Culture
is a powerful tool for transforming any individual, society or nation. You may
call it an instrument, machine, appliance or apparatus to transform a depressed
and backward society or nation into an innovative one. But some people or
institutions also use it as a weapon to control and regulate a society or the nation
for their self- interest. In fact, culture is the software that guides individuals
or society to think, behave, work and express emotions in a general way. The
great Cultural Revolution of China transformed one of the most backward country
into a strong global leader. This is the power of culture.
The
Culture forms the common sense, i.e. the collective consciousness of a society.
Without living in a society, one cannot attain culture. Without society and
culture, a person would resemble the “Mowgli” of ‘The Jungle Book’ (1894) by Rudyard
Kipling. Thus, culture is the software of society. Civilization, on the other
hand, is the ‘hardware’ of a society. Culture is a mental and spiritual process,
whereas civilization is its physical expression or product. Arts, paintings,
songs, music, dance, sculpture, literature etc., are not examples of culture
themselves, but are just reflections - i.e. products - of culture.
The
span of historical periods creates a specific culture through interactions with
geography, economics, other societies and science & technology. But only
‘perception of history’ may modify the present culture. That is the only
reason, why history needs regular updating. In fact, under the guise of ‘updating’,
some use historians to reshape present culture in the name of science,
technology, research or in the name of new evidences. Therefore, ‘rewriting of
any history’ is only an attempt to change the present culture, or strengthen
any motive of a cultural agenda. The great writer George Orwell wrote –'‘Who
controls the history, controls present and future of a society and nation’'.
In
his concept of ‘Cultural Hegemony’, Antonio Gramsci explains how dominant
(social or otherwise) groups maintain power to rule not just through forces, or
through any compulsion, but through their consent, i.e. their culture. Values, norms,
believes and ideologies are disseminated to the targeted social groups through
education, media and culture. The ruled people, or the oppressed comply and
behave as the dominant group desires, all in the name of glorious tradition and
culture. In this way, our culture is declared as to be our great and glorious
ancient heritage. Many myths are fabricated to support and sustain inhumane
cultural practices. Instead of relying on force, dominant groups gain the
consent of the depressed and deprived groups through the spread of their
historical values, ethics, and beliefs. To regulate the culture, they regulate
the world views of masses. Hence, cultural hegemony, as a form of social
control, shapes masses attitude, thinking pattern, and behavior in the name of
a great culture.
Culture
is the “System - One” concept (and other is System - Two) of Nobel Laureate
Daniel Kahneman, a renowned psychologist, writer of ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’.
‘System - One’ is fast, simple, automatic, and intuitive thinking process of a
man and society. ‘System - One’ takes least time, least energy and involves no
conscious calculation.
Culture
is not a static concept. It is a dynamic concept in the fast changing world
with the interaction of other changing situations and conditions. But culture
has a great inertial effect, i.e. a great rigidness to change internally. If
mass of followers is larger, then inertia of culture is greater, and therefore
that culture takes more energy and efforts to change itself.
Therefore,
to change the future, we must first understand and then change the culture.
Achary
Pravar Niranjan Ji
Chairman,
Indian Institute for Improvement of Spirituality and Culture.
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