Indian Heritage

Only 70 to 80 years back, we used to use cow dung as a fertilizer for agriculture. We were then chided for being backward, not using new and advanced technology despite men reaching the moon. Now we are being told the benefits of organic farming.

Our ancestors used to worship rivers, mountains, trees, and the whole nature, but we were considered then as the remnants of the primitive tribal society, a country of snake charmers. And now the whole world has become environment conscious and is shouting from the rooftops to protect trees and rivers and preserve forests.

Our ancestors used to practise Ayurvedic system of medicine started  by the sage Charaka (his medical treatise was “Charaka Samhita”), then doubts were raised whether flowers, leaves, seeds or roots could treat any ailments. Garlic, honey, chillies, ginger etc are natural medicines, but we started following allopathy. Now the world is going herbal.

Our respectful form of greeting and welcoming a person with folded hands as Namaste 🙏 has become the perfect form of greeting in the times of the covid-19 pandemic.

Yoga and Meditation once practised by our religious ascetics only, have become the craze worldwide after realising their benefits.

Sanskrit is the most scientific language in the world, but it has now been reduced to religious and marriage rituals only.

The fault lies with us only. We went on ignoring and forgetting our own traditions, culture, ancestors and our heritage in the glare and dazzle of modernism of convenience. We alienated ourselves from our own past and in the process, we lost our strength and importance that we once had.

While going back from a trip to India, President Sukarno of Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, had asked for 4 pitchers of Ganges water. When asked what he would do with the Ganges water, that was used by the Hindus for religious purposes, his answer was,

“By change of circumstances, we might have changed our ways of worship, but we can’t change our forefathers.”

Indonesia is the country that had an inscription of Lord Ganesha in the front side of its one of currency notes.

Vedas are the treasures of all sorts of knowledge. The Bhagawad-Gita, a part of the epic Mahabharata has influenced many thinkers and musicians across the world, including Robert Oppenheimer, who exclaimed when he witnessed the first detonation of nuclear weapon on 16.07.1945–
“Now I’m become death, the destroyer of worlds.”

This line was from the Bhagawad-Gita that teaches,
“Never shirk in fear, fight to the last, stand your ground.”

But here in India, we are losing our own ground by imitating others without considering their pros and cons. We no longer take pride in being the youngest nation with the oldest civilisation.

We’ll have to ponder where we were and where we have reached. Our history may be replete with many setbacks and invasions, but charting a possible way forward is absolutely in our hands.

–Kaushal Kishore

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