Here is a thorough and comprehensive study of the Composite nature of the culture of Kerala based on the festivals and rituals. This was undertaken by Smt. Padmakumari Amma as a part of the research programme in the International School of Dravidian Linguistics, Thiruvananthapuram. She took up the work with a sense of commitment with the result that outcome is more than a routine academic study.
The land of Kerala is placed between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. Through the several natural harbours it had contacts with different parts of the world. This led to cultures from other countries flowing into Kerala through religion and trade and the migration of peoples belonging to different races languages and cults. Kerala welcomed people from other parts of the world irrespective of their differences in culture. The rituals and festivals found in Kerala provide the evidence of the interaction between them.
For example the festival of Onam is found in all parts of South India and was known as Sravana in Tiruppati on the East Coast at the meeting place of Andhra and Karnataka. The hero of this festival was Vamana, the Brahmin boy who defeated Mahabali. The Sravana festival was chiefly concerned with Brahmin feeding and is described in the temple inscriptions of 9th and 10th centuries. By about the 15th century the hero and the villain changed places, and Onam became a festival of Mahobali, observed in all households with flowers, music and dance. The new legend described Mahabali as the universal emperor, pushed into Patala, the nether world, but permitted to visit the earth once in a year on the Onam day.
The sub-continent of India which stretches from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean can boast of a very ancient lineage. Many streams of thought must have woven into her culture. Through the subsequent ages, even during the Vedic period, the Aryans who came from Middle East Asia must have started living together, mingling with the natives whom they addressed as 'Dravidians, Munda etc'. Historians are of the opinion that such a class-mixture, must have taken place initially along the Sindh province.
The rich cultural heritage of India has been and is even today an ongoing dialectical process transacting ideas with the world around it. Indian thought occupies a distinct place in the evolution of human thought. The world is in need of a rejuvenated India, and the strength of her culture. Indian culture has both unity and diversity. It has always been in contact with other cultures, constantly influencing and being influenced by them. It is a culture to which Dravidians, Aryans, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Europeans and many others have made significant contributions. Even though there are differences in race, language, religion, culture etc., a fundamental sense of unity pervades in the literature, philosophy, customs and connections throughout the country. This unity is the basis of Indian culture.
The spiritual growth of India has been a long saga to which many saints have contributed to the growth of various tenets in Hinduism, and saints like Ramanuja, Sankara, Chaitanya and Kabir were great proponents of Indian culture. They viewed India as a single unit and inculcated the same spiritual attitude in their followers. They moved on foot covering formidable distances for instance from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, Vindavanam, to Puri, Dvaraka to Ramesvaram extolling the significance of Hindu culture. In this way, the Missionaries, Saints and Sanyasins brought the sub continent together in a process of emotional integration.
The Vedas are the fountain source of all knowledge. The extent of civilization and culture that is found in the Vedas is phenomenal. The Vedic culture has universal significance. The Vedic rsis were known to have set up their own hermitages in different parts of India. These hermitages were veritable centers of Indian culture. These centers helped India to become a single unit.
Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata have influenced the Indian mind and thought for over several centuries with its universal values. Indians gave six systems of philosophy for spiritual attainment. They are Dharmma, Njana, Bhakti, Vaisesika, Purvvamimamsa and Uttaramimamsa.
According to Indian tradition, life is divided into four stages or asrama. They are brahmacarya, garhastya, vanaprasta, and sanyasa or yativṛta. It was a very rational division of human life. They also suggested that life's pursuits are mainly four. They are, dharmma, arttha, kama and moksa. They believed in universal brotherhood; 'vasudhaiva kutumbakam'.
The Brahmanical religion in course of time succumbed to rituals, which went beyond all rationale. Therefore a reaction started against social inequality. New leaders of thought and religion sprang into action, challenging the supremacy of the Brahmins and their monopoly. Jainism and Buddhism ushered in a spiritual renaissance which ran counter to the highly hegemonic Brahmin hierarchies and rituals. In course of time Jainism spread throughout India and Buddhism went beyond the frontiers of India to emerge as a world religion. The principles of these religions gave new shape to Indian culture.
Vedas (1182)
Upanishads (493)
Puranas (624)
Ramayana (741)
Mahabharata (354)
Dharmasastras (165)
Goddess (496)
Bhakti (242)
Saints (1503)
Gods (1290)
Shiva (370)
Journal (187)
Fiction (60)
Vedanta (362)
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