Other cultures and religions are premised on an assumption that Otherness is both absolute and unalterable through human efforts. This prohibits free… - S. Srikanta Sastri

The Vedic Aryans, if at all they came from outside, ... must have lived in the Sapta-Sindhu [the region of the seven rivers in the ancient Punjab] so many centuries before the Vedic period that they had lost all memory of an original home.

What is the benefit of studying archeology and epigraphy? The foremost duty of epigraphy is to unearth truths. But no matter how much information we discover about the past, is it really possible to pronounce an unambiguous verdict on the life and lifestyle of our people in ancient times? To what extent can we learn about our culture through lifeless epigraphic or archeological fossils? Things like the mind and Atman are not “research topics” in the true sense. The human body is a collection of fluids that don’t cost more than five rupees. However, what is known as Ātma-samskr̥ti (culture of the soul) is invaluable. In that case, this question arises: to what extent can epigraphy reveal this Ātma-samskr̥ti ? Archeology and epigraphy rely on the aids provided by the physical sciences. However, unlike these sciences, one cannot arrive at definitive conclusions solely through epigraphy. Epigraphy is thus also an art in and by itself. The study of epigraphy will not attain fruition by merely collecting facts and information from inscriptions as some people claim. The researcher must also be an artist. Along with collecting artefacts, he must also expound upon their real meaning that informs the intellect and ennobles the emotion.

The culture of India, like the country itself, is indivisible and timeless. Just like its indivisible geography that stretches from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Vishweshwara to Rameshwara, from Bindu Madhava to Sethu Madhava, Indian culture too represents this indivisible continuum from the Rishis of the Vedas all the way up to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa... Indian culture gives immenseimportance to individual freedom. Differences of opinion exist among various schools of Indian philosophy on the subject of the nature of the relationship that exists between an individual, the Supreme Being and the material world. However, all these schools also universally recognize the fact that the individual, based on his/her nature and temperament, is free to lead a life of his/her choosing. It is because of this that there is no scope for totalitarianism in Indian culture... In other ancient cultures, only specific facets of their respective cultures flourished excessively and because it wasn’t balanced by a corresponding development in other facets, they died out in the course of time; or they reached a pinnacle and then perished due to a lack of further development. The spiritual outlook that lies at the heart of Indian culture is the reason it’s still alive and flourishing in the world. It is also the reason every single facet of Indian culture—food, social mores, business ethics, philosophy, aesthetics, investigations into the nature of truth and beauty—holds a special distinction. Not only does Indian culture embody universal values, it has also infused its unique value system both at the level of the individual and the society. Indian culture is thus like Atman, the Self: timeless and imperishable.