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.

Garbhanyasa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Garbhanyasa literally means ‘inseminating the temple site’.

A devālaya or a temple is not just a place of prayer but a structure where the particular deity ‘lives’ in its subtle body, for accepting the worship.

An extremely important rite which is performed during the construction of a temple is the garbhanyāsa or inseminating the temple site. A casket or a tray or pot of copper, the dimensions of which are proportional to the dimensions of the temple, is ceremonially lowered into the ground on an auspicious night after filling it with precious stones, several metals, herbs and soils. It symbolizes creation and prosperity. This ceremony is believed to help in the smooth consummation of the temple project. A stone called ādhāraśilā is kept over this spot. This stone serves as the foundation for the installation of the icon. Due to this ceremony the sanctum is called ‘garbhagṛha’.


References[edit]

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

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Deval Sancheti

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