Dimensions of Indian Culture (A Collection of Articles)

The Vedas are Apourasheya implying there was no originator: The Vedas are Sanatana meaning eternal. The Vedas speak of Purusha and Prakriti and the indescribable power of the Supreme Reality. The Vedas also deal with ritualism with exacting rites laid down for performance. Unfortunately, with the passage of time the philosophical and spiritual aspects of the Vedas went into the background overshadowed by the more tangible ritualism which was easier to practise and hence became more popular.

Without the knowledge of philosophy and understanding the true meaning of the Vedas, rites and rituals became the object of misuse and the all-pervasive benefits of these rituals were lost sight of. With the arrival of foreign rulers, there ensued an era to decry our religion without the critical and analytical knowledge of our ancient scriptures. Hinduism was thus subjected to ridicule. What remained with us were only dogmas.

Sandhya Vwuiana is the most important daily ritual for Hindus who perform Upanayana. In the modem age very few people perform Upanayanum. In a very simple manner he also explains the Universe and our Solar World in keeping with our age-old tradition, when knowledge was imparted to an inquisitive grand-child by his grand-father. This is how the Sanskar was handed down to an advent of the next generation.

All the doubts and questions were explained in a most rational and lucid manner. It was the sublime groundwork for the child who would now believe in what he was doing rather than just going through the motions mindlessly. The book Dimensions of Culture, is a systematic attempt to revisit the Vedic notions of God. Karma, Spirituality, and most significantly, self, truth and Reality.

The concoct of the author behind this epistemic search is to establish the bondage between spirituality and materialism. Here, spirituality revolves round the vedic interpretation of God. The eternal source of power, the creator or the purusha, and materialism signifies the effect of the creation, the prakriti, Throughout the book.

The author has tried to provide a very authentic yet practical exposition of several lived-in-experiences in the light of spirituality. Particularly, the author's work on self karma, power and God is very insightful in the sense that he evaluated these aspects of our lives through the lenses of rich vedic literature. In other chapters the writer dwells upon many other facets of Hindu traditions. bringing in some controversial antithesis of his own interpretation. Sri Santhanagopal is a great scholar and well versed in Vedic traditions, His efforts to reach out to a modern and rationalistic young mind are most laudable. I must congratulate him for bringing out his various articles in the form of a book.

I strongly recommend this book to all those who are interested in the ancient teachings and thoughts, with modern insight. This book is also a must for those who continue to look upon Indian traditions with scepticism, without pausing to reflect and dispel the misgivings.

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