From Twilight to Light: The Sunlit Path, Talk 9: ‘Indian Culture for Millennials’
Full session recording is available here.
AuroYouth has been conducting a series of talks to help youth discuss and discover issues prevalent in recent times. The first series titled “From Twilight to Light – The Sunlit Path” aims to help youth navigate through issues related to mental & emotional health.
15th August 2020 was the 148th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo and the 74th Independence day of India. In light of the same, for the ninth talk of the series, we had Shivakumar, Director, AuroYouth, interacting with youngsters on the topic “Indian Culture for Millennials” on August 16, 2020.
The session was a one-of-its kind session where Shivakumar started by highlighting what India truly is. India as we know is not just not a piece of land, but a living being. India has a soul of its own, and connecting to the soul of India and expressing it is the true essence of what we know as Indian Culture. He also emphasised the special nature of India as a country, in Sri Aurobindo’s words, “God always keeps for himself a chosen country in which the higher knowledge is through all chances and dangers, by the few or the many, continually preserved, and for the present, in this Chaturyuga at least, that country is India.”
The next step towards realising this special destiny of India would be to connect with its living soul. When a disciple asked how to do this, the Mother answered simply by saying: “Become conscious of your Psychic Being”. During our previous session, Shivakumar had covered what it means to be connected with one’s soul and experience the world outside.
India has a very rich history of inspirations that can be derived from examples of these deeper connections with India’s soul and their touching expressions in the past. Shivakumar used his mesmerizing story-telling skills to share the following examples from our glorious past:
- Indian Mind: By story of Satprem, highlighting the importance of the capacity to adore the Infinity in finite things, a unique aspect of Indian Culture
- Indian Vital: Story of musical genius Tansen and his Guru Swami Haridas Giri, highlighting the importance of connecting with one’s inmost soul and allowing it to express its deep emotions in the form of inspiring music, art, dance etc.
- Indian Life Current: In terms of examples from contemporary India, the story of millennials like A R Rahman and Shreya Ghoshal – and these are the people who did not renounce the world but embraced it – were highlighted and how each one have associated their best works to an inner flow or complete dedication to the Divine.
- Indian Physical: Development of harmony of one’s physical energies through Hatha Yoga was mentioned.
He further proceeded to highlight that India is awakening, not for herself but for the whole world and that the dawn of an “Age of Intuition” is upon us. In Mother’s words: “It is by cultivating intuition that one prepares to live for the future.”
This wonderful discussion opened room for deep questions that the participants had, and Shivakumar answered each question in great depth and through multiple aspects. One of the important aspects from one of the participants was around becoming more intuitive to which he suggested a very practical method: by silencing the surface mind and vital, and then turning to the intuitive self within.
Next in the series, AuroYouth is coming up with a session on ‘Marriage & Inner Progress’ by Lakshmi Jyothi, this Sunday, August 23, 2020; Stay tuned!!
Click for details of The Sunlit Path Talk 8, Talk 7, Talk 6, Talk 5, Talk 4, Talk 3, Talk 2 and Talk 1.
