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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.

Śastra

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Śastra literally means ‘that by which one is hurt’.

The words astra and śastra are commonly used in the epics and the purāṇas. An astra is a missile discharged from a suitable instrument like a bow whereas a śastra is a weapon like a sword which is directly wielded by the hand.

File:Śastra.jpg
Śastra

The word may also be used to indicate an instrument used in surgery. In the Vedas a śastra refers to a laudatory hymn used in a sacrifice that is simply recited and not sung. A stotra is always sung. A śastra belongs to and follows a stotra. It is composed of several verses. Generally it is recited by the hotṛ and his associates called śrotrakas. This recitation involves other steps like āhāva,[1] pratigara,[2] tuṣṇīrhjapa[3] and so on.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Āhāva means summoning.
  2. ↑ Pratigara means response.
  3. ↑ Tuṣṇīrhjapa means silent or inaudible recitation.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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