Inspiration for the World

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INTRODUCTION:

CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

Culture and Civilization

If we separate culture from civilization, then civilization is material prosperity, whereas culture is internal tradition, that is an holistic amalgam of spiritual, thought and religious elements, made of values and is expressed as religion, philosophy etc. It can be called the soul of the nation and of time, that expands itself and differentiates men from animals.

Contrary to culture, civilization is a form of citizenship, that is related to the visible and outwardly world. It can be called the body of the soul, in the form of culture, but these two, are the result of man’s creative processes, that is alive because of the life force of tolerance. It propagates diversity instead of solitary and is also the all-knowing source of Hindu ideology. That is why it has been said that ‘Ekam Sadwipra Bahudhaa Vadinta’.

The other thing is that the worship of the soul and good deeds are the curious topics of Hindu culture, that has kept the Indian culture alive in the world. Many civilizations have been destroyed in the world, but Indian culture has survived on the basis of its cultural values.

It is vital to know the difference between civilization and culture. By civilization, we can mean those product sources, inventions and socio-political institutions, that light the path of mankind’s progressiveness and material progress, Whereas, culture means those creative and artistic processes that are not overtly useful for man’s personality and life, but are truthful, and give prosperity, which means that along with progress – moksh or the search for fulfillment is also becoming a part of culture. A person makes many efforts in life in order to achieve the supreme goodness, this is what is called moksh, for which he keeps fasts, observes rites, do prayer, and celebrate festival etc, his mediums.

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Culture and Values

According to the grammar of Sanskrit language, the word ‘Sanskriti’ is derived from the prefix ‘Sam’ constituent ‘Kri’ and by adding suffix ‘kitn’ to it, which normally means to beautify, to decorate, to anoint, to ornament, to purify and to refine. Therefore, it’s special and extensive meanings are to refine by chanting of mantras, to educate, to impart knowledge, to accumulate or to collect, beautify the total creation etc. In English, ‘culture’ word is used for ‘Sanskrit’, according to the Webster dictionary this word means one that is full of values, the outcome of values, purification or discipline. From the above meanings, it is clear that purification is man’s own effort, and a constant one. Culture is the name of the collection of all those elements of human life that arise from religion and philosophy, and transform into skill, society and behavior.

We just try to divide our cultures by naming them as Indian culture, western culture, etc. But there is only one class of cultured people and that is the human community. Many well-known philosophers of culture have expressed their opinions about Indian culture. The famous poetic littérateur and philosopher-Acharya Ramji Upadhyaya enumerated all these qualities to be present in Indian culture : openness, universality, godliness, religiousness, system of ashrams, spirituality, work-oriented, prosperity for all, etc.

Culture is the end result (culmination) of all of man’s efforts. In the words of Dr. Hazari Prasad, The best efforts of man is ‘culture’. Culture is that concept, on the basis of which a community looks at the problems of life, and these cultural concepts are formed according to values of his experiences. Culture gives an understanding of all those values and that is why a community is the life and soul of a caste, country or nation.

Culture gives an insight into all the values, and supports a person in deciding his ideals, life-values, etc. Indian culture has been standing tall since millions of years on the basis of its uniqueness and the religion and has been conceptualized by what is called ‘Sanatan Dharam’. There is a balance of the ‘worldly’ and the ‘shastra’ in Indian culture– it tries to see life in its totality and the entire world is just one-third of it.

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Types of Culture

Basically there are two facets of culture-overtly material or inward culture and material or outward culture.

Inward culture is expressed as culture and outward culture as civilization. The concept of Hindu culture is inward because of it being primarily ‘self ‘, where instead of the outer appearance and sources, the prime thing is search for the truth–knowing one’s own reality. This aim of culture is sought to be obtained through the luxurious mediums in civilization. Jaap, tap, vrat, chintan, adhyatam, sense of service etc. are used in this series, which is the identity of Indian culture.

Despite differences, Indian culture and civilization are mutually connected to each other, but the pace of the progress of civilization is more than that of the speed of development of culture, which is a never-ending process, that continues for ages and other elements also keep adding to it.

