The Socio-Literary and Cultural Study of Indian Society from Ancient to Modern is a search for India’s heritage: Hindu, Sufi and about Nationalism and India’s freedom from her colonial past. It is analytical but not learnedness. The author believes as Iqbal, the famous Urdu poet, said: “Transcend your reason because though it is a glow, it is not your destination; it can only be the path to the destination show.” People, both Indian and foreign, who want to understand Indian heritage from Ancient to Modern in a simple, agreeable style and friendly manner, is the author’s destination. In this volume, he has tried to demolish many myths like dharma is religion, Vedas are Śruti though the Almighty ordered six ṛṣis to write them down. A Hindu is just not emotional in mind, he also believes in analytic discussion (tarka). Upaniṣads are not just created by ṛṣis but also by a revolution unfolded by the students by barraging questions after questions.By explaining about the vitality of India and many other subjects, the book elucidates many things about the idea of India in an authentic manner. The readers will find here many varieties of theological explication, ultimately leading to the celebration of life while searching for the divine and realizing the self. CONTENTS Preface Introduction Aesthetics: A Matter of Technique Ancient Period 1. The Vedic Tradition of Knowledge and World Civilizatio 2. Jīva, Ātman and Brahman Jīva: The Empirical Self Ātman: The Metaphysical Self Self as Ultimate Consciousness 3. The Upaniṣads: The Oneness of the Limitless Infinite and the Finite How to Be One with Supreme Reality The Power of Comprehension Supreme Being Is the Innate Good in All Upaniṣad Does Not Ignore the Material Life From Embodied Self to Metaphysical Self (Ātman) and the Realization of Brahman Is a Progressive Movement Two Paradoxes Aparā-Vidyā and Parā-Vidyā Key Messages 4. The Rāmāyaṇa: The Voice of India 5. The Mahābhārata and the Notion of Dharma Medieval Period 6. The Literary Legacy of the Medieval India: Bhakti: The Poetry of Ecstasy and Philosophy Bhakti: The Poetry of Ecstasy The Philosophy of Bhakti The Poets and Saints of Bhakti in Bhāṣā Literature The Siddhas, Nāthas, Sahajīyas, Vīraśaivas, Nirguṇa Saints and Their Poetry of Revolt and Mystic Symbolism Sufi Mysticism The Renderings of Epics, Especially the Rāmāyaṇa Gīta Govinda Secular Prose Narratives and Poetry Conclusion 7. Traditional Indian Theatre Practices: A Comparison with Japanese Kabuki Theatre 8. Abhinavagupta: From Kashmir Śaivism to Rasadhvani in Theatre: A Search for a Theory of Creativity and Tagore’s World of Creative Universe Modern Period 9. The Vitality of India and the Contemporary Challenges Dimensions of Vitality Culture, Philosophy and Spiritualism All-inclusive Diversity Democracy and the Common Man Tradition and Modernity An Example of Folk India Argumentative Tradition Vedānta the Vital Force Environmental Crisis Religious Fundamentalism Sociocultural Discrimination Violence Spiritual Tradition and Modernity Action and Spirituality Spirituality, Adaptability and Power of Assimilation Continuity and Change The Dimension of Rationality Conclusion 10. Bhupen Hazarika: A Conflex of Poignancy, Humanism, Indian Literary Culture and a Human of Global Times 11. Aesthetics: The East and the West History Transcendental Experience of Saundarya and Ānanda Saundarya Is a Nexus of Subjectivity and Objectivity Aesthetic Beauty Is not Concrete Emotion Is the Principle of Unity in a Performing Text Aesthetics: A Matter of Technique Symmetry and Pratibhā (Poetic Genius) Unique Poetic Context (Darpaṇa/Mirror) and Unique Context of Cultural Forces (Vātāyana/Window) Kālidāsa and Ibsen Importance of Vastu Vibhāva, Vibhāvikaraṇa Two Senses: Sight and Hearing Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra and the First Play ever Produced Theatric Experience: Identification and Contemplation/Alienation Dhvani as the Pivot of Rasa Lāvaṇya: Grace or Charm Beauty Is Not Symmetrical Various Ingredients of Rasa Theory Vibhāva: Ālambana Vibhāva and Uddīpana Vibhāva, Anubhāva, Sañcarī-bhāva, Sthāyī-bhāva Sādhāraṇīkaraṇa and Catharsis Beauty and Ugliness Beauty: Idealization of Human Body and Meditative Intuition Beauty and Spirituality Aesthetic Experience and Emotions Beauty and Its Affiliation with Satya (Truth) and Human Welfare (Maṅgala) 12. The East–West Dialogue and Cultural Fusion Raja Rammohun Roy Swami Vivekananda Rabindranath Tagore Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Cultural Fusion 13. The Crisis in Nationalism: A Search for a Resolution in Tagore and Gandhi 14. The Continuity of an Art Tradition: Harmony, Dissonance, Transcendence and Tagore’s Notion of Art 15. Always Historicize 16. The World of Poetry: Rabindranath Tagore, Aimé Césaire and Pablo Neruda Reinventing Humanism for Global Times 17. The Formation of Tagore’s Spirituality and the Evidence of It in His Artistic Endeavour 18. Mahatma Gandhi and Indian Literature Bibliography Index