Category: Definitions and Explanations

Two kinds of Culture

Hindu Culture
The Definition of Culture
Talks by Swami Tejomayananda

A question is asked : how many different kinds of culture are there?

There are many communities and nations and each one has its own culture our tradition. Nevertheless we mainly divide our classify these cultures into two general groups : spiritual culture and material or materialistic culture. These words will also have to be understood very carefully.

In Sanskrit, spiritual culture is called “adhyatmic samskriti“,  and materialistic culture is known as “bhautic samskriti“. 

These terms are often and misunderstood, for we generally think that materialistic culture means to go on enjoying – just to eat drink and be merry! But this is a very superficial way of looking at it. At the same time, people have the notion that to be spiritual one has to renounce everything, to run off to the Himalayas and just sit there! So one person is saying, “enjoy the world” and the other is saying, “Escape! Run away from this world. Everything in it, is bad. Go somewhere far away and contemplate.”

Others have the notion that spiritual culture is very good, but materialism is very bad – that the people of a particular culture and their country are bad. Each person becomes proud of his own culture. The follower of the materialistic culture who does not fully understand spiritual culture says “you people are just getting poorer and poorer, your culture is useless.” Then those of the spiritual nature say to the materialist,” you are only running after objects, going through stress and strain, tension, and temptation. What kind of a life is that?” So each person thinks his own culture is superior. Most people do not have a clear understanding of what material culture and spiritual culture really mean, for it is not that one is good and the other is bad.

Some teenagers and youngsters say, “Oh, we know what spiritual culture is : when you  see an elderly person, you must prostrate to him. That is called spiritual culture – prostration, salutation,.” And some parents insist insist on it so much that they push the child’s head down to touch to the elders feet; and the child just thinks,” why should I smell his feet?” Is this what spiritual nature is?

In Sanskrit, the term “bhautic vaada” (materialism) comes from the word bhuta,”Element”; “bhautic” means elemental. One generally takes as real only that which is directly in front of one’s eyes, which is tangible and in a material form. The philosophical basis of “bhautic vaada” is : seeing is believing”. Thus, whatever I see is real. Perception of the material tangible world is given complete validity and reality, and something that is not seen or known, for it is not verifiable by scientific experiment in the laboratory, is not accepted as real. Materialism means faith in matter, the physical things that are perceived by our senses. That this is why some people who have studied only a little bit of science say,” What is religion? Religion is only a matter of faith, and you are just accepting what you do not see.”

I met a man of few days ago in Washington DC who, while a student in Delhi, had met Dr. Radhakrishnan, the then Vice President of India. He had asked Dr. Radhakrishnan a question : “Sir, since you are a great philosopher, can you explain the difference between science and religion, as there seems to be a contradiction between the two? Religion speaks of something that is not seen, and people have faith in that. But in science one says,”No, I only accept what I see,” so it appears that scientists are anti-religious.”

Dr. Radhakrishnan gave a very nice answer. He said,” it is something like this : a little science takes you away from religion but more of it takes you near religion.” Dr. Radhakrishnan meant that those students who have studied only a little bit of science –  atomic physics, particle physics and so on, speak of religion and God in derogatory terms. Einstein would not agree with this negative view, as is evident from his writings.

Thus the materialist has faith in, and bases his life upon, the supposed validity and the reality of seen things, whereas spiritual philosophy says,”Yes, whatever is seen is fine, But do not think that truth is only that which is seen by the senses.” There are many things that exist even though you cannot see them. Sense perception is not the only valid means of knowing what is it real. Through the senses we can only observe objects of the world, but there are things that lie beyond sense perception, and different means exist for knowing them.

The need to refine our behaviour

Hindu Culture
The Definition of Culture
Talks by Swami Tejomayananda

What we need to do is to control discipline and refine our behavior in that human being. In the human being, Nature has released its control and said, ” Now you are blessed with an intellect. You have the faculty of reason and discrimination; therefore, you can choose and know what is good for you and live accordingly”. If a person can live like this, it is good; if not he becomes even worse than an animal.

