INDIA

-Officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. The name India is derived from “Indus”, which
originates from the Old Persian word Hindu. It stems from the Sanskrit word “Sindhu”, which was the historical local
appellation for the Indus River.
-Known as the seventh largest country by geographical area, the second most populous country with 1.2 billion
people, and the most populous democracy in the world.
-It is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions.
*Dharmic religions- are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones.
* Hinduism & Buddhism are the world’s third and fourth -largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion
followers altogether, and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers.
-India comes under direct rule of the British crown after the failed Indian mutiny in 1858 and in 1885, the Indian
National Congress was founded as a forum for emerging nationalist feeling.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
India’s history has been clouded by obscurity. During the early days of conquest and intrusions, about 2000 B.C., the
Aryans invaded the Indus Valley. They belonged to the white race, known as Caucasian and spoke Sanskrit.
Successively, they migrated from the north and drove southward the dark-skinned Dravidians, India’s aborigines.
Consequently, the Aryan conquerors founded small kingdoms in the fertile plains of North India and brought the
Vedic literature, Hindu religion, the caste system and the Sanskrit.
At the beginning, the Aryan’s religion was more of nature worship, praying to gods for certain favors. Their gods and
demigods represented the moon, sun, storm, fire and other natural phenomena. As their life gradually transformed
from tribal and indigenous to a more complicated survival, they also began to be interested in life after death. Hence,
the foundation of Hinduism, which is now the religion of 85% of the Indian people, can be attributed to the Aryans.
The rest are the Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Muslims and Christians.
Being one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, India is known as “the world’s largest democracy.”
Hindu is the official language and English is used in legal transactions, in government offices, industries and
education sectors. Hindu and English remain to be the official languages of the present-day India, despite diversity in
tongues and dialects. The natives resort to translations to English if they need to deal with Indian-written texts.
OVERVIEW OF HINDU LITERATURE
Among the most prominent characteristics of Hindu literary outputs are the Hindu mind and essence of spirituality.
India’s literary gems bring to the fore the Vedas, the early epics- the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the Indian
drama, Natyashastra; the Sanskrit drama, Shakuntala by Kalidasa. Most Indian literary writings manifest clearly
that religion and philosophy are inseparable in India.
The Vedas are sacred books of ancient Sanskrit hymns with comments believed to have been revealed by Brahma and
have become the basis of Brahmanical caste system. Each Veda consists of Mantras (hymns), Brahmanas
(doctrinals and ceremonies) and Upanishads (commentaries on Vedic or Vedanta philosophy). The Vedas were
composed in Sanskrit, the intellectual language of both ancient and classical Indian civilizations.
-Some Vedic hymns and poems address philosophic themes, such as the henotheism that is key to much Hindu
theology.
Henotheism- is the idea that one God takes many different forms, and that although individuals may worship several
different gods and goddesses, they really revere but one Supreme Being.
Among the Vedic books, the Rig Veda, with 1,000 hymns is the most literary which reflects a mortal’s intoxication
with God, and the yearning of the Individual Soul to be in union with the World Soul, being the primary aspiration of
Vedic advocates.
The Upanishads developed from the Vedic hymns and contain the roots of all the spiritual and intellectual life of
India. There were about ten chief Upanishads written before the time of Buddha.
 FAMOUS PEOPLE
*Mahatma Gandhi- was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Employing non-violent
civil disobedience, led the India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights and freedom
across the world.
-became the leader of Muslims protecting the declining status of the Caliphate and assumed
leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921. Led the nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding
women’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability , increasing economic self-reliance, and
above all for achieving Swaraj-the independence of India from British domination. He is known in India as the
“Father of the Nation”, but was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by a Hindu nationalist who thought Gandhi was
too sympathetic to India’s Muslims.
* Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)- a Noble Laureate, being the great poet has contributed a lot to Indian literature.
Had an early success as a writer in his native Bengal. With his translations of some of his poems, he became rapidly
known in the West. For the world, he became the voice of India’s spiritual heritage; and for India, especially for
Bengal, he became a great living institution. His most notable work is Gitanjali (Song Offerings).
* Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)- another personality in India, who was considered as the Iron Lady and Prime
Minister of India who made the enemies even bow before her. She served as the third Prime Minister for three
consecutive terms (1966-77) and a fourth term (1980-84). Gandhi, was the second female head of government in
the world, and she remains as the world’s second longest serving Prime Minister as of 2012. She was the first
woman to become Prime Minister in India and the daughter of Jawarlahar Nehru.
* Mother Teresa- was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Macedonia. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of
God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental
home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. And after a few
months training in Dublin, she was sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. Then on
Oct. 7, 1950 she received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, “ The Missionaries of Charity”, whose
primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after, and in 1965 the Society
became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI. Her work has been recognized and acclaimed
throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace
Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received
the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards.
CULTURE
The culture of India-refers to the religions, beliefs, languages, ceremonies, arts, values and the way of life in India and
its people. India’s languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, and food differ from place to place within the
country. Its culture often labeled as an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures is spread all over the Indian
subcontinent and traditions that are several millenia old.
-Religion plays a vital role in the Indian way of life. Religious laws of the Hindus and Muslims govern the people’s
clothing, food and marriage. They also strongly influence the type of occupation among persons who strictly follow
the laws. Violence between Hindus and Muslims led to the division of India into three nations, India, Bangladesh
and Pakistan.
-Rigvedic Sanskrit- one of the oldest attestations of any Indo-Aryan language, and one of the earliest attested
members of the Indo-European language family.
-The evolution of language within India maybe distinguished over three periods: old, middle and modern Indo-Aryan.
*Samskrta- the classical form of old Indo-Aryan, meaning polished, cultivated, and correct (much like proper
English) in distinction to Prakrta.
*Prakrta- the practical language of the migrating masses evolving without concern to proper pronunciation or
grammar, the structure of language changing as those masses mingled, settled new lands and adopted words from
people of other native languages.
-Prakrta became middle Indo-Aryan leading to Pali.
-Pali- the language of early Buddhists and Ashoka era in 200-300 BC)
-Prakrit- the language of Jain philosophers
-Apabhramsa- the language blend at the final stage of middle Indo-Aryan
TRADITIONS AND BELIEFS
-Arranged marriages have been the tradition in Indian society though men and women have always had the choice of
who they want to marry. Even today, the majority of Indians have their marriages planned by their parents and
other respected family-members, with the consent of the bride and groom.
-In most marriages, the bride’s family provide a dowry to the bride to safe guard herself and her children in the event
of her husband passing prematurely. Historically, in most families the inheritance of family estates passed down the
male line.
-1956-Indian laws treat males and females as equal in matters of inheritance without a legal will.
-Fewer marriages are purely arranged without consent and that the majority of surveyed Indian marriages were
arranged with consent.
-Extended family cohesiveness and frequent contact is a notable feature of Indian families.
-Indian classical philosophers often think about ethics in connection with Indian views about actions or habits
(karma), and rebirth (the belief in reincarnation).
-Indian philosophy is characterized by a highly refined ethical sensibility (common among Jainism, Buddhism, and
Hinduism), along with standards of character and conduct that are common to many other cultures.

