The real appreciation of Indian culture lies in understanding and appreciating the science of Vedanta. The major difference between India and the West is that India has excelled in the study of mental science whereas the West is well versed in the study of material science. As long as the mind is over and above the matter, India will shine in its full glory and radiate the message of Vedanta. The West may have conquered the world in science and technology, but when it comes to studying internal science and questions about man's real nature, no other nation can beat the wisdom of the ancient Indian seers. Ultimately, it's all the difference between growing inwards or growing outwards, studying the mind versus studying the matter.
It requires a philosophical mind to understand the beauty of the Indian culture in its present state of affairs. Here one must take a careful note that something is beautiful doesn't mean it is necessarily superior and this is where I guess some people make a wrong identification. India, at present has several problems. There are two ways to find a solution. One way is to see where the problem lies by comparing it with the good systems and trying to find a solution. This is a good approach but it has a negative aspect of concentrating on the weakness. On the other hand, we can constantly focus on the strength of India to overcome the weakness, if at all it has. This is an extremely positive approach. And I am sure Vedanta is the greatest strength that India possesses.
One may have a thousand criticisms of India, one may find a thousand socio-economic problems in India, but as soon as one is able to appreciate the beauty in this ancient wisdom, every problem that is seen seems to vanish like the ignorance of mistaking a rope for a snake, in the dark !
It requires a philosophical mind to understand the beauty of the Indian culture in its present state of affairs. Here one must take a careful note that something is beautiful doesn't mean it is necessarily superior and this is where I guess some people make a wrong identification. India, at present has several problems. There are two ways to find a solution. One way is to see where the problem lies by comparing it with the good systems and trying to find a solution. This is a good approach but it has a negative aspect of concentrating on the weakness. On the other hand, we can constantly focus on the strength of India to overcome the weakness, if at all it has. This is an extremely positive approach. And I am sure Vedanta is the greatest strength that India possesses.
One may have a thousand criticisms of India, one may find a thousand socio-economic problems in India, but as soon as one is able to appreciate the beauty in this ancient wisdom, every problem that is seen seems to vanish like the ignorance of mistaking a rope for a snake, in the dark !
7 comments:
Hi,
This comment is to encourage you.
Lavanya
Hi Kasthuri,
Can you give me an example where "focusing on the strength" has helped "overcome weakness"? Has this been accomplished by some country before?
I dont understand how these two have a cause-and-effect relation.
Swami,
There are numerous instances where weakness is overcome through focussing the strength. Examples range from compulsive smoking to curing diseases.
What do you mean by "accomplished by some country before" ? Do you mean a mass reform ?
Cause and effect here is "change in the personal level will lead to a change in the society"
What I mean to ask is - has a country ever accomplished what you claim can be accomplished! That is - has there been any leader who has asked his fellow countrymen to focus on their strengths (rather than learn from mistakes by looking at others) and has that leader been successful in the past?
If you give me such an example, that will be some substantiation of your claim.
Swami Vivekananda was one of the greatest leaders to have a positive view of India. He never insisted on learning by looking at others. That is the sprit I was talking about. "learning from mistakes" is different from "learning from mistakes by looking at others". We don't need to compare to become perfect.
I have only one question. What percentage of the Indian population knows what Vedanta means? I don't know anything about it and I believe that when more than half the population doesn't even know what it is, you cannot call it the strength of India.
I have great regards for Swami vivekananda and his efforts. Some of the work done by ramakrishna mattam and its sister organizations are phenomenal....He was a great leader, a leader with conviction. I have nothing against him. I am talking about hunger and poverty and I believe free market and a non-corrupt, efficient system is the best and quickest way to tackle these problems...May be, if people realize the atman(I don't even know what it means) they can forget their hunger...But, i think it will take longer...the pain of hunger cannot wait until then.
Lakshmi,
What you are saying is absolutely true. I am not at all saying people should realize Atman or study Vedanta. How can the concept of Atman convince a poor man fighting for food ? God comes to him the form of food and we should give him food than speaking about Vedanta! I too believe in free market and a non-corrupt,efficient system which is needed. I am just questioning the ways of acheiving it. I am talking more on a personal level reform than on a mass level. People in India should be more confident, more outspread in their views, more helpful, more aware, more educated, take jobs with more cheerfulness and so on. But, where does the west come in this picture ? Yes, they have these things in them. So what ? Just as I said before we don't need to compare in order to be efficient. And these things are already there in practical Vedanta and that's why I said it is a strength. If you cannot call a philosophy that gives you courage, wisdom, more focus in life, right attitude, good moral sense, a strength, what can you call it then ? Practical Vedanta deals with day to day life than with God !
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