India has a rich cultural tradition. There is a harmonious blend of art, religion and philosophy in the Indian culture. They are so beautifully interwoven in the fabric of Indian way of life and thought that they are inseparable.
Indian culture is actually an outcome of continuous synthesis and has absorbed many external influences in the course of long jurney of history. The first stirring of civilisation occurred amongst the people of India some 4,000 years before the birth of Christ.
From those ancient times till recent past, we were exposed to unbroken sequence of civilisations. It is only the dynamism and the flexibility of Indian culture that enabled it to survive these foreign invasions and retain its originality and traditional character even after imbibing the best of these external influences.
Indian people, by nature tolerant and fatalists, did not at any time ridicule the traditions of foreign civilisations.
On the other hand, Indian mind has assimilated much of the thinking of the other cultures, thus enriching it and thereby becoming unique in its character. Today, it is the uniqueness which attracts the Western societies to the Indian culture. Disillusioned with their materialistic lives, they turn to India for solace and peace.
The wisdom of our ancient epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata serves as a beacon light to the seekers of spiritual bliss.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells how every human being can come to live the subtle philosophical principles laid down in our scriptures in the actual day-to-day life. Lord Buddha taught us to follow the ‘Middle Path’ by exercising control over the passions. One has to admit that
Indian sages and philosophers had started pondering on great issues more than 200 years ago which have been raised in the West only in the last century.
Indian art was influenced by the religious beliefs and the philosophical trends of the times. The temples of