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.

Garuḍa Upanisad

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda


Gāruḍa Upaniṣad is a minor Upaniṣad originating from the Atharvaveda. Its main purpose is to attain freedom from the fear of all the poisonous creatures. The science taught here is called ‘gāruḍa-brahmavidyā’ and is believed to have originated from the four-faced Brahmā. The other important teachers of this Upaniṣad are Nārada, Brhatsena, Indra and Bharadvāja. It comprises of 25 mantras which are mostly in prose.

Contents[edit]

  • Mantras 2 to 4 give the usual preliminaries that include:
    • Ṛṣi - sage
    • Chanda - meter
    • Devatā - deity
    • Viniyoga - usage
    • Nyāsa - purification processes of hands and limbs
  • Dhyāna or meditation on Garuḍa or Garutmān[1] is emphasized in a long passage comprising seven verses in the śloka meter. It contains a picturesque description of Garuḍa who has the famous serpents as his ornaments all over his body. These serpents are:
  1. Ananta
  2. Vāsuki
  3. Takṣaka
  4. Kārkoṭaka
  • Several mālā- mantras are described in detail[2] with the main purport of the destruction (or prayers for destruction) of various kinds of poisons
  • The Upaniṣad ends with a phalaśruti, a statement of the favorable results got by the chanting or listening to it

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Garuḍa or Garutmān is the eagle-mount of Lord Viṣṇu, known for his stupendous strength and enmity towards the serpents.
  2. ↑ Mālā- mantras are very long mantras.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Krishna Maheshwari, Apurva Mahendra Bhangdia, Deval Sancheti

Explore Other Articles

Retrieved from "https://hindupedia.com/index.php?title=Garuḍa_Upanisad&oldid=134316"