As Aurobindo’s magnificent defence of Indian culture matters very much to us in another, much more important respect also – it is the corner-stone of his criticism of the Western Civilization. It could even be asserted that it is his incomparable mastery of India’s great cultural, philosophical and religious achievements – Vedas, Upanishads, religion, poetry, philosophy, painting, sculpture, Ramayana and Mahabharata, all of which Archer rejects as a repulsive mass of unspeakable barbarism in one wholesale condemnation, that enabled him to see the West for what it is – aggressive, material, utilitarian, predatory, inhumanly selfish and unspiritual. One could not agree more with Peter Heehs when he states, “this return to the religion of his …show more content…
The very purpose of the book thus inevitably leads him to make a detailed study of the West, its values, its successes and failures, its chosen directions, its ruling passions and self-destructive interests and impulses. His thorough study of the West, which involves understanding, mastering and value-judging with high and rigorous standards, makes him question its very foundations – science and reason, the so-called solid foundations. Sri Aurobindo shows how Archer, being a rationalist through and through, identifies civilization with the cult and practice of the materialistic reason because of which he denies India to be civilized, and declares her greatest past achievements – the Upanishads, the Vedanta, Buddhism, Hinduism, ancient Indian art and poetry a mass of barbarism, the vain production of a persistently barbaric mind. He also explains how incomprehension of deeper things, along with distaste for them, is a rule with Archer, but nevertheless takes pains to answer him, because, he finds in him a typical Westerner who, taking advantage of the present material downfall of India and her prostrate condition, tries to persuade the world that she had never any strength and virtue in her. Sri Aurobindo’s The Foundations of Indian Culture would be exceedingly rewarding
Culture builds up and shapes how people view the world and the people in it. It determines how we judge and view the way others act, look, and even how they think. In the texts “Where worlds collide”, “An Indian Father’s Plea”, and “Two Kinds”, it is shown that a person’s views of others and the world are solely determined by their culture.
This essay will explore the rise of the West through examination of the evolution of European civilization. The theories and works of numerous authors, regarding how and why the Great Divergence occurred, will be considered; mainly the role of government, technological development and culture. Ultimately, it will be clear that the struggle for power in Europe led to a shift in the culture of Europe, which eventually led to the rulers that were vying for power making decisions that benefited their subjects rather than the government or church. Thus, the Great Divergence can be linked to the contrasting ideologies of the West and those of
When most of us think of the great Indians of the last century, we think of a thin, well-defined figure standing stern and serious. When we think of a modern Indian, we
This proliferation of anti-Indian imagery seems to have quickly ingrained itself in the colonial psyche, leading eventually to the prevalence of strong anti-Indian sentiment called the “anti-Indian sublime.” The anti-Indian sublime took hold during the Seven Years’ War. Literary anti-Indianism was an electrifying set of images, purpose-built for the interpretation of suffering in terms of injury by Indians. Many colonists came to hate natives because some among them spread tales of horrors committed on Euro-Americans by their indigenous neighbors. To a surprising degree, Pennsylvanians experienced Indian war as being about the communication of strong emotions – always starting with fear and ending for some with a wish to be backed by the
He states that “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike...” (Alexie, 13). He presents evidence on the stereotype laid upon Indians aimed at keeping them uneducated such as the expectation to be stupid and not answer any questions in class. From White‐Kaulaity’s perspective, the culture of reading was taken as less important and it was rare to find Indians reading at home (White‐Kaulaity, 3). As such, it seems that the stereotype barred the progress of literacy among Indians.
Within conflict and societal need the West was created and shaped. America’s relationship to the landscape, the development and suppression of the populations of the West, and the culture hence established of these factors help to define the West, and the role it has played in American History. The visions of previous authors whom have written on the American West have incorporated and separated the myth from the reality of Western foundations.
This is because so much of the visible aspects of Indian culture has diminished or disappeared and so much was borrowed from that we have lost sight of the origin; there is little wonder that awareness is lacking in some circles concerning the extent of "counteracculturation" upon the "numerically and politically dominant race."
