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.

Ātmānātma-viveka

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Ātmānātma-viveka literally means ‘discrimination between the Self and the non-Self’.

The Vedānta system of Indian philosophy considers the Brahman/Ātman Principle as the only or the Supreme Reality. All other things, perceived or unperceived, are its manifestations, or even subservient to it. The primary purpose of life is to realize this Reality as our true Self.

But all efforts of doing so are being negated by inordinate attachment to our body-mind complex. Hence this attachment is to be attenuated and ultimately got rid of by sādhana-catuṣṭaya or the fourfold discipline. Ātmānātma-viveka heads this list. It consists of separation (viveka) of the ātman (Self) from all that is anātman (not-Self). The body, the sense-organs, the vital airs, the mind, the intellect, the egoism - none of these is the ātman and hence are fit to be brushed aside. Such discrimination and logical thinking gradually leads to the next higher modes of sādhanā and ultimately to the direct experience of the ātman.


References[edit]

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

Contributors to this article

Vishal J Mehta

Explore Other Articles

Retrieved from "https://hindupedia.com/index.php?title=Ātmānātma-viveka&oldid=136421"