India knows how to hide its secrets. As they say in the ancient Vedic texts: you need to have the eyes of knowledge to really see the amazing, unique, exciting and charming fairy tale, the true India. It has nothing to do with enterprising merchants who rip off astronomical sums from foreigners, brazen monkey trainers, glossy pop stars, cunning impostors posing as another incarnation of God...

CRADLE OF WORLD CULTURE AND SCIENCE

Those who know a little of the Hindi alphabet, based on the Sanskrit script - Devanagari, will notice on the visa that they are not going to India, but to Bharat! India is the international name of the country, and the constitution gives it another name associated with the legendary past.

The Hindus believe that there was a pious king Bharat who lived on Earth from time immemorial. He was a very wise and far-sighted monarch, the perfect emperor. Maharaj Bharata, like his grandfather and father, was very fond of his subjects. While ruling the planet, he made sure that all its inhabitants faithfully performed the prescribed duties and served the original God Vishnu. He was destined to enjoy the benefits of this world for ten million years. When this period expired, the great emperor divided all the wealth of his ancestors among his sons, renounced family life and went to the Himalayas, becoming an ascetic. During his reign - a golden age for India - people did not know hunger and disease, they were reasonable and happy.

Therefore, the desire of Indians to keep the second name of the country is understandable. What does the name "India" mean? Just about the people living in the Indus and Ganga River valleys, while Bharata is a link to the great past.

Discoveries made in this country are used all over the world. This is the concept of the number "O", without which the development of computer technologies and the Internet is impossible, and the decimal system, borrowed from the Indians by the Arabs and through them got to the Western world. The largest number used by the Greeks and Romans was 10 to the 6th power, while in India it was 10 to the 53rd power. It was in Jaipur that the first observatory was built. The Indians were able to determine solar and lunar eclipses, equinoxes and solstices, and much more. They knew a period of 4300000000 solar years - kalpa. According to the Indian epic, kalpa is one day of Brahma, the first being in the universe, born from a huge lotus flower. He creates all living things according to the plan of God Vishnu.

The secrets of Damascus steel, which the crusaders tried to unravel, lie in the technology of making wood steel, invented in India. The whole world learned about cotton clothing thanks to Indian craftsmen who used a spinning wheel to create threads. The art of sailing was based on the Indus River. The word navigation itself is derived from the Sanskrit nava gatih (ship movement). Koh-I-Noor, one of the largest diamonds in the world, adorning the crown of British monarchs, was brought from India. The first reservoirs and dams for irrigation were built in Saurashtra (Western India). Some scholars believe that Sanskrit is the ancestor of all languages. Here is just a small part of the achievements of India, which largely influenced the development of human civilization.

Ancient texts provide comprehensive information in the field of anatomy and physiology. Knowledge of the science of Ayurveda allowed doctors to make an accurate diagnosis of the pulse and prevent diseases, and not only treat its consequences. It is believed that the great philosophical and scientific treatises of India are the Vedas,

Puranas, Itihasas, etc. "they were written down several thousand years ago, but this knowledge, the Indians believe, was passed down by word of mouth much earlier. At the beginning of creation, according to legend, there was a Veda that the Original God told Brahma, the first being in the universe.

In the Vedic treatises, the history of the cosmos and the origin of the world are described in a surprisingly poetic language; they tell about the deeds of the personified forces of nature-demigods, great kings, sages and saints who are able to create entire planets. Legendary people of a mysterious civilization lived in harmony with themselves, nature and God. They were given knowledge not only of the material world, but also of the existence of a spiritual kingdom filled with mercy and compassion. Contrary to the popular belief that Hinduism is polytheism, Vedic literature asserts the concept of a single God long before Christianity.

TRAVEL TO KALKATA

To get a closer look at the life of ordinary Indians, I traveled from Delhi to Kalkata (formerly Calcutta), the capital of West Bengal, widely known in the Western world since the days of English colonization. Bengal tigers, the poetry of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, the charity work of Mother Teresa, as well as the hot tropical climate, high humidity - all this can be said to be associated with Bengal, known in ancient times as the semi-fairy kingdom of Magadha. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The way to Kalkata is through such famous cities as Prayag (Allahabad) and Varanasi (Benares). Endless rice fields, small temples, peasant huts surrounded by thickets of palm trees run past. In the comfortable air-conditioned Rajdhani train, you feel like a real raja. Of course, I could learn more about the common people if I chose a different train, such as the Kalki Express, with a crowd of either blissful or leprous, obsessive ti or kofi sellers, and you will understand why I don't want to describe this journey.

Together with me in the spacious compartments of the Rajdhani were a local businessman and an elderly woman with an adult daughter. From a conversation with them, I learned that Indians are very serious about education, they know several languages (English is one of the official languages). India is a multi-lingual country, with more than 30 different languages spoken here, not counting dialects, there are about 2000 of them. My traveling companion admitted that he was learning German in order to negotiate with representatives of German businesses.

West Bengal is the poorest part of the country. But life here attracts me with its originality. It is in West Bengal that there is a rich literary, musical, religious and philosophical heritage that is strikingly different from the traditions of other parts of India.

The founder of Kalkata is considered to be Job Charnock, who chose a plot of land protected from the west by the Hooghly River, from the north by a stream and from the east by lakes. In 1690, as a representative of the British East India Company, he signed a lease agreement for three nearby villages, one of them Kalikata. Trade flourished successfully, and the city began to develop rapidly, and in 1773 the city was founded. it became the capital of British India until 1912.

Traveling through the villages of West Bengal, many times I was surprised to see the peasants gathered in a thatched or mud hut and watched with interest the television broadcast of rugby or basketball matches. Not to mention the fact that you can make an international phone call or use the Internet in the same huts almost at every step across the country.

An important place in the life of Indians is occupied by the family. Women, as a rule, do not work, manage the household, and raise children. From the hotel window, I watched the lives of several poor families. Small apartments in the next building are arranged in such a way that all rooms face the stairwell and are often separated from the street only by light curtains, only the entrance to the courtyard located in the open air is locked. Two families live on each floor.

Even television advertising in this country is imbued with family values. It is original, made with humor. For example, in the frame-a living room, the whole family gathered, several generations, everyone talks about their dreams. Suddenly a genie appears, everyone turns to him, but he can not fulfill so many wishes, but recommends the appropriate company.

Of course, like all advertising, it greatly embellishes reality. In general, the standard of living in the country is still very low. It is considered lucky to have a small apartment or room, many people live on the street, using a piece of cloth as a roof over their heads.

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE DRAWN TO INDIA?

There is something in this country that you cannot pass by in your life.

The philosophy, religion, culture and art of this country are filled with a strong charge of optimism. Colorfulness and musicality, dynamics and plasticity, intelligence and enterprise, and to all this, faith in the eternal life of the soul, seeking help from the demigods who control nature, awareness of the eternal close and joyful connection with God, spiritualization of one's life through ancient rituals and legends - all this creates a certain mystery and attraction.

Religious ideals live deep in the minds of Indians.

For Indians, there is no death, and suffering is temporary. There is no overwhelming or intimidating grandeur in their rites and rituals. Freedom, complete freedom, limited only by the law of the heart and the mind. Most of them don't need passports, and they don't want to remember their age.

Even poor farmers living in remote parts of Uttar Pradesh or West Bengal do not feel left out, cut off from the world. The genetic memory of a great culture helps them feel that they are not just citizens of a powerful country, but part of the universe, of divine forces. They live by hard work, but they are genuinely happy

every day, they ask their gods for blessings and believe in the protection of higher powers.

On one of my last trips to India, I witnessed the celebration of religious events on a national scale. In early October, India celebrates Rama Vijayats, the legendary victory of King Rama over the demon Ravana. All over the world knows about the great battle of Rama for the island of Sri Lanka, for his wife Sita.

A theatrical performance of the Ramayana was performed all night in the central square of Delhi. Thousands of people gathered for the performance, whole families came. Bright costumes, colorful makeup, music, lighting effects. During the break, representatives of the authorities, the intellectual and cultural elite, and religious leaders made speeches. Central television was broadcasting the event live.

On my way to Agra, I found a procession of Buddhists blocking the only highway. Police stopped vehicles and sent them to detour along a dirt road. A huge deity of the Buddha, decorated with flowers, was solemnly taken to one of the settlements, followed by crowds of believers.

I also witnessed several other holidays. For example, Kali Puja is a glorification of the goddess Kali. A motley crowd of trumpeters and drummers followed the deity of a lion-mounted goddess, both beautiful and terrifying, through the streets of a small town in Uttar Pradesh all day, and then hymns in praise of her were played all night in the central square.

Puri is an amazing city in the state of Orissa, located on the shores of the Indian Ocean. The entire life of the city is centered around the temple of Lord Dhagannatha - the Lord of the Universe (from Sanskrit: jagat - world, natha-lord). From generation to generation, the townspeople pass on their sacred duties to serve in this temple. For them, Jagannath is both a God and a family member. Someone cooks, someone sews, makes garlands, decorations, conducts services, etc. There are even special people who change the huge flag on the dome of this impressive temple complex at the risk of their lives. An important part of the religious rite is dancing. This rite is performed not by ordinary dancers, but by special devadasi nuns, mostly from aristocratic families who have taken a vow of celibacy. For them, there is only one husband - Lord Jagannath.

It is in this city that the grandiose Festival of Chariots - Ratha Yatra-takes place, which annually attracts from 50 thousand to 100 thousand people from all over the world. The city is seething with so many people who want to take part in the solemn ceremony. Everyone tries to pull the ropes tied to the chariots on which the deities sit, so that, according to legend, they will not be born again, will not suffer, will not die. Only on these days can foreigners see the majestic deity of Lord Jagannath coming out of his chambers, accompanied by brother Baladev and Sister Subhadra.

This temple, as well as its surroundings, is a mystical place with which many mysterious stories are associated among the Indians. It is believed that as long as the Earth has this temple, this city, it will not perish. Sundarananda Vidyavinoda's book Sri Kshetra in Bengali (Calcutta, 1978) describes the history, philosophical and religious tradition of this region. The book "Lord Jagannath Temple" by Somanath Khuntiya, a famous writer, poet, TV and radio commentator, hereditary priest of the Jagannath Temple in Orissa, is easier for a Westerner to understand.

Unfortunately, the so-called benefits of civilization have also penetrated here. Now the entire coast of the Indian Ocean in the vicinity of the city is disfigured by hotels, littered, filled with vacationers. The unique meditative atmosphere that evokes the state of unity between man and nature that used to reign on the deserted shore of the most powerful ocean on Earth has been destroyed.

There is a verse in the Brihat Aranyaka Upanishad that expresses very deeply and accurately the basic idea of Vedic civilization. It is an appeal to God: "From falsehood lead me to truth; from darkness lead me to light; from death lead me to immortality."

...Restoring its former greatness is a very difficult task, and modern India is striving to solve it. At the grand opening ceremony of the Year of India in Russia - 2009 "Aadita" (meaning "beginning"), held at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Dr. Karana Singh, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, defined the prospects for the development of modern India in his speech as follows: "The purpose of the Year... The goal is not only to present to our Russian friends the most beautiful traditions of India's unique and rich cultural repertoire, but also to demonstrate the dynamics of the new India's development as the world's largest democracy, filled with confidence and rapidly developing economically and technologically; a country with an ancient culture, but with a rapid modern perspective; a country proud of traditions, but a country that is both united and diverse, and combines spirituality and economic insight, ancient wisdom and technological power."

* Sri Sruti-ratna-mala. Mayapur, 1941, p. 247 - 248.

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