Category: Cultural Diversity

It has been widely recognised in the language teaching profession that learners need not just knowledge and skill in the grammar of a language but also the ability to use the language in socially and culturally appropriate ways (Byram, Gribkova, Starkey, 2002). Hence the National Curriculum in England underlines the importance of “liberating learners from insularity” (DfE, 2014) and familiarising them with the target culture through a “variety of authentic resources” (DfE, 2014) such as stories, poems and songs. In this essay, I will therefore demonstrate how music can be used as means to develop cultural awareness in the MFL classroom. In fact, using songs within secondary foreign language lessons could be more than an unusual, engaged learning atmosphere. It could potentially facilitate an accelerated, long term understanding of a culture and acquisition of a language. First, I will bring up the concept of intercultural competence and its connection with language and with students’ exposure to authentic input. Furthermore, I will identify some reasons for which MFL teachers should be encouraged to use songs in order to improve their teaching practice and increase cultural awareness in their classroom. According to Rubdy (2003, p. 49) a course book by itself has little operational value until the teacher populates it with his/her own ideas and experiences and brings it to life. Therefore, it is advisable that teachers consider the fact that there are various motivations for choosing a specific target language teaching resource. For this reason, I intend to present, through my research, some of the criteria used for evaluating the content of authentic resources, namely of songs. I will then proceed to discuss the practical implication of a Spanish song introduced to a Year 10 class, and I will include some references to pupils’ outcomes.

Intercultural Understanding and Language Learning

Over the last twenty years, European educational policy documents have increasingly highlighted the need for the school curricula to develop pupils’ openness to and acknowledgement of different cultures (the Resolution on the European Dimension, European Commission 1988; the White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue, Council of Europe 2008; the Recommendation on Education for Democratic Citizenship, Council of Europe 2002; the Report of the International Commission for Education, UNESCO 1996). Policymakers in several countries, including England, have responded to such directives in their national curricula in a range of different subjects, with special focus on this in the area of modern foreign languages. Whilst the cultural dimension has been recognised in MFL policy documents since the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1991, it had previously been defined as “cultural” awareness” or “cultural knowledge and contact”. A change in thinking and terminology related to the cultural dimension among linguists occurred before the English National Curriculum revision of 2008. In the early 1990s, scholars started stressing the limitations of the cultural awareness approach since it tended to take an essentialist view of culture that is static and associated with the dominant view in a particular country (Byram 1997; Byram and Zarate 1994; Crozet et al. 1999; Kramsch 1998, 1999). Intercultural languages theorists later emphasised cultural complexities and flows (Risager, 2007) and argued that one of the main aims of languages education should be to bridge cultural differences and to strengthen their harmonious relationships. Moreover, interculturalists support the integrated study of language and culture and some of them have constructed pedagogical models in order to promote such learning, see for instance, the “savoirs” model for intercultural communicative competence (Byram,1997) and the study of culture “in a third space” (Kramsch, 1999).

A both cultural and linguistic analysis of the language helps understand perception, imagination, mindset and emotions of native speakers, and study their system of thinking. In a research report, Byram, Esarte-Sarries and Taylor (1991, p.22) offer a four-dimensional approach: these four dimensions include language learning, language awareness, cultural awareness, and cultural experience. They highlight the non-linguistic dimensions of culture, where students are taught to consider cultural differences from two points of view – their own culture and foreign language culture. MFL teachers can therefore make students aware of important elements of their culture and help them learn about how their culture has shaped them (Bryam, 1997). Thus, the principal objective is to convert their monocultural understanding of the world into an intercultural one.

Songs as Culturally Authentic Material

According to Nunan (1988, p. 4) authentic resources are the materials which have been produced for purposes other than to teach language, whilst Herrington and Oliver (2000, p. 21) suggest a relatively new pedagogical approach, called ‘authentic learning’. This term directly refers to the students’ real life and prepares them to know and deal with real world situations.

Genhard (1996, p. 17) classified authentic materials into three categories: authentic listening materials, such as radio news, cartoons, songs, etc.; authentic visual materials, such as street signs, magazines and newspapers pictures, post cards, etc; authentic printed materials, such as sports reports, newspapers, restaurant menus, train tickets, etc. These resources can belong to different genres and registers. Therefore, these might often be too dense and difficult, informal spoken or written authentic texts may not follow convention and the vocabulary used may be unfamiliar to pupils (Lansford, 2014) and often the vocabulary is not salient within the context of their learning (Merrill, 1986). Such materials can contain words that are unknown to students (for instance, slang or secondary meanings) or even topics and feelings that are completely new to them. Still, these should not be perceived as being disadvantages as long as the content is suitable for the topic of the lesson and to the learners’ needs. In fact, authentic materials help encourage students to learn the language by making them feel that they are learning the real language (Guariento and Morely, 2001). Whereas Hyland (2003, p. 94) reports that one of the most important advantages of using authentic materials is that it increases learners’ motivation and reflects positively on the learning process. Furthermore, Melvin and Stout (1990, p. 44) argue that fully exploited, authentic texts give students direct access to the culture and help them use the new language authentically themselves, to communicate meaning in meaningful situations rather than for demonstrating knowledge of a grammar point or a lexical item.

As I previously wrote, songs are part of the category of authentic materials. Hence, the culture of a country is also conveyed through music. Murphey (1993, p. 8) states that songs […] are important tools in sustaining cultures, religions, patriotism, and yes, even revolutions. In fact, the use of music has the advantage of exposing students to an audio-video and written resource that gives them a broader outlook on the use of the foreign language in a wide range of real-life situations. Thus, it could be argued that songs and music offer pupils more freedom of interpretation, of developing critical thinking skills, and sharing ideas with each other. Music appeals to everyone:

Music is everywhere, and all students have musical tastes. […] I also hope it will show teachers how stimulating it is to tune in to the wealth of information, reactions, and feelings already there in our students. The advantage of musical materials is that they are so readily available to the teacher, and so immediately motivational to most students. (Murphey, 1993)

On the other hand, using songs in MFL lessons might present some issues, in terms of complexity and content. Therefore, teachers should propose resources that are appropriate for their pupils’ level and interests. Students might feel overwhelmed and frustrated by this different teaching resource because they face a new kind of vocabulary, with metaphors, secondary meanings, and an informal language. Melvin and Stout (1990, pp. 52-53) suggest that the best way to reduce this initial anxiety is to design exercises that draw the students’ attention to things in the text they will have understood. These activities might include the identification of number and gender of singers of a popular song or of a person referred to in the lyrics, characterization of the type of text (, poem, advertisement, love letter), or the names of central characters. The content of a song can also impose other kinds of problems. Bernice Melvin and Daniel Stout (1990, p. 50) argue that the wide array of language used is not the only factor making material difficult for the student. Culturally unexpected behaviour or attitudes can increase its inaccessibility.

However, scholars such as Jolly (1975), Candlin (1992), Engh (2013), emphasize the benefit of the cultural exposure of songs. They consider songs helpful to know more the cultural heritage of different societies, better understand the values of people whose language students learn. In fact, singers convey through music ideas that can be related to a particular cultural background. For this reason, songs represent an interesting and alternative method of teaching new aspects of the foreign language and its representatives.

Why Should MFL Teachers Use Songs as Teaching Resources?

Music could be considered by some teachers as a time filler, as an activity delivered only when there are a few minutes remaining until the end of the lesson. Other teachers might think that songs are inappropriate for secondary school or simply inadequate for their lessons because of the linguistic discourse used or the message conveyed. Murphey (1993, p. 12) asserts that music and songs is not really one of the conventional categories of language study (grammar, vocabulary, composition, reading, listening comprehension, conversation, etc.); but it can be the content matter of any of these categories and we can focus on any, or many, of these areas when using songs. Songs can replace, to a certain degree, some traditional teaching resources such as course books and grammar books, etc. Lake (2003, p. 12) finds that students are more willing to negotiate meaning within the circular structure of a song than in simply reading a passage. One interesting claim he makes is that the music carries you along into the text whether you are ready or not. Moreover, a song can be used to teach some grammar structures, new vocabulary items and develop the four skills. However, considering the cultural specificity of the foreign language, teachers would be concerned with aspects of language that are generally neglected, or that at best tend to remain peripheral in course materials: connotation, idiom, the construction of style and tone, rhetorical structure […](Pulverness, 2003). In other words, mastering the TL also requires being able to distinguish between a formal and an informal speaking style.

Maley (1990, pp. 93-95) lists ten main reasons for working with poems and songs: memorability, rhythmicality, performance/recitability, ambiguity, non-triviality, universality, playfulness, reactional language, motivation and interaction. Students tend to remember songs because they use rhymes, a lot of repetitions and usually describe a story with which the listener can usually empathize. Furthermore, Murphey (1993, p.8) identifies three ulterior motives for using songs within foreign language lessons. He argues that most importantly, perhaps, songs are relaxing, they can[…] be used as a means for teachers to increase rapport with their students and ‘’ […] can stimulate very positive associations to the study of a language, which otherwise may only be seen as a laborious task, entailing exams, frustration, and corrections (Murphey, 1993).

Songs also bring cultures closer to each other. This represents another relevant reason for integrating songs in the MFL teaching practice. Martin and Nakayama (2010, p. 360) assert that […] people often are introduced to other cultures through the lens of popular culture, namely through television, music, magazines and even gastronomy. Music has a social function because it can reinforce bonds between people and can communicate values. On the other hand, sometimes it is challenging to use songs because they might reiterate stereotypes and convey a false cultural identity.

Murphey (1993, pp. 9-10) mentions some purposes for listening to songs in a learning environment:

• study grammar
• practice selective listening comprehension
• read songs, articles, books for linguistic purposes
• translate songs
• write dialogues using the words of a song
• do role-plays
• dictate songs
• use a song for gap-fill, cloze, or for correction
• teach vocabulary
• break the routine.

However, the use of songs in MFL lessons can confuse or demotivate pupils to a certain degree. By concentrating only on grammar, vocabulary and translations they might lose their enthusiasm and engagement for sharing and listening to music. A better approach would be that of integrating music, culture and language in a same activity. Pulverness (2003, p. 428) states that there is an intricate bond between language and culture and therefore language should not be treated as a value-free code because […] it is likely to deprive learners of key dimensions of meaning and [to] fail to equip them with necessary resources to recognize and respond appropriately to the cultural subtext of language in use. By letting themselves guided by this principle, students are going to be equipped with the necessary tools in order to decipher the meaning of a song, both from a cultural and a linguistic perspective. Likewise, students would become more aware both of the intended and the implied meaning suggested by lyrics. They would be able to understand and differentiate between cultural clichés and genuine cultural values. In addition, it can be stated that music has become a trait of character. When someone asks you what kind of music you listen to, he/she already labels you and assigns you certain characteristics. Because music carries so much personal value, people tend to be sensitive to the message, the mood and the feelings that are conveyed through it.

They are all most of ancient Hindu texts which define truth for Hindus religion, and they are also helping giving spiritual advise and wisdom to the Hinduism believers. All consisting of hymns, prayers, praises, spiritual guiding, meditations and mystical and philosophical teaching. So they have a huge benefit in Hinduism. For instance, Vedas are a huge body of Hindu texts, stands for the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Considers to be apauruṣeya, it means not of a man, superhuman and impersonal, authorless. And also Veda, the earliest collection of hymns to the gods. Agni, the deity associated with fire and sacrifice, was one of the most popular. As a fire, Agni prayed as one that was accessible to people and could receive light. He was also addressed as a messenger, the one who communicated between humanity and the other gods. Others also important too, they are focus on concern worship, spirituality, ritual activity, and the attainment of magical powers, so on.

There are two foundational concepts that almost all Hindus believe: reincarnation and karma. Reincarnation is the process that the atman, the eternal, uncreated soul, must endure while on the great wheel of samsara (where a soul must go through thousands or even millions of lives all full of suffering before reaching moksha. Moksha is the goal as it is liberation from suffering and uniting with the infinite (the end of the soul cycling. For the Hindu, karma is the cumulative value of one’s life actions, good minus bad, which determines one’s reincarnation level after death. Positive karma would seemingly raise one’s station and negative karma would lower it. Brahman is the supreme reality for the Hindu. It is the “thing” to which the also divine atman is trying to unite. While the Brahman is impersonal, many gods or incarnations of gods who are worshiped by Hindus have personal attributes. Chief among them are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. In the Hindu “trinity”, Brahma is the creator.

Vishnu and Shiva in the Hindu “trinity”, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer. Avatars or incarnations of Vishnu have been sent to earth to bring the message of salvation to man. Vishnu’s incarnations include Rama, a benevolent king, and Krishna, an impetuous, violent, and erotic figure. Shaktism is, together with Viashnu and Shiava, one of the major forms of modern Hinduism. The gods are sometimes amoral; their freedom from the usual restraints necessary to humans is often celebrated, and they are often represented with sexual imagery.

For centuries the notions of reincarnation and karma have been used to support the cruelties of the Indian caste system, which relegates the majority of people to poverty and subservience. Probably as a result of Western influence the caste system has been substantially dismantled, although the idea that all human suffering is deserved is still responsible for a great deal of injustice.

Shankara is known as the revival of the Hindu religion, established his spiritual capitals in Mutts on the four sides of India. They were quite strategically well organized placed to ensure that religion can be handled in parts of Bharat.

Gandhi was involved in social reform and transformation of the modern India with reference to her valuable spiritual traditions. He also developed his ideas and actions as one of the colonized in the context of British rule, sometimes imitating, sometimes adversarial, but always influenced by Western images of India and Hinduism.

Bhaktivedānta Svāmi was an Indian spiritual teacher and the founder-preceptor of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the ‘Hare Krishna Movement’. Members of the ISKCON movement view Bhaktivedānta Swāmi as a representative and messenger of Krsna Caitanya. Bhaktivedanta Swami is widely regarded as the foremost Vedic scholar, translator, and teacher of the modern era. He is especially respected as the world’s most prominent contemporary authority on bhakti-yoga, devotional service to the Supreme Person, Krishna, as taught by the ancient Vedic writings of India. He is also the founder acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the science of Self Realization explains by example how to attain the highest platform of blissful super consciousness -the transcendental , loving condition of all living beings.

During the fourth century BC Aryan – the same people who developed Greek culture – conquered much of today’s India. Their god-pantheon, similar to the Greeks, combined with native Indian traditions of meditation to form a loose combination of beliefs and practices known as Hinduism. Hinduism is not really a religion, but many different religions that interact and blend into each other. There are no known founders and no beliefs. In fact, there is no agreed authority except the extensive sacred text, Vedas, which was written over the 1500 year period. The contents of the Vedas are practically unknown to most Hindus and the texts are rarely drawn for information or advice.

Although emphasis is placed on personal spirituality, the history of Hinduism is closely connected to political and social developments, for instance, the rise and fall of various kingdoms and empires and others issues. The early of Hinduism’s history is difficult to date and Hindus themselves tend to be more concerned with the content of a textual matter or story rather than its date.

There are different opinions in Hindu texts about the role of women, such views of the position of women is to limit her role to an obedient daughter, housewife and good mother, and children bearing special children were her virtue. As it is written in the book, ‘ A good wife should serve even a bad husband as god. She should not leave him and, once widowed, she should not remarry’ (pg 83). However the script recipes were intended for the women in the two-born classes and were certainly of less importance to those with lower status. For example, submissiveness to the wishes of the spouse and family, tolerance of abuse, preference for sons and limited freedom permeated Hindu society. Women were not marginalized to the same extent as chandalas, but they had no direct access to religious writings and institutions or to spiritual progress and a relationship with the divine.

Hinduism is really the smorgasbord of religions (Mixture) there is a little something for everyone, unless of course you happen to be born an Untouchable (those so low in India, they are not even part of the caste system and therefore not eligible for salvation-they are continually reincarnated as Untouchable) in which case, your uncreated, eternal atman will never be united with Brahman.

What there is not is absolute truth. Our personal, loving God became incarnate only once in human history and teaches that He is “the way, the truth and the life” not one of many ways as Hinduism proposes. Our God created our souls for the purpose of communing with Him we are not divine within ourselves. While our soul is eternal, it is appointed for men to die once and after this the judgment (Heb 9:27). There is no need for constant recycling because we serve a God of grace who gives us all we need on our path to Him—first and foremost the conquering of our greatest enemy death through His crucifixion and resurrection.

Hinduism is one of the widespread religions in the world. It is considered the third largest religion after Christianity and Islam, and some scholars even call it the oldest religion with the roots dating back more than 4000 years. It is mostly practiced in the countries of Southeast Asia especially in India so almost 90 % out of 900 million followers of this religion live in India. What makes Hinduism special is that it does not have any founder, thus, it is difficult to trace its origins. Some followers even claim that it is eternal and always existed. Hinduism embraces many traditions rather than being single religion, therefore, it is also called “a way of life” or “family of religions”. In addition, Hindus follow principles of many sacred writings, and they improved their beliefs and system of worship from these scriptures. The sacred texts of Hinduism are named “Vedas” that encompasses different subjects from nature to everyday life and behavior. Hinduism defines goals of human being as Purusharthas,and soul purpose of a person is to fulfill these Purusharthas. There are 4 Purusharthas in Hinduism which are called Dharma, Kama, Artha, and Moksha.

Each religion has formal rules that are followed by its believers. In case of Hinduism, moral laws that are followed by Hindus are called Dharma. So, it can be asserted that if a person lives according to the rules of Dharma, he or she lives righteous life. It is obvious that Dharma is very crucial for Hindus because it is not about worship, but duties which they have to perform as a member of Hindu society. In addition, there are two aspects of Dharma: “sanatana dharma” and “yuga dharma”. Sanatana dharma is related to eternal obligatory duties that are not subject to change. All Hindus regardless their social status, gender, and caste have to obey those rules if they want to live righteous life. Sanatana dharma laws include duties as being honest, patient, with goodwill, not injuring others, and this kind of laws are very similar to laws written in Quran and Bible. The only problem with “Sanatana Dharma” is that it can conflict with “Svadharma” which is related to particular duties of Hindus depending on their caste and social status. This conflict is depicted in Hindu sacred texts “Bhagavadgita” so it suggests that in such cases svadharma should prevail. For example, if a Hindu person is born in warrior’s class, his duty is to fight if there is a battle. Therefore, he is permitted to kill someone even if general laws “sanatana dharma” says do not injure others. Sacred texts suggest following personal duties because Hindus believe that the soul is eternal, even if a warrior kills a person, his soul will not be dead, and it will transfer to another body. “Yuga dharma” is another aspect of Dharma which is not eternal, but valid for Yuga, and it is subject to change. So, it can be said that “Yuga dharma” changes depending on traditions, social values, and ethics. A Hindu monk mentioned Yuga Dharma in his writings in this way: “Even in India, the minor laws have been changing all the time. Customs of one yuga, have not been the customs of another, and as yuga comes after yuga, they will also change (Vicekananda, 2016)

In Hinduism, Kama is considered as desire for pleasure that derives human behavior. Kama is referred as a god of love, and it is translated as “love”, “passion”, and “desire”. Even though the word Kama is mainly associated with passion to love, but, in general terms, it is also about desire and passion to anything else. For example, desire to sing a song or passion to travel can also be related to Kama. So, we can say that for Hindus it is socially acceptable to love and have passion to someone. In Hinduism, Kama is considered important for existence so like good food is necessary for well-being of body, good pleasure is essential for the healthy existence of a person. It can be mentioned that desire to have pleasure is not shameful for Hindus. When fulfillment of desires is governed by righteous intent and action, these desires are considered to be acceptable part of life. Another important thing about Kama is that it must be transcended in favor of the higher spiritual and moral purposes. When Hindus follow Kama, they should not ignore other three important goals of life, especially Dharma. Hindus scriptures mention that when Dharma is ignored, Kama and Artha can create chaos. Kama is the least important goal among all four because it is about enjoyment and pleasure. It can make people to live unethical life, make them carelessness and commit wrongful deeds. For example, a person can kill someone whom he considers as an obstacle to his enjoyment of life. Therefore, it is suggested that Kama should be followed considering Dharma and Artha.

