Is our culture decaying?

Indian culture is one of the ancient and firmly respected culture around the world. Being the centre for the diversity and existence, India revoke the liking in the hearts of people around the globe. But even we are known for the diversity in our living and culture, which is the biggest treasure of India is really decaying. The word culture includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and other capabilities and habits acquired by individuals as a member of society. Culture is often translated as samskruti but samskruti comprises culture, dharma, tradition, language, ceremonies, arts, values, economy, geography, history and every aspect of a being. Since, ages, India nurtured a self-reliant egalitarian society. Such a value enriched societal structure emerged because of India's democratic ethos. According to Indian scriptures, every village coordinated by the district should be a self sustaining tiny republic. The village parliament consisting of all adult men and women, controls all village resources and decision making such as administration of justice, police, education, healthcare, land, water systems and forests. It elected a council for day to day work, usually for a year, and could remove a councilor any time for misconduct. The state could demand only one-sixth of land revenues for higher level functions and coordination, but could not intervene in local matters. Locals had the 'Right to recall' and sometimes it was done with hard fist.

India has been flourished so long on the principle of diversity, India can be called as a nation consisting thousands of nation within her. Nation itself is a western construct alien to India. We have had thousands of languages, bolis, cults, customs, costumes,  jatis, dance forms, folk song forms, scripts etc. etc. But, now we are not seeing it as beautiful and blessing but as chaotic and creator of problems and now we are trying to move ahead to pluralism. That's why, today, ours is a decaying culture. All round social and environmental degradation, pervasive corruption and self-seeking politics have become the norm and identity of ours. Our forests are depleted, water systems polluted (about 400 rivers extincted since 1947 and many are on the brink of extinction), many languages, bolis, scripts, customs, dance forms, costumes, cults are extincted and many are on the brink of extinction. We adopted a faulty model centralized planning and controlled economy mimicking the west. Now, facing problems we were never exposed to.As pollution, lack of drinking water, racism, naxalism, psychic problems, over half the urban population lives in the slum, starvation death have become frequent because of pressure on land for human needs, wild life habitant deeply eroded. And we are now in a state of confusion and despair.

But as Maharishi Aurobindo Ghosh says "It is the law of Shri Bhagwan that a fallen nation should not be allowed to rise without infinite suffering and mighty effort. That is the price it has to pay for it's previous lapses from national duty"(excerpt from 'Karmayogin'). We have to make great efforts to made ourselves out of the post-colonial syndrome and make our nation confident, vibrant, wishvaguru thriving on the principles of dharma.