“Kuchh baat hai ki hasti, mit-ti nahin hamari” — wrote poet Muhammad Iqbal decades ago. He wondered why and how Indian civilisation, unlike its Persian or Roman counterparts, survived waves of invasions. Predictably, there are multiple ways of answering this question. But a consensus response could be that our philosophy has empowered us to withstand not just several attacks by foreign aggressors but also face natural calamities and cope with the challenges, some of them emanating from our societal ills and infirmities.
While it is tough to answer the question, “what attracts the world to India”, one can easily argue that its worldview may be a powerful factor. What earns India the goodwill of the global thinking circles is our outlook towards human life and our philosophical approach towards worldly concerns. India is not the only civilisational nation in the world. But the philosophical underpinnings of the idea of India are almost unique. Indian movies, our dance and music, exotic dishes and historical monuments continue to be an attraction for the global community. But all these, from yoga and spirituality to traditional knowledge systems such as ayurveda, are essentially manifestations of Indian philosophy.
When one talks about Indian philosophy, it cannot — and need not — be ascribed to any particular scripture. In a civilisational culture that has refused to accept that only a particular book can show the path to follow for humanity, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that the fundamentals of the perceived philosophy of India have come from many scriptures. Let a thousand flowers bloom has always been the Indian approach.
There are at least five fundamental tenets of our philosophy that make India stand out. First, our spiritual democracy. This country never was, and never can be, a theocratic state. Our approach of ekam sat, vipra bahuda vadanti (that which exists is one, sages call it by various names) rejects any monopolistic approach to ways of worship. The second tenet stands on the shoulders of the first. The unity inherent to our diversity has enabled us not just to accommodate but also to celebrate the pervasive diversity. Our diversity is actually our innate unity that manifests in myriad ways.
The third important tenet is our approach of confluence with mother nature. Unlike many other philosophies, we never aspired to conquer nature. Our approach is of sincere and deepest gratitude towards nature, which has made us think about confluence with nature. Not many societies have a well-established tradition of saluting mother nature practically at the start of every day.
Sustainability has now become the focal point of development policy formulations globally. However, it has been a part of our philosophy of human life; many of our traditions and rituals reflect this approach.
The fourth tenet is our unique concept of antyodaya — putting the last man first. In practice, the concept is about considering the most deprived as the most deserving when it comes to the distribution of the fruits of development. Antyodaya encompasses both social and economic justice. Even as the world continues to grapple with capitalism and socialism, antyodaya as India’s very own third way takes us beyond the binary. Thankfully, not just policies but the design of many welfare schemes, under Prime Minister Modi, effectively reflect the principles of antyodaya.
The fifth and the last of these tenets is vasudhaiva kutumbakam, the motto of G20 under India’s presidency. This approach nips in the bud all the uncalled-for apprehensions about ultra-nationalistic or jingoistic approaches. Remember, we have imagined the entire world as one family, where values like mutuality, sharing and collectivism reflected in our traditional relationship dynamics are given primacy. Even in the age of ultra-individualism, it is hard to negate the importance of these values.
These five tenets emerge from our scriptures and the teachings of sages and philosophers including Gautama Buddha, Adi Shankara and Guru Nanak. Today, when the global community is facing conflicts and wars emanating from weird ideas of supremacy, oneupmanship and monopolistic spirituality, India stands as a beacon.
But sadly, many of us continue to be ignorant of our own unique philosophical heritage. When many countries in Europe and other parts are struggling to deal with multiculturalism, identity and lifestyle issues, India can truly build on its foundational values. These can serve as building blocks of India’s soft power.
As the Indian Council for Cultural Relations completes 73 years of its existence and prepares to join amrit kaal, the key challenge is to establish that even in the most complex and unpredictable future, India is capable of walking the talk. Our philosophy has gained us huge goodwill, let’s use it to assert our unique soft power.
The writer is president, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, former national vice-president of the BJP and MP, Rajya Sabha
