The East is East and the West is West! Neither is better nor worse than the other.

The
philosophies and beliefs are not really absolute in this day and age of cosmopolitan living. But, if
truth be told, variations do exist even though in unpredictable proportions. Its the way of looking
at life that by and large differs.

It has been seen that more often than not the people from the East are rigid in their ideologies
and beliefs. For them the truth is what has been there for thousands of years and not to be
challenged irrespective of its fading validity in modern times. However, things are looked from a
rational perspective in the West, and decisions and actions are not emotionally driven. Religion in
the eastern society is given more importance than perhaps in the west. The importance of religion
in the east can be gauged by the events related to religion that still stir societies in this part of
the world. To this day there are riots and killings in the name of faith. Although religion is a very
much existent concept in the west, it has not been stretched to the extent of intolerance like in
the east.
The relationships in the eastern cultures are family centric. Couples for example need to pass
through family approvals before taking the step towards something as personal and important as
marriage. This is also one of the reasons why arranged marriages are still very much pertinent to
the eastern societies. In the western civilization, the self is given preference over family and hence
decisions on priority and relevance of relationships are of the individual. This is infact one of the
major differences between eastern and western cultures. The individual is given more worth in the
western society, while it is the community and the family that tops the list in the eastern society.
Both has its sets of pros and cons as the importance given to family forms a support system
always available in times of need; the same might not be present to those in the west. However,
the vital decisions of ones life are often forced on an individual by the family or community in
the east while this is hardly ever the case in the west.
In the east women are still regarded as those who would sacrifice professional life and career in
favour of rearing children and taking care of the family. This is one of the psyches of the East that
is not prevalent in the West. A female in the west is free to decide her priorities and something as
basic as when to marry or even bear children. The same luxury or right has to be fought for and
often not granted to the women in the East.

In the eastern cultures, the leader assumes supreme status. He has a great bearing on the general
public. This comes from the fact that in eastern cultures a technically greater man is often
elevated to God-like status irrespective of his worth. While in the western cultures, the concept of
equality is taken more seriously and a leader is just one among the rest. He is not looked as
above and over the general public.