The basic ideology is as follows :
- Atmano Mokshartham, Jagat hitaya cha - work ethic
- Archet dana manabhyam- respecting divinity in others
- Atmana Vindyate Viryam - strength & insp. from god and spirituality within
- Yogah karmashu Kaushalam, Samatvam yoga uchyate -calm and even mind to achieve heights
- Yadishi bhavana yasya siddhi bhavati tadrishi - thought and action
- Parasparam bhavayantah shreyah param bhavapsyathah - mutual co op to gain highest good
- Tesham sukham tesham shanti shaswati - peace & happiness
- Paraspar Devo Bhav - respect others
- All our puraanaas, the epics, and a host of related literature in Sanskrit as well as vernacular languages are full of episodes in which the world fell into danger because of serious encroaches upon this concept.
- We have learned that a key measure of the wellbeing of a society is not the supremacy of Dharma but indeed the balance between Dharma and its opposite known as Adharma.
- Thus the question is not if Dharma is violated but the extent to which it may be violated.
- To safeguard this balance and ensure a tip in favor of Dharma requires constant care and a certain level of vigilance.
- Vigilance, not in regard to what others may or may not do to tip that balance, but what we as individuals do to practice Dharma.
- So the watch is over ourselves - to see how we behave in the course of each day as we perform our duties, interact with others, serve ourselves, our family, our town, our society, our country and our world.
- Hindus see the surrounding world as a “Thou” of which they are an interdependent part.
- Humans and their society are imbedded in nature and dependent upon cosmic forces.
- Individual human life is experienced as a microcosm of the universe.
- Human life is in continuity with the cosmos.
- India has a strong ethical direction aimed at keeping this relational continuity in balance.
- Indian families are considered classically as large, patriarchal, collectivistic, joint families, harboring three or more generations vertically and kith and kin horizontally.
- Such traditional families form the oldest social institution that has survived through ages and functions as a dominant influence in the life of its individual members.
- Indian joint families are considered to be strong, stable, close, resilient and enduring with focus on family integrity, family loyalty, and family unity at expense of individuality, freedom of choice, privacy and personal space.
- Majority of joint families adhere to a patriarchal ideology.
- The lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, with each hierarchical strata functioning within the principal of "collective responsibility".
- The lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, with each hierarchical strata functioning within the principal of "collective responsibility".
- Lokaksema or Lokakshema is a Sanskrit word meaning Global Wellbeing.
- Loka means world and Kshema means welfare in Sanskrit.
- It is normally used in the context of various prayers and rituals performed in Hinduism. For example, there could be a big ritual yagna conducted for some common good such as a blessing for rains.
- Also elders while blessing reinstate this fact by blessing people with long life and welfare.
- Most of the Hindu rituals end with a generic prayers such as Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu - Let the entire world be happy.
- Sarve Jana sukino Bhavantu - Let the People of the world be happy
- Karma is a Sanskrit word meaning action. However it embraces the whole meaning of living. Thus according to Indian philosophy we are because of our Karma.
- Thus our Karma or actions or deeds (both good and bad) decide our future in this or the next life. Law of karma occupies a central position in Indian philosophy.
- All the four systems of Yoga - Jnana, Raja, Bhakti and Karma teach us to live positively in thought, words and deeds. This helps us in producing positive memories and hence good Karma.
- Our actions change the neural pathways in the brain and hence the mind, which guides us to our future course of action. Thus we can change our memories or Sanskars through Yogic process and cultivation of deep thought. This can subsequently change our Karma.
Deva pitrukaryabhyam na pramaditavyayam;
Matru devo bhava;
Pitru devo bhava;
Aacharya devo bhava;
Atithi devo bhava;
Yaanyanavadyaani karmaani;
tani sevitavyani;
na itarani;
Yaanyasmakam sucharitani;
tani tvayopasyani.
Meaning:
“One should not neglect one’s duties to gods and ancestors.
