Do you feel proud, seeing Westerns learning Sanskrit and Indian texts?
I admit, I used to. Not anymore.
Many years ago, I spent some time at Harvard Divinity School Sanskrit studies at University of California, Berkeley.
I used to attend talks with a lot of excitement, but always come back very disappointed.
It was like the “ras” रस was taken out of Indian philosophy, reducing it to something very transactional.
Of late there has been a new awakening, that challenges the Westernization of Indian narratives.
Recently I read The Battle for Sanskrit by Rajiv Malhotra Ji.
And boy! Does he address this problem. And how!
He goes right to the center of the battlefield. I loved reading it.
Here are some take aways from his book --> Swipe to read
This book is a critique of the Wendy Doniger, Pollock and such like writers, who have politicized and hijacked Indian narratives.
The book is a magnificent thesis. It challenges many false theories, with data, counter views and many examples.
It highlights the bigger problem: There is an on-going battle for Sanskrit, and we don’t have a home team.
We need home grown scholars, to STOP the hijacking and cultural mis-appropriation.
~Anu
PS: If you decide to copy this post, credit the book and its author please.
#sanskrit
I admit, I used to. Not anymore.
Many years ago, I spent some time at Harvard Divinity School Sanskrit studies at University of California, Berkeley.
I used to attend talks with a lot of excitement, but always come back very disappointed.
It was like the “ras” रस was taken out of Indian philosophy, reducing it to something very transactional.
Of late there has been a new awakening, that challenges the Westernization of Indian narratives.
Recently I read The Battle for Sanskrit by Rajiv Malhotra Ji.
And boy! Does he address this problem. And how!
He goes right to the center of the battlefield. I loved reading it.
Here are some take aways from his book --> Swipe to read
This book is a critique of the Wendy Doniger, Pollock and such like writers, who have politicized and hijacked Indian narratives.
The book is a magnificent thesis. It challenges many false theories, with data, counter views and many examples.
It highlights the bigger problem: There is an on-going battle for Sanskrit, and we don’t have a home team.
We need home grown scholars, to STOP the hijacking and cultural mis-appropriation.
~Anu
PS: If you decide to copy this post, credit the book and its author please.
#sanskrit