Beliefs Gathered from Upanishads :

1. The ultimate reality is Brahman, incomprehensible and surpasses all understanding.
2. The Individual Soul or Self within is identical with the soul without. By discovering the real self, man
achieves freedom and emancipation from illusion.
3. The famous Trinity of Hindu Gods which maintain the rhythm of this vast universe are Brahma the Creator,
Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer.
4. The development of the Soul is a continuing process broken into stages by the baptism of death. This is the
belief in the transmigration of the soul or reincarnation. The Soul of a good man is reborn in a person of a
higher status while that of an evil person is reborn into a lower form of being. After this cycle of births and
rebirths, the purified soul is finally absorbed into Brahma, thereby achieving Nirvana or perfect happiness.
5. The philosophy of ethics must be transcended by divine revelation or realization. Ethics are no end in
themselves but simply a condition of the road upon which man must travel, to the point where he develops
wings and take to the sky.
6. No one can understand things human who does not first understand things divine.
7. The intellect fails in the conception of Truth or Reality. Only by divesting oneself of the panoply of reason
does intuition become possible. Intuition does not contradict human reason but expands into hitherto unknown
directions by spreading another form of emotion, the super consciousness. Only this makes possible that flash
of realization which destroys all doubts and restores man to the knowledge of the truth that he himself is
divine.
CUSTOMS
Indians have very distinct practices, these are rooted from their cultural uniqueness.
-Namaskar or Namaste- the most popular form of greeting in India. A general salutation that is used to welcome
somebody and also for bidding farewell. While doing namaskar, both the palms are placed together and raised below
the face to greet a person, because it is believed that both the hands symbolizes one mind, or the self meeting the self.
While the right hand, represents higher nature, the left hand denotes worldly or lower nature.
-Tilak- ritual mark on the forehead, which can be put in many forms as a sign of blessing, greeting or auspiciousness.
The tilak is usually made out of a red vermillion paste (kumkum) which is a mixture of turmeric, alum, iodine,
camphor etc. It can also be a sandalwood paste (chandan) blended with musk. The tilak is applied on the spot between
the brows which is considered the seat of latent wisdom and mental concentration, and is very important for worship.
This is the spot on which yogis meditate to become one with Lord Brahma. It also indicates the point at which the
spiritual eye opens. All thoughts and actions are said to be governed by this spot. Putting of the colored mark
symbolizes the quest for the “opening” of the third eye. All rites and ceremonies of the Hindus begin with a tilak
topped with a few grains of rice placed on this spot with the index finger or the thumb. The same custom is followed
while welcoming or bidding farewell to guests or relations.
-Arati- is an act of veneration and love. It is often performed as a mark of worship and to seek blessings from God, to
welcome the guests, for children on their birthdays, family members on auspicious occasions or to welcome a newly
wedded couple.
-Garlanding- is also customary in India, flower garlands are generally offered as a mark of respect and honor. They
are offered to welcome the visitors or in honor of the Gods and Goddesses.
-Bindi- just like ‘Tilak’- an auspicious mark worn by girls and women. The word bindi derived from ‘bindu’ the
Sanskrit word for dot. It is usually a red dot made with vermillion powder which is worn by women between their
eyebrows on their forehead. Considered as a symbol of Goddess Parvati, a bindi signifies female energy and is
believed to protect women and their husbands. Traditionally, a symbol of marriage, it has also become decorative and
is worn today by unmarried girls and women as well.
-Nose pin- a pin worn by Indian women on their nose studded with stones. This symbolizes purity and marriage, the
nose pin is today used to adorn by many unmarried girls as well.
-Shakha-Paula- are a pair of shell ( shakha) and red coral (paula) bangles worn as marriage symbols by the Bengali
women.
- Mangalsutra- is worn only by married women as a mark of being married. It is the Indian equivalent of the eastern
wedding ring. This is tied by the groom around his bride’s neck. And is generally made out of two strings of small
black beads with a gold pendant. The black beads are believed to act as protection against evil. The married women
wear this to protect their marriage and life of their husband. In southern India, the mangalsutra is called ‘tali’, a small
gold ornament, strung on a cotton cord or a gold chain.

