The Concept of Culture.
The difference between human beings and other non-human beings is due to the culture. Human beings created ‘culture’ using their intellect. It provided them a definite way of life, of tradition handed down by their ancestors.
Culture means a combination of habits, values, social, personal behaviour, religious traditions, everyday life and the ideals that lead our life to the highest form. It may be the arts, customs and institutions of a nation, people or group. A redefined understanding or appreciation of civilization.
Culture developed first in India. This culture was beautiful and useful. It had the strength of leading humanity to the highest goal. Indian culture is based on truth, mercy, love, non-violence and co-operation. The special features of Indian culture are its longetivity, continuity since centuries, unity in diversity, tolerance and the amalgamation of spirituality and materialism. Indian culture aims at religion, economic achievement, worldly enjoyment and salvation.
After the invasion of Alexander, the Greeks came to India. Later Shakas, Kushanas, Pahalvas and Huns, and some other tribes came to India and made it their home. With the passing time marriage relations, social and economic relations developed. The main force of Indianisation was religion. Some people accepted Buddhism, some Jainism. The foreigners accepted religion, language, social traditions, etc. Thus, the cultural heritage of India became rich and variegated. As Jawaharlal Nehru has said, ------
“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”
It may be the culture of a Hindu family or a Christian family. Each will follow their religion, rites and rituals variedly, from place to place. The Christian of Kerala will have a different ritual than those in Manipur or Rome. The Hindus in Gujarat will have a different ritual than those in Kashmir. Because religion is always influenced by the culture of the place or a county through generations.
“We should know how to inherit, because inheriting is culture.” ---------- writes Thomas Mann.
Mark Twain spent some time in India and was intrigued by the culture of India. He believed that only India has the culture which does not have a religion as such. Religions have cropped up only due to external influences and differences, otherwise it has a pure culture with universal religion. It does not mean any one religion for everybody. But it is about all the people having their own religion that is influenced by culture.
Cultural change cannot be imposed from outside, it has to be led by people who recognize and accept responsibility and encourage modernization. Human beings are shaped by cultural and moral norms. People do not feel happy when their desires are satisfied, but they feel happy by living in a belief system only when it inhibits and rationalizes their desires. They need the coherence that their culture provides. Culture has the power to shape behaviour patterns, way of thinking and regular habits.
Though society has changed from primitive to modern, cultures in some parts of the country or the world at large are still in their originative states. It may be in the deep forests of Africa, in rural India or in the orthodox minds of certain section of people living in the most urban areas, who adamantly refuse to change. Who deny expanding their horizons of knowledge and beliefs, and who prefer living in their boundary based lifestyles. Regardless of the consequences faced by the people living with them. Even in this age we find innumerable people living amongst us who belong to this conservative, primitive culture. For whom we cannot find any ways or means to change them, but only to accept them as they are. May it be the age of science and technology, of economic independence, of individualism or of women empowerment, they remain unaffected and undeterred. Because it is their rigid culture that does not permit them to even peep out of the window to the world, as they are very happy and contented with their own self-centered, limited lifestyle, the way they are and have always been.
Cultural differences are one of the reasons why some nations develop faster than the others. Some cultures promote development, while others retard it. Some cultures focus on the future and some on the past. Some cultures believe that individuals can control their own destinies while some encourage the belief that all events are decided in advance by a supernatural power and human beings have no control over them. Daniel Patrick writes his views as, ------
“The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics that determines the success of a society.”
Research has shown that the culture you are born into influences the way your brain works. The researchers believe that different cultures produce different brain action and that cultural differences reflect different neurological functioning. In certain societies, there are certain patterns of behaviour, and culturally specific tasks.
“As the soil, however rich it maybe, cannot be productive without cultivation, so the mind without culture can never produce good fruit.” This is what Seneca explains the importance of culture in moulding an individual’s character.
Culture is not just an ornament, but it is the expression of a nation’s, individual’s character and at the same time it is a powerful instrument to restrict the divergence from the moral attitude.
India has proved to be a symbol of multiculturism to the world. It is due to the unity in diversity, brought about by harmony among cultures. As Mahatma Gandhi wrote,
“The measure of a country’s greatness should be based on how well it cares for its most vulnerable populations.”
Because harmony is the balanced result of several different elements. It may be imply to the harmony of musical notes, colours, work, home activities, religion, etc. The complexity and duality of the people, the diversity of the cultures, all need to be harmonized to achieve peace. When people of different cultures, different religions live together in the modern globalized world it is only through harmony that they find peace. Jimmy Carter had well said,
“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes and different dreams.”
Culture therefore, has number of interpretations. It cannot be defined comprehensively, nor can it fit into a particular framework. Culture needs to be viewed a fluid, open and contextual. Because in everyday life, different elements of various cultures co-exist side by side without apparent contradictions. A person participates simultaneously in a number of cultures as a man/woman, as a student/teacher, as a member of a particular linguistic group, as an Indian or as an American, as a particular religious group, as a husband or as a wife, as a resident of a particular place, etc. All these cultures have a bearing on the individual’s personality and identity. The person will be more aligned to his dominant culture of being a husband or a wife, of a student or a teacher, and at the same time will adapt to the context he/she finds himself in. Therefore, there is a complex link between culture and identity. They are multifaceted, relational and negotiable. Cultures never die, but they transform. They are in communication with one another and are open to change. Historical, political and social changes also change the elements of culture.
Though every society has a specific culture of its own, some similar traits are common to the cultures of various societies, like the facts that culture is man-made, culture is not congenial it is always handed over from one generation to another. It transfers knowledge, traditions, values, art, skills, etc. which also help preserving the social heritage of that culture. Culture is learned behaviour, it is expandable, symbolic and abstract, and language acts as the main carrier of culture. The very existence of any society would not be possible without culture. The ambitions, aspirations, etiquettes of a person, etc. reflect in the culture and makes it pervasive.
It is only due to this universal nature of culture that has led society from the ancient age of solidarity of tribes to the age of globalization. The entire world is now called a global village. The characteristic of culture to expand and change has befitted this colossal change.
The ‘culture curry’ that man has made with the ingredients of different communities, seasoned with different beliefs, religions, rituals and its harmony,, and garnished it with peace, love and brotherhood, can but only spread a delicious aroma of humanity throughout the world.
