A profound philosopher, scientist, professor, Dr Subhash Kak has come with a milestone book which delineates upon the various perspectives which shaped our current understanding of the Bharat’s civilization. Initially, the colonial perspective has been a key dimension which is governing the Indian psyche in the post-independence era. Which majorly asks us to think the deprived land of India, which produced nothing worthwhile over the centuries.
But, this book by Subhash Kak is fresh and the truthful retelling of the past of India, a past which was glorious. And especially a past which is merely forgotten; not erased. The past, the glorious civilization which resides in the DNA of its people and marks the continuity of our profound existence.
About The Idea Of India
The book is divided into 6 parts namely, India and Memory, Veda and Yoga, Literature and Arts, Beyond the Himalayas, India and Europe and The World of Science and the Future.
Bharat which is not just a territory, rather a profound living civilization has exuberance in all its fields. Bharat is one such place which has been instrumental in spreading the fundamental knowledge of everything that exists in this world. But, unfortunately, the current generation seems miles away from this understanding of our past and civilization.
Just because of the colonial perspective we have been repeatedly taught and nudged in our sub-conscious. We cannot attribute anything which is ours to our name without getting a certification of others.
My new book THE IDEA OF INDIA: Bharat as a Civilisation uses primary sources to refute the textbook understanding of India created by colonial scholars & their Indian followers.
Indian ideas are more relevant then ever before because consciousness, the frontier of science, is…
— Subhash Kak ☀️ (@subhash_kak) April 11, 2023
Colonial Idea of India
What we see now is the idea of India which we see from the colonial lens. We have no idea how our centres of learning were dismantled how our psychology was encroached and how our memory was transformed. Since, colonisers have a very limited and imperfect understanding of India. They started to use the same understanding in making the policies while ruling our land. They threw out our great classics and made sure that we remain an English speaking parrot. The parrot who imitates its master, and nothing else. This exactly what our Indian were imparted to do. Imitate our colonial masters, and rejoice in their dominance.
Colonialists see us a country divided on the line of caste, creed and sects. They used to look at our history as ‘mythology’ which has no basis. They understood India as a bunch of people having no understanding of science, logic and technology.
Countering The Colonial Construct
It is important that after knowing all this, we deeply study about what real ‘idea of India’ is. Since we know what the issue is, it is more important to know the truth.
In the words of George Orwell,
“who controls the past, controls the future; and who controls the present controls the past.”
Europe has had a perception that Greek civilization is the earliest one in the world. Until and unless they found Indus-Saraswati civilization. But, due to their lack of understanding and significantly because of political aspirations, deliberately side-l the importance of Indian civilization. Moreover, they tried their best to play the game of Indo-Aryan and Dravid cultural insinuation. This was the biggest hurt done to Indian psychology and civilization.
Therefore it becomes our duty to control our past.
Role of Sanskrit, Vigyan and Sahitya
India was a land of Vedas, itihas, Upanishads and Puranas. It is to be set in the mind that whatever knowledge was here got passed down and spread over to various lands across seas and mountains. Even the Greek civilization was nothing without the inspiration from India. There was a direct transfer of knowledge and precision of Indian knowledge systems which helped them prosper.
Subhash Kak is insistent upon this fact that the sciences were so advanced that even Pythagoras had learnt mathematics from India. Because as we all know that Pythagoras theorem was actually mentioned in the Baudhayan Sutra.
While, Sanskrit is the mother all the languages is a hard truth which Europeans would face difficulty in accepting. But there are many examples which show that Slavic languages, Lithuanian, German and Greek have had names of Gods taken from Sanskrit roots. Even the Celtics say that they belong to the ‘East’.
Our Vedas themselves recount that in the Dasaraja Yuddha the two of the tribes ‘Anu’ and ‘Dhuyu’; travel to the west. In reference to that we shall understand that the East European languages like Slovenia, Serbian finds mention from Indian civilization. Their tradition find mention of Rudra, Rudrani, Ashwini Kumar,etc.
Bharat Beyond Boundaries
Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, China and Japan was a sea-route of the spread of Sanatan Dharma. Along with that beyond the Himalayas our civilization went over to China. In China, for more than a thousand years our classics and knowledge system was translated and studied in there. Even the experts believe that more than 35 thousand words of Mandarin (Chinese language) belong to Sanskrit. And adding to that, the highest deity worshipped in Chinese Buddhism and local traditions is Avlokiteshvara, who is none other than Shiva himself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we must understand that the Indian civilization and Sanatan Dharma is based upon the Adhyatma (spirituality) and the realization of the inner core. Which is the eternal and everlasting essence present in any of the element in the cosmos. Along with that our civilization never ignored other material aspects of this life. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha go hand in hand in every condition. Therefore, we must make sure to balance all the gunas (sat, rajas and tamas) along with these four purusharthas to attain a balanced life.
Therefore, adhyatmik Shakti is the core behind to lead all this.
Since, we are deprived of this knowledge and understanding, Western mentality has engulfed India’s potential to reach to its fullest potential. And therefore, this book breaks the shackles and limitations of our understanding and asks us to imbibe true essence of the Idea of India.