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.

Vṛtragitā

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Vṛtragitā literally means ‘the teaching given to Vṛtra by the sage Sanaka’.

Significance of Vṛtragitā[edit]

This is one of the minor Gītās that appears in the Mahābhārata.[1][2] Vṛtra, the king of the dānavas or asuras[3] asked his guru Śukrācārya about the secret of karma and its resultant births. When Sukrācārya was about to answer, Sanatkumāra, the great sage arrived there. He was requested to answer the questions.

Content of Vṛtragitā[edit]

The discourse of Sanatkumāra is quite long and complicated. Only the gist may be given here:

  • Mahāviṣṇu is the Supreme Lord who creates, sustains and then dissolves the whole creation.
  • All the worlds and all the beings are established in him only.
  • The jīvas or the embodied souls pass through the rounds of births and deaths because of their vāsanās[4] brought about by their karmas or actions, good or bad.
  • After experiencing the result of their karmas in higher worlds like heaven or lower worlds like hell, they return to the world of men.
  • If they perform spiritual sādhanas and realize their true nature as ātman, they will attain the supreme world of Viṣṇu.
  • Vṛtra realized it by the grace of Mahāviṣṇu and got liberation.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Śāntiparva 279 and 280
  2. ↑ Śāntiparva 104 ślokas
  3. ↑ Asuras means demons.
  4. ↑ Vāsanās means strong mental impressions.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

Contributors to this article

Deval Sancheti

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