In Indian culture, various paths to Bhakti and Moksh have been narrated, and it is a special trait of Indian culture. The other special thing about culture is the supremacy of various philosophical thoughts and the reality that the values of life and living are not supreme. By doing all good deeds and positive efforts in life we can achieve the supreme end, or ‘Moksh’, that is the prime objective of our material life. Work, without thinking of the fruit and detachment, is the basic element of Indian culture and philosophy, that says that a person should live in the world, but at the same time be detached and according to the various stages of life carry out his works. This learning was compiled in the Vedas, Puranas, Religious texts and Shastra so that the coming generations grasp their importance and abide by them.

Indian culture considers the earth as ‘mother’ and the sky as ‘father’. It lays stress on the worship of the earth and nature. Every element and form of nature-every substance-whether it is an animal or a river a mountain or the five elements-everything is venerable. A man dedicates himself to these things. This is his feeling of dedication. In ‘yaggya’ the feeling of ‘idam nam mum’ the dedicates ‘self ‘ to sacrifice ego and be your own i.e. selfless and the egoless. A system of worship is a philosophy of life. There is a scientific basis in having faith and being reverend towards idols of Gods, worshipping trees, doing suryanamaskar, aarti, jaap, religious works, pilgrimages, temples, cow-mother, elephants, prayer etc, which cannot be refuted on the basis of logic. The symbolic worship of banana, banyan, peepal trees, fasts, cow donation, etc have ideological and philosophical importance. In the sixteen virtues one can have a glimpse of the sacred beliefs from birth to death and their usefulness.

In all religious festivals in Indian culture, regular bathing is also a part of the life system. Festivals and occasions are not merely a source of pleasure and joy, but there are religious beliefs and reasons and motives behind them. Assigning the status of God to guests and the tradition of donation has been an integral part of Indian culture and on the other hand the importance of ‘Om’ and ‘Swastika’ symbols have been all perceived, without which no auspicious work is complete. Pilgrimages, sacred places and travelling to the banks of river resources, have been considered as symbols of freeing one’s life from sins.

There are several such beliefs in Indian sacred texts that have been tested by seers and saints on scientific, social, philosophical and cultural levels and their priceless gifts given to human beings. These were adopted into our lives and became a way of life. Indian culture and its values are supported by beliefs and are followed even after so many centuries. The most ideal and liberal form of Hindu and Indian culture is found in great abundance in the religious texts, in great works of Sanskrit literature and policy principles, that inspire people to lead ideal lives.

There are countless features and life values in Indian culture. It is such a deep ocean of pearls that it is not possible to collect them all in one book, but a person should know them. Some such special pearls have been strung together and presented in the form of this book, which will surely be successful in its motive.

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Culture: An Ancestral Property

The culture of any country is its life. The level of their citizens’ lives, their behavior, life-style, rites and rituals and their values are called their culture. Every society, caste and country has its own culture and every society, caste and country is known by its culture.

Basically, the meaning of the word ‘culture’ is ‘value’. The meaning of value is – importance and usefulness. It is a collective word. The culture of any nation is as important for the existence of its citizens as air, water and food. Without culture, no country or its citizens have any identity or existence.

With regard to its personal benefits and respect, any society is forever ready for the nourishment and dedication of its culture. Many times people sacrifice their lives for the sake of their nation to get over adverse circumstances. At a personal level, they are protecting the culture of that society and nation, and this is what the culture of that nation or society is all about. It is culture that inspires a person to sacrifice himself for his society and his nation.

According to the climate-modes of living, daily routines, thought-processes and traditions are strictly adopted by a society, and become the values of that caste. These values are not only reflected in that society as societal values, but also in the person’s private life. Even while living alone, a person cannot get rid of them. People and society take these values forward and generation after generation according to their nature, or if said in other words, values are obtained by a person or society in the form of ancestral property. Values belong to a person, to a society and to a caste. Such Social and caste values are called culture.

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Indian Culture is

Ancient and the Best

There are varied cultures in the world. America, Europe, China, Russia and Arab countries have their own cultures. Every culture is known by the name of its country, i.e, American culture, European culture, Chinese culture, Russian culture and Middle – East culture.

According to scholars, the most ancient culture in the world is the Indian culture. Along with being ancient, Indian culture is also great because there is one element in Indian culture that is not found in other cultures, that is, the element of spirituality. Spiritualism is the basic concept of Indian culture.

In the other cultures of the world, the feeling of spirituality is negligible. Whereas, the feeling of worldly and material pursuits is supreme.