Artha is the safety of having material ease that one needs to live in the world with comfort. This word is translated as “wealth” or “property”. This means that Hindus should pursuit wealth and it is acceptable to want to be wealthy. The reason why it is acceptable is very simple: each individual needs to have money and property in order to live, have family, and raise children. Therefore, Artha is considered as a noble goal. However, seeking artha, sometimes, can make people to commit unrighteous deeds. Therefore, the same as in case of Kama, Artha should be followed together with Dharma. The interesting fact about Artha is that it is differently perceived by upper classes and lower classes. As it is known, in Hinduism caste system prevails, in which people are divided into several social classes. For people of upper classes artha is a destiny because they are born to be rulers and kings. Thus, they have to follow artha and try to have power and wealth. For people of upper classes it is not only goal, but more like duty. It is impossible to imagine a ruler who does not have wealth. However, in case of lower classes, artha should not be followed as a mean to gain power and move into upper caste. In Hinduism, it is believed that if a person is born in particular caste, then it is his destiny, and he cannot change it. Therefore, people of lower cases have to accept their destiny and seek artha only for the purpose of feeding themselves and their family.

Moksha is fourth and the most important goals in Hindus life. However, before understanding Moksha one should know what samsara in Hinduism is so Samsara is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Hindus believe that when person dies his soul is transmitted into another body, and his new life depends on deeds that he did before. If one lived righteous life his/her will rebirth as a human being and have good life, but if one lived unrighteous life, then he/she can be reborn as an animal and live bad life. Moksha is the final aim behind Hindu religious belief, practice and it is a form of Hindu salvation. It is actually freedom of cycle of birth and rebirth. The ultimate goal of each Hindu is to reach Moksha, and it involves different paths to obtain Moksha. There are 4 main ways through which Hindus can take to achieve Moksha. First one is “Jnana-Yoga” that requires liberation from illusionary world of perceptions, thoughts and creation of knowledge relationship between the soul and Brahman. Second is “ Dhyana-Yoga “ and its aim is concentration so one can achieve the real self within itself and become one with Brahman. Third way to achieve Moksha is the practice of “Bhakti-Yoga” which involves to choose a particular goddess or god and to worship them throughout one’s life in words, actions and deeds. Final path is “Karma-Yoga”, it demands doing all your duties properly throughout your life. It doesn’t matter which path one choose, important thing is to achieve self-control, letting go of desires and serving others selflessly.

To conclude, four main goals of Hindu life: Dharma, Kama, Artha, and Moksha are discussed. Working with these 4 Purusharthas helps humans to create a satisfyingly balanced, good life at the most holistic level. They suggest a way for assessing your life, making reasonable decisions and knowing your goals that bring meaning to your spiritual experience. It can be noted that Kama and Artha should be pursued together with Dharma in order to reach ultimate goal Moksha. However, it is not easy to reach Moksha so it requires many years of hard work to reach it.

In a recent work, ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’ (2018), Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt talk about two versions of ‘Identity Politics’ : Common Humanity Identity Politics and Common-Enemy Identity Politics. They regard the former as a positive and loving approach since it aims at bringing the people of a community together to do away with the differences within it. Whereas the latter approach is based on the idea that a community is divided on several identities, and thus, it aims at breeding an ‘Us versus them’ attitude within communities. In this regard, this paper attempts to look at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mr. Kancha Ilaiah through their respective works, ‘Annihilation of Caste’ and ‘Why I am not a Hindu: A Sudra critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy’, and compare their methodologies in doing away with their religious identities as Hindus. While Ambedkar seems to have adopted the Humanity approach since he aims at reforming the Caste system to achieve a political revolution, Kancha Ilaiah, even while supporting Ambedkar’s viewpoints, seems to have adopted the Enemy approach since he affirmatively identifies his community as separate from the Hindus.

Dr. Ambedkar, in his famous undelivered speech ‘Annihilation of Caste’ in 1936, remarks in the beginning that the ‘politically-minded Hindus’ would regard his appointment as the President of the Annual Conference of the Jat-Pat Todak Mandal as an ‘insult’. Ramdas, who is said to have been the Guru of Maratha king Shivaji in the seventeenth century, is considered a great leader of the Hindu Nationalists today. Ambedkar talks about him in the context of the reluctance shown by the Hindu society in accepting an ‘antyaja’ as their Guru, even if the antyaja is a learned Pandit. “To them,” he says, “I am a snake in their garden.” This honor of presiding over the conference, given to an avarna like him, was eventually called off by himself. Since his speech remained undelivered, he went on to get it published on his own expenses. It was an amalgamation of the ideas of a radical against the oppression of the caste system, and ultimately Hinduism: morally, socially, politically and economically. “Caste is no doubt primarily the breath of the Hindus. But the Hindus have fouled the air all over, and everybody is infected—Sikh, Muslim, and Christian.”

He believed that the values of the Caste System in the emerging Nationalist identity was so inherent among the caste Hindu Indians, that it contaminated the other religions as well. The published version of his speech received a wide readership, and it was translated in various languages. It was through this speech that he publicly announced that this was his last address as a Hindu, to a Hindu audience. In his later years, he converted to Buddhism and embraced it till the end. Hence, the speech has left an indelible mark on the history of the struggle regarding eradication of the caste system.

Kancha Ilaiah, writing in the end of the twentieth century, claims in his radical work ‘Why I am not a Hindu: A Sudra critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy’, that the emerging “Hindutva” school in the 1990s ‘projected Hindu culture through all kinds of advertising agencies’ on them. He was born in remote South Indian village, to parents who belonged to the Kurumaa caste, i.e. the shepherd caste, and thus, they were always confined to their local social, political, and religious identity. “I was not born a Hindu for the simple reason that my parents did not know that they were Hindus… My parents had only one identity and that was their caste: they were Kurumaas. Their festivals were local, their Gods and Goddesses were local, and sometimes these were even specific to one village.”

Ilaiah alleges that Hindu culture, for their caste, was as foreign as the ‘English’ culture. Neither do they identify with their Gods, nor do they identify with their festivities. Hence, he rejects the ‘Hinduisation’ of Indian society by blaming it to bear the ‘sole responsibility for the tragedy of this country.’ Instead, he preaches the importance of ‘Dalitisation’ of Indian society, and how it would set up an ‘egalitarian’ society as a whole.

Thus, this paper attempts to compare how two Dalit social reformers, i.e. Dr. B.R.Ambedkar and Kancha Ilaiah, one each from pre- and post- independence India, struggle to identify themselves as part of Hinduism, and ultimately refuse to be subjugated by the evils of the Caste system.

Gail Omvedt regards the historic speech of Ambedkar as a ‘bold declaration of war on Hinduism’. Commenting on the importance given to reforms in various arenas, Ambedkar exemplified through Historical instances how social and religious revolutions have always preceded any political and economic revolutions. “The political revolution led by Chandragupta was preceded by the religious and social revolution of Buddha. The political revolution led by Shivaji was preceded by the religious and social reform brought about by the saints of Maharashtra. The political revolution of the Sikhs was preceded by the religious and social revolution led by Guru Nanak”

Omvedt carefully examines this differentiation of ‘revolution’ from ‘reform’. Thus, she argues, on the lines of Ambedkar, that the worst impediment for the ascendance of untouchables in the national political and economic revolution was Hinduism itself Although, in the pre-independence era, a few resolutions were passed to do away with untouchability, and the first All-India Depressed Classes Conference was also held in Bombay in 1917, yet, as Arundhati Roy argues, Ambedkar had always been skeptical about these ‘public but completely out-of-character displays of solicitude for Untouchables’ held by the conservative Hindu organizations and mainstream leaders like Tilak and Gandhi. According to her, Ambedkar’s main issue was not just around untouchability and pollution-purity; rather he wanted to dismantle the entire system based on caste, and henceforth Hindu religion.

While Ambedkar looks at Hinduism to be a ‘veritable chamber of horrors’ for the untouchables, Kancha Ilaiah denies the co-relation between Hinduism and Dalitbahujan culture and thereby accuses the former for attempting to destroy the latter by imposing itself on it. He provides a systematic critique of Hinduism by consistently defining it as a culture absolutely different from the Dalitbahujan culture in all aspects, be it gender relations, marital relations, power structure, economic structure or religious beliefs. However, his major analysis is about the coming up of the ‘neo-Kshatriyas’, due to the upwards social mobility of a few local Sudra castes present in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and gives the example of the Reddies, Velamas and Kammas, in the post-independence era. ‘Social Mobility’, according to Bernard Barber, is used “to mean movement, either upward or downward, between higher and lower social classes; or more precisely, movement between one relatively full-time, functionally significant social role and another that is evaluated as either higher or lower.” Thus, the so termed ‘Neo-Kshatriyas’ are gradually getting incorporated into the larger manifold of the Hindutva ideology by accepting the belief that they belong to the Hindu religion. “The neo-Kshatriyas believe that they are part of Hindu spirituality. They are becoming patrons of Hindutva.”

These neo-Kshatriyas, he argues, are progressively playing the role of Classical Kshatriyas by asserting their hegemony in the power structures, even though they do not have the authority of a ‘dwija’ or a Twice-born. What infuriates Ilaiah the most is the presence of these castes in both the communities; they are actively contributing in widening the gap between the upper Hindu castes and the Dalitbahujans. This is because the Brahmins and the Baniyas are endevouring to benefit from the neo-Kshatriyas and at the same time, eliminating the existence of the castes below them. Hence, in a disheartening, yet passionate tone, Ilaiah calls for a social reform against this continuous oppression and invisiblization of the Dalitbahujans in the hands of the Hindus.

Both Ambedkar and Ilaiah have taken sharp contrasting stand against Gandhiji, who was the first person to regard the Dalits as ¬Harijans, i.e., Children of God. In fact, scholars like D.R. Nagaraj have referred to the decade of the 1930s as thick with ‘complex yet fascinating Gandhiji-Ambedkar encounter’. Even Arundhati Roy argues that “to ignore Gandhi while writing about Ambedkar is to do Ambedkar a disservice, because Gandhi loomed over Ambedkar’s world in myriad and un-wonderful ways.”

Gandhiji had replied to the speech of Dr. Ambedkar, ‘Annihilation of caste’, in his weekly, Harijan. This reply was later published at the end of the second edition of the speech as ‘A Vindication of Caste by Mahatma Gandhi’. Defending Hinduism, Gandhiji denies the relation between caste and religion, and maintains that there is a difference between caste and varna. Advocating the idea of spiritual growth as an essential element for the national growth, Gandhiji argues that caste was indeed an obstacle in the path of such growth. However, he also upholds the sanctity of the Holy scriptures of Hindus, i.e., shastras which mention varnas as integral part of Hinduism, but outrightly denies the existence of the idea of untouchability or caste in the such scriptures.

Ambedkar rejects this idea of Gandhiji by advancing his thesis on chaturvarnya and claiming that the varnavyavastha eventually collapses into the caste system which is harmful for the Hindu society and thus, it is only by the destruction of the shastras that the societal evils such as caste and varna will be annihilated. He had taken this position even earlier, in the first issue of Harijan: “The outcaste is a by-product of the caste system. There will be outcastes as long as there are castes. Nothing can emancipate the outcaste except the destruction of the caste system.”

On similar grounds, Kancha Ilaiah has criticized Gandhi in the recent years. In one of his articles, he takes forward Ambedkar’s views and asserts that ‘Gandhi was no caste abolitionist’. He worked towards abolishing Untouchability, but always favored caste hierarchies to be maintained in the Hindu society. Linking it with today’s politics, he argues that both the major national parties of India, BJP and Congress are walking on this path guided by Gandhiji and refuse to give importance to the caste problems, except untouchability. He thus accuses Gandhi to be the ‘companion of the elite’ and calls Ambedkar to be the ‘prophet of the poorest of the poor.’

D.R. Nagaraj in his study of this Ambedkar-Gandhi debate comments on the spiritual and material faces of the movement against the caste system. According to him, it is easy to be inspired by the idealistic talks about the caste system and have the intentions to work towards eradicating it. But equally difficult task is to give up the material benefits that are enjoyed ‘in the name of communal justice and positive discrimination.’ In this aspect, he criticizes Gandhiji for only appreciating the spiritual beauty and moral beliefs of the revolution against the caste system, but completely ignoring the material horrors the revolution was entangled with. “According to Gandhiji, the materialist approach was the weakness of his adversary (Ambedkar), and, for the latter, spirituality was the weakness of Gandhiji.”

Nevertheless, Nagaraj observes that by the end of the decade, a lot in their respective personalities had changed due to their intense debates, and influence of each other’s ideas. While Gandhiji had adopted the Economic interpretations from Ambedkar, Babasaheb had taken over the importance of religion from Gandhiji.

Contrasting the Hindu culture with Dalitbahujan culture, Ilaiah also argues about the notions of private property in Brahmanism, which he believes is ‘exploitative’, as compared to collective notions of ‘labour’ in the Dalitbahijan culture. He blames the casteization of property to be responsible for the regressive role played by the system of property in India.

Along with Ilaiah’s position on economic oppression of the Dalits, his work on the religious oppression of the Dalitbahujans by the dominant Hindu Gods and Goddesses also demands attention. Hinduism, for him, has a ‘fascist nature’. The Hindu Brahmanical forces were dominant to the extent that even in the era of capitalism and democracy, Gandhi could successfully use the message of the Gita for building consent among the citizens of the country for the national struggle. According to him, the lower Sudra castes never identify with the mainstream Gods and Goddesses like Brahma and Sarasvathi, Vishnu and Laxmi, Shiva and Parvati. In fact, he puts them on a pedestal of hypocrisy and criticizes them for their discriminatory teachings. For instance, he looks at the caste identity assigned to Krishna, and ridicules the way it has been manipulated. This is because Krishna was born and bought up in the Yadava culture, but his political self was always identified as a Kshatriya, defending Brahmanical Dharma. Although, his analysis is not backed by complete evidence, and thus remains open to interpretation, yet his attack on the Pantheon of Hindu Gods as opposed to the ones worshipped by the Dalitbahujans such as Pochamma, Kattamaisamma and Polimeramma has the been a subject of scholarly attention.

Arundhati Roy studies Ambedkar’s view about the ways in which Gods are presented in Hinduism, and she concludes that he has been skeptical about Ramayana and Mahabharata. He argued with his father, “Krishna believed in fraud. His life is nothing but a series of frauds. Equal dislike I have for Rama.” It was later, in a series of essays called Riddles in Hinduism, that he commented on the misogynistic behaviors of Rama and Krishna.

Eventually, both Ambedkar and Kancha Ilaiah stand firm on the position of rejecting Hinduism as their religious identity. Amartya Sen, in his commendable work Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity, states that “the identity of an individual is essentially a function of her choices, rather than the discovery of an immutable attribute.” Ambedkar worked for emancipating the Dalits from the oppression of the caste system and provides the solution of opting for conversion to be the way of determining their religious identity. “Choose any religion which gives you equality of status and treatment. We shall repair our mistake now. I had the misfortune of being born with the stigma of an Untouchable. However, it is not my fault; but I will not die a Hindu, for this is in my power.”

Ilaiah chooses to dismiss the idea of even belonging to the Hindu religion. He goes further to elaborate on the idea of ‘Dalitisation’ of the entire community, which, according to him, will promote collectiveness in the society and do away with privatization. Dalitisation will also help in achieving equality on the gender ground, and eliminate any possibility of violence on the religious grounds. This position, however, can be criticized for its utopianism because Ilaiah fails to devise methods of peaceful transition from Hinduisation to Dalitisation. And as Ambedkar would ask, “Untouchable cannot do anything to get rid of his untouchability. It does not arise out of any personal fault on his part. Untouchability is an attitude of the Hindu. For Untouchability to vanish, it is the Hindu who must change. Will he change?”

Fire has always been a symbol of purity and brightness. There is no certain information about how humankind first got acquainted with fire. Probably when he first met fire, he was afraid and tried to protect himself against it. He was hurt by embers of the fire, however, when he discovered its benefits, he sought the ways of using it. The first people should have been inspired by the burning heat of the sun, lightning, volcanoes and forest fires. Many legends (myths) have been proposed about the origin of the fire. In Greek mythology, the god Zeus kept fire in his authority. Prometheus, who wanted to present fire for the benefit of people, stole fire from Mount Olympus and distributed it. He was prominent as a thief of fire and as a result, was tortured to death. According to these legends, the fire was brought to earth by a hero. Hence, human sanctified fire and believed that it could protect him in the best way. The holy fire cult was first seen in Persians history and some sources, in which worship of the fire is referred to as Zoroastrianism. People had fire-temples used as a place of worship in the mountains. The widest manifestation of the god of fire and cult in the belief system of many tribes has been in India, which is still relevant today. There are also the gods who gave fire to people and the most obvious example of the concretization of fire as divine power is Agni, the god of fire in India (Jayaram, 2009). All fires in India are attributed to Agni, who is one of the thirty-three gods in the Indian pantheon. The votives are always offered in his name. It is believed that it shines like the sun, its glory is like the lightning of the rain cloud, the dawn, and the sun’s rays. It shines even at night and destroys darkness with its rays. People worship Agni for wealth and a long life.

Fire has always been at the forefront of many ceremonies of Indian society. When the child is born, the fire is made inside the house and the child is brought into contact with the smoke of the fire. Thus, it is aimed to expel evil spirits of various forms. Similarly, fire is an indispensable element of marriage ceremonies. First, the bride’s hand is given to the groom by her father and the young couple sits behind the fire. After, the groom’s hands rest under the hands of the bride and the bride’s brother pours rice into the bride’s hands. Rice and prayers slowly fall into a sacred fire called Agni. In the end, the bride turns around the fire with the help of the groom and they make commitments to each other. Pooja ritual in Hinduism is one of the common worships in Hindu houses every day. The lamp that is lit all day is moved circularly in front of the object symbolizing god and then around home residents. In special days or events, Pooja is done to honor guests. The fires and therefore the lights used during this ceremony symbolize the removal of darkness and ignorance. In the same way, fire plays an important role in cremation ceremonies which are called ‘Antyeshti sanskar’ (Das, 2012). According to Hindu beliefs, the performed funerals play an important role in passing the soul of the deceased into another body (reincarnation) or easily attaining salvation in later life. The main theme of sacrifice ceremonies is also fire. The ritual texts refer to various periods that are suitable for raising the sacred fires. By making these ceremonies they believed it will bring abundance to the community. In the early stages of Hinduism, fire (Agni) was seen as the apostle of the gods on earth, and the presentations of the ceremonies were delivered to the gods by fire. It is believed that, like other presentations, man would be transmitted to the gods by fire after death.

Additionally, in ancient India, the woman had to be cremated with her dead husband according to ‘sati’ ritual. In this way, it was believed that the chastity of the woman was preserved after her husband. The story of Rani Padmavati and brave women who committed ‘jauhar’ or self-immolation to protect their honor after their King was killed is very famous around India and there is a film based on this fascinating legend. According to these beliefs, after this religious ceremony, the woman unites with her husband in the sky. In this way, besides the benefits, fire has also led to the emergence of several traditions that cost human life.

To conclude, throughout history, the belief in fire has existed in dead or living religions. Since the early ages, this belief has been heavily influenced by societies and it has been the symbol of cleanliness, purity, and power in many religions. Although it was initially feared, it became an indispensable belief of people. As in Hinduism, even today the belief in fire continues to influence people’s life. In any event that is good for them, they consider fire as an instrument or protector in this case. They believe that fire, the symbol of purity brings blessings to them and their families.