Treat your mother as god.
Treat your father as god.
Treat your teacher as god.
Treat your guest as god.
Whatever deeds are faultless, they are to be performed,
not by others.
Whatever good works have to be performed,
those should be performed by you.”
"The designation of wife in India, of the Hindu wife, is higher and grander than that of Empress. She is called Devi” - Virchand Gandhi
"India-the land of Vedas, the remarkable works contain not only religious ideas for a perfect life, but also facts which science has proved true. Electricity, radium, electronics, airship, all were known to the seers who founded the Vedas."~ Wheeler Wilcox
"The Indian way of life provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the face of India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of the Creator’s hand."~ George Bernard Shaw
"It is true that even across the Himalayan barrier India has sent to us such unquestionable gifts as grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hypnotism and chess, and above all our numerals and our decimal system. But these are not the essence of her spirit; they are trifles compared to what we may learn from her in the future."~~ Will Durant (American philosopher)
―
WHAT ARE ETHOS ?
Ethos - Greek word; aka custom or habit;
means morals, showing moral character
The guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology
A discipline that examines one’s morality or the moral standard of the society
SARVE -> all
BHAVANTU -> must feel
SUKINAHA -> comfortable,without sorrow,happy
The basic states of a human being:
Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
sat ->truth
chit ->consciousness
ananda ->happy
Om, May All become Happy,
May All be Free from Illness.
May All See what is Auspicious,
May no one Suffer.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
COMMON PRACTICES OF THIS MORAL
No one else can make you happy.
Even when 'bad' events happen, it is our
attachment, our ignorance of the big play of Time,
that we choose to be not happy
Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita
"Ups and downs come and go, bear them O Arjuna"
ELEMENTS OF INDIAN ETHOS
Satyameva Jayate
Meaning - Truth alone triumphs; invincible truth;
Origin - Mantra in the Mundaka Upanishad
Popularized by Pt.Madan Mohan Malviya in 1918
Adopted as national motto upon independence
Inscribed in Devanagiri at the base of the National Emblem
Emblem and the words are inscribed on one side of all Indian currency
SIGNIFICANCE OF TRUTHFULNESS
Examples denoting this are:
- Story of Harishchandra
- Well known story of a woodcutter losing his axe
- Butcher-Sage Story - "That which has seen speaks not, that which speaks has seen not"
- Yudhistir- Aswathamma story
- Jayadratha - Arjuna story
Morals to be inferred:
- not necessary to be truthful to all or at all scenarios
- if obj. noble then circumstance may warrant deliberate deviation
Quotes on Truthfulness
- Morality is the basis of things, and that truth is the substance of all morality(Concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong; right or good conduct)
- When life is certainly more truthful then soul has no bounds of joy.
- Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man and silence is necessary in order to surmount it.
- Truth is like a vast tree, which yields more and more fruit, the more you nurture it. The deeper the search in the mine of truth the richer the discovery of the gems buried there, in the shape of openings for an ever greater variety of service.
- In the march towards Truth, anger, selfishness, hatred, etc., naturally give way, for otherwise Truth would be impossible to attain
KARMA - THE INDIAN PHILOSOPHY
VASUDEIVA KUTUMBAKAM
Vasudha - Earth or Entire Creation or Cosmos
Eva - certain or truly
Kutumbam - family or blood relations
The world is one family!!
'ayam nijah paroveti ganana laghuchetasam udaracharitanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbhakam'
Meaning - narrow minded men discriminate b/w relative & stranger; noblemen make the world a family
IMPLICATIONS OF KARMA
As a man himself sows, so he himself reaps; no man inherits the good or evil act of another man. The fruit is of the same quality as the action.
-Mahabharata
IMPACTS OF VASUDEIVA KUTUMBAKAM
Thus the karmic way of life gives control over oneself
and brings about humility,calm demeanor and to have self belief.Apart from this a karmic person also tries to instill goodness in others as a consequence off Karmic law.This creates a positive vibe in
oneself and in others.