Although Indian culture does not oppose worldly and material progress, still it suggests spiritual growth as the ultimate source of happiness. Indian culture has connected worldly and material works to spirituality and has shown the path to progress so that human beings are saved from materialism and rather complete their worldly assignment with the intention of the welfare of the soul.

The biggest feature of Indian culture is that instead of consumerism, it gives importance to sacrifice. In other countries of the world, where the main objective of religion, culture and civilization is the attainment of worldly pleasures and consumer items, Indian culture teaches us that all material objects are momentary distractions, and their existence is very short-lived. The actual thing is the supreme element and power of the soul, which is indestructible. A person should use material objects while living in this world, but his aim should always be attainment of element of the soul. This is the basis of material things. A person should always reside in this.

Because of this the root feeling in Indian culture, man is saved from selfish ends, greed and other bad habits, and along with his own welfare, he has a feeling of doing good for the entire caste, society, nation and world, and considers injustice and oppression as sin and tries to avoid them.

Because of this feeling of spirituality man is forever at peace and patient. Despite making use of all the worldly luxuries, he remains subservient towards such a power that is capable of punishing him. This is the main reason that why happiness and peace prevail in the society.

By Indian culture, we mean those basic concepts, which when put into practice helps us in the establishment of love, peace, compassion and unity in the society and country.

Values are embedded in a person’s nature. Values are nothing but character, behavior, life-style and activities of a person. Good values alight the path of physical, mental and spiritual purification. The better the values, the better will the culture be. Happiness, peace, prosperity are always maintained in a well-cultured society.

There is a basic feeling of justice, softness, truth, benefit of others and sacrifice in the Indian culture. No differentiation has been made with respect to a particular class or a category of society. This is equality, i.e, for everyone’s happiness, for everyone’s welfare and with the feeling that the entire world is one family (Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam).

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The uniqueness of

Indian Culture

Indian culture is unique in the whole world. It has some important elements, that make it important and special in comparison to other cultures.

In the text named , ‘Indian Culture’, what Dr. Baldev Prasad has said regarding the unique feature of Indian culture is that it is not based on any one person, but is a result of endless development. Actually, Indian culture is based on being aware about one’s responsibility. Whereas Western culture is based on a struggle for rights. In our culture, we say that the earth is my mother and we are its children (Maataa Bhumith Putroham Prittivyaah). In the Indian context, there is no such thing as east or west, mine or yours. It has been inspired by the concept of ‘Vasudhev kutambam’ and has been wishing for ‘everyone’s happiness; everyone’s health.’ (Sarvebhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Niramayah)

Indian thinkers have had the pleasant experience of the personification of God in each atom of the world. Targeting this, Gandhiji had said, No culture can survive if it tries to keep itself apart from others. There is no iota of questioning in the Indian culture, because it is based on the foundation of eternal spirituality. In this context, Dr. Satyketu, connects spirituality to Indian culture, and says Indian culture is not consumerist, but based on spirituality. If we take a look at Indian culture that is so different and unique from other cultures, it is present in its basic form despite minimum changes.

Indian culture has not been indifferent to the world, but has not considered it as the be all and end all. There have been materialist thinkers also-who have propagated ‘Rinam Kritvaa Ghritam Pivet’ and Veda lovers like Shankracharya have formulated the principles of ‘Brahma Satyam Jaganmithya’. Even in ‘Purishtarth Chatushtay’ religion has been given a prime place besides ‘Moksh’, like as ‘Yato Bhyudaya Nihsheyasamiddhih Sa Dharmah’.

According to Swami Vivekanada, Indian culture is based on spirituality and theism. The other unique feature of Indian culture is the concept of re-birth, that inspires man towards good deeds. The concept of ‘Purushtarth Chatushty’ had been visualized for man’s personal upliftment, its four goals are religion, money, desire and deliverance. Our saints have made an arrangement of sixteen values through our vedas and granthas from the time of birth upto death, for mental and physical progress. This is narrated in our ancient books–to have a feeling of respect towards, Gurus, Parents and all other creatures. Like

"Maatradeva Bhavah Pitra Devo Bhavah,

Acharyadevo Bhavah,

Atihideva Bhavah."

"Paropakaaraayaa Sataam Vibhootayah,

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu

Niramayaah, Sarve bhadraani Pashyantu

Maa Kashchid Dukha-bhaagbhavet."

In this manner, we can say that considering the great efforts that our ancestors have made in order to spread