How much do we really know about the civilisation that has influenced the world for thousands of years?
India: Mother of Us All, compiled by Bhikshu Chaman Lal, is a book that deserves to be read not only by Indians but by anyone who wants to understand India and its place in the story of humanity.
First published in 1968, the book was conceived as a work of inspiration for the younger generation and brings together writings and reflections associated with figures such as Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Jawaharlal Nehru, Annie Besant and Sri Aurobindo. Its chapters explore India’s heritage, common cultural connections, foreign historians’ tributes, science, Sanskrit, India’s maritime and cultural connections, its influence in Asia and the West, and the idea of Vishal Bharat or Greater India. The opening pages immediately establish the spirit of the book. They present India as an ancient land of faith, love, poetry and science, while the famous passage attributed to Max Müller reminds the reader of India’s extraordinary contribution to human civilisation. The book ultimately invites us to look at India not merely as a geographical nation, but as a civilisation that has shared its knowledge, philosophy, spirituality, art and culture with the wider world for thousands of years.
American historian Will Durant describes India as a mother of philosophy, mathematics and other intellectual traditions and concludes with the powerful idea that “Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all.” But what does “Mother of Us All” really mean? It does not mean that every person in the world is Indian; rather, it expresses the idea that India has been a civilisation that gave, shared, taught and influenced far beyond its own borders. A mother gives to her children without constantly asking what she will receive in return, and this image provides a powerful way of understanding India’s civilisational contribution. India has given the world remarkable minds and teachers, mathematics and philosophy, literature and languages, medicine and astronomy, yoga and meditation, art and music, food and traditions, stories and epics, and countless ideas about society, nature and human existence.
Beyond material and intellectual contributions, India has also shared profound spiritual truths and traditions of self-realisation, inner discipline, meditation and the search for higher consciousness—teachings that have inspired people across the world.
The book’s contents themselves reflect this expansive vision, with chapters such as Our Common Heritage, Mother of Sciences, Sanskrit: Mother of Languages, Teachers of China, Imprints on the West, Indonesia—Land of Garuda, Vishal Bharat and Kashmir to Kanyakumari. India has not only been a land of resources and material abundance; it has also been a land that continually asked questions about knowledge, consciousness and the purpose of living.
Indian philosophical traditions asked questions that remain relevant to every human being:
Who am I?
What is true knowledge?
What is the nature of reality?
How should we live?
What is our relationship with nature?
What is the purpose of life?
These questions make India’s heritage relevant far beyond India itself. The book also reminds us that the greatness of a civilisation should not become an excuse to live in the past.
Rabindranath Tagore’s “Seeds in the Past” teaches an important lesson: the past can contain the seeds from which the future grows. A civilisation that completely forgets its inheritance may lose ideas that could help it create something new.
Swami Vivekananda’s “Past Builds Future” carries the same message: look as far back as possible, draw strength from the achievements of the ancestors and then move forward to make India brighter, greater and higher than before. In other words, the purpose of remembering India’s past is not to remain trapped in it; it is to take the best seeds of the past and plant them in the future. This is also why the book should be approached with curiosity rather than blind acceptance.
For Indians, this book can be a way of rediscovering their own country; for readers everywhere else, it can be a doorway into understanding a civilisation whose cultural connections extended across Asia and beyond. And perhaps that is the most important reason to read it: India should not be known only through stereotypes, headlines or modern politics. It should be encountered through its ideas, its people, its literature, its science, its philosophy, its culture and its long civilisational memory.
If India has been called “Mother of Us All,” then the responsibility of that inheritance is not simply to boast about what was achieved thousands of years ago. A mother gives her best to the future, and India too must continue to give—to produce the best minds, the best ideas, meaningful scientific discoveries, creative people, nourishing food, rich culture and, above all, knowledge that helps humanity understand not only how to live better, but why we live at all.
The world does not need India merely as a memory of an ancient civilisation; it needs India to continue creating, questioning, discovering and contributing.
Our leaders and every citizen must think beyond what we receive and ask what we contribute. We must think beyond the material world and pleasures, and ask how we can serve our Mother India. Our leaders must not remain under the control of elites or foreign influence, but must think independently and put India’s welfare first. We request both foreign leaders and Indian leaders to look at India not merely for what they can take from her, but for what India can give to the whole world. If India develops, it will not be India alone that prospers; the whole world will prosper with her. If India was once known as the “Sone Ki Chidiya” — the Golden Bird, our responsibility is to help her rise again.
So read India: Mother of Us All not merely to say, “India was great,” but to understand what India has given, what we can learn from her, and what she can continue to give to the world. India has always given, continues to give, and will continue to give.
Book: India: Mother of Us All
A mother will always give without expecting anything in return. But the question we must ask ourselves is: What can we give back to our Mother?
