India's physical, religious and racial variety is as important as the history of how it become what modern india. For the majority of indians, religion takes over every aspect of life, from commonplace daily chores to education and politics. Besides hindus, muslims are the most prominent religious group and are an essential part of indian society. Common practices are now a part of most religious faiths and all communities share many of the festivals that mark each year with music, dance and feasting. Each has its own pilgrimage sites, heroes, legends and even culinary specialties, mingling in a unique diversity. There is no unique philosophy that forms the basis of the faith of the majority of india's population.

It cannot be traced to a specific founder nor does it have a holy book as a basic scriptural guide. Unlike most other religions, hinduism does not advocate the worship of one particular deity. One may worship shiva or vishnu or rama or krishna or some other gods and goddesses or one may believe in the 'supreme spirit' or the 'indestructible soul' within each individual and still be called a good hindu. At one end of the scale, it is an exploration of the 'ultimate reality' at the other end there are cults that worship spirits, trees and animals. Buddhism, another religion followed by in india, originated as an offshoot of hinduism, but eventually it became popular all over asia. Buddhism is based on the principle that everything i indian culture is the mother of all cultures, be it art of living or apparently the rich knowledge of science and music.

All the regions and religions of the world have their own culture with many customs, traditions and refined qualities. It is a culture of love, respect, honouring others and humbling ones own ego so that the inner nature, which is naturally pure and modest will shine forth. This genuine acknowledgment of seniority is demonstrated through endering customs, like, not sitting while they are standing, even serving their food first. In respect, we touch the feet of all elders, holy men and women in recognition of their great humility and attainment. Purity in mind, body, speech, thought, word and deed is vitally important for us.

We should never use harsh, angered and indecent language and keep our body healthy and clean. It is very important for a cultured indian to apologize immediately if one touches someone with his shoes or sandals. Thus our culture is unique and irreplaceable and places responsibility of preservation on the current generation. Although culture is defined as the whole of customary beliefs, social forms, attitudes, behavior patterns, values, goals, and practices socially transmitted and shared by a group of people it is also a term that implies deeper meaning. Culture is not only part of who and what you are it is where and to whom you belong. It is based on the uniquely human capacity to classify experiences to then encode those classifications in a symbolic form and go on to teach those deductions to others.

Culture is embedded in a person's way of life but is not entirely who you become. I believe that there is more than one factor that takes part in a person's transformation to adulthood. Family entices culture to flourish, but i don't think is necessarily the means of creating it. For example, if your family has a high appreciation for culture, and educates you well by reinforcing certain behavioral norms, then these positive reinforcements are likely to instill a certain sense of cultural values in you. It's amazing how we are able to take those customs and characteristics we learn and mold them into a new form of culture we are at ease with, and then go on transmitting it from one generation to the next, making this new culture part of our lives and consequently part of who we become.

Language and religion are two things that play very important roles in defining culture. Almost every culture has it's own language and religion, along with many other things that make it unique. Langu when writing an essay on cultural differences, the first question to address is which cultures to write about. The assignment you are given may ask you to compare and contrast two different cultures, or to compare your own culture to a culture with which you are unfamiliar. This could be a culture that exists side by side with yours in your town or city, or a culture that exists on the other side of the world. If you are already partially familiar with that culture, pick an aspect of the culture you would like to know more about to ensure that you are engaged in your research. While an encyclopedia does not go in depth into the particulars of a culture, it provides a general picture of topics you might want to investigate.

These reference books often direct you to more specific references on your topic of interest, such as books, journal articles and online sources. You are likely to find, for example, a variety of sources about different levels of formality expectations in two cultures. While doing your research, try to note whenever an aspect of a culture strikes you as strange, and ask yourself whether it is a bias based on your own assumptions. This is especially important if you are writing about the differences between your culture and another culture you do not want your biases to creep into your writing. If possible, interview a member of the culture you are studying to get input on perceived differences.