“Worldview” refers to the way a culture experiences the world through the expression of its own beliefs and philosophy. Martin and Nakayama (2002) describe it as a culture-specific set of “values or beliefs about the way the world and human behavior should be,” (p. 21) although worldview is defined as the external relationship between humans and the divine, the nature of life, and with ourselves. In Indian culture and Hinduism, we value a particular belief system and set of morals specific to our perception of worldview. Hinduism isn’t complete without our spiritual traditions that have been passed down for generations and borrowed and often named after Gods in the Vedas (Hindu holy scripture). These spiritual traditions are practiced every day by millions of Hindus like me who are pleased to feel connected through each other and to the Gods through these traditions. In Hinduism, cyclical time is another worldview that is unique to us, in that we believe history is an illusion and thus unimportant, whereas spiritual truth and progress toward the divine afterlife is our ultimate goal. Cyclical time in Hindu culture means that time is not linear but rather cyclical or on a continuous, recurring cycle. Similar to the topic of cyclical time, karma is another value of the Hindu perception of worldview. In Hindu beliefs, karma is determined by how well you carry out dharma (acceptable behavior and social order) as well as other morals important to our system of beliefs. The Hindu worldview is difficult to summarize in only a few main points because our culture is composed of so many values and principles that we cherish in our religious beliefs.

Spiritual traditions, always rapidly evolving and developing, have reached the hundred and thousands in India, and the Hindu religion. Because Hinduism accepts continuous revelation through sages (Holy figures) new spiritual traditions are openly embraced in our religion. All spiritual and religious traditions originally stemmed from the “great mother tradition” called Sanatana Dharma which translates to eternal dharma (Viswanathan, 2014). One of our spiritual traditions that have been adopted by the west, is our easily recognized greeting “Namaste” or “Namaskar” which is often used by yogis. Going back to its Indian roots, the Hindu greeting is often spoken while the two palms of their hands are held together and the word “namaste” literally translates to “the divine in me bows to the divine in you,” (Das, 2007). Hinduism has over 330 million Gods in our Vedas, but we do not consider ourselves a Polytheistic religion because the 330 million are all manifestations of one Supreme Being. ‘There can be as many Hindu Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees,’ wrote Sri Ramakrishna, a prominent Hindu saint, meaning essentially we as Hindus pray to the specific God(s), that will help us with whatever troubles we are facing at that time. Another prominent spiritual tradition, recognizable worldwide, is the Bindi, worn by Hindu women particularly after we are married signified by a red dot applied between our eyebrows. The Bindi holds significant spiritual meaning and symbolism taken straight from the Vedas, where the sages describe the existence of areas of concentrated energy called the chakras. There are seven main chakras that run along the center of the body, and the sixth one called the ajna chakra, the “brow chakra” or “third eye chakra” occurs exactly where the Bindi is placed (Jha, 2018). Spiritually, the Bindi’s purpose is to enhance the powers of the third eye chakra by accessing our inner wisdom and allowing us to see the world in a new truthful light, without bias (Jha, 2018). Without these spiritual traditions, Hinduism would not be what it is today, because these traditions are what lead us on our path to enlightenment and help bring us closer to the divine.

As Hindus, we believe that the world revolves around a cyclical timeline and that there is no hell or eternal judgment. Instead, when the temporary end of every soul’s journey arrives, they return to Brahman (one of the three main Gods in the Hindu religion; “the Creator”) and eventually evolve into their next form through Brahman. This belief is sometimes referred to as reincarnation or the belief that when humans pass away, their souls move onto the next body to be reborn in order to exhaust the karma built up from a soul’s previous lives (Jayaram, 2015). In Hinduism, each time cycle begins with creation, continuation, and extinction, or srishti, sthithi, and laya. Our three main Gods in Hinduism, Brahman (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva (the Destroyer) control these three aspects of the cyclical time cycle. This time cycle can be observed in our everyday life, from our mornings which continue until they dissolve into the night, and the same pattern is also paralleled in life throughout our aging process from childhood, and adulthood, into old age (Jayaram, 2015). As Hindus, we follow a cyclical timeline for the reasoning that time is believed to be without boundaries and is eternal and ever-flowing.

As aforementioned, karma is the judgment of how well our souls have carried out dharma in their collective lifetimes. Morals that are high in value to Hindus and to Brahman include upholding one’s responsibilities in life, especially when it comes to family and community, maintaining self-control, and preserving a life of non-violence (Hoefer, 2013). “The law of karma suggests that a person’s mental and physical actions are binding and through our actions or inactions and our intention behind them, we bind ourselves to the seemingly neverending cycle of births and deaths that comes from our karma,” (Jayaram, 2015). The good or the bad actions we committed in our previous lives have an effect on us today through the work of karma. This is why often times it seems good people have negative outcomes in life, despite their best efforts to succeed and be moral and vice vera. The Hindu religion has always believed in the idea that karma is affected by our intentions and their consequences not only by our actions.

Social aspects, such as the caste system in India, had a major impact on Hinduism shaping it into the religion it is today. In the past, Hinduism enforced a strict social hierarchy through a system of castes which essentially made it impossible for those in lower castes to leave their social rank. During the Gupta and the Mauryan empires, Indian culture and way of life were deeply influenced by Hinduism and focused on our religion as a means of “personal salvation” by adopting the caste system (Violatti, 2013). Hinduism was exceedingly difficult to access as a person of a lower caste because originally Hinduism was founded as a religion within the Brahmin caste (highest of the four Hindu castes; priests). Hinduism slowly began to gain traction throughout India as epic poems, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, spread the word about Hindu philosophies, Gods, and the possibility of salvation. These written texts helped to spread the popularity of Hinduism among the lower castes in India because it assured they could achieve their salvation by simply carrying out their caste duties (Violatti, 2013). Social forces have increased our religion’s influence across India through the use of written texts to spread Hindu philosophies and further increase Hinduism’s popularity over time.

As Hindus, our perspective of Worldview is seemingly abstract compared to other cultures’ definitions of the word. We tie our religion and our desire to reach the divine and spiritual enlightenment into our definition of worldview. Hinduism can be characterized by the thousands of spiritual traditions we practice daily which bring us closer to our Gods and our Supreme Being. Our religion can be distinguished by the cyclical timeline around which we believe our days and nights, years and our aging process revolve. Tying into the cyclical timeline is karma, another distinguishable feature of the Hindu worldview, which outlines the judgment of our actions, intentions, and morals. By expressing our own religious beliefs and universal philosophies, we as Hindus continue to shape our unique worldview.

References

1. Baldwin, J. R. (2014, May 22). World View and Culture–COM 372. Retrieved from http://my.ilstu.edu/~jrbaldw/372/Worldview.htm
2. Das, S. (2007, July 1). What Does the Indian Gesture of ‘Namaste’ Really Mean?. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/what-does-namaste-mean-1770004
3. Hoefer, H. (2013). Relating Meaningfully to the Hindu Worldview. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1223&context=jams
4. Jayaram, V. (2013). The Belief of Reincarnation of Soul in Hinduism. Retrieved from https://www.hinduwebsite.com/reincarnation.asp
5. Jayaram, V. (2013). Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, the Highest Gods of Hinduism. Retrieved from https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/hindutrinity.asp
6. Jayaram, V. (2015). The Concept of Kala or Time in Hinduism. Retrieved from https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_time.asp
7. Jayaram, V. (2015). What is Karma in Hinduism?. Retrieved from https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_karma.asp
8. Jayaram, V. (2015). Brahman, The Highest God Of Hinduism. Retrieved from https://www.hinduwebsite.com/brahmanmain.asp
9. Jha, S. (2018, June 5). The Purpose of the Bindi. Retrieved from https://www.hafsite.org/blog/the-purpose-of-the-bindi/
10. Lam, T. (2005, July 15). Hinduism Gods. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutreligion.org/hinduism-gods-faq.htm
11. Martin, J., Nakayama, T., & Flores, L. (2002). Readings in Intercultural Communication: Experiences and Contexts. McGraw-Hill Humanities Social.
12. Stein, K. (2019, September 27). Hindu Customs and Traditions. Retrieved from http://www.hinduismfacts.org/hindu-customs-and-traditions/
13. Violatti, C. (2013, May 11). Hinduism. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/hinduism/
14. Viswanathan, K. (2014). The Dharma Traditions of India. Retrieved from http://www.dcfusa.org/the-dharma-traditions-of-india/

Culture is a summative term that describes people’s way of life, including their social codes, art, and customs among other variables that differentiate them from other groups (Gil, 2013). Since culture is collective, it is classifiable into such categories as material and non-material culture, representative symbols, and formalized and casual culture among others. Quantifying the total number of global cultures is nearly impossible due to the numerous ethnic groups and people’s infinite diversity. Therefore, this diversity creates interest among cultural sociologists and psychologists to study the cultural characteristics of various ethnic groups – this comparison helps them to recognize identifiers and influencers of culture. ‘Where to Invade Next’ is an informative and educating documentary in which Moore visits a horde of countries across the world, identifying various desirable cultural elements he intends to bring back to the USA.

Material culture describes tangible resources or wealth that unites or differentiates a particular group. In the documentary, Moore visits Germany, where he learns that its manufacturing system is one of the main elements of the country’s cultural identity. Moore learns that the Germans blend into a manufacturing society working tirelessly for sustenance by earning monetary remuneration, rewards, and surpluses. Moore visits the pencil manufacturer Faber-Castell, which is one of the largest pens and pencils manufacturers. He learns how companies engage their employees to help find solutions and get recommendations on what to change. The country’s manufacturing system and products are some of the typically fascinating cultural elements that Moore identifies. It is astonishing to him that none of the employees at the firm hold a single job. The documentary identifies various cultural differences between the USA and Germany, particularly both countries’ material cultures. For instance, technology is a typically recognizable cultural component among Americans. Children acquire and develop technological skills from a tender age, while scholars embrace this cultural norm across various levels of education. Besides, the American commercial system is technology-based, especially in its marketing and telecommunications industries. Germany, compared to the USA, is a less materialistic culture. Companies remunerate their employees fairly. In the USA, salaries are barely enough, which motivates numerous people to get a second job.

