Aspects of Indian Culture

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One of the major initiatives of the Ramakrishna Centenary Committee in commemorating Sri Ramakrishna's centenary was the founding of an institute of culture. The founding of an institute of culture was felt necessary not only for the proper interpretation of Indian culture, but also to foster inter and intra-cultural dialogue. Inter-cultural dialogue is an important means for fostering international understanding and peace, while intra-cultural dialogue is an important means for maintaining communal harmony. Given the heterogeneous nature of world civilization and the pluralistic nature of India's own population, religion, language, race, and culture, it is inevitable that over time there would be tensions that disrupt the tenor of harmony behind diversity-both at the national and the international arenas. When such tensions lead to antagonism there arises the need to restore balance by revolving back to time tested principles. These principles hold good irrespective of time, place and circumstance and are embedded in the knowledge portion of the Vedas. They refer to not only the Ultimate Reality or ontology, but to the means of realizing the Ultimate Reality that have been periodically reinvigorated by the advent of exceptional manifestations of the divine. Swami Vivekananda, in his article entitled, 'The Hindu Religion and Sri Ramakrishna' and in his two lectures that are published as 'My Master' argues that Sri Ramakrishna 'is the reformed manifestation the ancient holy founders of the religions- of the past'. His advent is essentially to set in motion a trajectory or a 'wave of adjustment' for achieving intra and inter-cultural harmony by reverting to the essential principles of the Vedas. The Rg-Vedic declaration 'Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti' resonates in the later Paranoiac period in the Bhagavad-Gita as ‘ye yatha rnam prapadyente tamstatthaiva bhajamyaham'. Here 'mam’ does not refer to Sri Krsna alone, but to 'Ajopi san avyatma .... ‘or 'Ekam sat' of the Rg- Veda. Most recently Sri Ramakrishna revived the spirit of harmony through his realization 'Yato mat tato path', where 'Yato mat' refers to the different readings of the one sat or existence, analogues to 'vipra bahudha vadanti'.

This is testimony to India's spirit of not only tolerance, but acceptance of diversity. This diversity is not only with respect to conceiving the divine, but also approaching it. The continuity of principles such as this, the celebration of diversity and the openness for synthesis are all hallmarks of Indian culture. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, founded during Sri Ramakrishna's centenary, sought to project these values through the publication of The Cultural Heritage of India-an encyclopedia on Indian culture-written mostly by Indian scholars.

The present volume entitled Aspects of Indian Culture by the Monks of the Ramakrishna Order is essentially a collection of all the articles that were written by the monks of the Ramakrishna Order and published in the The Cultural Heritage of India.

One of the major initiatives of the Ramakrishna Centenary Committee in commemorating Sri Ramakrishna's centenary was the founding of an institute of culture. The founding of an institute of culture was felt necessary not only for the proper interpretation of Indian culture, but also to foster inter and intra-cultural dialogue. Inter-cultural dialogue is an important means for fostering international understanding and peace, while intra- cultural dialogue is an important means for maintaining communal harmony. Given the heterogeneous nature of world civilization and the pluralistic nature of India's own population, religion, language, race, and culture, it is inevitable that over time there would be tensions that disrupt the tenor of harmony behind diversity-both at the national and the international arenas. When such tensions lead to antagonism there arises the need to restore balance by revolving back to time tested principles. These principles hold good irrespective of time, place and circumstance and are embedded in the knowledge portion of the Vedas. They refer to not only the Ultimate Reality or ontology, but to the means of realizing the Ultimate Reality that have been periodically reinvigorated by the advent of exceptional manifestations of the divine. Swami Vivekananda, in his article entitled, 'The Hindu Religion and Sri Ramakrishna' and in his two lectures that are published as 'My Master' argues that Sri Ramakrishna 'is the reformed manifestation of the ancient holy founders of the religions of the past'. His advent is essentially to set in motion a trajectory or a 'wave of adjustment' for achieving intra and inter-cultural harmony by reverting to the essential principles of the Vedas. The Rg-Vedic declaration 'Ekam sat viprd baud vadanti' resonates in the later Pauranic period in the Bhagavad-Gita as 'ye yatha mam prapadyente tamstatthaiva bhajamyaham', Here 'mam' does not refer to Sri Krsna alone, but Lo 'Ajopi san avyatma ....’ or 'Ekam sat' of the Rg- Veda. Most recently Sri Ramakrishna revived the spirit of harmony through his realization ' Yato mat tato path, where ' Yato mal refers to the different readings of the one sat or existence, analgues to ' ... vipra bahudha vadanti '.

This is testimony to India's spirit of not only tolerance, but acceptance of diversity. This diversity is not only with respect to conceiving the divine, but also approaching it the continuity of principles such as this; the celebration of diversity and the openness for synthesis are all hallmarks of Indian culture. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, founded during Sri Ramakrishna's centenary, sought to project these values through the publication of The Cultural Heritage of India-an encyclopedia on Indian culture-written mostly by Indian scholars.

The present volume entitled Aspects of Indian Culture by the Monks of the Ramakrishna Order is essentially a collection of all the articles that were written by the monks of the Ramakrishna Order and published in the The Cultural Heritage of India.