In order to refine the person, to prevent Prakriti from turning into Vikriti, what we need is Samskriti or culture. Mere education or rising to higher positions, gaining money gaining more money and power, would not necessarily make one a cultured person. One’s mind may yet remain animalistic.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that our minds are you like that of a vulture. A vulture flies very high in the sky, but where our is his eyes? They are on the dead body lying on the ground. The moment he sees the dead body he sweeps down to eat it! We are also like that. A person may fly to a very “high” position of political, economic, or financial power; and others may even be prostrating to him. But where is his mind? This is, as we say, “corruption in high places”. So when our minds is like that of a vulture fixed on low, base things, we need culture in order to fly high, not only materially, but morally and spiritually as well. Then the mind rises to true spiritual heights.

It is difficult to explain what culture is, and it cannot be taught through discourses. As Swamiji (Swami Chinmayananda) says , culture cannot be taught,  but it can be caught ( by the children)”. Just as children automatically “pick up” whichever language is spoken at home without being taught, culture is also “picked up” the same way. If we constantly instruct the children on do’s and dont’s, yet we ourselves live differently, they will not follow our instructions. Example always speaks louder then words, this is why culture cannot be taught merely by words.

Living life based on noble values is the most important point concerning culture. Why do we need values? Why do we need to respect them and live by them? Because in the human being, that is every danger of his nature transgressing its limits and becoming a perversion. This is what we see in the world today; greed for money, power, and position. No one knows what will happen next. Yet we cannot just blame the political leaders, because these tendencies are in our minds as well and we act accordingly. It is just that one who has more power will terrorize more, that is all.

We find this same behavior in some school children also, for some of them are monster-like in creating troubles for others. Concerning the worst-behaved child in the classroom, a teacher once said, “What is great about him is his attendance record at school is hundred percent”. The teacher is thinking to herself, “Stay home at least one day, please !” But no, he attends every day, and every day he creates problems!

There are bullies in the classroom as well as in world politics, and it shows the absence of something – the absence of refinement. One may be rich, a well-educated scholar, or a politically powerful person; but he may not have the refinement of character which we call Samskriti. The beauty of the person does not lie in his physical, educational, or other capabilities; but in but in his culture which expresses itself every moment in his day-to-day life.

Sankrit word for Culture and its meaning

Hindu Culture
The Definition of Culture
Talks by Swami Tejomayananda

We will now look at the actual Sanskrit word for “culture”, and see its meaning and deeper implication.

In Sanskrit, the word for a culture is Samskriti. Kritam means”That which is done”, sam means “very well”; samskriti means “that which is very well made, very well refined”. Therefore, even the Sanskrit language itself is that which is a well-refined, purified language.

In terms of behavior, when we speak of culture we also mean a kind of a refinement. We often say that an individual is “cultured”, his behavior is “cultured”, although he may not necessarily be an educated person.. Many times, in fact, an educated man may be a brute because being truly cultured is different from merely being formally educated. But to fully understand this concept of samskriti, we must understand two other basic points.

The first point is the concept of prakriti, which we generally translate does as “nature”. The inherent nature or tendency of a thing is called its prakriti. For example, animals have urges such as hunger, thirst, feelings of fear or insecurity, and the need for sleep, and they live according to these desires or urges. This is defined as their nature.

A human being also has the same feelings off fear, hunger, thirst, and the desire for progeny. These are natural urges. Therefore, when a person feels hunger and goes in search of food, the action is called prakriti – action in accordance with nature. There is nothing wrong in this.

As long as we are acting according to nature, that is no problem. But there is a difference between the urges of an animal and a human being. The animal’s urges and pursuits are controlled by nature; they remain within limits and never transgress nature. Therefore, the animals behavior is true to its prakriti.

For instance, when a dog has satisfied its hunger, it will not eat anymore. In the ashram where I was studying,  some three or four dogs would remain around the kitchen and dining hall when the food was being served, and afterwards they would be fed. If there was more food than the dogs could eat at that time, they would each dig a hole in the earth and keep the food there until later. When they become became hungry, they would go back, dig up the food, and eat it. Also when dogs are sick, they will not eat food at all, but only different grasses – as medicine. Nature has given them this understanding.