INDIAN DRAMA
The origins of Indian drama are rooted in Indian mythology. Brahma invented the drama for the pleasure of the
deities. But apart from the mythical origin, however, the elements of drama can be found in the Vedas, the most
ancient of the sacred scriptures of India. Dramatic dialogue can be traced to the Rig-Veda, the elements of the song to
the rituals of the Yajur Veda; the sentiment from the incantations of the Atharva Veda. Moreover, dance is believed to
have been introduced by Shiva, god of destruction; and the four types of drama to have been invented by Vishnu, the
Preserver. The gods, furthermore, were supposed to have fashioned a fifth Veda as the sacred textbook of dramatic
theory. This is presumably preserved in part in the Natyashastra (a rough analogue to Aristotle’s Poetics), attributed to
the sage Bharata.
FOUR BASIC TYPES OF ANCIENT INDIAN DRAMA:
1. Nataka- considered the highest dramatic type; it drew from the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana and the
Puranas poetic tales about the gods Vishnu and Shiva.
2. Prakranas- these were plays about the domestic life of mortals, their virtues and their foibles.
3. Prahsanas- in contrast to the first two which were plays of the upper class, these were vulgar faces of the
lower castes which ridiculed the upper castes.
4. Yatra- these originated in Eatern India and began as a form of religious entertainment, later on adopted by
travelling who dramatized the amorous escapades of the god Krishna.

FOUR VEDAS:
1. The Rig-Veda(wisdom of verses)- nothing short of remarkable which contains 1028 hymns, then 10,589 verses
which were divided into ten mandalas or book-sections dedicated to thirty-three different gods. The most often
addressed gods were nature gods like Indra (rain god; king of heavens), Agni (fire god), Rudra (storm god; the
‘howler’) Soma (the draught of immortality, an alcoholic brew).
2. The Sama –Veda or the wisdom of chants- basically a collection of samans or chants, derived from eighth and ninth
books of the Rig Veda. These were meant for the priests who officiated at the rituals of the soma ceremonies. And
there are painstaking instructions on how it will be sung was to put great great emphasis upon sounds of the words of
the mantras and the effect they could have on the environment and the person who pronounced them.
3. The Yajur-Veda or the wisdom of sacrifices lays down various sacred invocations (yajurs) which were chanted by
a particular sect or priests called advharyu. They performed the sacrificial rites. The Veda also outlines various chants
which should be sung to pray and pay respects to the various instruments which are involved in the sacrifice.
4. The Atharva-Veda ( the wisdom of Atharvans)- is called so because the families of the Atharvan sect of the
Brahmins have traditionally been credited with the composition of the Vedas. It is a compilation of hymns but lacks
the awesome grandeur which makes the Rig-Veda such a breath taking spiritual experience.