In "What is Civilization?," Jawaharlal Nehru explores the meaning of civilization, contrasting it with barbarism. He explains that civilization involves the refinement of human behavior, distancing from savage or barbaric tendencies. However, he questions the typical markers of civilization, such as clothing or military strength, pointing out that cultural differences, like how people dress, depend on factors like climate.

Nehru critiques the idea that European nations are more civilized simply because they are militarily stronger, using the example of World War I. He argues that the mass killing in wars is more barbaric than civilized, likening it to savage behavior. Despite the destruction, he acknowledges that fine things and people exist in these nations. Ultimately, Nehru suggests that true civilization is reflected not just in material achievements like art or architecture, but in human qualities such as selflessness, cooperation, and working for the common good. From this letter: "You will say that it is not easy to understand what civilisation means, and you will be right. It is a very difficult question. Fine buildings, fine pictures and books and everything that is beautiful are certainly signs of civilisation. But an even better sign is a fine man who is unselfish and works with others for the good of all. To work together is better than to work singly, and to work together for the common good is the best of all."

In this letter, Nehru explains the evolution of languages, focusing on how the Aryans spread across different regions, causing their language to evolve into distinct languages due to geographic separation and the inability to communicate easily. Despite these differences, many languages still share similarities, indicating that they once belonged to the same linguistic family. Nehru gives examples, like the words for "father" and "mother" in various languages, to illustrate this connection.

He emphasizes the importance of studying languages, as they help us understand our shared history and interconnectedness. Nehru criticizes national pride that leads to thinking one’s country is superior to others, noting that no country is entirely good or bad. He urges the reader to appreciate what is good in every culture and work on improving the bad.

Nehru also highlights the poverty and misery in India, stressing the need to improve the lives of its people. While Indians must work for their country, they should also remember their connection to the wider world, recognizing all people as part of a global family. Ultimately, Nehru advocates for making the world a happier place for everyone.

In this letter, Nehru provides an overview of the origins and development of human races and languages. He explains that early humans likely lived in warmer regions during the Ice Age and were nomads, moving in search of food and grasslands. Eventually, people settled near rivers, leading to the formation of civilizations in places like India, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China.

Nehru identifies the Dravidians as the earliest known race in India, followed by the Aryans, who came from Central Asia and spread across Europe and Asia. He explains that the Aryans, despite their cultural differences today, share a common ancestry with people of Europe, Persia, and Mesopotamia. Over time, these races mixed, and their languages evolved.

He categorizes the world's races into the Aryans, Mongolians (East Asians), Africans, and Semitic peoples (Arabs and Hebrews). Nehru emphasizes the significance of language in understanding racial distinctions. The Aryan languages, such as Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek, gave rise to modern languages like English, Hindi, and Bengali. Similarly, other languages belong to distinct families, like the Chinese, Semitic, and Dravidian languages. Nehru concludes by highlighting that, despite their diversity, most languages trace back to a few common ancestors.

In this letter, Jawaharlal Nehru explains how different human races were formed and how their physical characteristics, especially skin color, evolved over time due to environmental factors. He begins by discussing the progress made by Neolithic people, from whom modern races may have descended. Nehru points out that, despite the common classifications of races—white, yellow, brown, and black—it's hard to clearly divide people into these categories because of intermixing.

Nehru then explores how differences in appearance arose, using examples such as the fair-skinned Germans and the dark-skinned Africans. He attributes these differences primarily to climate and adaptation, with people in cold regions developing fair skin and those in hot regions developing dark skin. He draws an analogy between sun exposure and tanning, noting that continuous exposure over generations leads to darker complexions.

Nehru emphasizes that these differences in complexion are based on climate, not on a person’s value or worth. He discusses how even people of the same origin, like Kashmiris, can change their complexion over time due to environmental factors. Finally, Nehru touches on how, in India, the climate is the main reason for color differences across regions, though he acknowledges that the mixing of different races throughout history has also played a role.

In "The Early Man," Jawaharlal Nehru explains the evolution of early humans and their increasing intelligence, which gave them an advantage over animals. He describes how early humans, lacking weapons, initially used stones but later developed stone tools like axes and spears. Nehru mentions the Ice Age, after which humans spread out and lived in caves, subsisting on fruits, nuts, and the animals they hunted, without the knowledge of cooking or farming.

Despite their primitive lifestyle, early humans showed creativity by drawing animals on cave walls, using tools like stone needles. These people, known as Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) men, relied solely on stone for their tools, as metals were unknown to them. As the climate warmed, Neolithic (New Stone Age) humans emerged, making significant progress by discovering agriculture, taming animals, and creating pottery. They also lived in lake dwellings for protection and used flax to make rough clothing.

Nehru discusses the gradual development of tools made from copper, bronze, and even gold, marking a shift from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, which took place around 10,000 years ago. He emphasizes that this transition was slow, with changes in lifestyle and adaptation to different climates. Nehru also narrates the story of a great flood, possibly the formation of the Mediterranean Sea, which may have been the origin of flood myths in various cultures, including the Bible and Sanskrit texts.

Letter 6: The Coming of Man (In English) | Letters From a Father to His Daughter

In this letter, Nehru traces the evolution of life, focusing on how animals, including humans, have adapted to their environment over millions of years. He explains how simpler animals, such as fish, lay many eggs and do not care for their young, resulting in high wastage of life. In contrast, higher animals, like mammals, give birth to fewer offspring but take better care of them, with humans being the highest animals who show great affection for their children.

Nehru highlights how early humans likely evolved from apelike creatures, such as the Heidelberg Man, who lived during the Ice Age when glaciers covered much of Europe. Early humans faced great challenges, including harsh cold and threats from large animals. Over time, however, humans became more powerful not through physical strength but through intelligence. The letter emphasizes that the discovery of fire was one of the earliest and most significant achievements of humans. Fire provided warmth, protection from animals, and eventually became a tool humans could control. Nehru concludes by explaining that intelligence, particularly the ability to harness fire, allowed humans to gradually rise above other animals, marking the beginning of their dominance over the natural world. "We can trace this growth of intelligence from the earliest days of man to the present day. Indeed it is intelligence that separates man from the other animals. There is practically no difference between a man without any intelligence and an animal. The first great discovery that man probably made was that of fire."

 

In this letter, Jawaharlal Nehru explains the evolution of animals and how they adapted to their surroundings over time. He begins by describing the early life forms on Earth, which were simple sea animals like jellyfish. These animals needed water to survive and could not live on dry land. Over time, those with tougher skins were able to survive longer outside water, leading to the gradual disappearance of softer animals. This process of adaptation allowed animals to evolve in ways that helped them survive in different environments.

Nehru discusses how animals change their characteristics, like color and fur, to blend with their surroundings or to survive in cold climates. He provides examples such as birds turning white in icy regions and tigers being camouflaged by their striped, yellow coats in the jungle.

As Earth cooled and dried up, animals evolved further. He explains that the first animals lived in water, then some adapted to live on both land and water, like frogs and crocodiles. Eventually, land animals and birds appeared. Nehru highlights how a frog's life cycle mirrors the transition from water animals to land animals, as it starts as a fish-like creature and later breathes with lungs.


He also mentions that ancient forests turned into coal over time and describes the massive reptiles and lizards that lived during those periods, some as long as 100 feet. Nehru concludes by discussing mammals, the group that includes humans, noting that early mammals were much larger than today's animals. He reflects on the theory that humans evolved from apes, emphasizing that while we consider ourselves different from animals, we share a common ancestry with them.

 

In this letter, Nehru explains how life began on Earth, a topic that's challenging but fascinating. He begins by discussing what defines life, noting that humans, animals, and plants are all living beings. Some life forms, like certain plants and animals, blur the line between animal and plant, making it hard to classify them. He mentions the scientist Sir Jagadish Bose, who believed even stones might have life, though this is difficult to prove. Nehru then explores how life likely started after the Earth cooled down. The first living things were probably simple, jelly-like organisms without bones or shells, which lived in the sea. These primitive life forms multiplied by dividing themselves in two, and while they left no fossils, similar jelly-like organisms still exist today. As time passed, more complex animals like shellfish, crabs, and worms appeared, followed by fishes and other creatures with hard shells or bones. Nehru explains how fossils of these creatures have been preserved in rocks, which scientists use to understand Earth's early life forms. He concludes by promising to explain in future letters how these simple animals evolved into more complex beings.

