The uniqueness of India is that it has survived the test of time in which many civilisations have perished. One wonders how India has not only withstood centuries of invasion and plunder, but also continues to survive onslaughts in today’s times from serious issues like corruption and naxalism.
India has stood as a united nation despite so many religions, languages, ethnic groups, caste equations.
What has kept India going? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar shares 7 great and unparalleled traditions of this country which has made India unstoppable!
Spirituality
Our spirituality is not bookish and confined to scriptures alone, it is very practical and scientific, and can be integrated in our daily lives. It has the ability to transform one’s life so totally. It can make you blossom in all spheres of life. Nowhere else in the world will you find such profound and deep spirituality that can win over the hearts of people and make them blossom from within.
This unique quality of being able to transform life so totally belongs only to Indian spirituality. India should be very proud of this. Indian spirituality includes everything, like Yoga, Vedanta philosophy, etc.
I was in Bihar in the year 2014. Around 100 youth from different villages and rural areas had come to visit me there.
Before attending the Art of Living Happiness workshop, they all had made up their mind to take up guns and arms to claim their rights by force. They had decided to adopt the Maoist way of life.
In the Happiness Program, they practiced pranayama, they meditated, and they experienced such a big change in their lives and their perspective. After finishing the workshop, they all came to meet me. Their eyes were moist and they said, 'Gurudev, we will never again take up arms and violence. We surrender all our arms'.
Seeing the change that had come in them could have made anyone’s eyes well up in tears. They were all such good hearted people, but they had strayed onto the wrong path. Do you know why? This is because they had never experienced such peace and joy in their lives. They had not tasted the sweet nectar of knowledge, meditation and singing (here meaning Satsang).
These are the three vital parts of our Spirituality: Gyaan (Knowledge), Gaan (Singing devotional songs) and Dhyaan (meditation) .
Modern science calls these as left brain activity (knowledge), right brain activity (singing) and coherent activity (meditation). Indian Spirituality includes all three and that is why it has the potential to bring about such a great transformation in society. Unfortunately, we have neglected spirituality in our country; or we have misunderstood it.
Yoga and spirituality are given tremendous respect all over the world today. Regardless of the country, people all over are rapidly adopting and integrating Yoga in their lives.
If you go to the city of Tromsø in Norway, which is the last point of the country closest to the Arctic Circle, where the sun shines for just two months in a year, even there people are practicing pranayama, and meditation. The chants of om namah shivaya are resonating even in such a faraway place.
In the same way, the last city in the Southern hemisphere of the Earth – Tiera del Fuego, after which begins the Antarctic Circle; there also you will find thousands of people gathering together to chant Om namah Shivaya, and practicing the Sudarshan Kriya. This is India’s gift to the world.
India has made a place for itself in every home in the world (by virtue of Indian Spirituality). Our Rishis (wise sages) have said, 'Krunavanto vishwam aryam'. It means, 'We will grow and spread glory through the world'.
I see their dream turning into a reality today.
Ayurveda
The medicine systems of the 21st century have begun to fade. Indian Ayurveda on the other hand is such a unique tradition in which the medicines have no side effects, and only work to protect and enhance one’s health and overall wellbeing.
Music
India is home to so many different types and schools of music. Nowhere else in the world will you find such a rich diversity in music and dance.
If you travel in India, you will find that after every 200-300 kilometres, the language or the dialect changes; the music and dance changes; the local culture and beliefs change. You will not find such diversity anywhere else in the world.
We have always considered music and dance as an indivisible part of our culture and heritage since time immemorial. Lord Shiva himself performed the Tandava (a dance form attributed to Lord Shiva depicted by his Nataraja form as the Lord of Dance), while Goddess Saraswati played divine notes from her Veena (a classical string instrument). Seeing the Lord in ecstatic dance, even his devotees such as Nandi, Bhringi too began dancing. So music has always been given a very important place in our culture.
Food and Cuisines
A few years ago in Ahmedabad, we had an event called Annambrahmam, which was a celebration of the diversity of Indian food. There were nearly 5700 different dishes that had been prepared for the event. Seven tonnes of food grains and cereals were used to create those dishes in 265 kitchens by our volunteers. No one would have even heard of such a great number of food dishes anywhere in the world. This is a speciality of India.
We have forgotten the rich varieties of food that belong to our own country.
If you go to Tripura (a north-eastern state of India), you will be amazed at the variety of food items cooked there.
Fabrics and attire
If you go abroad, you will see that the clothes people wear are usually of the same or nearly similar colors, with little variety. But in India, you will see such a variety of clothes and dressing styles, and even the ornaments and accessories worn along with them. This has been in practice since ages.
Even the idols in the Indian temples are decorated – they are so beautifully dressed and adorned every day. This quality and tradition has been another important part of our culture since many ages.
IT (Information Technology)
There was a recent study conducted by researchers in London to understand why the IT profession developed so well in India especially as compared to the other countries of the world. They found that Indian languages have their roots in Sanskrit. They then examined and studied the Sanskrit language in depth. They found that Sanskrit as a language is extremely conducive for the neuro-linguistic function of our brain. Sanskrit allows the neuro-linguistic faculties of the brain to develop well and also assimilate information quickly and accurately. So after 20 years of this research, they have made Sanskrit a compulsory subject in three schools in England.
You must have heard about this; or read about it in the papers. Sanskrit is found to be the most suitable language for programming computers, and all our Indian languages are based on Sanskrit. When we speak Sanskrit or any of our Indian languages, the neuro-linguistic functions of the brain also respond and develop harmoniously. This is what scientists today have said.
Tourism
The number of tourist spots that are in India are incomparable to any other country in the world. But unfortunately we have not presented and promoted our country’s tourist spots and heritage to the world in a proper way.
Greece is a small country, and yet around 12 million people travel to Greece to see its heritage sites and tourist spots; while India receives only 4 million people annually as tourists. We have not taken the efforts to present our rich and diverse cultural heritage before the world. We are still lagging behind in proper infrastructure and many other amenities in our country.
These seven aspects are truly which India can be proud of. If we honour and develop these seven aspects well, you will see that India’s economy will really improve and start growing once again.
