Promote Indian Culture

[Guest]

Hindu Sangam 2006, Bayarea - Slide show

[Guest]

Now, Hinduism classes in a US college
http://in.news.yahoo.com/061207/43/6a2wo.html

[Guest]

£10m state cash for first Hindu school
Britain's first state-funded school for Hindus, which will receive guidance from the Hare Krishna movement, is to get the go ahead, backed by almost £10m of taxpayers' money.
The news is seen as a major cultural breakthrough by Britain's 600,000-strong Hindu community which has long campaigned for state-funded schools for its followers. But it has also attracted criticism from secular groups who claim that religion and education do not mix.
The Krishna-Avanti school, which will be advised by Iskcon - the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as the Hare Krishna movement - will be based in Harrow, north-west London. A planning application will be submitted to the local council next month and the school is expected to open in September 2008.
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Almost 40,000 Hindus live in Harrow, comprising 20 per cent of the town's population, but the faith's leaders say their educational needs have until now been largely ignored. There are two private Hindu schools in Britain, but the Harrow school will be the first of its kind to be backed by the government.
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Critics said the government's backing for a Hindu school was another example of its enthusiasm for expanding the number of faith schools. <b> There are 4,646 Church of England and 2,041 Roman Catholic schools in the UK. There are 37 Jewish, two Sikh and nine Muslim schools, some of which are still in the process of receiving approval.</b>
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The facts behind the Faith

<b>Hinduism originated more than 3,000 years ago and its beginnings can be traced to the Indus Valley in modern-day Pakistan</b>. Today the religion has more than 900 million followers worldwide, most of them in India, where 80 per cent of the population regard themselves as Hindu.
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[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Mahabharat circuit planned </b>
New Delhi, Dec. 28: A new Mahabharat circuit is being planned, in the wake of the runaway success of the Buddhist circuit in the country. The Mahabharat circuit runs through Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and has the potential to attract not only domestic but even foreign tourists. Union tourism minister Ambika Soni has agreed to grant Rs 5 crores for the development of the new Mahabharat circuit.

The Mahabharat circuit runs through the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. In UP, the tourism department has taken the lead in developing all the places in the state mentioned in the epic. Kurukshetra, the scene of the epic 18-day Mahabharat war and the scene of the revelation of the Bhagvad Gita, however, falls in Haryana.

The Mahabharat circuit in Uttar Pradesh covers Hastinapur, which is present-day Meerut in western UP. There are a number of other places in Uttar Pradesh where significant events connected to the Mahabharat took place. Baghpat and Bijnore are two such examples. A tunnel dating back to the Mahabharat period, which is believed to have been used by the Pandavs, has been found in Baghpat.

The Japanese bank JBIC had contributed Rs 680 crores towards the development of the Buddhist circuit. In Uttar Pradesh, the Buddhist circuit covers places like Sarnath, where the Buddha delivered his first sermon, and Kushinagar, where he breathed his last. The Buddhist circuit attracts thousands of tourists annually from both home and abroad.

For the Ardh Kumbh beginning next week, meanwhile, the UP tourism department has sanctioned Rs 50 lakhs to facilitate the visit and stay of people from around the world. One of the major attractions will be a tent hotel, comprising 40 double-bed Swiss-type cottages equipped with 3-star facilities, three dormitories having 10 beds each and a vegetarian restaurant.

Since the Ardh Kumbh is in Allahabad, from where places like Varanasi, Vindhyachal and Ayodhya are less than 200 km away, the UP tourism department has designed special package tours to enable those coming for the Kumbh visit some other pilgrim centres as well. Also, as 2007 will witness the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence of 1857, the tourism department will organise programmes based on the freedom struggle across the state next year.
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[Guest]

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Study
<b>NRIs proud of Indian culture, history</b>
Press Trust of India
Posted online: Sunday, December 31, 2006 at 1429 hours IST

New Delhi, December 31: NRIs are often accused of forgetting their traditions, but a new study has found that they cherish the customs and cultural values of their motherland.

