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.

Satya

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Satya literally means ‘truth’.

Satya or truth has been accorded the pride of place among the virtues recommended to be cultivated by man. All the religious works wax eloquently over it. Its fundamental definition is ‘that which is un-affected by time, place and causation’. This simply means that ‘satya’ stands for God, the Absolute.

Satya as per Sahasranāmas[edit]

In fact, several sahasranāmas[1] use this word to denote God. As an extension of this meaning, anything that helps a man’s progress towards God, is satya.

Satya as General Term[edit]

Satya is speaking the truth, consonance of thought and word. One should avoid speaking falsehood, partial truths and even unpleasant truths. Truth should be spoken in a sweet and pleasant way. Unpleasant truths, when they must be spoken, should be presented in a palatable manner.

Truth Test In Ancient Times[edit]

In the ancient days, if a person accused of a crime denied it, he was to prove his innocence by touching a red-hot iron. It was believed that if he was speaking the truth, truth itself would protect him.[2]

Results of Asatya[edit]

Asatya stands for all that is opposite to satya. It is what is untrue, unreal, evil and crooked. Speaking asatya has been permitted as an āpad-dharma[3] under extraordinary circumstances when one’s life is threatened by evil and unscrupulous persons.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Sahasranāmas means thousand names of God.
  2. ↑ Chāndogyopaniṣad 6.16.1,2
  3. ↑ It means emergency situation.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Deval Sancheti

Explore Other Articles

Retrieved from "https://hindupedia.com/index.php?title=Satya&oldid=135700"