But a human being! Whatever sickness he may have, even if his stomach is upset, the first question he would ask the doctor is, “What can I eat?” He just cannot control his eating. So the difference is that the animals that remain true to their prakriti; they do not transgress it. Even the animals desire for progeny is according to season. Everything is controlled.

In Sanskrit, there is another word, vikriti, which in this context, I will translate as “perversion”. When some urge or desire grows out of proportion and we transgress the control and limits of prakriti, it is vikriti, perversion; no longer prakriti. When I feel tired, naturally I sleep for sometime to revive myself and then again begin to work. Here, the sleep is not a problem, it is not a vikriti. But if one sleeps for 16 hours at a stretch then something is wrong; it is not natural and is therefore because vikriti. These are people who sleep tend to 10 to 12 hours and still say, “I think I got up too early this morning exclamation”!” But 12 hours of sleep is abnormal and unnatural and is called the vikriti.

In the same way, when I am hungry and want to eat, this is prakriti. However, if I continue to eat like a glutton, and in order to satisfy my taste buds I am ready to ready to do anything (kill animals, and even destroying nature to fulfill my desire), then this is perversion.

I once heard a story about a Roman Emperor who was so terribly fond of eating that he used to over eat and afterwards take medicine in order to vomit. Then he would again begin to eat! Even when we hear about such a thing we feel nauseous! This obsession of the emperor with eating is vikriti.

All living beings have natural urges, and as long as they live within their limits, it is not the perversion; it is simple prakriti. In the case of animals, their behavior is controlled by nature itself, back in the case of human beings, that is the difference.

The human being is blessed with the faculty of thinking, which allows a lot of freedom. And what is that freedom? I can either destruct or construct myself; both are possible. Thus this faculty of thinking is a blessing if we use it rightly. If we do not know how to use it properly, it can become a curse. Our prakriti, our nature, can become an obsession, an abnormality. This is why psychology books contain sections on abnormal psychology, dealing with the thought and behavioral patterns of people whose nature has taken the form of perversion.

Definition of Culture : Defining Culture 

Hindu Culture
The Definition of Culture
Talks by Swami Tejomayananda

The word “culture” is very well known to all of us. But when it comes to defining this word we find that it is not very easy. Swami Chinmayananda has explained that when a group of people live together for a long time in a particular geographical area, living certain values, the special individuality or fragrance that emanates from that group is said to be their culture.

In this definition of culture the four important factors are: that a group of people must exist, that they must live together in a particular area, that they must live there for a long period of time, and that they respect certain common values of life. Only in such a situation will the unique characteristics of those people be created. If the individuals are spread out – one living here, another one there – or if they are constantly roaming about with no values in common, then you will not find any recognizable culture emerging from them.

The special mark or characteristic that develops under the above circumstances is called Culture, which is not characteristic of only one individual, but of the group as a whole.

There is a difference between the community’s and individual’s nature, which I would like to explain. When a certain individual behaves in a particular way, we generally say, “that is his nature“. But when a community responds to different situations in a particular way, we say “it is its culture“. The difference is that with respect to one person’s mode of behavior we call it nature; and with respect to a community, we call it culture. They influence each other, no doubt, for the individual will influence the total, and the total also affects the behavior of the individual. But let us first understand the meaning and significance of each term by itself.

In Sanskrit, we call the individual’s nature samskara. In a family with three or four children, though each is born into the same culture, we find that each individual behaves differently. Then we ask : if they are all born in the same family, the same culture, and in the same country, then why does each person behaves differently? We answer that it is his nature (samskara, svabhava); and his actions are in accordance with those particular tendencies. When it comes to a group, however, we say that the group’s mode of behavior and its response is its culture .

Cultures differ very much from place to place. Even in the Eastern hemisphere, for instance, the Middle Eastern countries are different from the Far Eastern countries, and India is again different from both. When we come to the Western countries, we also find that the European culture is different from the American culture; thus even though we may say “Western culture”, many differences are contained within this generalization.