The authors of The Bridge Betrayed and The Buddhas of Bamiyan both identify a different form of cultural eradication that occurred in within the past twenty-five years. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Serbs and Croats wanted to destroy the Bosnian Muslim symbols, culture, and population. In Afghanistan, the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan, and in turn, changed the identity of Bamiyan forever. The practice of cultural eradication is not limited to these two cases. Cultural eradication has taken place throughout history involving one group’s desire to transform, absorb, and destroy a particular culture and its’ values. The desire for destruction may seem similar, however, the individual agendas that drive the eradication vary in each instance. Michael Sells explores the nationalism that is expressed by the Serbs and Croats in Bosnia that he refers to as Christoslavism. Llewlyn Morgan discusses the Taliban’s iconoclastic and political motivations to destroy the Buddhas. Both examples ultimately analyze some of the many dimensions of cultural eradication in the world.
Little 1 Auzurae Little Professor Strange English 103 17 September 2014 Knowledge is Freedom People pay a lot of attention to their community and surroundings, especially as young children. They pick up habits and daily rituals from their family and friends. People talk like their loved ones using the same slang in relation to their area. Authors place of origin tend to influence their work.
“What is the West, a better question might be what was not the west. It seems when we talk about the west one has to stop and think are we talking about a geography location or are we talking about a culture or could we be talking about a civilization. It is true when we are talking about western culture that we need to know at what time period of time we are talking because it has evolved so much over time.
The Rammohun's response is staggering because it involves neither denial nor capitulation neither yielding to the west nor rejecting. He seeks to reform aspects of his own traditions instead of being defensive about them. He foreshadows and points to the Indian consensus of how to deal with the
Cultural value is an integral factor in the Ramayana that significantly contributed to the Indian civilization hegemony. This is because the Ramayana has traveled through civilizations within the Indian culture as well as origin. Moreover, its influence has been felt by everyone, not only those living in India, but also those living in all of South-East Asia. Precisely, the Ramayana has passionately carved out its building structures in accordance with the Hindu religion, in addition to its diverse culture. For example, the existence of Ramayana Valmiki’s epic story is because of the Great Indian heritage and values. Furthermore, even in today’s Indian society, the fundamental
In an imperfect world torn apart by religious wars, cultural differences, and a more recent social disconnect, perpetuated by the rise of technology which has helped to isolated individuals rather than globally unite them, it becomes apparent that evil is prevailing. It appears as though the modern individual has reason to fear the “other”, rejecting those different from their selves. Such demonization and aggression towards one another has allowed the evils of the world or “Ravana” to arise. Never before have people needed a reason to believe in a figure who could help rid the world of corruption, greed, desire, and ego created by Ravana, more than they do now. In William Buck’s version of the Ramayana, he retells the ancient epic of
After World War II, the widespread implementation of colonial rule was ended and widespread post-colonial self-governance began. These fledgling states were mostly provided with a framework for governance that was left over from the previous colonial rule. The Parliament of India largely mirrors that of England, and this creates fundamental issues within the governance and creation of a new state, especially one with India’s population. An already established style of governance has ways of being manipulated by outside forces that have been working within these frameworks for decades, possibly even a century or more, namely private corporations. When a private corporation effects a government in their own self interest, the corporate entity generally externalizes all risk to the governmental body and the public. In many cases, government intervention in the form of regulation or deregulation can allow for a trans-national corporate entity to exploit laws and operate in an unethical, but legal manner. In 1956, the nine year old Indian government passed the Companies Act of 1956, requiring, “affiliates of foreign companies to register as separate companies under Indian Law and imposes limits on foreign investment and participation in all Indian companies” (Peterson 2). Union Carbide, an American multi-national chemical conglomerate, wholly owned its Indian subsidiary and after the passage of the Companies Act. Union Carbide was required to reduce its ownership of
E.M. Forster’s classic novel “A Passage to India” tells the story of a young doctor, Dr. Aziz, and his interactions with the British citizens who are residing in India during the time of the British Raj. Throughout the novel, the reader gets many different viewpoints on the people and the culture of India during this point in history. The reader sees through the eyes of the Indian people primarily through the character of Dr. Aziz, and the perceptions of the British through the characters of Mr. Fielding, Adela Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Through the different characters, and their differing viewpoints, the reader can see that Forster was creating a work that expressed a criticism that he held of the behavior of the British towards their Indian subjects.