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.

Rañganātha

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Rañganātha, along with Varadarāja of Kāñcīpuram and Veṅkaṭeśa of Tirupati, is the most popular aspect of Viṣṇu worshiped in South India. The well-known temple at Śrīraṅgam in Tamil Nadu is the very heart of the Śrīvaiṣṇava sect. The original icon of this temple is said to have been born out of the ocean and given by Śrī Rāma to Vibhīṣaṇa. While carrying it from Ayodhyā to Laṅkā, Vibhīṣaṇa placed it on the ground at the present site, in order to rest a while. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for others it got firmly fixed there.

Rañganātha

The image is of the Yogaśayana type[1] with only two hands, the right hand apparently supporting the head while the left rests on the serpent-bed. The lotus with Brahmā, the Āyudha-puruṣas,[2] the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha who were killed by him and some sages like Bhṛgu and Mārkaṇḍeya are often depicted along with the image of Lord. Similar Yogaśayana images are found in Śrīraṅgapaṭna of Karnataka and Tiruvanantapuram of Kerala where it is known as Padmanābha or Anantaśayana.


References[edit]

  1. Yogaśayana type means lying on the serpent-bed in Yoga.
  2. Āyudha-puruṣas means the weapons in human form.
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore