Life on the Hindustan Peninsula originated so long ago that it is difficult to choose a reference point from which time it is necessary to describe the cultural achievements of Ancient India. This civilization has been counted for five, or even six thousand years , is it a joke to give a complete analysis in a short article. Therefore, we restrict ourselves to brief information.
Culture features
There are a great many peoples, tribes, and, accordingly, languages in India. Unlike European culture, they developed completely separately and independently, and what a European person considers basic, is not such for a resident of India. We think empirically, and in India - abstractly. We think in ethical categories, in India - in ritual categories. The ritual is much more important than morality. European thinking is legal (law, human rights), in India - a myth in which all rights are drowned. We think in collective categories, while in India, only personal salvation and rebirth are given importance. The categories of "people", "nation", "tribe", "co-religionists" for the Indians are not very clear. But still they were united by a religion in which there is no systematicity. Below we will talk about Hinduism, which is still alive and which was created by Ancient India. The achievements of his spiritual practices are also appreciated by representatives of other civilizations.
The origin of life
The first inhabitants lived in the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley. But little is known about them. It was a black population (Dravids). The light-skinned nomadic Aryan tribes from Iran, which in the language meant “noble”, forced the natives into the forests and the very south of the Indian subcontinent.
They brought with them language and religion. After many centuries, when the Aryans themselves reached the south, they began to coexist peacefully with the dark-skinned Dravidian population, and their religions united, merged and re-melted.
Caste system
The arias brought it with them. Indians themselves use the word “varna” and it translates as “color” to denote their social categories. The lighter and whiter the skin, the higher the people stood on the social ladder. There are four varnas. The highest are the brahmanas who possess both power and knowledge. Here priests and lords are born.
Then the kshatriyas, that is, warriors, follow. Then vaisyas. These are traders, artisans, peasants. The lowest are sudras (servants and slaves). All classes came from a mythical man - Purusha. From his head came the brahmanas, from the arms and shoulders - ksatriyas, from the hips and loins - vaisyas for whom fertility was important, from the feet - sudras who are in the mud. From the mud untouchables were created, whose situation is the worst. The entire population was illiterate, which has survived to the present day. And ksatriyas and brahmanas had knowledge. It was the latter that created
cultural values. Ancient India owes their development to them. Achievements in various fields of culture were significant. But to climb the social ladder with the existence of castes is impossible. A person from birth to death is associated only with the caste in which he was born.
Language and Writing
We will not dwell on unencrypted languages, but turn to the Sanskrit language, which appeared almost five and a half thousand years ago and which became the language of scientists, priests and philosophers. Extensive literature has been created on it. Initially, these were religious obscure hymns, chants, incantations (Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda), and later artistic works (Ramayana and Mahabharata).
For brahmanas, Sanskrit was the same language as Latin for us. This is the language of learning. It is of interest to us in that all the languages spoken by Europe supposedly grew out of it. Its roots can be traced in Greek, and in Latin, and in Slavic languages. The word Veda itself is translated as knowledge. Compare with the root of the Russian verb “to know,” that is, to know. So ancient India enters the modern world. Achievements in the development of language belong to the Brahmins, and the methods of its distribution are not well understood.
Architecture, sculpture and painting
The brahmanas, who came from the eyes of the mythical Purusha, were engaged in visual arts.
They designed temples, created picturesque and sculptural images of the gods. This attracts the attention of not only pious Indians, but also everyone who comes to India and gets acquainted with incomparable beauty of palaces and temples.
Science
To engage in grandiose construction, you need accurate knowledge. Ancient India, whose achievements in this area are very great, developed a decimal account, figures that, by mistake, are called Arabic and which we use, were invented in India. It also developed the concept of zero. Scientists from India have proven that if any number is divided by zero, then the result will be infinity. For six centuries BC they knew the number of pi. Indian scientists were engaged in the development of algebra, solved linear equations, were able to extract square and cubic roots from numbers, calculate the sine of the angle. In this area, Ancient India has gone far ahead of all. Achievements and inventions in the field of mathematics are the pride of this civilization.
Despite the fact that they did not have telescopes, astronomy occupied an honorable place in Ancient India.
Observing the moon, astronomers were able to determine its phases. Before the Greeks, Indian scientists came to the conclusion that the Earth rotates on its axis. Indian astronomers divided the day into hours.
Ayurveda, which contains the basic medical principles, was originally used for the ritual cleansing of priests who dealt with the untouchables. All kinds of cleansing of the body went from there, which are widely used in our time, because the environment is very polluted.
Hinduism
This religion has, scary to say, nearly six millennia, and it is alive and thriving. It is very closely connected with the caste system, which was mentioned above. None of the theologians gave definitions to Hinduism, since it includes everything that it encounters in its path. In it you can find elements of Islam and Christianity. Heresy, because religion is "omnivorous", it never was in it, as there were no religious wars in India. These are the indisputable achievements of ancient India. The main thing in Hinduism is the ideas of non-violence and asceticism. Gods in India are both humanoid and include the elements of animals.
The god Hanuman has the body of a monkey, and the god Ganesha has the head of an elephant. The supreme revered deity who created the world and then broke it into small parts, like a crystal vessel - Brahma. The brahmanas are engaged in his study and development of his teachings. Ordinary people are closer to more understandable Shiva - a warrior (he had a third eye, designed to destroy enemies; then there was a curious transformation, and the eye became needed to study the inner world) and the god of fertility, and Vishnu - a dark-skinned defender of the family and a fighter against evil.
Buddhism
This, it must be said right away, is not a religion, since the concept of a deity is absent in it and there is no prayer as a cry for salvation. This complex philosophical doctrine was created a little earlier by Christianity by Prince Gautama.
The main thing that a Buddhist wants to achieve is to get out of the wheel of samsara, out of the wheel of rebirth. Only then can nirvana be achieved, that which is incomprehensible. But happiness and harmony are false ideas, they simply do not exist. But Buddhism in India was not widespread, since there is no prophet in his own country, but he flourished, mutating, outside this country. Today it is believed that a person may not know anything about the Buddha, but if he lives instinctively correctly and complies with all the laws of Buddhism, then he has the opportunity to become enlightened and find a path to nirvana.
Achievements of ancient India briefly
Mathematics - modern numbers and algebra.
Medicine - cleansing measures, determining a person’s condition by pulse, body temperature. Invented medical instruments - probes, scalpels.
Yoga - spiritual and physical practices that perfect a person.
The cuisine is rich in seasonings, among which it is worth highlighting curry. The main component of this seasoning is turmeric root, which improves immunity and prevents Alzheimer's.
Chess is a game that trains the mind and develops strategic abilities. They synchronize the hemispheres of the brain, contribute to its harmonious development.
All this was given by Ancient India. Achievements of the culture of ancient times are not outdated to this day.