A non-material culture describes immaterial notions describing people, either at the national level or along ethnic lines. Moore’s visit to Germany reveals the nation’s historiographical accounts embedded in their education system teaching and imprinting critical German values systems derived from history. Nazi Germany is one of the most renowned historical states, and Germans identify with it as a reminder of their dark past. The documentary mentions Nazi history to underline the country’s chief non-material cultural elements – humanity, tolerance, and acceptance. Similarly, America identifies with one of the most celebrated non-material cultural events of the century – the slave trade. The trans-Atlantic slave trade altered American history centuries ago but remains one of the most discussed historical topics in the world. Americans understand that it changed the country’s ethnic composition along racial lines, which culminated in the development of such social notions as racial majority and minorities. Therefore, the two nations are alike since both experienced historical events that their citizenry identified with forever.

Symbols are representative characters put in place to pass a given message to specific people who understand the coded information. Symbols vary in form ranging from graphics to national emblems. In the film, Moore visits Tunisia, where he learns about what turns out to be one of the most prominent events featured in the film – the drafting of the Tunisian Constitution in 2014. The event describes the unification of Tunisians under a new rule by a new ruler, Jasmine, after the removal from power of former president Zine al-Abidine. Thus, the new constitution is a symbol of the onset of a new beginning for Tunisians since 2014. Such a historical event engraved a cultural connotation and symbolized to all Tunisian nationals the dawn of a new era of prosperity and excellence guided by a new ruler. However, this symbol prominently resembles the Statue of Liberty, which is a cultural and national symbol of the United States of America’s democracy and freedom. Likewise, the US Constitution is a national symbol of the rule of law, good governance, and democracy. It represents national cohesion and unification of Americans from various states. It confirmed that states agreed to unify and form a perfect union for the sake of the people’s interests. Both of these events – the drafting, enactment, and promulgation of the constitution – constitute important cultural symbols that inspire unity among the citizenry of both countries.

Formal norms entail the legal, cultural codes that guide a particular society and that which its populace recognizes. Legal documents capture these codes in-depth, and in detail. Violation of such codes is punishable by law as defined in the constitution and the code of conduct – the penal code. The film captures constituents of formal norms, such as the compulsory hijab dressing code among Tunisian women. The film reflects the cultural restrictions associated with such codes and the discontent they cause in a country’s citizenry, sometimes boiling into protests and unrest. For instance, Rached Ghannouchi criticizes such norms, citing that no society holds the right to intrude on the private lives of its citizens in an attempt to uphold cultural norms. These Tunisian formal norms contrast with American informal norms. Informal norms entail legally unrecognized societal trends among a people, borrowed and spread among diverse members of the society. Fashion is a suitable example of an informal norm. In American society, people embrace the freedom of dressing as they please without legal restrictions. Fashion trends, thus, spread through the people, gaining recognition and getting assimilated into the cultural mainstream. The restrictions imposed on Tunisians, as shown in the film, contrast with America’s cultural freedoms, which highlights the significant difference between these two nations.

Culture shock is the confusion that an individual suffers due to engagement in or witnessing an unfamiliar cultural system of beliefs, principles, norms, and values. The film features a culture shock scene when Moore visits Tunisia and he learns that women must always adorn a hijab. As a Christian, I suppose that this was the most culturally shocking scene in the film. I believe that every human being is sufficiently dignified to practice his or her most preferred cultural norms, including religious ones. Accordingly, if dressing in hijabs among Tunisian women is made mandatory, how would such people enjoy the freedom of religion? What if one is a Christian in such a country? Would the law still forcefully make such a person oblige dressing like a Muslim? All these questions reveal the cultural dissatisfaction probably expressed by Tunisians. Likewise, if formal norms only applied to hijabs, then the cultural norms are unacceptable for failing to apply across the board to men as well. My cultural freedom explains my vehement criticism of such laws as unacceptable. Without a doubt, this is qualifiably the epitome of culture shock in the documentary.

Cultural relativism describes the notion that the norms of certain people are better understood by those people who practice them, as opposed to appraising such norms against those practiced by others. Therefore, it is unfair for Moore to judge American standards by comparing them with other alien cultures, since each society thrives on its identifying norms. Therefore, the negative or positive elements Moore feels plague the American culture may not bare unchangeable through positives picked from outsiders. Such norms do qualify as unacceptable to Americans. Introducing cultural practices borrowed from outside is tantamount to accepting the inferiority of the American culture. Therefore, the variations in cultural standards are justifiable differences in cultural norms and values between Americans and their surrounding neighbors.

Culture is a summative word that collectively describes opinions, beliefs, values, and norms held by a particular group of people. Therefore, culture consists of elements such as material and non-material constituents, symbolic representations, and legally documented, as well as casual codes of beliefs, principles, notions, and norms. For instance, the distinction between the German manufacturing approach and the American technological, materialistic culture exemplifies the difference between the two typical categories of non-material and material culture in both countries, respectively. Moreover, cultural symbols such as the Tunisian and the American constitution represent the unification of the people under the same rule. However, issues featured in the film, such as the compulsory dress codes, feature a new dimension of culture shock, which curtail cultural freedom around the world. The film reveals that each culture is distinct and unique in its own and cultural comparison is a myopic methodology of studying cultural diversity.

Reference

1. Gill, G. (2013). Culture, Complexity, and Informing: How Shared Beliefs Can Enhance Our Search for Fitness. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, Vol. 16, Pages 71-98.

Focusing on solely Hinduism, the fundamentalism of Hinduism has faced a series of changes and evolution, or considerable devolution, ever since the independence of India in 1947.

Hinduism is rooted back to over four thousand years, making it the oldest religion to exist. Yet, it is hard to trace its exact roots solely because it has so many roots, traditions and philosophies. The origin of Hinduism is said to be situated in the Indus Valley; near, now, Pakistan, and it has no founder but is actually a collection of beliefs. (Hornak, 2017) This led to the uprising of the Vedic Period, when the holy books called the Vedas were composed and rituals, chants and sacrifices became common. The Vedas were sacred writings comprised of verses and hymns in Sanskrit written by saints and sages; unlike other religions with a single holy book, Hinduism consisted of several works like Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and so on. The Epic, Puranic and Classic Periods took place when Hindus began to emphasize the worship of deities, especially Vishnu, Shiva and Devi. (Hornak, 2017)

Hinduism ideally was never preached in a way of gaining superiority or mass control; it was a very accepting and accommodating religion, much like a way of life. It embraced all religious traditions and ideas, and it was much like a large family rather than a single, strict religion. With acceptance towards several gods, the idea of revelation towards their holy beings was almost subjective towards the persons own beliefs. The only common field amongst Hindus in their religion was the idea of reincarnation, life and death. The ideas of dharma and karma were the base of Hinduism in the past; meaning that how you work and live dictates your dharma, and hence you must live life with high morality and ethical conduct, and that will in turn better your karma, thus the aim is that if good is done, good is received. This idea of lifestyle indicate that the main belief was that the present actions and intentions of a person determines the course of their lives and directly affects the future.

The perception of death in Hinduism starts with a key idea known as Atman, which means the universal self or soul in Sanskrit. Death is not seen as an end to life, but as a resting period for the soul before it reincarnates again; hence in Hinduism, unless salvation is found, the life is a cycle and it is immortal. The belief is that every living being has a soul or are part of a holy soul and this essence of a person is transmitted to a new life after death or seeks moksha, that is salvation, to receive freedom from existence and become a part of an ultimate soul. Every person is granted with an infinite number of rebirths which is known as samsara but the quality of life and its length is wholly determined by the persons dharma and karma. Moral dispositions were significant in determining the form of reincarnation as well, as bad morals would lead to forever dismay, but with good morality, moksha could be attained; hence it was mainly attained by saints. Another way to attain moksha was to ensure that the last words to leave the mouth of a person who has death approaching much be Om, a brahman holy word, as they lay on the death bed. The persons head must be shaved and must be put on the ground along with various holy ingredients, like holy water from the Ganges river. The body is wrapped in clean cloth and the family members circle the body and walk around it, clockwise in the place of death and anticlockwise in the pyre or firepit. Hindus have been known to burn the bodies of the deceased; it is said to be a form of purification of the soul from the corrupted body of the human and a sacrifice and offering towards Agni, the god of fire. The ashes are then collected in an urn, a black earther pot, and it is said that ultimate salvation is reached if they ashes are doused in the waters of the river Ganges. Cremation was commonly done in Hinduism as it assures that the soul or atman does not re-enter the body of the deceased. Children that die young are not cremated, but are buried as it is said that they die young due to previous bad karma, and hence must not be burnt and may die in the arms of the mother. Suicide was seen as a result of karmatic fruit and was seen as an escape from a corrupt being, hence stages of self-purification was the only other release from bad karma, women often did ritualistic suicides if their husbands died as warriors, in honour of them. Indian warriors were not afraid of death, but rather saw it as an offering to the gods and hence fought with valour. Suicide would wind up the soul in a nether region were redemption was almost impossible, as it was usually committed upon failure towards life. (Pallis, 2019)

The meaning of life in Hinduism is simple, and direct. It consists of four objectives or ideals to be met to live a wholesome life; dharma, artha, kama and moksha. (Sivakumar, 2014) These factors outline the ideal Hindu life, starting with dharma which is about the work ethic and morality of a person and how they choose to live their lives and their intentions, and if their work is immoral, they will not be able to repay their debt to god and all living beings. This is followed by artha which is striving towards prosperity and wealth without overseeing dharma. Kama means to obtain joy and fulfil happiness in life and finally moksha, as spoken about, is to get freedom from reincarnation.

The beauty of the Ganga Aarti in the Ganges, with priests and pandits devoting themselves to God and bearing sweets and gifts for the devotees. The aroma of religious food being cooked mixing with the smoke of the incense sticks, with the water reflecting the candles and lamps, and the holy chants echoing through the crowds; this is Hinduism as it should be. This nonviolent approach of Hinduism was formed and enforced by Mahatma Gandhi.

