Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Essence of Indian Culture
    The Essence of Indian Culture
    The Essence of Indian Culture
    Ebook52 pages47 minutes

    The Essence of Indian Culture

    By Swami Ranganathananda

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A fascinating study of how Indian culture, which is still a living factor in the life of nearly one-seventh of the human race, arose nearly five thousand years ago, how it developed and was enriched in subsequent centuries, and finally, how it has come down to us as a rich human legacy.


    Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAdvaita Ashrama (Ramakrishna Math)
    Release dateAug 24, 2021
    ISBN8185301093
    The Essence of Indian Culture

    Related to The Essence of Indian Culture

    Related ebooks

    Hinduism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Being Hindu in a Hindu Rashtra

      Nov 8, 2019

      On the face of it, being Hindu in a 'Hindu rashtra' might sound good to Hindu ears. You might think you are in a rashtra (nation) that is in sync with your faith, values and way of life. However, closer examination and some reflection on the nature o

      5 min read

    • Article

      Intersecting Sects

      Oct 9, 2020

      Intersecting Sects
      19 min read

    • Article

      Dharma Sabha Will Not Tolerate Hindu Bashing

      Dec 9, 2020

      THE South African Hindu Dharma Sabha and the South African Hindu Youth Movement welcome the guilty verdict imposed on horse trainer Frank Robinson. This was for using language that could be construed as racist, on Facebook during Diwali. He was also

      1 min read

    • Article

      From BR Ambedkar’s chapter “Did the Hindus never eat beef?”, in The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables?

      Nov 9, 2019

      To the question whether the Hindus ever ate beef, every Touchable Hindu, whether he is a Brahmin or a non-Brahmin, will say “no, never”. In a certain sense, he is right. From times [sic], no Hindu has eaten beef. If this is all that the Touchable Hin

      3 min read

    • Article

      The True Meaning Of Tantra

      Apr 2, 2020

      The True Meaning Of Tantra
      1 min read

    • Article

      Uncivilising The Mind

      Mar 9, 2021

      Uncivilising The Mind
      22 min read

    • Article

      Unity in Diversity

      Jun 20, 2024

      In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the International Forum on the History and Future of Xinjiang, China, Pan Yue, head of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, underlined the importance of understanding Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regio

      5 min read

    • Article

      Seeing The Sacred In Performance

      Aug 16, 2023

      During August, there is a burgeoning number of events celebrating women. For Hindus, the period is even more powerful as it overlaps with the auspicious and powerful time of Amman or Shakthi prayers. Shakthi is energy, feminine energy that is respon

      4 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      Sep 2, 2021

      Michael Wood On…
      2 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      Sep 1, 2022

      In my job, travelling the world making films on history and culture, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring religion in its many manifestations. Religion, after all, is a gift for the camera: full of colour, action and often moving rituals. It’s also a c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      Nov 23, 2023

      Michael Wood On…
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Past As Future

      Jan 4, 2020

      The Past As Future
      4 min read

    • Article

      Friends To Foes: Can China And India's Ancient Links Offer Hints On Mending Rift?

      Nov 26, 2022

      At the 1937 inauguration of the first Sino-Indian cultural centre in India, co-founder Rabindranath Tagore paid homage to a friendship that began centuries ago. The foundations of that bond, the Nobel-winning poet noted, "were laid 1,800 years back w

      4 min read

    • Article

      Smelted Identities

      Jul 30, 2022

      Smelted Identities
      3 min read

    • Article

      Once Upon A Rich Legacy… umang Hutheesing

      Mar 1, 2020

      With its quaint havelis, rich histories in textile and wondrous spiritual architecture, the aristocratic lifestyle in pre-Independence Gujarat is Umang Hutheesing’s favourite subject. Ensconced in a 500-year-old haveli in Ahmedabad, the land of the M

      4 min read

    • Article

      Unity in Diversity

      May 16, 2024

      ‘Unity in diversity” is a fundamental concept in traditional Chinese culture, rooted in the coexistence of different ethnic and regional sub-cultures, as well as the exchange between and integration of Chinese and other civilizations. Throughout Chin

      4 min read

    • Article

      Against history

      Nov 23, 2021

      Against history
      23 min read

    • Article

      Making HISTORY

      Nov 21, 2020

      In pre-colonial Persian works of different genres, India was often referred to as Hindustan, but the word Hindustan almost always existed as a compound phrase: Hindustan Jannat Nishan, or “Hindustan the sign of heaven on earth”. This Hindustan Jannat

      2 min read

    • Article

      A People’s History

      Dec 31, 2022

      A People’s History
      2 min read

    • Article

      Reducing Dharma to Exotic Art

      May 7, 2019

      Reducing Dharma to Exotic Art
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Sanxingdui Experience