In this letter, Nehru explains to his daughter the origins and formation of the Earth, the solar system, and celestial bodies. He begins by describing how the Earth revolves around the Sun, along with other planets, and how the Moon orbits the Earth as its satellite. This collection of planets and their moons, bound by the Sun, forms the solar system. He differentiates between stars and planets, explaining that stars shine on their own due to their heat, while planets, including the Earth and Moon, reflect sunlight. Nehru further explains that the Earth and planets were once part of the Sun, formed when pieces of the Sun's fiery mass broke away. These pieces remained connected to the Sun through gravitational pull, just like a rope. Over time, these fragments, including the Earth, cooled down, making it possible for life to eventually develop. He also touches on the formation of the Moon, possibly from a portion of the Earth, and the creation of oceans from water vapor that condensed after the Earth's cooling. Nehru concludes by hinting that life began on Earth after this long cooling process, which he will explore in his next letter.

 

In this letter, Nehru explains how early history was written by observing the natural world. He refers to nature as a "book" that reveals the Earth's ancient history, where rocks, mountains, rivers, and other natural elements tell stories of a time when no humans or animals existed. As time progressed, animals appeared, followed by early humans, who were initially similar to animals but developed the power of thought, which made them stronger and more capable. Nehru describes how, through experience and learning, humans advanced by discovering fire, farming, clothing, and building shelters. As people gathered in groups, cities emerged, and eventually, writing systems developed. However, for a long time, there was no paper, and people wrote on tree bark or palm leaves. Books were rare because they had to be copied by hand. With the rise of cities, nations formed, and people began to feel superior to others from different places, leading to wars—a foolish practice that continues even today. Nehru mentions that although few ancient books survive, stone inscriptions, such as those by King Ashoka, help us understand the past. He emphasizes India's rich history, citing the times when great epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were written and the country was powerful. Nehru contrasts this with the present, where India is poor and under foreign rule, but expresses hope that with effort, India could become free again and improve the lives of its people. Nehru promises to delve deeper into the early history of the earth In his next letter.

 

Starting "Letters From a Father" in English!  Letter #1 "The Book of Nature"  

In this letter, Nehru writes to his daughter Indira that he would  share the story of the earth through letters. Since living far apart, they can no longer have their usual conversations, he hopes to broaden her understanding of the world beyond India and England, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all countries and peoples.

Nehru introduces the concept of Earth's ancient history, noting that before human life, there were animals, and before that, no life at all. He describes how scientists study fossils, rocks, and the Earth's natural elements to understand this history. These natural elements—like mountains, rivers, and stones—are akin to a "book" that can be read to understand Earth's past.

He encourages Indira to learn the "alphabet" of nature to read its stories, using a small, smooth pebble as an example of how nature tells its history. He explains how the pebble, once a rough rock, became smooth through the movement of rivers, illustrating the dynamic processes that shape the Earth. Through this analogy, Nehru highlights the richness of nature's stories and the importance of observing and understanding the world around us.

After recording each letter/chapter individually, I have now compiled them into a complete audiobook! Presenting the full Hindi audiobook of Jawaharlal Nehru’s 'Letters from a Father' translated by the renowned author Munshi Premchand!!

The book was first published in 1929, and over the years, numerous reprints and editions have kept this work alive for new generations. This audiobook is yet another step in continuing that legacy.

Written as educational essays on natural and human history, the letters were composed while Nehru was imprisoned in Allahabad. These letters reflect a father’s deep desire to nurture his daughter’s understanding of the world beyond the confines of formal education.

You can find the English version here: 

 In this letter, Nehru discusses the significance of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, two monumental epics from India's Epic Age that followed the Vedic period. He describes the geographical and cultural context of the Aryan civilization, noting that "Aryavarta" or "Indu-land" was shaped like a crescent moon, which was considered sacred.

Nehru explains that the Ramayana, written by Valmiki in Sanskrit and later adapted by Tulsidas, narrates the adventures of Rama, Sita, and their battle against Ravana. He suggests that the epic may symbolically represent the conflicts between Aryans and southern peoples.

The Mahabharata, a later and larger epic, recounts a great conflict among Aryans themselves and is revered not only for its narrative but also for the Bhagavad Gita it contains. Nehru highlights the enduring influence and significance of these texts, noting that they continue to be integral to Indian culture and knowledge.

Tags 
Jawaharlal Nehru Indira Gandhi letters
Pita ke Patra Putri ke Naam by Jawaharlal Nehru 
Letters from a Father to his Daughter 
Nehru ke patra Indira ko
Nehru’s Letters to Indira
पाठ 31 रामायण और महाभारत 
अध्याय ३१  रामायण और महाभारत 
Lesson 31  The Ramayana and the Mahabharata