Page 29 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

Introduction xxvii

antiquated customs to be read in a book meant only
for anthropologists or the wistful. I came to develop an
appreciation for the value of true human culture, and to
understand that without it even the high philosophical
ideals I was professing and practicing were incomplete.

The glimpses presented herein are of life as it was not so
long ago, in the India before modernization. We find a
more or less contented populace with no serious social or
psychological problems. Life was conducted basically as
it had been for thousands of years previously. And most
importantly, at the base of its moral codes, family ideals,
and educational values, we find a society with knowledge
of God and the soul.

This book is meant to share experiences and realizations
of Indian culture, especially with persons who have little
opportunity to familiarize themselves with it first-hand.
Glimpses of Traditional Indian Life is not an attempt to
comprehensively analyze Indian cultural life, nor to
suggest how it could be revived in the much-changed
circumstances of today. It is meant to give an impression
of life as it was, with the hope that it may help to inspire
a revival of Vedic culture in a milieu dangerously devoid
of values. Although writing about Vedic lifestyle is a
significantly lesser task than implementing it throughout
the world, it is nevertheless an important first step toward
creating awareness of it.

Śrīla Prabhupāda often stressed that all necessities of
life can be procured from the land. He wanted ideal