03-09-2005, 03:33 AM
KGoan's reply
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Rudradev:
But how else to begin?
We complain that western methodologies and world views superimposed on us are clearly not adequate for us to create our *own* world view in understanding events within *our* historical narrative.
Yet when a start is made here, it's dismissed as "shallow". Very well, lets say it is shallow, how else would such a discussion begin? It can hardly start with esoteric info on the difference between Pali and classical Tamil versions, can it?
Perhaps it may progress there, but it can't *start* there.
Such discussions, using our *own* civilisational memory, *have* to begin at the "shallow" end. After all, you'd hardly ask a first year med student to do open heart surgery, or a first year business student to run IBM, no?
The Mahabharata and Ramayana are *the* meta-narratives of our civilisation - and even if our understanding is crude and "shallow", (I don't dispute you here because I don't know enough but; personally, I've found the discussion extremely informative, especially Gudakesa and Sunil's posts), what else are we to use?
Have a little patience dude. You know BR. We'll yabber about it long enough, perhaps have the odd flame war and locked threads as it skirts the religion issue, but we'll get there in the end.
That's what the forums about after all.
ps. Now what I'm looking forward to is your post interpreting this stuff. Seriously. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Rudradev:
But how else to begin?
We complain that western methodologies and world views superimposed on us are clearly not adequate for us to create our *own* world view in understanding events within *our* historical narrative.
Yet when a start is made here, it's dismissed as "shallow". Very well, lets say it is shallow, how else would such a discussion begin? It can hardly start with esoteric info on the difference between Pali and classical Tamil versions, can it?
Perhaps it may progress there, but it can't *start* there.
Such discussions, using our *own* civilisational memory, *have* to begin at the "shallow" end. After all, you'd hardly ask a first year med student to do open heart surgery, or a first year business student to run IBM, no?
The Mahabharata and Ramayana are *the* meta-narratives of our civilisation - and even if our understanding is crude and "shallow", (I don't dispute you here because I don't know enough but; personally, I've found the discussion extremely informative, especially Gudakesa and Sunil's posts), what else are we to use?
Have a little patience dude. You know BR. We'll yabber about it long enough, perhaps have the odd flame war and locked threads as it skirts the religion issue, but we'll get there in the end.
That's what the forums about after all.
ps. Now what I'm looking forward to is your post interpreting this stuff. Seriously. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->