"The NRIs, both from the Gulf region and the rest of the world, very strongly perceive that the history and rich cultural values of India, its third-largest pool of scientists and engineers and technology are the major positive characteristics which make them very proud of India," said Dr P L Joshi, a professor at the University of Bahrain, who conducted the study "Gulf-based Indians' Perceptions About India: An Attitudinal Study".

"More than eighty per cent of the NRIs who participated in the study stated so," said Joshi. "It seems that although contemporary India has been gradually getting modernised, yet NRIs, wherever they live, actively participate in Indian traditions, customs and respect its cultural values."

A few respondents from the Gulf region said they maintain their social traditions, observe social rituals more zealously and have a strong bond with India in celebrating various important festivals like their counterparts in India. One of them stated that the children of NRIs also pursue Indian education and value system, as there are large number of Indian schools located in the region, Dr Joshi told PTI in an email interview from Bahrain.

"All these factors keep them very close to Indian environment. Many of them feel very proud to identify themselves with a country that is rapidly joining the ranks of the developed world and nuclear and military power."

The study which commenced in June this year, continued till October and Joshi said questionnaire was sent to 1441 NRIs by email in 29 countries. A total of 162 replies were received.

The NRIs have strong reservations about the deep-rooted corruption in public life in the country and other negative characteristics of "gross inequities and prejudices that are still prevalent in some of Indian life," Dr Joshi said.

"They strongly perceive that if India has to catch up with the advanced world and even with fastest growing countries such as China, corruption in the administrative machinery has to reduce significantly," he said.

At the same time, the attitude of Gulf-based NRIs was more positive compared to the rest of the world , particularly NRIs from Europe and North America, probably because they will not be naturalised in this part of the world and ultimately they will have to return to India.

Gulf-based NRIs have the advantage of proximity with India. Most of the NRIs in Gulf live in community (collective culture) and they have formed numerous clubs whereas NRIs in the rest of the world are segmented and scattered, he said.

Gulf-based NRIs perceive that India has become self -sufficient in agricultural food grains but NRIs from the rest of the world do not seem impressed very much with this claim.

The study also shows Overseas Indians want to play bigger roles in Indian affairs as the Chinese do in their country's economic boom. It suggests that in order to create more interest among NRIs in Indian affairs, the Indian government and its various agencies need to launch more awareness programs through seminars, conferences, cultural exchanges, instituting a number of achievement awards and recognition for the NRIs, Dr Joshi said.

[Guest]

'Yoga lite' stretches into public schools

[acharya]

Interesting survey which illustrates how Indians view India.

71% say they are proud to be Indians - BBC survey

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->LONDON: Nearly two-thirds of all Indians are fiercely proud of 'Mera Bharat Mahaan' but more than half of India believes the caste system is a "barrier to social harmony" and is holding the country back, according to a BBC poll to be published on Monday.

India-watchers expressed surprise at the poll's finding, the first for a nationwide 'attitudes' survey conducted by an international agency, that Indians still seem to have caste firmly on their minds in one way or the other, even though leading sociologists have long argued that urbanisation and industrialisation has helped break down caste-barriers.

The survey aims to itemise exactly how Indians view their own country, at a time when much of the world appears to have a view alternately on "emerging India" or "overheating India". The survey was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan.

<b>The survey found that 71% are proud to be an Indian; nearly as many (65%) think it is important that India is an economic superpower; 60% think it's important India should be a political power and the same number believe it should be a military superpower</b>. Just under half of all Indians said India's economic growth over the last 10 years had not benefited them and their families. The survey comes as part of BBC's ongoing 'India Rising' week of special programming that charts changes in different sectors of the Indian economy.

In a special message to the BBC's estimated 163 million listeners in 33 languages, President Kalam called for worldwide engagement with his vision of citizenship, notably a "three-dimensional approach involving education with value system; religion transformed to spirituality and economic development for societal transformation of all the nations." Kalam, who called upon BBC's global audiences to flood his website with suggestions and debate, was speaking on a special edition of the BBC's 'Discovery' programme, to be broadcast on Wednesday.

