Book Review : Bharat: An Epitome of World Civilisation

Even under  invasion for over 1,100 years, Bharat has kept its original roots alive 

Pradeep Krishnan

Bha-Ra-Ta: The Rhythm of a Nation; Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev; Isha Foundation; ebook

India that is Bharat is unique in several ways.  For thousands of years, even though there had been multiple political entities within the Indian subcontinent, the land has been always recognised as one nation, within this land and in the rest of the known world.  India is not a mere geographical entity.  Bharat represents a great culture and civilisation, which has evolved during the course of centuries.   
Nowadays, it has become a fashion to say that there is no such thing as Indian Civilisation.  Rather it is a hotchpotch of many things put together and that the British gave us a nation. So there is also  a debate on how old Indian civilisation is.  There are others who say that if there is an Indian civilisation, then it is a bad idea because it is responsible for all our problems. It is what makes us primitive, oppressive and so on. Then there are those who feel that civilisation and identity, whatever they might have been, they are obsolete.

After being under  invasion for over 1,100 years, India is the only country which has kept its original roots alive-not in an archival way but in a living way.  However, India is at a crossroads. Its past is slipping away faster than ever, and its future, with possibilities and challenges, is approaching at break-neck speed.
In the remarkable book, Bha-Ra-Ta, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, eminent spiritual master, looks at the past, present and future of this nation, and explores why this culture matters to every human being on the planet.  He explains how Bharat, India’s ancient name, was itself a powerful instrument.  Bha-ra-ta, encapsulates sensations (Bhava), tune (Raga) and rhythm (Tala), and as Sadhguru explains, “If you get the rhythm or the tala right, you will ride the raga – the tune that the source of creation has set – and life becomes beautiful.”  Sadhguru explains beautifully how the concept of Bharat and its matchless culture evolved and the need to strengthen and nourish this exceptional civilisation.
For thousands of years, because of the distinctive cultural and spiritual ethos of this Nation, the Indian subcontinent was always recognised as one nation.  Sadhguru points out, “Nations are made and held together on the basis of race, religion, language or ethnicity.  We are a colorful combination of all this and more.  

He elaborates on the multitude of instruments devised in this culture to calibrate this rhythm, and looks at how highly innovative and sophisticated practices originated in this country, ranging from mystical aspects such as the science of consecration (or prana pratishtha) to mundane aspects such as trade and commerce.
Finally, he speaks of the possibility and responsibility of the people of India to enthral and embrace the world, with the technologies of inner wellbeing they inherited from the mystics of the past.
While ‘India’ denotes a territorial concept, ‘Bharat’ signifies much more than the mere territories of India. When we praise our country we say, Bharat Mata ki Jai and not India ki Jai. There are various grounds for changing the name of the country into simply ‘Bharat’. The name also generates the sense of patriotism and electrifies the people of this country.
The book opens up with Sadhguru’s detailed conversations with Smt Kiran Bedi which explores the science behind Bharat- India’s original name and how this culture was carefully crafted for people’s well being.  To her question, did we make a mistake in converting our name from Bharat to India, Sadhguru says, “A serious mistake.  Whenever somebody occupies a nation, the first thing they will do is change your name.  This is the technology of dominance; this is the technology of enslaving.  If you look at African-American history, when the African people were brought to America, the first thing they did was taking their African name away and gave them some silly name.  That is what has been done to us … .  What does it mean? It does not mean anything.  If I give you a meaningless name, you will become a meaningless, stupid person… .  So in that context, we have become “India.”
Sadhguru says that when we say Bharat or Bharata or Bharatam, we are not talking about nationalism.  It’s about setting a culture where everyone can find the right rhythm.   
In the chapter ‘Building Bharat’ Sadhguru says that though ours is a spiritual culture, we never sat with eyes closed and stayed at home.  We travelled across the world to Damascus, Syria, West Asia and even South America.  “Till about 300 years ago, about twenty five per cent of the world’s economy was under India.  A major fractional of international trade went through India.  In 250 years, we were really robbed and became one of the poorest nations in the world.  Today, there is a resurgence of enterprise in the country but there are many systemic problems, which they are trying to clean up now,” Sadhguru says.
Sadhguru is of the view that of the four major forces in the world- politics, military, religion and economics- that decide the quality of people’s lives to a large extent, the economic force as the biggest possibility for bringing about some unification and sensible action as the other forces are merely dictated by belief.  
Sadhguru convincingly argues that India is capable of bringing a new level of success into the world, a new paradigm of what it means to be successful in terms of creating human well being. Summing up Sadhguru says, “I am sure the coming generation will see a much better India that we have seen.  Every individual, whatever sphere of life he is in, whatever responsibility he holds, whatever influence he has, has to stand up and make that happen in this area.  The governments cannot do this, some other leader cannot do it.  Every human being has to do it.”