The culture of Ancient India is famous for its exceptional originality. The originality of ancient Indian culture was formed against the background of a large number of religions, as well as philosophical teachings. It is no coincidence that G. Hesse considered India a "religious phenomenon", a "religious genius".
Religious and philosophical thought of Ancient India already in those days allowed to consider this country a symbol of wisdom. But not only because of the abundance of religions and philosophies, India gained a similar reputation. This country also had other distinctive features. So, for example, it is necessary to tell about music of India and the original Indian dance directly connected with this art. Without these two artistic phenomena, it is impossible to imagine Indian culture, both ancient and modern.
Through dance and music, the artistic talent of India appears. The deep wisdom of this nation is revealed through the ability of Indians to know and understand the Cosmos and the Universe. We can say that the soul of this nation is turned to the Cosmos and its secrets. At the same time, Indians had great respect for the complex inner world of man and tried to penetrate its depths.
The culture of India is represented not by one nation, but by several, so it is considered to be a super ethnology. Hence, the diversity and richness of different directions in its culture. The range of existence of ancient Indian culture - from about III millennium BC to VI century AD. Before acquiring its modern name (and it happened only in the century before last), India had a number of names, among which one - "country of wisdom" - really corresponds to its essence.
Prehistoric India.
The prehistoric period in the cultural development of India developed according to the universal laws. The main occupation of people living on this territory was gathering and hunting. There was also a noticeable trend towards the improvement of tools, as a result of which there were natural processes related to this: the development of agriculture, domestication of animals and, as a consequence, the establishment of a settled way of life. These remarks concern the archaic period in the life of prehistoric India. Then the ancient Indian civilization made a qualitative leap forward. We are talking about the highly developed cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harrap.
Mohenjo-daro is a legendary city. Even today, it is a city of concern to scientists and cultural figures, although it has long since disappeared. Known facts about it are impressive: the presence of a carefully checked layout, which is considered ideal; sewerage system and even public toilets. Architectural buildings gave researchers reason to believe that Mohenjo-Daro was an example of a city-state, as it lacked luxurious palaces. Urban culture was on top, but ancient Indian civilization was not only famous for it.
As well as all similar prehistoric civilizations, archaic India had its own mythology. Its culture had a syncretize orientation, as it united different beliefs and views. Primordial people in their consciousness animated the world around them, endowed it with human qualities. By inspiring objects and phenomena, a man of prehistoric epoch treated them accordingly - as if he were alive. Giving the soul of animals led to the emergence of totem ism. So, in India the sacred animal was a cow. It was equated with a deity. Totem ism, as well as fetishism (virtualization of things) and animism (virtualization of natural phenomena) determined the mythological thinking of prehistoric people. Human interaction with animated objects and phenomena led to the emergence of magical and ritual actions.
Gradually religious thinking began to form. The man of the archaic period believed in many gods. A distinctive feature of the prehistoric religious view of India (as well as some other eastern territories) is the taboo system. A lot of peculiar etiquette concerning behavior was forbidden. The concept of purification was also widespread. Only "pure people" could sacrifice to the gods who provided the world order for people. The will of the gods was undeniable. Over time, the ancient Indian gods began to resemble many earthly kings.
Developing, the ancient Indian culture and statehood came to the idea of absolute unity, which consists in the refusal of manifestation of individuality in a person, exactly as in the exclusion of freedom.
Another specific feature of Ancient India is the caste division of society, which was formed on the basis of the belief that souls were displaced. The higher and lower castes were in commensurable in their status. The way to the representatives of the lower caste to the higher caste was ordered. So, although the culture of prehistoric India as a whole developed according to the general pattern, even then it showed signs of amazing originality.
Indian civilization.
In the academic world it is customary to divide the culture of Ancient India into two major stages: Harappan and Indo-Aryan. The first of them - Harappi - dates to about 2500 BC. In the Indus Valley, the remains of the two largest cities, Harapp and Mohenjo-Daro, which were once many thousands in number (the population density of India was very high at that time), were discovered. Harappa (Indian) civilization existed for a thousand years and occupied the territory of India and Pakistan. It was a civilization at a very high level of development. Even then, this ancient people built cities in which clay citadels and brick houses with many convenient facilities were built, including sewage. The buildings were very well thought-out in architectural and technical terms. The Indians even used bathrooms.