Monday, 8 June 2015

Culture 1 - Indian culture and its religions

Culture of India

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The culture of India is the way of living of the people of India. India's languagesreligions,dancemusicarchitecturefood, and customs differ from place to place within the country. The Indian culture, often labeled as an amalgamation of several cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old.[1][2] Many elements of India's diverse cultures, such as Indian religions,yoga and Indian cuisine, have had a profound impact across the world.

ReligionsEdit

Aarti ritual in Hindu worship
Close-up of a statue depicting Maitreya at the Thikse Monastery in Ladakh, India. Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, are indigenous to India.[3]
Main article: Religion in India
India is the birthplace of HinduismBuddhism,Jainism and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions.[4] Indian religions are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamicones. Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion followers altogether,[5][6][7] and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers.[5][8]
India is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a central and definitive role in the life of many of its people.
According to the 2011 census, 78.35% of thepopulation of India practice HinduismIslam(14.88%), Christianity (2.5%), Sikhism (1.9%),Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%) are the other major religions followed by the people of India.[9][10] There are also numerous minor ethnically-bound faiths, though these have been affected by major religions such asHinduismBuddhismIslam and Christianity.
ChristianityZoroastrianismJudaism, and theBahá'í Faith are also influential[citation needed]but their numbers are smaller. Atheism andagnostics also have visible influence in India, along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other people[citation needed].
The Hindu religion has many schools, each with their own unique views.[11] For example, according to Yogavasistha, a spiritual text of the Advaita school of Hindu religion, the values of the liberated (Hindi: जीवन्मुक्ति), self-actualised human being, may be summarised as follows:[12][13][14] "Pleasures do not delight him; pains do not distress. Although engaged in worldly actions, he has no attachment to any object. He is busy outwardly, yet calm inwardly. He feels free from restrictions of scriptures, customs, age, caste or creed. He is happy, but his happiness does not depend on anything else. He does not feel needy, proud, agitated, troubled, depressed or elated. He is full of compassion and forgiveness even to those who mean him harm. He does the right thing, regardless of the pressures. He is patient, perseverant, and without any impurity in his heart. He is free of delusions, he does not crave for anything. His sense of freedom comes from his spirit of inquiry. The fruits of his inquiry are his strength, intellect, efficiency and punctuality. He keeps company of wise and enlightened persons. He is content."
There is significant historical discourse in India on the notion, relevance, and the existence and non-existence of God.Dharmakirti, for example, in the 7th century wrote in Pramanavarttikam:[15][16]
वेद प्रामाण्यं कस्य चित् कर्तृवादः स्नाने धर्मेच्छा जातिवादाव लेपः|
संतापारंभः पापहानाय चेति ध्वस्तप्रज्ञानां पञ्च लिङगानि जाड्ये||
Believing that the Veda are standard (holy or divine), believing in a Creator for the world,
Bathing in holy waters for gaining punya, having pride (vanity) about one's job function,
Performing penance to absolve sins,
Are the five symptoms of having lost one's sanity.

Perceptions of Indian culture - please see in Culture 2 episode

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