Ethos defines a culture, a people and even a country. The Oxford concise English dictionary says ethos is the characteristic spirit of a culture, era or community as is reflected in its attitudes and aspirations. In today’s world, identifying a standalone ethos of a country may not be easy, given the impact that globalisation has had on the lives and cultures of people.
A new ethos, something that has evolved embracing global diversities and lifestyles, thus may well be emerging. Yet, there definitely are certain core values of a nation’s ethos that may be called a representative. In the case of India, an ancient civilisation, this may certainly be true.
Perhaps famous Indologists such as Arthur llewellyn Basham and Max Muller had written about this ethos in their widely read accounts of India that embraced salient points of the culture and value system of Indian society. Whether we may be able to revive them or not, whether they were superior to other culture and value systems may all be debatable. But that they existed can emphatically be stated.
The purpose of this piece is to identify them, even if for academic value. As we learn that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has renamed the most important address of India as lok Kalyan Marg instead of Race Course Road, questions may have cropped up as to why. But the explanation given by NDMC that the name Race Course Road did not reflect the Indian ethos is based on sound logic. Indian ethos has always focussed on lok kalyan or the good of society. In fact, the sum and substance of vedic literature is ‘bahujan hitaya, bahujan sukhaya’ that can be translated as ‘for the common good’.
The purpose of human life as enshrined in the Upanishads was for the good of all. There was an appropriate philosophy behind this, which stated that the whole world is one family. While understanding the underlying idea behind this may require scholarly rigor and erudition, given the deep philosophical essence of the vedic texts, there are simplistic explanations that make sense.
Kabir, the famous mystic saint of India, for instance can be read to get insightful reflections of Indian ethos in his simple and earthy style. A famous and oft repeated quote of Kabir is: “Sai itna dijiye, ja mein kutumba samaye, main bhi bhookha na rahun, sadhu na bhookha jaye.” Translating this in English becomes: “O God, give me that much so that I can take care of my family; I do not remain hungry, nor the person who comes to me for alms.”
In the popular title song of the Bollywood hit of the 50s, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, this idea was beautifully and melodiously brought out. Translating those lines: “We Indians love our guests more than ourselves and we do not crave for more, rather enjoy with little.”
The Indian ethos has always valued parmartha or the good of others. The richness and the depth of this ethos is gradually being lost as we are becoming too preoccupied with self-interest under the influence of alien values and cultures that do not hold humanity on the same pedestal as Indian ethos. As discussions triple, the bottom line is that planet, people and profits are occupying centrestage in multitude of seminars on CSR. let us remember that Indian ethos always talked about it and practised it as well.
The writer is a professor of management and public
speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com