Monday's BBC survey concentrated on asking more than 1,500 Indians a series of questions focusing on social and political issues. It found that Indians overall, seven in 10 exhibited a positive sense of identity by agreeing to the statement, "I am proud to be an Indian." The survey found the view was uniform across all age, income groups, even though it differed among religious groups with Christians (73%) the proudest; Hindus (71%) close behind and Muslim pride in being Indian languishing at 60%.

The poll found that Indians' positive perceptions about their present also extended to the Indian marketplace. <b>A 55% majority said the justice system "treats poor people as fairly as rich people"; 52% said "being a woman is no barrier to success" and just under half of all Indians (48%) declared they would rather "work for a private company than for the government." Interestingly, six in 10, or 58% said they believed India's security is "more in danger from other Indians than from foreigners" and 55% said the "caste system is a barrier to social harmony." 47% said "corruption is a fact of life which we should accept as the price of doing business." But a cheering 45% of 18- to 24-year-old Indians said they were less tolerant of corruption than the older generation.</b>

On religious belief, 50% said "people don't take their religion seriously"; 40% lamented that "young Indians have lost touch with their heritage."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>IBCH

Instituto Bhaktivedanta de Ciencias y Humanidades A. C. </b>

Invite to

<b>International Symposium Human rights, Religius studies and Cultures of Resistance </b>

in Saltillo, Coah, Mexico 25-28 April- 2007

Masterful conferences

(Note:Translated from Spanish)

Violations to Human Rights and its juridical application

Lic. Ramón M. Saucedo del Bosque

The challenges of Modern Medicine before the globalization and the resistance cultures

Dr. Horacio ElÃas Arganis Diaz Leal

The sociological processes of paradigm change in the academic communities

M.A. Jaime Torres Mendoza

The Language of the Colonized Mind.

On Idols, Myths and Beliefs vs Dieties, Histories and Logic

Vrndavan Parker (Newest Submission)

The Holy War against the Hinduism. A up date analysis of erosion forces of one ancient resistance culture.

Stephen Napp

The human conversion and interreligius dialogue. The search for negotiation for control of proselytism among faithful of all the local and misionary religions

Lic. Fernando Navas

Naturalistic concepts on the Life and Conscience and its philosophical and social repercussions

Dr. Francisco Esquivel Reyes

Which is the Antiquity of Srîmad-Bhâgavatam from Classic literature of India?

M.A. Horacio Francisco Arganis Juárez

Historical records of astronomy in ancient culture of South Asia

Dr. Narahari Achar

The Vedic Philosophy contribution as integration synthesis for the globalization and the cultures of Resistance.

M.A. Williams Henricks

<b>Work Table Issues: </b>

1 The importance of conservation of Ancestral Cultures before the Globalization

2 The social roll of missions, from all the Religions, in the extinction processes of local cultures in Latin America, Europe, Ã frica and Asia

3 The bridges’s construction for to dialogue and negotiation between the scholars: traditionalist, reviewsionists and seculars

4 Revising the antiquity of Vedic-puránics texts and its origin

5 The phenomenons of cultural genocide for the expansions of the mercantile globalization empires

6 The correct and incorrectness of Hindutva s demands before academy

7 The construction’s proceses, of the national identity, from countries with ancestral culture

8 The activism for resistance’s cultures and the fundamentalism.

9 The dialogue and agreements importance, among the religious groups, to avoid the disloyal strategies of conversion

Other proposals and papers are welcome writting to

Ramayana@todito. com

The papers should be sent, exclusively for those that will attend without fail, like limit date , the day 1° of April - 2007. In format of office word, without Win zip, letter Arial 12, with a maximum of 15 pages. Costs: $20 dlls. for exponents. Registered assistants $20 dlls, with right to Diploma and memoirs.

