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

Balasiddhi

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Balasiddhi literally means ‘power of physical strength’.

In the third chapter of "Vibhutipāda", various vibhutis or siddhis (supernatural powers) that a yogi obtains by the practice of ‘samyama’ are described. Balasiddhi is one of them. Samyama is a technical term used to indicate the triad :

  1. Dhāraṇā - Fixing the mind on the object of concentration
  2. Dhyāna - Meditation
  3. Samādhi - Total absorption in the object thus chosen

It is practiced on one and the same object. This samyama results in the development or manifestation of supernatural powers in the yogi. If samyama is practiced on the strength of an elephant[1] or lion or the mythical bird Garuḍa or Hanumān (the devotee of Rāma), the yogi develops a strength similar to theirs. This is called ‘balasiddhi’.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Yogasutras 3.24
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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