      Nov 17, 2022

      The Sanxingdui Museum is located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, and features one of the world’s greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century. One afternoon in the early spring of 1929, a father and son living in a village nearby Guanghan

      2 min read

    • Article

      Studying History to Understand the Future

      Jun 20, 2024

      In October 1995, a Sino-Japanese joint archaeological team unearthed the tomb of an aristocrat from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) in Hotan Prefecture in south Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The tomb yielded a wealth of burial artifacts imbu

      5 min read

    • Article

      Where Olympus Meets Nirvana

      Apr 7, 2023

      Where Olympus Meets Nirvana
      7 min read

    • Article

      Subversive Spirituality

      Nov 1, 2020

      Subversive Spirituality
      5 min read

    • Article

      Harmony in Diversity

      Mar 30, 2023

      ‘The diversity of civilizations determines the diversity of development. It is in the process of inheriting and interpreting ancient civilizations, and in the dialogue of equal exchanges, that different countries find paths rooted in their own civili

      4 min read

    • Article

      Book Briefs

      Dec 6, 2022

      WE CALL SHAKYAMUNI the “historical Buddha,” yet mostly treat him as a quasi-mythic figure who transcends time and space, whose actual existence on our planet is but a faint memory. Xinru Liu, a historian of ancient India, would beg to differ. In Earl

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Essence of Indian Culture

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Essence of Indian Culture - Swami Ranganathananda

      The Essence of

      INDIAN CULTURE

      SWAMI RANGANATHANANDA

      (PUBLICATION HOUSE OF RAMAKRISHNA MATH )

      5 DEHI  ENTALLY  ROAD  • KOLKATA 700 014

      Published by

      The Adhyaksha

      Advaita Ashrama

      P.O. Mayavati, Dt. Champawat

      Uttarakhand -262524, India

      from its Publication Department, Kolkata

      Email: [email protected]

      Website: www.advaitaashrama.org

      © All Rights Reserved

      First Edition published from Ramakrishna Mission Instiuttute of Culture, February 1965

      Second Edition published from Advaita Ashrama, February 1990

      Third Edition, February 2011

      Third Reprint, December 2018

      First Ebook Edition, January 2021

      ISBN 978-81-7505-aaa-a (Paperback)

      CONTENTS

      Publisher’s Note

      The Essence Of Indian Culture

      Indian Culture: A Historic Panorama

      The Vedic Weltanschauung

      The Mind And Mood Of The Indo-aryans

      The Philosophic Legacy Of The Indo-aryans

      The Upanishads And Modern Scientific Thought

      The Challenge Of The Mystery Of Man

      Man: The Central Mystery Of The Universe

      The Charm Of The Upanishads

      The Upanishads And Indian Culture

      India Versus Greece

      Manliness Versus Godliness

      Their Synthesis In The Gita

      The Path To Godliness

      India And The Lure Of Godliness

      The Spiritual Direction Of Indian Culture

      The Aesthetic Component Of Indian Culture

      Tolerance And Universal Acceptance

      India’s Welcome To Cultural And Religious Refugees

      Assimilation And Synthesis

      The Modern Renaissance Of Indian Culture

      The Future Of Indian Culture

      Swami Vivekananda On India’s Gift To The World

      PUBLISHER’S NOTE

      T HIS BOOK reproduces a lecture Swami Ranganathanandaji gave at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, in December 1964, which was published in the February 1965 issue of the Institute’s BULLETIN. Earlier, it also formed the theme of a lecture he gave to a distinguished audience at the India International Centre, New Delhi, in September 1963.

      We are beholden to the authorities of the Institute for granting us permission to print this booklet. It is our earnest hope that this will be warmly received by the lovers of Indian culture.

      PUBLISHER

      15 September 1990

      Advaita Ashrama

      Mayavati, Himalayas

      The Essence of

      INDIAN CULTURE

      T HE SUBJECT of Indian culture is a theme difficult to expound in the course of a short talk. The long history of this culture, its different expressions, and its rich variety make it difficult to deal with it in the course of a few minutes. The subject is interesting for a special reason. Every ancient culture holds some interest for all of us; but when the culture is a continuing culture, that interest becomes much more contemporary, much more topical. In the case of the study of ancient cultures like the Babylonian or the Egyptian, or even the ancient Greek, we study them more from a historical point of view, just to enrich ourselves from the experiences of the past. But the study of Indian culture is of special significance to us, because it is still a living factor in the life of nearly one-seventh of the human race. How this culture arose nearly five thousand years ago, how it developed and was enriched in subsequent centuries, and finally, how it has come down to us as a rich human legacy is therefore a very fascinating and rewarding study.

      INDIAN CULTURE:

      A HISTORIC PANORAMA

      ‘Nothing should

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1