna". They can't seem to
see that there are Western Hindus who follow other paths of Hinduism
than Hare Krishna. But overall 90% of the reaction of Indian Hindus
is positive and well coming.
What
are your general experiences of the Indian-origin Hindus you have
met?
Overall they seem to be very adaptable people who can survive in any
circumstance, which is why they are successful in this country. Some
of them seem to let this adaptability degenerate into mindless conformity
with their surroundings. As a result I see many Hindus losing their
heritage, which really should be their prized possession. On the other
hand I've also met many young Hindus who are great practitioners of
Hinduism and are actively trying to promote their spirituality. So
the overall picture is mixed.
With
all the negative stereotypes that surround Hinduism in the West, like
caste, sati, idolatry etc, do you ever feel ashamed of openly stating
you are a Hindu?
Not at all. In fact I'm very proud of displaying my identity in my
dress, tattoos, jewellery etc and I am always ready to enlighten people
that such problems in Indian society have both been magnified out
of proportion and are nothing to do with Hindu spirituality or scriptures.
A lot of western yoga practitioners who partcipate in the full range
of Hindu practices will vigorously dissociate themselves from Hinduism
based on these misconceptions, which is a real shame. These people
should be at the forefront of educating people to remove these misconceptions.
What
spiritual practices do you participate in, personally?
I teach and practice yoga and meditation. I also do Puja at home every
day to my chosen deities, and participate in the main Hindu festivals
at temples. I read certain Hindu scriptures as an ongoing process.
In addition to this I have trained in the Hindu martial art, Kalariyappayat
Could
you class a martial art as spiritual?
Very much so. Kalariyappayat incorporates philosophy and spirituality
as an integral part of it. Just like Shaolin kung-fu is deeply spiritual.
Do you take an interest in Hindu social and political issues, or do
you think that it is a bunch of rubbish that distracts the individual
from true spirituality?
It is mistake to divorce spirituality from worldly issues. Spirituality
touches upon everything, it permeates everything. Politics is an expression
of human laws and ideas of order and ethics. If you look at the Ramyana
or Mahabhrata - there is a lot of what you could call politics. In
my opinion it's very important to be aware of social and political
developments in the world. I take a special interest in Hindu issues.
Learning about the Hindu struggle over the last millennium touched
me very deeply.