For lodgings, for vegetarain, we recommend the varied Hotels that are in front of the Bus station with costs from $15.00 to $30, very next to Radha-Govinda mandir service of prasada food: http://www.iskcon. com.mx/templos. htm. There are also service of three Stars like Hotel Imperial: Reservations 01 800 557 2828 or International: 001 877 858 2115: e-mail imperial@mcsa. net.mx and five stars as: www.hotelhuizache. com, e-mail: mhujc@prodigy. net.mx,

More information for Hotels see http://www.cronica. com.mx/zt/ hoteles-saltillo .php. Tourism information of Saltillo city: http://www.saltillo mexico.org/ english/index. html. For flys and budget check http://www.saltillo mexico.org/ english/transpor tation.html

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[Guest]

Kid Shruthi from New Jersey - Bharatanatyam

Kid Shruthi from New Jersey - Sangeetham

[Guest]

Nice - Sageetham sharing site

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[acharya]

RSS bid to make US-born Indians ‘confident’
2/21/2007 3:24:26 PM Hindustan Times

KANPUR : The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has embarked on a mission to convert non-resident Indians from ‘American Born Confused Desi’ (ABCD) into ‘American Born Confident Desi’.

Full-time functionaries of the RSS have undertaken the responsibility to imbibe Indian culture and values among NRIs with the help of its 740 international ‘shakhas’ (branches) spanning in more than 40 countries the world over.

Out of the 740 international shakhas, 120 are being convened on daily basis like any other RSS shakha operating in India. All international shakhas are being regulated and controlled by a special cell of the RSS aptly named the ‘foreign affairs cell’.

Hong Kong is the international headquarters of the party’s foreign affairs cell and a full-time functionary of the organisation is regulating it. The international affairs of the RSS, specially the monitoring of shakhas all over Asia, Europe and America, are being controlled from Hong Kong.

Talking to Hindustan Times, head of the cell Ravi Kumar, who was in the city, informed that RSS had undertaken the responsibility to connect the Indian diaspora abroad with the Indian mainstream.

“At present, almost all NRIs are completely cut off from the Indian culture and are not even aware of festivals like Makarsankranti,” said Kumar. On the importance of international RSS shakhas, Kumar stated that an NRI, especially a youth, was a confused person.

No matter how much he tried to identify himself with the culture of the country he lived in, an NRI would always remain an Indian, he added. This confusion led to the ‘American Born Confused Desi’ tag for an NRI. Now RSS is trying to change it into ‘American Born Confident Desi’, Kumar pointed out. On the acceptance of RSS shakha by the respective foreign governments, Kumar stated that impressed by the working of the RSS foreign governments had extended all support.

Impressed by the teachings and moral values the shakhas preach, the Australian government even offered financial assistance to the RSS, Kumar stated. “But, when we refused to take any financial assistance the Australian government issued free travel passes to RSS functionaries who often travel from one city to another for regulating the shakas,” informed Kumar. The British government too offered financial assistance to RSS shakhas, Kumar added.

Impressed by the contribution made by Indians to the Australian society, their government had also asked RSS to name any day of the year that could be dedicated to Indians, especially some Indian festival.

[acharya]

Send this Article to a Friend

Vedic varsity taps global study centres for tie-ups

Staff Reporter

SVVU seeks to preserve, propagate the Vedas

# German, Japanese scholars accused of taking away the Vedas
# University pins hopes on Russia, Italy and Finland

TIRUPATI: The TTD-run Sri Venkateswara Vedic University (SVVU) has written to the Indian embassies in several countries in Europe, West Asia and Middle East to bring all the centres of advanced traditional learning across the globe under one roof.

The varsity has written to the Indian embassy in Russia, Finland, Italy, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Bhutan and Myanmar among other countries to find out if any Vedic, or at least Sanskrit-related, activities of academic and research interest, are going on in any of the institutes in those countries.

The SVVU seeks to trace out, preserve and propagate the various branches (Sakhas) of the four Vedas viz., Rgveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda, a disturbingly-large percentage of which are believed to be `almost extinct'.

