Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children is now freely available.
Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences faced by Indian American children after exposure to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We demonstrate that there is an intimate connection—an almost exact correspondence—between James Mill’s colonial-racist discourse (Mill was the head of the British East India Company) and the current school textbook discourse. This racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces the same psychological impacts on Indian American children that racism typically causes: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon akin to racelessness, where children dissociate from the traditions and culture of their ancestors.


This book is the result of four years of rigorous research and academic peer-review, reflecting our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within academia.

Āhvāna

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Āhvāna literally means ‘invitation’.

During the Vedic sacrifices, gods have to be invited to come to the yāgaśālā or the sacrificial shed to receive their share of the offerings. During the śrāddha or obsequious rites, the pitṛs or manes have to be invited to come and receive their offerings. Both these are done with appropriate mantras. This act of inviting is technically called as ‘āhvāna.’

Āhvāna is also done during the consecration of an image in a temple. The deity is invoked to come in its subtle form and reside in that image permanently for worship and confer boons.

In pujā or ritualistic worship, āhvāna is considered as one of the upacāras or items of service to honor the deity. The particular mudrā or handpose exhibited during the act is called ‘āhvānī- mudrā.’


References[edit]

  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Deval Sancheti

Explore Other Articles

Retrieved from "https://hindupedia.com/index.php?title=Āhvāna&oldid=117561"