Soulitudes | Civilization Unveiled

Home

Himalayan Tales

Creative Exploration

Jungle Rules

Enable Change

Cricket Safari

Civilization Unveiled

We the People

Civilization Unveiled

"All the convergent influences of the world run through this society: Hindu, Moslem, Christian, secular, Stalinist, liberal, Maoist, democratic socialist, Gandhian. There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind."
- Historian E.M. Thompson

It is illogically ambitious to summarize a 5000 year old civilization in one paragraph. So this effort is by no means exhaustive even in summary, and will go through countless revisions. The focus here is on our spiritual traditions.

For 5000 thousand years, the sub-continent has witnessed the passage of time and seen a civilisation emerge marked

with astonishing diversity. Highly evolved humans and reformers surfaced regularly with the wisdom and knowledge to reform failed social and moral constructs. The institutions of many such reformers became organised religion. In fact, India is home to, what became over time, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam (including Sufism) and their various strains. The pluralism sowed the seeds for profusion in the realm of artistic traditions, architecture, healing and science. The territorial idea of India came about after the British administratively tied the subcontinent together. Culturally, select historians maintain that India’s unified cultural consciousnesses emerged from the times of the great Indian teacher of Advaita, Adi Shankarcharya. In the 10th century, he travelled the four corners of the country and set up institutions of learning that research existential questions and popularize Vedanta among other Hindu ideals to this day.

The secular nature of the highest Indian thoughts saw Sufi saints, bhakti (devotion) exponents, Sikh gurus, Jain munis and Buddhist monks along with their various strains co-exist with Harmony.

From the late 19th till the mid 20th Century, India's fibre was built by exemplary human beings who integrated the best of Western with Eastern thought. Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda are but a few remarkable human beings who transformed the lives of people in India. They cut through the ossification of Indian thought and blazed through the lives of millions with love, compassion and strength.

Modern India on several objective indicators is a failed state. The high ideals of our great leaders have given way to corruption, nepotism, illiteracy and unemployment. Yet,

there are today exceptional human beings who carry with them wisdom of the past and passion for today.

Our Offering
Travel seeking knowledge, wisdom and a broader worldview was a key facet to travel in ancient times. The great travellers of yesteryears went in search of knowledge and brought back stories and wisdom of distant lands home. Huan Tsang left China in 629 and travelled for 16 years through Turkestan, Bactria, and Tashkent where he came in contact with Western culture. Then he went on through Kashmir and down to India along the Ganges. He studied Sanskrit and Buddhist philosophy and collected Buddhist scriptures. On his return to China in 645, he translated the sacred books of Buddhism from Sanskrit into Chinese and founded, in China, a Buddhist school.

We hope to, in our tiny little way, to bring about connecting renaissance by bringing Indian heritage and culture (historical and contemporary) to you. Bombay Heritage Walks, Journeys of Truth influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, Temple Tours in South India, Introduction to Vedanta, Adi Shankara tour in Himalayas, Jain Temple Architecture and Philosophy, Indian festivals, Buddhist exploration, Tour of Indian Cinema, Vaishnav Traditions, and Sufi Thought are some of our offerings.