For decades, it was rumoured that the burning down of the famous Lahore Pressresulted in the loss of manuscripts. Also the German and Japanese scholars were accused of taking away a number of sacred texts for advanced studies.

The university has contacted the above countries to find out if collaborative study can be taken up on Vedic studies. "We have received reply from Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Bhutan that no such studies are going on there", Vice-Chancellor S.Sudarsana Sarma, told The Hindu added that he was pinning hope on Russia, Italy and Finland.

[Guest]

Japan's Hindu linkages still alive

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->many temples across Japan are full of Hindu deities.

Chandra said Japanese couples who desire to have a beautiful daughter pray to goddess 'Saraswati' even to this day. Saraswati is also believed as the patroness of writers and painters.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'In ancient times, Japanese generals prayed to Saraswati to be victorious in war,' Chandra told the gathering which was also attended by the Japanese Ambassador to India Yasukuni Enoki and his wife.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->There is a suburban district in Tokyo named Kichijo, which traces its roots to 'Lakshmi', the Hindu goddess of wealth. Lakshmi was propagated to China along with Buddhism in the ancient time, to be known as Kichijo in its Chinese form and then reached Japan as a Buddhist goddess.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Lord Ganesha in Japan symbolises the joy of life that arises from the power rooted in the virtues of wisdom and compassion.

Young Japanese worship Ganesha to win in love whereas the old worship the deity to get success in business<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->One can also see the influence of the Indian epic Ramayana in the traditional Japanese dance forms of 'Bugaku' and 'Gigaku'.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Any IF members/lurkers from Japan who can elaborate on this article?

[Guest]

A little trivia.

A photo showing a scene of Rama Leela being played in some unknown village at some unknown time. (Looking at clothes, turban style, probably it is in Rajasthan. Also I guess scene is arrival of victorious Rama at Ayodhya)

<img src='http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/festive/5508.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

Ramaleela (apart from Ram Charita Manas) has served a great contribution in teaching the story of that Great era and values of life to common public and children.

Ramaleela is still in vogue throughout North India. Is it celebrated in south too?

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ramaleela is still in vogue throughout North India. Is it celebrated in south too? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not that I know of.

[Guest]

Kyoto, the old Japanese imperial capital, is filled with beautiful temples/shrines etc.

One particular temple dedicated to "Mother Goddess" was intriguing.

The temple is subterranean and access to it is through dark narrow meandering tunnel. One has to hold on to a railing to walk through that. In the center there is a circular carved stone structure on which a very faint light is shone from above. Then you emerge through similar exit tunnel.

The Japanese priest sitting outside told me in his broken english that many such temples were influenced by hinduism. He also talked about a shrine of Sri Ganesha. Regarding the "Mother Goddess" temple, he said that it was designed as a mother's womb, and emerging from the temple was like a new birth.

It was summer holiday season, and lots of Japanese youngsters in school uniform were thronging the temples. Apparently it is popular school outing to visit such shrines.

What struck me though was the perception that there was a distinct lack of "religiosity" in the people. Only some old people appeared to be reverentially joining their palms in prayer. For most people, and almost all youngsters, it seemed that the temples were mainly of cultural interest, not of religious interest.

[ramana]

<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Apr 25 2007, 02:27 PM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Apr 25 2007, 02:27 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ramaleela is still in vogue throughout North India. Is it celebrated in south too? <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not that I know of.
[right][snapback]67827[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


Not explicitly but it is celebrated as part of Dashera festival when Rama's return from exile is also part of the festival. Other parts are Vijayadashimi, Ayudha Puja(Pandavas emergence from exile) and Saraswati Puja in Andhra.

[Guest]

<b>Greek President greets Kalam in Sanskrit</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->It was a pleasant surprise for President A P J Abdul Kalam when his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias greeted him in Sanskrit at the banquet ceremony hosted in honour of the visiting dignitary.

