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.

Gati

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Gati literally means ‘movement’ and includes several other meanings like consequence, path, nature, progress.

Gati as per Upaniṣad and Bhagvad Gitā[edit]

The Upaniṣad and the Bhagvad Gitā describe two types of gati-s (or paths) leading to a destination:

  1. The śukla[1] for the fortunate souls
  2. The kṛṣṇa[2] for the ordinary souls

Gati as per Purāṇa[edit]

The Purāṇa-s predicate following four gati-s (or results) for human beings:

  1. Reaching the presence of a deity through yajña
  2. Intense spirit of renunciation through tapas or austerity
  3. Status of brāhmaṇa through karmasanyāsa or renunciation of desire-motivated actions
  4. Kaivalya or mokṣa[3] through jñāna[4]

Gati as per Matsyapurāna[edit]

The Matsyapurāna describes gati as one of the eight daughters of Kardama Prajāpati. She was married to the sage Pulaha. Her three sons offended Śiva and were cursed by him to die drowning in the Brahmaputra.

References[edit]

  1. Śukla means the white and also called as ‘arcirādimārga’.
  2. Kṛṣṇa means the black and also called ‘dhumādimārga’.
  3. Mokṣa means liberation.
  4. Jñāna means spiritual wisdom.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore