Cultural Representation in Media - An Analysis & Way Forward

Indian architecture, painting, sculpture are not only intimately one in inspiration with the central things in Indian philosophy, religion, Yoga, culture, but a specially intense expression of their significance. Indian art in fact is identical in its spiritual aim and principle with the rest of Indian culture.

Śrī Aurobindo

Culture and Representations of Cultural Ideas

The elegant cave paintings of Ajanta and Ellora;

The great sculptures on the gopurams of Cidambaram;

The surviving and thriving popularity of sagas like the Pañcatantra and Kathāsaritasāgara;

The finesse of a traditional mural painting from the land of Kerala;

The joy embedded in vādya, nāṭya and saṅgīta kalās;

Representations of culture can be understood as humanity’s quest to express and transmit collective discoveries of knowledge, experiences and ideas from one generation to the next. What do these cultural traditions and their representations tell us about Bhārata and her civilization?

The mechanisms and pathways of transmission evolved by culture serve the continuity of tradition and sustenance of civilization. They also ensconce within them, the broader philosophical ideas that the civilization stands for and adheres to. The ṛṣis of Bhārata were not only contemplators upon the cosmic order of ṛtam-satyam, nor did they remain content with attaining the state of jñāna (pure knowledge) for themselves.

They endeavored to become conduits for the transfer of these profound experiences to Bhāratīya society at large. As a result of these deep meditations, dharma emerged as the central societal analogue to the natural cosmic design of ṛtam-satyam. In the great churn of time, it has assumed multiple nuances and forms. However, it derives its meaning from its root - dhṛ, which is to sustain the order of ṛtam-satyam. Because of its inherent nature and intent, this dharma therefore is sanātana dharma.

The ṛṣis had one more quest as we had seen earlier - that of jñāna, which can be understood as a state of realization that bestows the highest of all joy (ānanda). This is inextricably linked to the protection of and abiding by dharma. Only when the being is purified by such means, can it become a vessel for the pure Self of the nature of sat-cit-ānanda to reflect through it.

Therefore, dharma, jñāna and ānanda can be seen as the triple-axle wheel of the sanātana civilization, the core first principles which have permeated through the ravages of time, retaining their function in and for society. It is to make these principles a lived reality for the people that a range of śāstras, vidyās and kalās evolved; and so did institutions for their teaching and transfer at scale, bridging the individual, societal and inter-generational realms. These institutions are namely the family (kula), the guru and gurukula, and the temple (kṣetra).

Today, our interest is in the kalās or the classical arts, for they are the chief mechanisms that bring the lofty ideals of the Bhāratīya culture down to percolate through society; while appealing not only to the intellect, but to the hearts of the people through their aesthetic presentations.

We anchored ourselves in the sections above to remind us of where art and culture draws its inspiration from and what it ultimately serves, i.e. the inward journey of the seeker and the cosmic sacred. The idea of “entertainment” and craving for sensual pleasures which turn harmful when left unrestrained, was also thus accommodated within the sphere of dharma.

The content of the nāṭyaśāstra and sangītaśāstras are derived from the Vedas, align with the inner states of yoga, and are conducive to the four ideals of life - the puruṣārthas led by dharma. The artistic traditions of poetry (kāvya), drama (nāṭaka), music (saṅgīta), dance (nāṭya), painting (citra), and sculpture (śilpa); along with the oral storytelling traditions incorporated the entire range of human emotions, i.e. the navarasas with śrṅgāra rasa (love) at the center of them all.

What made them appeal to all strata of society, while also communicating the ideals of dharma and ānanda? The themes were often drawn from the vast itihāsa-purāṇa corpus of Bhārata and the central character (the nāyaka) in whom the navarasas bloomed, was also an embodiment of dharma and various guṇas such as karuṇā (compassion), śāntīḥ (inner poise), śauca (purity in being) and many more. When such a person experiences kāma (enjoyments and pleasures) grounded in the balance of dharma, it does not lead him astray. This is presented as the ideal template of enjoyment to the people at large, while also evoking in them deep-seated emotions and joy.

Moreover, the artist is as much a seeker as a practitioner of the art. In the environment of the gurukula, which we find preserved even today, kalā was transferred as a means for increasing citta-śuddhi. The deeper the alignment between their body and mind, the more an artist became a conduit for the reflection of the sacred, for the rasikās in the audience at large.