<b>"Rashtrapatm Mahabhaga, sur swagatam yavana dishe </b>(Mr President, welcome to you)," the Greek President said at the start of his speech at the banquet hosted at the Presidential palace on Thursday night, much to the delight of the Indian delegation.

<b>Papoulias had studied Sanskrit in Germany and the reason to study the Indian classical language was to understand India better. </b>

<b>"I wanted to welcome you in Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language that is related to ancient Greek, and which I had the opportunity to learn and love during my time as a student in Germany," </b>the Greek President said.

"India and Greece were the birthplaces of great civilisations, which at a certain point in time, in the era of Alexander the Great, met and formed an entirely particular relationship between them. It is said that the importance of civilisations is indicated, above all, by their ancient history and the beauty of their mythology on creation.

<b>"This criterion is definitely met by our cultures. We pride ourselves on Homer's Epic Poetry and Hesiodus and you are proud of Mahabharata and Ramayana, with their exceptional theological, philological and also philosophical considerations,"</b> he said. 

Papoulias said India played a particularly significant and stabilising role in the world especially during the independence movement, which was one of the most important 20th century events.
............<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

US state senate session opens with Vedic chants

[acharya]

HINDUISM IN AMERICA
CAS RN 313/RN 313 HP/RN 611
Professor Stephen Prothero
TT 2-3:30
Office Hours: TT 1-2
CAS 225
Office: STH 5
th
Floor (540B)
Phone: 353-4426
Email: prothero@bu.edu
Description
This course explores the transplantation and transformation of the ideas, institutions, and
practices of Hinduism in the United States. We will attend to the ways that Asian
Americans and European Americans alike have adapted Hinduism to American
circumstances and, in the process, changed the course of American religious history and
even the history of Hinduism itself. Emphasis on close readings of primary sources,
including memoirs of converts, autobiographies of gurus, Supreme Court cases, and the
controversial literature of “anti-cult” critics. Themes include: Americanization,
creolization, and pluralism.
Requirements
1. Class participation: 10%
2. Site Visit, Written Report, and In-Class Presentation: 10%.
Visit a Boston-area Hindu (or Hindu-influenced) site. (For suggested sites, see
“World Religions in Boston” (http://www.pluralism.org/wrb.html). Write a report
(3 double-spaced, typed pages) regarding the site and your experiences there.
Analyze, as best as you can, the community (demographics, such as gender, age,
race, ethnicity), practices, beliefs, architecture, and location. Describe your
impressions of the people, their place, and their activities. Then analyze your
impressions. How did these people and their place meet your expectations?
Frustrate them? Written report due on April 12 at the bginning of class (2 p.m.).
In-class presentation of your site and your experiences (presentation of
approximately 10 minutes) are scheduled on the syllabus below.
3. Two book reviews (15% each). Choose from two of the following three options:
Jackson, Vedanta in the West (due on February 8 at the beginning of class);
and/or Yogananda, Autobiography of a Swami (due on February 27 at the
beginning of class); and/or Muster, Betrayal of the Spirit (due on March 27 at the
beginning of class).
4. Contribution to our Web site on American Hinduism (details to be announced) (25%).
5. Final take-home essay examination (due on May 8) (25%).
Late Papers/Makeup Exam Policy
Exams will not be rescheduled. Papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date.
Papers may be handed in late, but late papers will be marked down one half grade for
