India has been brutalized by many foreigners. I sometimes struggle to comprehend how did we allow that to happen. Did society get corrupt to the core or did it get complacent? Looking at the current scenario it must have been both.
The most successful of them were the Mughals and the British. They successfully reduced our culture similar to theirs and boxed us as barbaric bigot religious creatures limited to the religion of temples and prayers.
We all knew, then and now especially, that Hinduism is not a mere way of life but more than that. Ancient India (Vedic civilization) never had a religion or practiced any such. Temples, prayers, and rituals were just a part of a celebration and not a main part of life.
For e.g. look at the ritual of a Hindu marriage. Why it requires such a rigorous process. It could have been done with just some mantras and blessings and that’s it. But why there is a “kanyadaan” “havan pooja” and “saptapadi”. To be honest, we have lost all that knowledge and scientific temperament.
Even they joke about “Jyotish” and “Ayurveda”. Jyotish is not a mere study of planets and their influence. There is more than meets the eye. Seems it is a map for living a “meaningful“ life. Also, isn’t the aim of humanity to live a disease-free life. If so Ayurveda provides the means to do so. To enhance it “Yoga” takes it to another level. I believe Yoga and Ayurveda are interconnected and cannot be practiced independently.
Sometimes, it makes me believe that society switched from the spiritual way of life to the material way of life. This new way of life led to corruption, divisions, power struggle, and becoming dependent on the state to run its internal affairs. This might be one of the possible explanations for the birth of various religions, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, etc. in India and then around the world.
The challenge for India now or in near future lies in reviving this old system, Vedic life including pre and post, which seems to be way ahead of its times. I assume that 90% of the knowledge is lost, got burned, and buried. Even what remained, compared to today’s standards is far superior to what we have been taught via modern education. One of the many challenges will be to reproduce this lost knowledge.
Is India and the world ready for it?
|| ॐ नमः शिवाय||