Hinduism used to be a simple way of life in the past, but over generations, it has been merged into several definitions that oppose the same ideals it based. Firstly, the caste system started to grow, where people were discriminated based on what caste they belonged to, as their caste was determined by their karma and dharma. This discriminatory system was attempted to be abolished by the independent India in the post-Gandhi period but is loosely followed through the country up to this date! A group of people who brought about Hindutva, mainly Savarkar, were responsible for the murder of Gandhi. Ever since, their ideals of Hindutva have been shaping Hinduism into the complete opposite of Gandhi’s ideals.

Although now, in present day India, the idea of God and religion is not as one, but two. The rise of Hindutva has almost broken-down Hinduism and its pursuits; allowing political leaders of the BJP to fuel their nationalism agenda by reforming the meaning of being a Hindu. Hindutva is the new form of Hindu nationalism, that is a political agenda to reform the secularism of the country into a propaganda towards the rise of a single, religious country. The current leader of the country aims to achieve its goal, of making a complete Hindu nation by undermining other religions and eradicating such opposing ideals. The political state of India is currently under attack by nationalists that seek to form other religious communities, mainly Muslims, as enemies. The ideals of peace, morality and ethicality has been wiped from the definition of Hinduism, and is now coined as Hindutva which is a regime solely based on gaining superiority and changing religion into an ideology. Secularists are seen as enemies and Muslims have been made the outgroups; the enforcement of Hindutva by a fascist leader is leading to the end of a democratic country. Hiding behinds Hinduism ideals, Hindutva has made religion a political sign rather than a way of life, and hence has almost neglected the meaning of God.

Gender subtly revolves around us, or so they for the most part question in a foremost way. Gender is a sociological construct, a factor between the elements of men and women, girls and boys even in the tasks and obligations of both intercourse in life. As a result, gender-based roles and other traits evolve in according to the cultural environment. Gender refers to the assumptions that human beings have about women’s and men’s abilities, qualities, and behaviors; femininity and masculinity. As pandemics have cycled through our lives in recent years, women, in particular, have been severely affected. Men and girls suffered during the pandemic differently (Castillo, 2021), and even before the pandemic started both sexes suffered still in differently. Men and women have special views about the relationship between human undertaking and environmental degradation (Gender, environmental issues, and policy: An examination of the views of Male and Female economists, Ann Mari May 2020 p.1). Women’s vulnerability to violence can be exacerbated by way of lack of income, stress, and isolation. The COVID-19 epidemic affords us with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do so on a variety of issues. Gender and environmental concerns ought to be incorporated into our national restoration strategies. These will determine the form of civilizations we favor to create in the subsequent decade.

We face a growing large range of interconnected global emergencies; in health, the environment, and socioeconomic, however options to these troubles are in many instances isolated, fragmented, and insufficient. Gender is no longer an impartial element in dealing with nearby weather. According to Lucina Di Meco ‘Women and girls are boldly leading on climate justice’. Despite the Philippines’ recognition as one of the world’s most gender-equal countries, Filipino ladies proceed to face significant discrimination in a range of institutions, including of the family, and in areas such as bodily integrity, getting the right of entry to productive and economic resources, and civil liberties (Castillo, 2021 p.1), it is which one of the most continual and pervasive types of violence. Severe manifestations of world human rights breaches. In creating countries, females are more vulnerable to environmental impacts than men, due to a combination of unequal entry to resources, cultural norms, and entrenched social structures. For example, women are overrepresented in lower-income areas, which are most affected by populace boom and environmental injury from industry.

According to Ann Mari’s May 2020 table, in the Support for Governmental Intervention to Solve Problems ‘female economists tend to have higher aid for authorities intervention to solve problems than do their male counterparts’ (Gender, environmental issues and policy: An examination of the views of male and lady economists p.6). Women’s participation, thoughts, and leadership as properly are preserving on enhancing in dealing with the responsiveness of the citizen. Women and men are on an equal footing. When it comes to gender equality, the Philippines enjoys an excessive position. With its inclusion in the top ten countries in the world for whole gender equality, the United States takes the title of Asia’s most gender-equal country, by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021. The Philippines remains Asia’s easiest-performing country. Gender relationships are extra powerful. Because most gender bias is a reflection of society’s standards, it should be addressed at the societal level. As a preliminary investigation, according to Michelle C. Castillo, ‘both at the national and neighborhood levels, is not entirely gender-blind’. To tackle sexual, and gender-based violence, steps have been taken. In the Philippines, more women compared to men reported an increase in time spent and several activities of unpaid care work. But while more men reported an increase in their domestic work activities ‘an indication that more men are now involved more, women said the intensity of their unpaid domestic work activities increased’ (Is the Philippine Government COVID-19 Response Gender-Blind? Castillo 2021 p.3 ). The government’s pandemic response ignores different important gendered consequences of the fitness crisis, such as financial stability, unpaid home and care work, sexual and reproductive health services, and women’s empowerment. It’s challenging to understand gender differences in monetary consequences because some of them ought to be attributed to free will as an alternative to gender discrimination in getting the right of entry to education, domestic work, or income by which the equality of girls and men are nonetheless paid in specific wages. In the Philippines, more women compared to men reported an increase in time spent and number of activities of unpaid care work. But while more men reported an increase in their domestic work activities an indication that more men are now involved more women said the intensity of their unpaid domestic work activities increased. The women work at the same tempo as men, and they have to be paid at the same wage rate. This finding provides me with the most viable cost for the advantages that society could derive from attaining gender equality as an alternative to gender neutrality.

Gender is what societies assign you, whether you are a female or a male. As with the journals given, gender creates a lot of barriers, whether in the environment, in school, in work, in health, or even in the pandemic. Comprehension of essential concepts or beliefs. Gender equality means that men and women have the same rights, responsibilities, and opportunities. Inequality between men and women affects everyone. Women play an important role in the community yet their efforts are sometimes overlooked. In Sustainable Development Goal 5 ‘ Achieve gender equality and empower all women are girls. Societies that value men and women equally a fundamental human rights. People want change but they don’t want to do something about it. Gender was used as the main source through government, education, and the environment, it didn’t see the value of ability, on how a person either man or woman thinks things. It is in between a power over you. We need to fix the broken justice system for us to against the inequality in the Philippines. We need exposure to different perspectives; we need to reduce a little out of relief by using divergent perspectives, which is contrary to popular belief. It helps to tweak the role, or they can for all the purposes and goals. Women’s health and empowerment are a long way too slow and inconsistent. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic reversed the good points made previously. We should work together to promote the rights of all individuals, men and women, girls and boys, through ensuring equitable access. Any aggression in opposition to gender roles ought to be averted at work, at home, in government, and the environment. We must also motivate girls to lead by offering time, opportunities, and resources. Gender equality is a reality of existence for everyone.

As a result of this overview of this article, it is better to understand the equality of men and women via government, education, environment, wage rate etcetera. There are several examples of women providing food, water, and energy for their families in our country, even though environmental deterioration makes these obligations difficult. According to certain studies, women have greener attitudes in their personal choices and are willing to contribute more to decision-making, although inherent gender gaps in contributing to environmental goals are diminishing. Gender disparities obstruct the attainment of environmental goals. We should all be treated equally whether in school, at work, at home, in the environment, or everything else.

ABSTRACT

Even After 117 years of his leaving this world, he lives in the core of our heart. We entered 21st century but his philosophy is the guiding source of inspiration for millions of population of the world. His ideals are the only weapon to remove all darkness. Therefore, his new understanding of religion, new view of man, new principle of morality and ethics, concept of East-West, contribution to India, contribution to Hinduism, teaching are still relevant in enlightening us. Swami Vivekananda clearly defined and strengthened the sense of unity as a nation. Swamiji gave Indians proper understanding of their country’s great spiritual heritage and thus gave them pride in their past. i.e. pointed out to Indians the drawbacks of Western culture and the need for India’s contribution to overcome these drawbacks. In this way Swamiji made India a nation with a global mission. Sense of unity, pride in the past, sense of mission – these were the factors which gave real strength and purpose to India’s nationalist movement.

Introduction

More than the contributions to India his sermons helped the world to understand oneness of humanity. As a monk he had his own way of teaching the common people to realize that they can rise above every challenge. He encouraged them to have faith in themselves to achieve their goal. He believed that Hindu religion is divine by nature and a fountain head of knowledge. His speeches took the world by storm. Western world realized that they did not understand well about India before Vivekananda. He enhanced the self respect of India. He still remains as great inspiration for young Indians. His patriotism and faith in Indian independence made Indians to believe in self determination. His writings and life gave Hinduism a face lift. He lamented that we Indians are ignorant of Hinduism and not following it in it’s true spirit. He wished Hindus live as Hindus in more refined form. His vision for a world order where human beings live in harmony as brothers and sisters was a tall order.Yet laid the seeds in the minds of all human beings to believe in brother hood in entire humanity. He belongs to the world still and India can certainly be proud of it’s one of the greatest sons ever born.

Swami Vivekananda was the chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is considered a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the ‘Western’ World, mainly in America and Europe and is also credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the end of the 19th century. He is considered to be a ‘major force’ in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech which began: ‘Sisters and Brothers of America,’ through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893.