each day or portion thereof they are late. (No excuses necessary.) Plagiarism will not be
tolerated. See Boston University's academic conduct handbook.
Page 2
Required Texts
Thomas A. Tweed and Stephen Prothero, Asian Religions in America: A Documentary
History (Oxford University Press, 1998). (Abbreviated here as TP.)
Carl T. Jackson, Vedanta for the West: The Ramakrishna Movement in the United States
(Indiana University Press, 1994).
Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (Self-Realization Fellowship, 1979).
Nora J. Muster, Betrayal of the Spirit: My Life Behind the Headlines of the Hare Krishna
Movement (University of Illinois Press, 1996).
J. Isamu Yamamoto, Hinduism, TM & Hare Krishna (Zondervan, 1998)
Ed Viswanathan, Am I a Hindu? The Hinduism Primer (Halo Books, 1992)
Course Packet (CP).
Internet Resources
Hinduism Today (http://www.hinduismtoday.com)
American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) (http://www.hindunet.org/ahad)
Hindu Web Universe (http://www.hinduweb.org)
Beliefnet (http://www.beliefnet.com)
INTRODUCTION
Jan 16
Introduction: The United States and East/West Encounters
Jan 18
Introduction: Basic Hinduism
Reading: Ed Viswanathan, Am I a Hindu?
Jan 23
Introduction: Basic Hinduism
Reading: Ed Viswanathan, Am I a Hindu?
Jan 25
Madonna, Yoga, and Pop Hinduism
Reading: Review AHAD Web Site (http://www.hindunet.org/ahad).
Assignment/Discussion: Bring to class one example of Hinduism in
American popular culture (art, advertisement, music, TV, etc.). Is this use
of Hindu symbols, terms, divinities a good or a bad thing? Why?
ENCOUNTERS: LITERARY AND INTERPERSONAL
Jan 30
Face-to-Face Encounters Abroad: Missionaries and Travelers
Reading: “Orientations, 1784 to 1840,” in TP, 25-27; Amaso Delano, A
Narrative of Voyages and Travels (1817) in TP, 29-32; Christian Disciple,
“An Account of the Sikhs in India” (1814) in TP, 32-35; Joseph Priestley,
A Comparison of the Institutions of Moses with Those of the Hindoos and
other Ancient Nations (1799) in TP, 44-48; “John Adams to Thomas
Jefferson” (1813-14), in TP, 48-51;
Feb 1
Literary Encounters: Unitarians and Transcendentalists Romance
the Orient
Page 3
Reading: “Encounters, 1840-1924” in TP, 61-65; Hannah Adams, A
Dictionary of All Religions (1817) in TP, 54-57; Ralph Waldo Emerson,
“Brahma” and “Plato” (1857, 1850) in TP, 92-95; Henry David Thoreau,
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) in TP, 95-98.
Feb 6
Pioneers in American Hinduism: The Vedanta Society
Reading: Carl T. Jackson, Vedanta in the West
Feb 8
Pioneers in American Hinduism: The Vedanta Society
Reading: Carl T. Jackson, Vedanta in the West
** Book Review Due at Beginning of Class **
ASIAN INDIAN IMMIGRATION: THE FIRST WAVE (1900-1924)
Feb 13
Asian Indian Immigration and its Discontents
Reading: Saint Nihal Singh, “The Picturesque Immigrant from India's
Coral Strand” (1909) in TP, 82-86; United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind
(1923) in TP, 88-91; Asian Exclusion Act (1924) in TP, 163-64
Feb 15
Mother India’s Scandalous Swamis
Reading: Mersene Sloan, The Indian Menace (1929) in TP, 212-215;
selected newspaper articles regarding the Ole Bull case of 1911 (CP).
Feb 20
** NO CLASS (Monday schedule meets instead because of
Monday holiday)
Feb 22
Pioneers in American Hinduism: Yogananda and the Self-
Realization Fellowship
Reading: “Exclusion, 1924 to 1965” in TP, 159-62; Paramahansa
Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (1946).
Feb 27
Pioneers in American Hinduism: Yogananda and the Self-
Realization Fellowship
Reading: Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi (1946).
** Book Review Due at Beginning of Class **
Mar 1
The Oriental Christ
Reading: Swami Paramananda, Christ and Oriental Ideals (1923) in TP,
86-88; Stephen Prothero, “The Oriental Christ” (CP).
