THE ROLE OF INDIA IN HUMAN CIVILIZATION
K. THIAGARAJAN
One
of the most striking features of Indian civilization which has made unique in
the history of world is that it has brought us freedom from bondage. Numerous
wars and invasions have been fought on her soil. Whatever the political and
economic ties and affinities that India has entered into, there are certain
essential and lasting characteristics of Indian civilization. The fundamental
aim of civilization has been the cultured evolution of the individual as a part
of a society, yet retaining his or her innate originality, with an eventual
expression of freedom, freedom not only political but also economic,
intellectual and spiritual.
In
order to understand and appreciate aright the role of India in human
civilization, it is necessary at the very outset to define civilization. In the
words of Winston Churchill, civilization means a society based on the opinion
of civilians in which freedom, comfort and culture grow continually with
brotherhood of man as its ultimate goal. To Aldous Huxley, civilization connotes
nothing more than a series of conventions which keep up appearances of culture,
prosperity and good manners. Mahatma Gandhi understands civilization as a
fusion of various cultures represented by different faiths and influenced by
geographic and other environments. The example of Indian civilization has led
John Woodroffe to define true civilization as an organisation of men in society
through their material and mental vehicles with a clear recognition of the Almighty
as its beginning and a conspicuous manifestation of the soul in its various
forms.
Civilization
embraces all the three aspects of philosophy, viz., the natural, the social and
the moral and it is measured in terms of advancement in all the three spheres.
Progress of civilization should always be accompanied by the corresponding spiritual
evolution with a clear comprehension of the coherence between the different realms
of philosophy. A civilization which misses the paramount importance of the soul
in all ramifications of human endeavor is not a true civilization. True
progress of civilization therefore lies in the increasing manifestation of the
soul through a gradual perfection of the body, mind and intellect.
The
Indian civilization continues to have the hallmark of metaphysics indelibly
impressed on its culture. Culture is the inter-action of the various
ingredients of philosophy. Culture is thus the golden thread which runs through
the entire texture of civilization of a society, establishing the indubitable
inter-dependence of the various components of civilization and at the same time
highlighting the importance of the particular factor which the society
cherishes as the core of its civilization. Thus the core of the old Greek
civilization had a culture which was highly intellectual. The old Roman
civilization had a culture with a high degree of refinement of mental faculties.
The Chinese civilization had a purely ethical complexion about its culture.
Western civilization, on the other hand, has a bias for material advancement with
a special emphasis of natural philosophy.
Though
the culture of India has been proclaimed to be spiritual, due importance has
been given to the concurrent development of the material as well as the intellectual
aspects. In the political sector, the Panchayat system which exemplifies self-government
with well-conceived Raja Dharma and Praja Dharma exists even now in its
pristine purity. On the economic front, India has produced many literary and industrial
giants most successful in industry and commerce and whose activities extended
as far as Japan in the East and Rome in the West. From the time of Greek and
Roman civilization to the eighteenth century, the industrial attainments of
India have been world-renowned. Among intellectuals, India can take legitimate
pride in having produced world-renowned poets such as Valmiki, Vyasa and
Kalidasa, who have given to the world their classical literature of lasting
importance and which gloriously enshrines the various aspects of Indian life
from the highly sensual to the highly intellectual and spiritual. On the
spiritual side, Vedanta provides the living force of the country from the Vedantic
period to the present times. Vedanta interprets culture as self-restraint and
prescribes that work should be performed in a spirit of detachment as duty
performed in dedication to God. Industrialization came to be recognised as an
inevitable and important step in the progress of the civilization of this
country.
Huxley
is very emphatic that there can never be a civilization which ignores
appearances and is wholly spiritual. According to him, if appearances are not
insisted on, the majority of human beings would rapidly become barbarous;
spirituality to him is only a product of climate. He sums up his conclusion
thus: “If Western civilization is unsatisfactory, it is because we are not
materialistic enough. The remedy is more materialism and not as false prophets
from the East assert more spirituality; more interest in this world, not in the
other.” On the contrary Gandhi has ruled that our civilization, our culture and
our Swaraj depend not on multiplying our wants–self-indulgence but on
restricting our wants–self-denial.
The
values which Indians cherish as the core of their civilization, on the other
hand, present an entirely different picture. Such values are all included in
the term Dharma. The concept of Karma and Varnaashrama and other vitalising
features have welded themselves into the Hindu Dharma, reflecting the values
cherished by the Indians from time immemorial. The entire gamut of Hindu Dharma
is enshrined in the epics, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Srimad
Bhagavata. Indian civilization, in short, has evolved on the exalted principle
of ‘simple living and high thinking’ and on the nobility of ‘service’ with
universal happiness as its consummation.
In
addition to the basic difference in the approach to life, there are several
other factors which have contributed to the wide difference in the civilizations
of the East and the West and they are as follows: heavy concentration of
population in the East; origin of all world religions; political and racial
exploitation of the Eastern countries and the consequent uneven economic
development of the East and West during the last few centuries; the advent of
heavy industries, etc. However, with the establishment of increased channels of
communication between the East and the West, the two cultures are now in a
state of despair, each trying to overrule the other. There is no doubt that the
spiritual values of this country that withstood the ages of vicissitudes from
alien cultures will not only continue to exist in undiminished splendour but
also actively participate in the evolution of a unique world culture.
Phaenician,
Carthagian and Babylonian civilizations are dead and gone. The Confucian
civilization in China is in the decadent stage. The Stoic civilization founded
on the doctrine of Logos died a natural death, as it failed to recognise the
ascendency of the soul in all activities of human nature. India, however, still
lives with her peculiar civilization because her concept of life is based on
soundly scientific and spiritual values. Though pessimists may be sceptical
about the establishment of a world culture to create a world society, India has
demonstrated amply through her accomplishments, both in the past and in
the present, that such a scepticism is wholly
unwarranted.
India
is the abode of several races, several religions and several languages. Despite
such diversities, it has been only through its cohesive cultural force that
Indian civilization has remarkably survived through the ages with uninterrupted
continuity and unimpaired unity
and stands as a sparkling example to other nations. Indian civilization
has always been broadbased and has laid more emphasis on the essentials of life
and joy than on the propensities leading to sorrow and death. The role of India
in human civilization is therefore very vital, in as much as its example as a
nation founded on the principle of unity in diversity stands as a source of
perennial inspiration to the world with racial, political and religious
multitudiousness for the production of a pattern of world civilisation which
realises the concern for the welfare of all human beings for many centuries to come.