WAMIJI’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO INDIA:

Swamiji’s Contributions

• He was the first cultural ambassador to the west. He showed that India has much to contribute to world culture.
• He also showed that Science and Religion is not contradictory but complimentary.
• He gave an identity of who we are and what is Hinduism. He showed the common bases in different sections of Hinduism. He played a major role in unification of Hinduism. In words of sister Nivedita: ‘..it may be said that when he began to speak it was of ‘the religious ideas of the Hindus’, but when he ended, Hinduism had been created.’
• Defending Hinduism was one of the important work of his life. Missionaries of west and pseudo-intellectuals propagated their own understanding of Hinduism which were mostly negative in nature. He raised his voice against this and clarified the concepts of Hinduism thereby, giving self-pride to followers of Hinduism.
• He founded RamKrishna Mission to propagate the teachings of his Guru (teacher) Sri RamKrishna Paramhans and interpreted many ancient Hindu scriptures in context of the modern world.
• Preserving of Diversity. Hinduism is a diverse religion with different philosophies. like: worshipping different Gods , different life styles, different scriptures, different school of thoughts like Advaitism and Dualism. By accepting all the diversities, he helped in preserving the same.
• He played an important role in popularizing the Yoga.
• Sense of Pride among Indians: He used to take pride in our ancient advancement in Science, Arts and other areas and at the same time he used to quote them. That time the world looked on us as a country of snake-charmers. He was the first to raise these issues on international platform. In his own words: ‘ (India) where stood the earliest cradle of ethics, arts, sciences, and literature, and the integrity of whose sons and the virtue of whose daughters have been sung by all travelers.’
• Swami Vivekananda gave the most modern interpretation of Hinduism by freeing Hindu doctrine from social practice. Swami Vivekananda contributed to awakening of Hindus from their deep sleep. His writing and speeches were so electric that the British rulers of his time had him on their watch list. His specific achievments were:
• Awakening Hindus to demand their birth right of independence;
• He made Hinduism into a world religion by harmonising the different Vedantic schools. In fact some western academics accuse Vivekananda of concocting Hinduism from scratch. According to these academics there was no Hinduism before Vivekananda. You will get a good discussion of this in Rajiv Malhotra’s book ‘Indra’s Net’. I myself do not accept that Vivekananda gave rise to Hinduism from scratch but I accept that he was the first person to definitely give a coherent picture of Hinduism.
• Reviving Jnana-Karma samucchay of the Gita which had died due to downgrading of Karma Yoga by Sankara. Sankarites were opposed to social work because the world is Maya and so helping people is useless. They would not help even if people were dying in front of them. They would argue that helping people would give rise to Karma which would hurt one on the path to Moksha. Vivekananda pointed out that Krishna has said in the Gita that nishkama karma is not binding and social work should be done for the benefit of the people in the spirit of service. Vivekananda got his idea from Sri Ramakrishna’s famous dictum, ‘Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva’. He revived Hindu social services like schools, Colleges, orphanages etc. Now all Hindu organizations do seva.
• He attacked the caste problem head on and pointed out the difference between caste (jati) and Varna of the Hindu scriptures. Hindus do not practice the Varnashram dharma of the Gita. Basically he freed the Hindu doctrine from its social moorings.
• The 9-volume Complete Works of Vivekananda has become essential reading material for understanding Hinduism.
• He was also an accomplished essayist and a poet in Bengali and Sanskrit.

Reforms

Vivekananda considered Hinduism to be the mother of all religions. He established through historical sequence. He showed that Vedic religion had influenced Buddhism which again was instrumental in influencing Christianity. He told that all the religions of the world have the same value and importance. In the Parliament of Religions he told—” …. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth ….Upon the banner of every religion soon be written … ‘Help and not fight’, ‘Assimilation and not Destruction’, ‘Harmony, and peace and not Dissension.”

Thus, through his universal religion, Vivekananda preached the unity of God. He told that though the paths are different for different religions but the goal is same. He attached great importance to the unity of all religions and their fusion into one universal religion.

Advaita Vendantism: Swami Vivekananda was a great lover of Vedantic philosophy. He believed in monism. He had firm faith on one God. His motto, as reflected earlier, was to establish a link among different religions. He had told that as water of different rivers mingle in the sea, similarly every religion finds itself at the feet of God. He did not see any difference between a Veda or Koran or Bible. Temple, Mosque and Church were equal for him.

He preferred to meditate at any place without any inhibition in his mind. By his personal example he preached monism or Avaita Vedantism. By that he showed his toleration towards every religion. He spoke the message of Vedanta regarding the world unity and to believe shapeless God. Socialistic thought: Swami Vivekananda was a socialist par excellence. Once he had told-“I am a socialist not because I think it is a perfect system, but half a loaf is better than no bread.” He had realized the plights of millions of hungry Indians. He thus, stated – “It is mockery to offer religion to a starving man”. As a ‘iconoclastic crusader”,

Vivekananda wanted “elevation of the masses” because he had opined that “the nation lives in the cottage”. He gave his message of socialism to stop exploitation of the mass. His socialistic idea is best explained in his words—“Material civilization, nay, even luxury, is necessary to create work for the poor. Bread! Bread! I do not believe in a God who cannot give me bread here, giving me eternal bliss in heaven! Pooh! India is to be raised, the poor are to be fed, education is to be spread, and the evil of priest craft is to be removed. No priest craft, no social tyranny! More bread, more opportunity for everybody.” Thus, as a hardcore socialist, Vivekananda wanted the upliftment the hungry mass of India.

On Women:As a feminist, Vivekananda glorified the role of women. He considered women as Shakti – the creating force. They are to be given proper education because they are mother first and mother last. If they are educated, they would educate the whole nation. They are not to be fretted simply as a wife. Proper steps should be taken for the education and training of women. The future largely rests on women.

Nationalism and Patriotism: Swami Vivekananda was a hardcore nationalist. Patriotism was present in his every vein. He emphasized on the virtues like manliness and patriotism. He wanted everybody to be free from the bondage of others. Giving a clarion call to the youth of India he repeated the Upanishad doctrine – “Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached.” This goal about which Swami Vivekananda spoke was undoubtedly patriotism which was to be imbibed by every young man of India. His ideas gave direction to the future leaders of the country who carried on their protracted struggle against the British hegemony.

Internationalism: Vivekananda considered the world as his home and people of different parts of the globe as his brothers and sisters. In the ‘Parliament of Religions’ he had rojected this idea. He played the role of a world teacher and taught all for unity and integrity. He wanted a perfect amalgamation of Indian spiritualism and Western materialism. There should not be any distinction between the East and West; rather it should be regarded as one humanity. He also advocated universal brotherhood. He urged for the help of the rich nations to the poor for bringing parity in the world society. Thus, he suggested to overcome racial and religious prejudices. The gospel of universalism and world community was preached by Swami Vivekananda for the creation of a better world.

Crusade against Superstition: Swami Vivekananda was a crusader against superstitions. He vehemently opposed the superiority of the Brahmins, untouchability and so on. Giving a caution to the Hindus, he told –“Our religion is confined within the kitchen. The cooking pot is our God. Our religion is -1 am holy – touch me not.” To curb out the difference between man and man and to create a healthy social atmosphere, Vivekananda tried his level best. He opined that a new India wall emerge when the difference among its people will disappear. He gave a strategic blow to all the existing prejudices and advised people to be united for a common cause – the cause of the motherland. Ramkrishna Mission:

Estimate: Of course, Vivekananda was criticized for his idea regarding the caste system. His idea of internationalism was regarded as a platonic utopia. However, criticisms are only for criticisms sake. Swami Vivekananda constituent endeavor to free religion from superstitions really establishes him as a great reformer. His synthesis of the materialism and spiritualism is another remarkable feature of his philosophical thought. Thus, he was a great spiritual, nationalist, internationalist and so on. Renaissance and reformation were the two peas of Vivekananda personality. He really brought a reawakening of the Indian culture. By his sharp intellect and reformative attitude he made Hinduism a progressive force in the world. A rare gem he was in the treasure of Indian wisdom. Undoubtedly he dazzled as a shining star in the cultural horizon of India and attracted the attention of the people of the world.

Caste System: A striking contrast was noticed in the idea of Vivekananda regarding the caste system. Strangely enough, he supported the Varna system as described in the Vedas. Unfolding the advantages of the caste system, he told that division of labour is a great blessing of this system. It would lead to excellence in any profession. This division, of course, will lead to a caste on the path of progress. However, he also exposed the evils of this system. Untouchability was its worst part. So, Vivekananda criticized this type of “Don’t touches”. He wanted to curb out this type of dogmatism from the society.

Conclusion

Swami Vivekananda once spoke of himself as a ‘condensed India .’ His life and teachings are of inestimable value to the West for an understanding of the mind of Asia. William James, the Harvard philosopher, called the Swami the ‘paragon of Vedantists.’ Max Muller and Paul Deussen, the famous Orientalists of the nineteenth century, held him in genuine respect and affection.’’ His words,’ writes Romain Rolland, ‘are great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march of Handel choruses. I cannot touch these sayings of his, scattered as they are through the pages of books, at thirty years’ distance, without receiving a thrill through my body like an electric shock. And what shocks, what transports, must have been produced when in burning words they issued from the lips of the hero!” Vivekananda drew the attention of Indians towards the values of Western ways of life. He opened the link between Indian minds and external things. The West appeared to him as the land of material civilization. The spirit of that civilization to him was essential for Indian progress. Therefore he declared “From the great dynamo of Europe, the electric flow of that tremendous power vivifying the whole world, we want that energy, that love of independence, that spirit of self-reliance, that immovable fortitude, that dexterity in action, that bond of unity of purpose that thirst for improvement”. His vision thus inaugurated an European society with Indian religion. Vivekananda therefore appeared on the Indian scene as a messiah of a new age, a symbol of a new spirit and source of strength for the future. At the age of 39 in 1902, the great man Swami Vivekananda passed away but his life and action inspired millions of Indians. His name remained as a source of national inspiration. The Ramakrishan Mission the brain child of Swami Vivekananda has been doing splendid and monumental humanitarian and social service by opening schools and colleges, libraries and orphanages all over the country.

REFERENCES

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2. Badrinath, Chaturvedi (2006), Swami Vivekananda The Living Vedanta, New York: Penguin,
3. Basu, Shamita (2002), Religious Revivalism as Nationalist Discourse: Swami Vivekananda and new Hinduism in nineteenth century Bengal, New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
4. Burke (1987) [1985], Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries (in six volumes) (3rd ed.), Calcutta, India: Advaita Ashrama,
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7. Jones, Kenneth W. (1989), Socio-religious movements in British India, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press,
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