The Indian Amalgam

India, the 7th largest in area and the wettest inhabited place in the world, is a country to behold! She has a diverse terrain – from the lofty Himalayan peaks to vast Indian Ocean coastline – and history reaching back 8 millennia. She is home to the world's largest number of religions and to more than 300 languages!
She has always been very unique, the most unique in the fact that she has had a glorious past in technology and knowledge and yet never invaded any other country in the several years of history.
Civilizations throughout history have tried spreading their influence and dominance over other others. And throughout history it has been done through invasion, conquest and colonization but India is different. She has never taken to military conquest to do so. In spite of that she has been able to spread her influence in a unique way through something genuine that people themselves felt attracted to; something that had quality, knowledge, truth and sacredness. The greatest example of that is the spread of spirituality through Buddhism, from India, to the whole of East without any military conquest.
Perhaps it is because she has always had everything within herself that she has always given and never taken, in the past. She never needed to venture out for resources, be it exotic spices, unique Wootz steel or knowledge. It is important to look at her past in her original self to be able to find out the specialty of India and how it can give a unique and everlasting contribution to the world.

In the past India has always been self-reliant and the modern India has not lost this feature of hers! India had requested NASA for GPS assistance, but was denied. It was then that India built one for herself! Now, her space programs have revolutionized space science and can contribute to helping the world understand the universe in the best way possible!

India has proven its potential to contribute to the world of space sciences by being the only country which has been able to launch a spacecraft into the Martian orbit on the maiden attempt. Not just that, India's Mars Mission, which discovered water on Mars, was monetarily cheaper than the movie 'Gravity'. Today, our space agency (ISRO) is requested by NASA to launch its satellites, in the same cost-efficient and successful manner.

“India has great potential to help the world.” Dalai Lama says “Everything in my head is from India. I am a son of India.” He uses the word 'potential', which is untouched and needs to be tapped.

Dalai Lama isn't the only person who came to India, seeking culture and peace. In a world where people constantly crave for inner peace, India, a place destroyed by the people who craved for materialistic rewards in the past, can be the only source of relief, if it is able to revive its culture. This is the unique 'potential' India holds, which no other country has.

India's soft power – like that of no other country - is not just considered its manipulative potential, but is rather debated to be a reality, which can be justified through its past, and which gives a boost to all other 'potentials' of India in the future for contributing generously to the world.

India's culture is put together after years of evaluation and each component of it can contribute to the world is various ways, if taken up by individuals all around the world.
Ancient India has a lot of practices which can make the world a better place in every aspect. The Ancient India has the solution to almost every issue in the world today, if looked into!

Vegetarianism, which originated in India and is the most prevalent there, is an integral part of India's soft power. It is believed that it can end world Hunger since the more people eat meat, the fewer people can be fed. To produce one pound of beef protein, over 10 pounds of plant protein is needed. If these grains were fed to humans instead of animals, more food would be available for the 925 million people in chronic hunger worldwide! Similarly, compared with the meat industry, a vegetarian diet utilizes over 10 times less water!

Another contribution of India to the world can be the betterment of health through Yoga and Ayurveda, if it is taken up by all. Yoga is proven to be better than any other physical activity. Surya Namaskar, itself, is known to have over 50 spiritual and health benefits, and has taken the world by storm! Super brain yoga, a simple exercise, is said to be the "energy fuel" by Science today that can keep our brain fit and functional. Along with that, Ayurvedic medicines have all been to be based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit.

Even the ancient Indian languages have a life of their own! Sanskrit is the mother of all languages, and there is no denying that! It has some valid reasons. A general one is that no word in Sanskrit word has two meanings! It is said that the language is gifted to us by God, Himself! One, very unique and special quality of Sanskrit is that the pronunciations of the words are chosen with great precision! The Sanskrit pronunciations are such that their sound makes the water in us vibrate in a certain manner which causes changes in us. That is why some words are 'auspicious.' Their sound itself can cause positive changes in us, like, ‘Aum’, which is said to be the vibration in all atoms and from the studies of NASA. It is evident that the sound coming from the sun is AUM. It proves that there can be stark changes in the attitudes of people, if Sanskrit chants are taken up by everyone!

India is the ONLY country which has proved her worthy of blending modern development with the colors of culture to create a refined amalgam!

She can contribute to the world the most effectively by leading the world into a global environment of progress - in technology and spirituality, both!

She has a lot confided in herself, unappreciated and unrecognized by the 'outsiders', and India needs to get in touch with her glorious past, become aware of her present potentials and move with vision into the future, to be able to offer the unique amalgam to the world.

AC Nielsen had recently conducted a survey in India. In response to a question on what are the best aspects of living in India, the top answer was the culture of this country. 45% of the respondents gave this as their answer that included factors like India's diversity, its long tradition and so on.


It, therefore, seems like won't be long before India realizes its potential through its history, which had once been twisted to make the Indians lose their pride in their culture. Clearly, it didn't work out that way.

Jai Hind