The Song of Creation

The concept of creation begins with a state of non-existence and chaos, lacking air, sky, and shelter.
Water is portrayed as a deep, unfathomable presence, and no mortality or immortality existed.
Breathless existence brings forth creation, emerging from darkness and formless void.

The Panchatantra is a compilation of Indian fables, originally penned in Sanskrit.
Known in Europe as The Fables of Bidpai, attributed to the sage Bidpai (Vidyapati in Sanskrit).
The collection serves as a textbook for worldly wisdom (artha), emphasizing cleverness over altruism.
Features a blend of prose and verse, framed by stories intended to educate the king’s three unwise sons.

The Taj Mahal is symbolically connected to mortality, with the sentiment questioning public displays of love and memorials of the dead.
Highlights the universal quality of love and the innate value of passions, irrespective of social circumstances.

India is the birthplace of major religions, primarily Hinduism and Buddhism.
Hinduism, singular to India, deeply engages with concepts of divinity and the universe’s creation.
Emphasizes Purusarthas, the four aims of human life: dharma (virtue), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure), and moksha (spiritual liberation from the cycle of rebirth).

Belief in the unity of all reality and the individual soul's oneness with the absolute reality.
Maya signifies the illusion separating the soul from this unified reality.
Life is divided into four asramas (stages):
- Student stage: initiation into Veda studies.
- Householder stage: marriage and family responsibilities.
- Forest dwellers: renunciation of societal ties.
- Ascetic stage: dedication to meditation and reflection, abandoning rituals.

Kama highlights the pursuit of love and pleasure within the householder's responsibilities.
The Kama-sutra is a historic text attributed to sage Vatsyayana, exploring love and pleasure.

Purusha, the Universal Spirit, represents the source of all creation and the cosmic life-giving principle.
Hindu society is organized into four Varnas, derived from Purusha’s body:
- Brahmans (priests): mouth, responsible for rituals and teachings.
- Kshatriyas (warriors): arms, protectors of society and kings.
- Vaishyas (peasants): thighs, engaged in trade and agriculture.
- Shudras (serfs): feet, serve higher classes and prohibited from inter-class marriages.

The Upanishads are sophisticated commentaries on Rigveda’s poetic hymns.
Emphasize the reunion of the human soul (Atman) with the single supreme being (Brahman).
Discuss themes of eternal life, transmigration of souls, and the causality of creation.