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.

Āditya-śānti-vrata

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Āditya-śānti-vrata literally means ‘religious vow to appease Āditya or Sun-god’.

Vratas or religious vows and observances are a common form of practical religion. These vratas are undertaken either for fulfilling a desire with divine intervention or for expiating sin or even observing a spiritual discipline.

The Ādityaśāntivrata can be observed on any Sunday associated with the Hastā- nakṣatra. Worshipping the image of the Sun with 28 or 108 fuel sticks of the arka plant (Calatropis gigantea) is the main part of the ritual. These fuel sticks are to be offered with honey and ghee (or ghee and curd) in homa (fire sacrifice). The vrata can be repeated upto seven times.


References[edit]

  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore