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.

Yogapaṭṭa

From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Swami Harshananda

Yogapaṭṭa literally means ‘cloth of yoga’.

This is the band of cloth used for holding the crossed legs firmly in position while practicing yogic meditation. It goes around the two legs at the knee level, the legs being slightly raised. It may be wound round in other ways also. It is a technical term used in the process of giving sanyāsa or monastic vows. It is the act of giving the monastic name to the newly ordained disciple after holding a cloth over his head and reciting some verses from the Bhagavadgītā.[1] The disciple is competent to ordain others into sanyāsa and guide them.


References[edit]

  1. Bhagavadgītā 11.15 to 33
  • The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore