[Assam] Bias:Hinduism thru Freudian lenses; Wiki edits

Thu Aug 2 20:46:58 PDT 2007

I just edited wiki profile for Rama removing the title as mythological hero as added as Hindu's revered hero as mentioned in revered Hindu epic (removed "folklore" tag)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rama&action=history  my edits
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama 

Umesh

PS: I did this after I found that the page created by me of Jaipur School had is categories removed -esp one I created "Hindu Schools in India " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Hindu_Schools_in_India -- there were already ones for "Roman Catholic Schools of India " -- the person who removed my categories had also edited Rama page earlier - he is active member of some Baptist church in US.
umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com> wrote: This book supposedly speaks about it.
http://invadingthesacred.com/content/view/35/52/

Umesh

Hindu Press International <hpi.list at hindu.org> wrote: From: Hindu Press International <hpi.list at hindu.org>
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 16:55:42 -1000
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: HPI, August 1, 2007

Hindu Press International August 1, 2007                 August 1, 2007 

   Sri Maha Periyachi Amman Temple Demolished 
   Invading the Sacred Book Review 
   Debate  Continues on Handling of UK Infected Temple Bull 
   Correction: Hindu Festivals for 2008  

    1. Sri Maha Periyachi Amman Temple Demolished www.hindusangam.org.my
 KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, August 1, 2007: The Malaysia Hindu Sangam sent the following press release on the demolition of the Sri Maha Periyachi Amman Temple: 

"The Malaysia Hindu Sangam is very disturbed at the demolition of the Sri Maha Periyachi Amman Temple, Tambak Paya, Melaka, today by officials of the Melaka State Government. It is even most disturbing when the Mayor had last night given assurance to the MIC Secretary General that the demolition is deferred to seek a quick solution by the community. The Malaysia Hindu Sangam had at almost 11:00 p.m. last  night informed the Malacca MIC leaders of the impending demolition this morning. The Mayor had no decency to inform the MIC Leaders of his change of mind. 

"Once again, it appears to the Hindu community that the State has arbitrarily taken action against a Hindu temple without regard to the sensitivities of Hindu devotees. Given that many other structures throughout Malaysia are still standing even though they too were built without local authority permission, it is particularly disturbing to Hindus that a place of worship is targeted in this manner. The demolition of a place of worship is a very serious thing, and should not be done lightly. The Sangam has previously said that any demolition of a place of worship must be based on a Court order and should only be carried out after the devotees of the place of worship have been given a meaningful opportunity to be heard. We urge all State governments to carry out this practice, and for legislation to be enacted to  recognize and protect the special status of places of worship."

---------------------------------
  2. Invading the Sacred Book Review invadingthesacred.com
 USA, August 1, 2007: (HPI note: following is a review by Dr. V. V. of "Invading the sacred: An Analysis of Hinduism Studies in America," edited by Krishnan Ramaswamy, Antonio de Nicolas, Aditi Banerjee, Rupa & Co. New Delhi, India. 2007.)

Roots of the book: Like the multiplicity of the authors who have contributed to this volume, many factors have converged to create this book. These include a growing dissatisfaction with Western images of the non-West, the application of inappropriate methodology for understanding traditional world views, and the continued hegemony of the West even in matters that don't concern it, such as what Hindus think about their Puranas. Already in  the first decades of the twentieth century, many Indian thinkers declared that Indic culture cannot be subjected to, much less analyzed, through the blurred lens of Western rationality.  Indeed, it may be said more generally that scientific probing and cold rationality can never grasp the full significance of any living tradition.

The primary catalyst for this book is Rajiv Malhotra, a thinker, scholar, idealist, and activist, besides having been a highly successful entrepreneur more than a decade ago. He is a thinker in that he reflects deeply on important issues, a scholar in that he is widely read in history and current cultural debates, an idealist in wanting to see a world where all cultures and civilizations receive equal and fair treatment; and an activist in that he has been participating in conferences, organizing meetings, giving lectures, writing provocative essays, and funding projects, all with one goal in mind: To correct what many people perceive as  distortions and misrepresentations of the Hindu world and of Indic traditions in North America. In a single decade he has achieved more in this endeavor than many authors who are read an  d appreciated by countless people.

The book's relevance and thesis: No matter how one reacts to it - and it is bound to touch large numbers of people, lay and scholarly - this book is likely to become a landmark in the history of India-related studies. It dissects a number of cases in which scholarly commentaries on aspects of Hindu thought, lore, and religion have been incorrect and offensive. It focuses primarily on the writings of six authors (of whom I will mention but three), and it argues that their callous misrepresentations are systemic to Eurocentric commentaries on other cultures.

The book is a strong and considered response to Western Freudian scholarship on Hinduism, which, the authors contend, has missed the mark altogether.  Essentially the thesis is this:  Obsessed by the Freudian approach to life and literature, some American scholars have transformed Puranic mythopoesis (literally, "myth making") into pure pornography, examined a highly revered spiritual personage's life in homo-erotic terms, and desecrated the lofty vision of a time-honored Hindu deity by reducing it to sexual allegory.

Aside from deliberately sinister analyses of scriptures, saints and symbols, the journalistic portrayal of Indic culture has generally been in terms of cows and castes, superstitions and satis, daughters-in-law and dowries, monkeys and masalas. A growing number of English-reading Hindus in the West are not willing to tolerate such selective sketches of a dynamic civilization to which they are heirs. Such writings have pushed many Hindus in America beyond what Eric Sharpe called the response threshold. Put differently, that's when the target group says, "Enough is enough!"

The chapters in   the book are by different authors.  They examine the questionable, and to Hindus also objectionable, theses based on gross psychoanalytic interpretations. The chapters are replete with examples of unwarranted extrapolations, distorted interpretations, and ridiculous caricatures. Such writings may be okay for Western specialists who examine Hinduism like entomologists dissecting bees and grasshoppers. But they are confusing and misleading, distorted and dangerous. 

For the balance of the review, and more information on the book, click URL above.

---------------------------------
  3. Debate Continues on Handling of UK Infected Temple Bull www.newstatesman.com
 UK, August 1, 2007: The debate continues after the culling of Shambo, a bull at the Skanda Vale monastery in Wales, UK. Two other animals have now tested positive for bovine tuberculosis at the monastery. Jay Lakhani's  editorial piece appeared in the New Statesman of India, along with a rebuttal here, and many comments posted by readers. See also here for an update on the newly infected animals.

---------------------------------
  4. Correction: Hindu Festivals for 2008 Hinduism Today
 KAUAI, HAWAII, August 1, 2007: (HPI note: The dates for Raksha Bandan were incorrectly given in the last HPI.) 

The following festival calendar is for nine major festivals. The nine are Mahasivaratri, Holi, Ram Navami, Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandan, Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesha Chaturthi, Navaratri and Deepavali. These dates below are calculated for Washington DC. Festival dates may differ for other areas of the world.  The descriptions below may be freely used with credit to  Hinduism Today. To download the Hindu calendar or panchangam for 197 locations worldwide, click here.

Mahasivaratri, March 5, 2008
Holi, March 20, 2008
Ram Navami, April 13, 2008
Guru Purnima, July 17, 2008
Raksha Bandan, August 16, 2008 (15th on the west coast)
Janmashtami, August 23, 2008
Ganesha Chaturthi, September 2, 2008 (3rd on the west coast)
Navaratri (begins) September 29, 2008
Deepavali, October 26, 2008

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Umesh Sharma

Washington D.C. 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)

www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )

http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/          

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Umesh Sharma

Washington D.C. 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)

www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )

http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/

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