- part of fragile ecosys & dependable on and responsible for environment
- need of the hour with habitats going extinct -
reqd to realise that extinction/harm to others impacts us
- food , lifestyle has been a major reason for
impact on ecosys & environment
- Moral - interdependency and harmony the
basis of survival and growth
- proper utilisation of this concept leads
to world peace and mutual harmony
INDIAN ETHOS AND VALUES
YOU WILL GAIN INSIGHTS ON :
- Satyameva Jayate
- Vasudheiva Kutumbakam
- Dharmo Rakshatih Rakshitaha
- Parasparam Bhavendaha
- Karma
- Sarve Bhavanthu Sukinahah
- Mathru ,Pithru,Aacharya,Athithi Dhevo Bhavah
- Examples & instances of indian ethos followed
by famous personalities
Abejith.M (4)
Hareesh.V (28)
Karthikeyan.S (29)
Pavan Kumar.G (30)
MATRU DEVOBHAVA, PITRU DEVOBHAVA,
AACHARYA DEVOBHAVA, ATHIDI DEVOBHAVA
Mantras from 'Taittiriya Upanishad '
DHARMO RAKSHATIH RAKSHATAH
Dharma - Righteousness
The meaning implies that Dharma protects those who safeguard it!!
Performing one's duty sincerely is also known as dharma
Atithi was coined to depict a visiting person,
who had no fixed date of arrival or departure
Has become part of the “code of conduct” for Indian society
Fathers toil their life to earn
hard to give the best in our life
Takes pain in making things easier for us
- Spiritual perceptor
- Communicator and provider of knowledge
- Agent of social change
- Mediator between learner and subject matter
- Transmitter or cultural heritage
A popular saying which goes -
"God created mothers
so that he could be
felt everywhere.“
Being a mother,
is a challenging role for
every woman.
HISTORIC IMPLICATIONS
PANCHOPCHARA PUJA
The five steps from the worship become the five formalities to be observed while receiving guests:
- Fragrance (Dhupa)
- Lamp (Dipa)
- Eatables (Naivedya)
- Rice (Akshata)
- Flower Offering (Pushpa)
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharata
Abhythanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PROTECT DHARMA?
Meaning - Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata,And there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I Myself come forth
Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritam
Dharmasangsthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge
SPIRIT OF INDIAN ETHOS
Meaning - For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers,
For the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.
- Dharmena heenaha pashubbhih samaanaha The one devoid of Dharma is an animal
- Ahimsaa paramo dharmaha
Nonviolence is the supreme Dharma
- Yattho dharmasthattho jayaha
Where there is Dharma, there is victory
ASPECTS OF DHARMIC PATH
RIGHETOUS LIFE
- Purity (Shuchita)
- Compassion (Daya)
- Truthfulness (Satya)
UNRIGHTEOUS LIFE
- Pride (Ahankar)
- Intoxication (Madya)
PARASPARAM BHAVENDAHA
QUOTES BY FAMOUS PERSONALITIES ON INDIAN ETHOS
"Interdependence in Human Life "
IMPORTANCE OF INTERDEPENDENCE
WOMEN- An Important aspect
Where Women are respected and worshipped Divinity resides there.
WHY WOMEN SHOULD BE WORSHIPPED?
“All forms of knowledge are aspects of thee;
and all women through out the world are thy forms.”
“One acharya excels ten upadhyaayaas in glory,
a father excels a hundred achharyas in glory
but a mother excels a thousand acharyas in glory.”
AN INDIAN VIEWPOINT
- MANIFESTATION OF DIVNITY
- MANIFESTATION OF HUMANITY
- MANIFESTATION OF ABSOLUTE LOVE
Modern interpretaion of this practice is evident from the slogan brought about by the govt. of India to eradicate illiteracy
‘If you teach woman then the family is educated.’
THANK YOU