Tattva

Global reach of Hinduism:

One of the common misconceptions about Hinduism is that it is an India-specific religion. Indeed it is true that Hinduism and the Vedanta philosophy originated in India and even today a vast majority of the followers of the religion are Indians; emigration and migration in the last couple of centuries and the universal appeal of Vedanta have made people recognize the fact that it is a global religion with a worldwide following. Even historically, Hinduism was never an India-specific religion. Ancient Hindu idols have been discovered in places as far as central Asia. However, for a variety of reasons, Hinduism got erased from most of the places which lay to the west of India. But in Indonesia, where Hinduism flourished in style and in substance, it continues to maintain its presence even today – reminding us of its past glory and global appeal.

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The Gupta Dynastic age (320-467 A.D.) is regarded by many as the age when the cultural magnificence of ancient India had reached its zenith. This was the age that first marked the rise of international trade that would eventually lead the cartographers of the world to name an entire ocean after a single country. This was the beginning of the allure of India, the allure that would beckon countless explorers to brave the unknown, so that they could have a glimpse of ‘Indie’. This was the age when those great treatises on the arts and sciences, the gifts given by India to the world, were written. This, indeed, was the age that would first give India the worldwide renown of being a temple to humanity.

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Vande Mātaram (Hail to the Motherland) is the national song of India. The song was composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The song first appeared in his book Anandamatha. Rabindranath Tagore sang it in 1896 by setting a glorious tune to it and it was left to the genius of Shri Aurobindo to interpret the deeper meaning of the song out of which India received the philosophy of new Nationalism. The English translation of Vande Mataram rendered by Shree Aurobindo, is considered as the official and best.

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