** SPRING BREAK (March 3-11) **
ASIAN INDIAN IMMIGRATION: THE SECOND WAVE (1965-present)
EXPORT HINDUISM
Page 4
Mar 13
Hinduism for the Counterculture: Transcendental Meditation ™, the
Hare Krishnas (ISKCON), Ram Dass, and Sai Baba
Reading: A TM Catechism” (1975) in TP, 241-44; “The Beatles and A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Search for Liberation” (1981), in TP,
244-48; Ram Dass, The Only Dance There Is (1974) in TP, 235-40; Elsie
Cowan, “Sai Baba and the Resurrection of Walter Cowan” (1976) in TP,
257-60.
Mar 15
African-American Hinduism: The Case of Alice Coltrane
Mar 20
Christian Critiques of Hinduism (and a Hindu Response)
Reading: J. Isamu Yamamoto, et al, Hinduism, TM, and Hare Krishna
(1998); “A Contrast of Convictions,” in TP, 304-306.
Mar 22
ISKCON Criticized
Reading: Nora Muster, Betrayal of the Spirit
Mar 27
ISKCON Criticized
Reading: Nora Muster, Betrayal of the Spirit (continued)
** Book Review Due at Beginning of Class **
Mar 29
Indian Religions and the Law
Reading: Chief Justice William Rehnquist, “The Krishna
Religion” (1992) in TP, 383-85; “Sikh Kirpans in the Public Schools”
(1994) in TP, 385-87.
IMMIGRANT HINDUISM
Apr 3
Hindu Temples in the United States: Adaptation and
Accommodation
Reading: Joanne Wagnorne, “The Hindu Gods in a Split-level World: The
Sri Siva-Vishnu Temple in Suburban Washington, D.C.,” in Robert Orsi,
ed., Gods of the City (Indiana University Press, 1999); Anand Mohan,
“The Pilgrimage” (1994) in TP, 289-94; “Rituals at Sri Venkateswara
Temple” (1995) in TP, 294-99; Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville,
“Recounting History and Nurturing Youth (1985-95) in TP, 299-303.
Apr 5
Recent Asian Indian Immigration and Identity Politics
Reading: “Passages, 1965 to the Present,” in TP, 223-27; Prema Kurien,
“Becoming American by Becoming Hindu: Indian Americans Take Their
Place at the Multicultural Table,” in R. Stephen Warner and Judith G.
Wittner, Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New
Immigration (CP)
Apr 10
The Swaminarayan Movement and Indian Transnationalism
Page 5
Reading: Raymond Brady Williams, “Transnational Growth of
Swaminarayan Hinduism” (CP).
Apr 12
Issues in American Hinduism: The Hindu Ethic and the Spirit of
Capitalism: Silicon Valley Hindus
Discussion Question: According to the Washington Times, the 300,000
Indian Americans living in the Silicon Valley take home $60 billion
annually. They also hold down roughly 40 per cent of the high-tech jobs
there and have started some of its most successful new businesses. Why
in your view are Indian Americans so successful in the New Economy? Is
their religion central to their success? Are Asian Indians the “model
minority”? To prepare for this meeting, you must research this topic (on
the Internet and/or via Lexus/Nexus) and come to class prepared to discuss
it.
Apr 17
Issues in American Hinduism: Guru Scandals
Discussion Question: Consider the cases of Rajneesh, Sai Baba, and
Swami Muktananda. All were accused of violating the trust of their
students. Are these just trumped up charges invented by an anti-Hindu
media? Or are these teachers actually guilty of exploiting their students
financially and sexually? To prepare for this meeting, you must research
at least one of these cases (on the Internet and/or via Lexus/Nexus) on the
Internet and come to class prepared to discuss it.
Apr 19
Issues in American Hinduism: Americanization and Intergenerational
Conflict
Discussion Question: Older and younger Hindus in the United States do
not always see eye-to-eye. Frequently they disagree about a variety of
matters--language, clothing, diet, and gender relations--that also vexed
Catholic and Jewish immigrants in the nineteenth century. What in your
view are the key “flashpoints” for conflict and compromise between older
generations of Hindu Americans and the younger generations?
Apr 24
Web work
Apr 26
Web work
May 1
Conclusion