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Indian Religion And Culture Biography
The volume deals with the civilizational dimensions of religion and culture in India. It underlines the point that religion and culture are important elements of all civilizations but it is their interplay that has given a unique feature to Indian civilization. The essays interrogate the various western sociological discourses on civilization and articulate the alternative conceptualizations available in Indian sociology. They underline the unity and diversity of Indian civilization, present the idea of civilization as conjoined with the idea of civil society and study the ecological crisis in the modern world. They focus on the dialogical relationship between tribal and non-tribal religions, link between religion and environment, religious philanthropy and Christian influence on Hindu way of life in India. They also delve into the concept of composite culture in India, scrutinising aspects of folk religion and cultures to show, for instance, how art forms get accumulated into the idea of culture. The volume will be of immense interest to a variety of scholars and students associated with the study of Indian religion and culture. Author Bio: Throughout a busy professional career that got underway in 1991, Dr Amit Kumar Sharma has functioned as sociologist, Indologist, writer, columnist and, increasingly, as philosopher of indic civilization. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in well over 200 articles in English and Hindi. He has also written 6 books dealing with Sociology, Indian Society, Culture and Gandhian ideology. He is a multilingual person who frequently writes both in Hindi and English languages. As an academician his main areas of concern are Cinema and Culture in India, Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Civilizations, Sociological Theories and Indology. He has obtained his M.Phil and PhD degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He did his masters in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He has been teaching Sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU, New Delhi since 1999. In addition to his professorial and professional activities, Amit Kumar Sharma has been active in public sphere about politics in India, Gandhian philosophy, Hindi cinema and emerging global order. Presently, he is the brand ambassador of brandbihar.com, a website that promotes the culture of Indian ethos in 189 countries.Over 80 percent of Indians are Hindu, but there are significant minorities. Muslims number about 110 million and there are over 20 million Christians, 18 million Sikhs, 6 million Buddhists and a number of other religious groups. The Indian religious and social life is driven by the caste system. While the same has undergone substantial charges since Independence, especially in towns and cities, but most people in India are still clearly identified as a member of a particular caste group. Indian religion is characterized by use of symbols and icons for worship. The chanting of hymns and celebration of the festivals with lot of fanfare is worth a tourist's view for a completely delightful experience.
Hinduism
It has always been easier to define Hinduism by what it is not than by what it is. The name, ‘Hindu’ name was given by foreigners to the people of the subcontinent who did not profess the other major faiths, such as Muslims or Christians. The beliefs and practices of modern Hinduism began to take shape in the centuries on either side of the birth of Christ. But while some aspects of modern Hinduism can be traced back more than 2,000 years before that, other features are recent.
The four holy abodes for Hindus, where usually "Sanyas" is attained are well visited by all-
Badrinath - A ice Shiva Linga in the Himalayas
Puri - the incarnation of Lord Krishna in Orissa
Ramesvaram - the southern tip of India
Dwarka - the birth place of Lord Krishna in Gujarat
Buddhism
India was the home of Buddhism, which had its roots in the early Hinduism, or Brahmanism, of its time. Today it is practiced only on the margins of the subcontinent from Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan in the north to Sri Lanka in the south. Although there are approximately 5 million Buddhists in India, most are very recent converts. The last adherents of the early schools of Buddhism have been killed or converted by the Muslim invaders of the 13th century.
India has sites of great significance for Buddhists around the world. Some say that the Buddha himself spoke of the four places his followers should visit. Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, is in the Nepali foothills, near the present border with India. Bodh Gaya is about 80 kilometres south of the modern Indian city of Patna, where he attained what his ‘supreme enlightenment'. The deer park at Sarnath, where he preached his first sermon and set in motion the Wheel of the Law, is just outside Varanasi. While Kushinagar, where he died at the age of 80, is 50 kilometres east of Gorakhpur.
Jainism
Like Buddhism, Jainism started as a reform movement of the Brahmanic religious beliefs of the sixth century BC. Its founder was a widely revered saint and ascetic, Vardhamma, who became known as Mahavir - great hero'. Mahavir was born in the same border region of India and Nepal as the Buddha, just 50 kilometres north of modern Patna, probably in 599 BC. Thus he was about 35 years older than the Buddha. His family, also royal, was followers of an ascetic saint, Parsvanatha, who according to Jain tradition had lived 200 years previously.
The 18 metres high free-standing statue of Gommateshvara at Sravana Belgola near Mysore (built about 983 AD) is just one outstanding example of the contribution of Jain art to India's heritage.
Sikhism
Guru Nanak, the founder of the religion was born just west of Lahore and grew up in what is now the Pakistani town of Sultanpur. His followers, the Sikhs, (derived from the Sanskrit word for 'disciples') form perhaps one of India's most recognizable groups. Beards and turbans give them a very distinctive presence and although they represent less than two percent of the population they are both politically and economically significant. The Sikhism, was propagated through the ten gurus and the code of conduct laid down by them. The famous shrines of Sikhs are Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, Paonta Sahib in UP, Hazoor Sahib in Maharashtra and Manikaran Sahib in the Valley of flowers.ndian culture is rich and diverse and as a result unique in its very own way. Our manners, way of communicating with one another, etc are one of the important components of our culture. Even though we have accepted modern means of living, improved our lifestyle, our values and beliefs still remain unchanged. A person can change his way of clothing, way of eating and living but the rich values in a person always remains unchanged because they are deeply rooted within our hearts, mind, body and soul which we receive from our culture.
Indian culture treats guests as god and serves them and takes care of them as if they are a part and parcel of the family itself. Even though we don’t have anything to eat, the guests are never left hungry and are always looked after by the members of the family. Elders and the respect for elders is a major component in Indian culture. Elders are the driving force for any family and hence the love and respect for elders comes from within and is not artificial. An individual takes blessings from his elders by touching their feet. Elders drill and pass on the Indian culture within us as we grow.
“Respect one another” is another lesson that is taught from the books of Indian culture. All people are alike and respecting one another is ones duty. In foreign countries the relation between the boss and the employee is like a master and slave and is purely monetary whereas in Indian culture the relation between the boss and the employee is more like homely relations unlike foreign countries.
Helpful nature is another striking feature in our Indian culture. Right from our early days of childhood we are taught to help one another in need of help and distress. If not monetary then at least in kind or non-monetary ways. Indian culture tells us to multiply and distribute joy and happiness and share sadness and pain. It tells us that by all this we can develop co-operation and better living amongst ourselves and subsequently make this world a better place to live in.
Indian Religion And Culture Biography
The volume deals with the civilizational dimensions of religion and culture in India. It underlines the point that religion and culture are important elements of all civilizations but it is their interplay that has given a unique feature to Indian civilization. The essays interrogate the various western sociological discourses on civilization and articulate the alternative conceptualizations available in Indian sociology. They underline the unity and diversity of Indian civilization, present the idea of civilization as conjoined with the idea of civil society and study the ecological crisis in the modern world. They focus on the dialogical relationship between tribal and non-tribal religions, link between religion and environment, religious philanthropy and Christian influence on Hindu way of life in India. They also delve into the concept of composite culture in India, scrutinising aspects of folk religion and cultures to show, for instance, how art forms get accumulated into the idea of culture. The volume will be of immense interest to a variety of scholars and students associated with the study of Indian religion and culture. Author Bio: Throughout a busy professional career that got underway in 1991, Dr Amit Kumar Sharma has functioned as sociologist, Indologist, writer, columnist and, increasingly, as philosopher of indic civilization. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in well over 200 articles in English and Hindi. He has also written 6 books dealing with Sociology, Indian Society, Culture and Gandhian ideology. He is a multilingual person who frequently writes both in Hindi and English languages. As an academician his main areas of concern are Cinema and Culture in India, Sociology of Religion, Sociology of Civilizations, Sociological Theories and Indology. He has obtained his M.Phil and PhD degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He did his masters in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He has been teaching Sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU, New Delhi since 1999. In addition to his professorial and professional activities, Amit Kumar Sharma has been active in public sphere about politics in India, Gandhian philosophy, Hindi cinema and emerging global order. Presently, he is the brand ambassador of brandbihar.com, a website that promotes the culture of Indian ethos in 189 countries.Over 80 percent of Indians are Hindu, but there are significant minorities. Muslims number about 110 million and there are over 20 million Christians, 18 million Sikhs, 6 million Buddhists and a number of other religious groups. The Indian religious and social life is driven by the caste system. While the same has undergone substantial charges since Independence, especially in towns and cities, but most people in India are still clearly identified as a member of a particular caste group. Indian religion is characterized by use of symbols and icons for worship. The chanting of hymns and celebration of the festivals with lot of fanfare is worth a tourist's view for a completely delightful experience.
Hinduism
It has always been easier to define Hinduism by what it is not than by what it is. The name, ‘Hindu’ name was given by foreigners to the people of the subcontinent who did not profess the other major faiths, such as Muslims or Christians. The beliefs and practices of modern Hinduism began to take shape in the centuries on either side of the birth of Christ. But while some aspects of modern Hinduism can be traced back more than 2,000 years before that, other features are recent.
The four holy abodes for Hindus, where usually "Sanyas" is attained are well visited by all-
Badrinath - A ice Shiva Linga in the Himalayas
Puri - the incarnation of Lord Krishna in Orissa
Ramesvaram - the southern tip of India
Dwarka - the birth place of Lord Krishna in Gujarat
Buddhism
India was the home of Buddhism, which had its roots in the early Hinduism, or Brahmanism, of its time. Today it is practiced only on the margins of the subcontinent from Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan in the north to Sri Lanka in the south. Although there are approximately 5 million Buddhists in India, most are very recent converts. The last adherents of the early schools of Buddhism have been killed or converted by the Muslim invaders of the 13th century.
India has sites of great significance for Buddhists around the world. Some say that the Buddha himself spoke of the four places his followers should visit. Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, is in the Nepali foothills, near the present border with India. Bodh Gaya is about 80 kilometres south of the modern Indian city of Patna, where he attained what his ‘supreme enlightenment'. The deer park at Sarnath, where he preached his first sermon and set in motion the Wheel of the Law, is just outside Varanasi. While Kushinagar, where he died at the age of 80, is 50 kilometres east of Gorakhpur.
Jainism
Like Buddhism, Jainism started as a reform movement of the Brahmanic religious beliefs of the sixth century BC. Its founder was a widely revered saint and ascetic, Vardhamma, who became known as Mahavir - great hero'. Mahavir was born in the same border region of India and Nepal as the Buddha, just 50 kilometres north of modern Patna, probably in 599 BC. Thus he was about 35 years older than the Buddha. His family, also royal, was followers of an ascetic saint, Parsvanatha, who according to Jain tradition had lived 200 years previously.
The 18 metres high free-standing statue of Gommateshvara at Sravana Belgola near Mysore (built about 983 AD) is just one outstanding example of the contribution of Jain art to India's heritage.
Sikhism
Guru Nanak, the founder of the religion was born just west of Lahore and grew up in what is now the Pakistani town of Sultanpur. His followers, the Sikhs, (derived from the Sanskrit word for 'disciples') form perhaps one of India's most recognizable groups. Beards and turbans give them a very distinctive presence and although they represent less than two percent of the population they are both politically and economically significant. The Sikhism, was propagated through the ten gurus and the code of conduct laid down by them. The famous shrines of Sikhs are Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, Paonta Sahib in UP, Hazoor Sahib in Maharashtra and Manikaran Sahib in the Valley of flowers.ndian culture is rich and diverse and as a result unique in its very own way. Our manners, way of communicating with one another, etc are one of the important components of our culture. Even though we have accepted modern means of living, improved our lifestyle, our values and beliefs still remain unchanged. A person can change his way of clothing, way of eating and living but the rich values in a person always remains unchanged because they are deeply rooted within our hearts, mind, body and soul which we receive from our culture.
Indian culture treats guests as god and serves them and takes care of them as if they are a part and parcel of the family itself. Even though we don’t have anything to eat, the guests are never left hungry and are always looked after by the members of the family. Elders and the respect for elders is a major component in Indian culture. Elders are the driving force for any family and hence the love and respect for elders comes from within and is not artificial. An individual takes blessings from his elders by touching their feet. Elders drill and pass on the Indian culture within us as we grow.
“Respect one another” is another lesson that is taught from the books of Indian culture. All people are alike and respecting one another is ones duty. In foreign countries the relation between the boss and the employee is like a master and slave and is purely monetary whereas in Indian culture the relation between the boss and the employee is more like homely relations unlike foreign countries.
Helpful nature is another striking feature in our Indian culture. Right from our early days of childhood we are taught to help one another in need of help and distress. If not monetary then at least in kind or non-monetary ways. Indian culture tells us to multiply and distribute joy and happiness and share sadness and pain. It tells us that by all this we can develop co-operation and better living amongst ourselves and subsequently make this world a better place to live in.
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
Indian Religion And Culture
