Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children Book Cover.webp

Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children is now published after academic peer-review and available through open access.

In this book, we analyze the psycho-social consequences that Indian American children face after they are exposed to the school textbook discourse on Hinduism and ancient India. We show that there is an intimate connection―an almost exact correspondence―between James Mill’s ( a prominent politician in Britain and head of the British East India Company) colonial-racist discourse and the current school-textbook discourse. Consequently, this archaic and racist discourse, camouflaged under the cover of political correctness, produces in the Indian American children the same psychological impact as racism is known to produce: shame, inferiority, embarrassment, identity confusion, assimilation, and a phenomenon similar to racelessness where the children dissociate from the tradition and culture of their ancestors

This book is an outcome of 4 years of rigorous research as a part of our ongoing commitment at Hindupedia to challenge the representation of Hindu Dharma within Academia.

Tyāga

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Tyāga literally means ‘giving up’.

Concept of Tyāga[edit]

Tyāga or giving up is an important concept found in the scriptures. It has two aspects:

  1. Giving away something to someone who needs it more. It is known as dāna. It has been prescribed as a duty for the householders.
  2. Giving up an object feeling that it is not a necessity or even an obstacle to the way of life one has chosen. It is known as vairāgya.[1] It is an essential qualification for one who aspires after sanyāsa or monastic life.

Different Perceptions by Scriptures[edit]

  • The Manusmṛti[2] forbids a householder from giving up his parents, wife and sons who depend upon him.
  • The Bhagavadgītā[3] gives a general definition of tyāga as giving up the fruits of all actions. It then categorizes the tyāga of actions into three types:[4]
  1. Sāttvika - It consists in performing one’s prescribed duties but giving up attachment towards them as also the fruits thereof.
  2. Rājasika - Giving up one’s prescribed duties because they entail a lot of physical exertion is rājasika-tyāga.
  3. Tāmasika - If the same is done out of delusion or confused understanding, it is tāmasika-tyāga.

Avowal by Bhagavadgitā[edit]

The Bhagavadgitā, however, unequivocally declares that works like yajña,[5] dāna[6] and tapas[7] should not be given up. On the contrary it must be performed. They always have a purifying effect.


References[edit]

  1. ↑ Vairāgya means renunciation.
  2. ↑ Manusmṛti 8.389
  3. ↑ Bhagavadgītā 18.2
  4. ↑ Bhagavadgitā 18.7-9
  5. ↑ Yajña means sacrifice.
  6. ↑ Dāna means giving gifts.
  7. ↑ Tapas means austerities.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore

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