In our daily lives, we regularly encounter situations that dictate the ‘morally’ correct way of going about life. Who you interact with, how you communicate, where you go, what you wear or even what you choose to eat – our society constantly tells us how ‘appropriate’ all of it is.
But this constant social inspection leaves one wondering, how did ancient Indians differ from the way we function today? You would think that since ‘tradition’ is often invoked that they would have lived much the same.
But Quora, a popular question-and-answer site, seems to have tackled this question headlong. Raj Beau, a user, explains how paradoxically ‘modern’ Indians have become much more conservative as opposed to the ancient ones.
Giving examples mainly from the mythological text Mahabharata, Beau explains how Indians have increasingly embraced a position of being moral guardians.
He talks about how the concept of premarital sex was not a taboo back then, but things have taken a backward step now.
Beau points out that while nudity was not frowned upon during Krishna’s time, now this concept has become a moral issue and is viewed as an ‘invitation’ of rape.
He also brings to notice that given Khajuraho’s history, sex was not a taboo topic at all and was not considered ‘pornographic’. But now, sex is often seen as a ‘morally corrupt’ activity and blamed on influences of western culture.
Beau also points out that to celebrate Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya, “the whole city was lit with oil lamps”, that crackers are a modern way of celebration, and a heavy contributor to pollution. Given Delhi’s air quality situation today, this becomes extremely relevant.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)