Remember the last time you felt that choking of emotions when a seasoned artiste slayed the mighty Rāvaṇa as Śrī Rāma, or rescued Bhūdevī as Śrī Varāhamūrti? It is that bhāva of vīrya (valor) that rises within the performer and gets transferred to the rasikā as the corresponding state of emotion. To embody that bhāva, an artist must undergo the necessary practice and eventual internal cleansing regularly. Thus, art is venerated as tapas.

Cultural representations were deeply context sensitive, respectful, and profound. They evolved into both mārgīya (traditional) and desīya (folk) representations, as per the needs and era of society. However, their principles and goals remain the same: Art in its most sacred and pristine form is nothing but the parā (pure awareness) emergent as vaikharī (manifest sound/ action), for the spiritual elevation of both the kalākāra and the rasikās.

Cultural Representation in Modern Media

Where do we find ourselves today? The nineties saw a boom in television, films, and advertisements; while the present era is seeing exponential growth not only in digital media, but also in AI-based technology and creations. Unfortunately, our nation could not harness the powers of this technology fully, to effectively carry forward our culture and traditions to the newly independent generations of India.

Instead, we became a far cry from what we used to be - where Indian art and aesthetics were permeated by the spiritual principles of Indian culture. We are now surrounded haplessly by an ecosystem that cultivates taste and opinions through deep entrenchment of Western ideologies. This ecosystem that emerged post Indian independence, unfortunately utilized the rise of tech and media merely as a tool for powerful propaganda in all their puerile forms - Marxist, Communist, Western and Islamist. This wave did not leave the literary world untouched, either.

With such content and narrativization beaming through our screens, we have barely scratched the surface of what Bhārata’s culture and civilizational arts have to offer. If anything, we have dealt with it in a manner that is condescending and downright ignorant.

This has only contributed to our alienation from our civilizational roots and knowledge systems; and the unfortunate descent of art into unaesthetic notions of entertainment, commercialization, and weaponization by a cut-throat, performance-driven industry. What was and what is shown to us as “Indian culture” through mass media, and now digital media, is in reality a projection of woke and Abrahamic fantasies; and it is the exact antithesis of what this great land stands for.

While regional cinema has, to its credit, retained authenticity in its representations, one cannot say so for “mainstream” (read: Bollywood/ Hindi) cinema by any means. All sacredness has been stripped off the arts; and creativity, if any, became a servant of the ideological master. In fact, it was probably as a backlash to this fairly hostile environment that the popular and much-loved shows as Śrī Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana series and Śrī B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat made their way to our TV screens.

According to Śrī Bharat Gupt, “This failure is not of means but of mind. Indians have come to accept the Western dictum that mass media can only have popular content, that is, it must descend to the lowest demands of taste. The films have descended to sensationalism, television channels to misinformation, advertisements to sweet lies and fashion shows to flesh mongering.”

Media representation of culture possesses great impact on how we perceive and understand the country, that is India; and the living civilization, that is Bhārata. Hence, it is no surprise that the media has contributed to the ideological capture of minds which took place. Over the last 70+ years, both national and international media (entertainment and otherwise) have worked to impact in India, largely through deliberately incorrect narratives and content:

1. Structure of human thought and action within certain social contexts
2. Identity of specific communities owing to sustained, skewed representation
3. What is culturally desirable and not desirable
4. Perception of the civilizational heritage of this land
5. Reinforcement of certain systems of power

It is no secret that the media is a double-edged sword. It doubles the power of human imagination; but because it also represents social realities, it plays right into the hands of those with diabolical interests. It is therefore more critical than ever that those individuals and institutions with cultural awareness and civilizational consciousness step up to reclaim this space and transform it into a medium that can amplify the throttled voice of tradition once again.

Bṛhat’s Approach to Cultural Representation/ Storytelling

In his piece on ‘The Problem of Culture Transmission’, Śrī Pankaj Saxena writes about the erosion of central institutions such as the multi-generational, Hindu family - which was a chief facilitator of cultural transfer. With the advent of the secular, modern State, the corporatization of millions of lives, and an education that continues to be colonized; traditional Hindu institutions are disincentivized, parents increasingly distanced from them, and the child of today is at the mercy of the forces mentioned above. Pankaj ji writes:

We need to tell stories about our tradition illuminating all its nuances and the material, psychological and spiritual comforts that it offers to individuals and communities. We need to take recourse in art, as art builds upon individual stories and natural metaphors, capable of reflecting great and eternal truths in simplest of anecdotes and symbols. We need to universalize Hindu traditions through stories by resorting to all contemporary means of communication and taking help of all audio-visual mediums. We also need to make sure that these universalized traditions lend themselves easily to individual customizations, so that they become individual and universal to each consumer simultaneously.

In the classical literature and performing art traditions of Bhāarata, the following values were central and critical for both the kalākāra, the kalā, and the rasikā -

1. Śubham - auspiciousness
2. Mokṣa-kārakam - a pathway to cosmic Consciousness
3. Tuṣṭī - satisfaction
4. Samṛddhi - abundance
5. Lālitya - aesthetic softness
6. Ānanda - joy

At Bṛhat, we seek to retain and perpetuate these essential qualities of cultural storytelling, as our aid to the alienated, modern Hindu; and as service to the great tradition and the cultural institutions of this land. Our approach to cultural representation aims to tap into the eternal streams of beauty and reality in our culture, and convey the timeless truth of this eternal civilization - in the contemporary idiom, to contemporary times.

Listed below are some of the core principles we adhere to -

1. Cultural storytelling in the service of the sacred and civilization
2. Fidelity to the knowledge corpus of the land
3. Reinstill dhārmika dṛṣṭi in how we view our civilization, society, and its traditions
4. Immersion in the Hindu aesthetic experience (saundaryabodha) and elevation of the being through that (jñāna and ānanda)

Representing the Sacred in Digital Formats - What does it mean for a Living Tradition?

Even as we write, the world around us is changing rapidly. AI-based technology with its deep Western bias, alongside immense creative potential, is upon us. The previous decade has witnessed the emergence of an Indic civilizational renaissance. We now witness the outpouring of a deep, cultural yearning for narratives that are truly ours - those very ones that were once decried and denied representation in mainstream media.

We have examples such as the series, ‘Upanishad Ganga’ by the Chinmaya Mission, which wove Upaniṣadic concepts with social realities; they disseminated the key tenets of sanātana civilization to give us something that is actually timeless. In today’s times, we see the rise of civilizational cinema such as ‘Kantara’, ‘Malikkapuram’, ‘Bahubali’, ‘Hanu-Man’ and more, which seem to be driven by a genuine intent, great cinematic talent, and empathy for Hindu cultural traditions.

At Bṛhat, our flagship content series in saṃskṛta-niṣṭha Hindi, ‘Svarṇāñjali’, ventures into feelings, experiences, and problems which we all have; and looks at them from a dhārmika point of view, through the lens of art, language, literature and aesthetics.

As the civilizational flame grows and we look at creative opportunities that seem to stretch to infinity, we also have a grave responsibility towards a centuries-old living tradition. Remember what we started off with - culture serves to strengthen dharma.

What we must be mindful of :

1. No more incorrect character and deśa-kāla aesthetics, inadequate understanding of a story or character arc within the itihāsa-purāṇa corpus.
2. Itihāsa is not mythology. Fidelity to deśa-kāla-pātra is critical. Explore creativity within established boundaries.
3. The devatās are not human heroes that we can play around with. Representing them requires deep internal preparation and, of course, authentic research.
4. Ensure context sensitivity in cultural portrayals. Practice deep empathy for the culture and the living traditions of the society that we are locating our characters in.
5. Biases have no space here. Clear intent and integrity are central when seeking to represent the sacred through art and media.

What is the scope of our creativity :

1. Study untold stories from the itihāsa-purāṇa corpus, and understand how they can be contextualized to modern society and various age groups.
2. Explore creation of fictional narratives inspired by the itihāsa-purāṇa, yet retaining the central characteristics of the devatā as a phenomenal, powerful being.
3. Recreate the dhārmika aesthetic which is sorely absent in popular culture. Imagine once more through aesthetic visuals, the Bhārata that once was.
4. Bring back dhārmika ways of living and being through reclamation of the portrayal of rituals and traditions in digital media.
5. Utilize Upaniṣadic and other key civilizational ideas to craft engaging narratives that can contribute to cultural transference. Avatar - The Last Airbender is an excellent example of a series catering to a universal audience, with a narrative that draws from Eastern philosophy and stories.
6. Offer a dhārmika critique to subaltern critical theories and other ‘isms’. Reverse the gaze for the benefit of our youth.
7. Utilize the power of storytelling to explore the nuances and layers wrapped up in our utsavas, vratas and śāstras.

The potential is great. The scope is vast. The ṛṇa is immense. The moment is now.

The energy that drives beauty is the breath of the Spirit. It allows one to see in a moment a movement that stretches time to eternity.

Śrī Shubhash Kak, The Idea of India: Bharat as a Civilization.