04-15-2007, 01:26 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-narayanan+Apr 15 2007, 05:36 AM-->QUOTE(narayanan @ Apr 15 2007, 05:36 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->
Forgive me, but I am still standing at the station - trying to figure out what "Hindu Narrative" means.
Is it mothers all over the universe telling their brats;
<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Ramayan patha ... phir pooccha: "Seeth ko Rama kaun thi? <!--emo&:blink:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
..
Narrating what, please?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Yindoo story, The way the Yindoo sees the world. What the Yindoo does. Did you know that "Akshaya Tritiya" was celebrated recently? Anyone have a clue what that is? But thousands of Yindoos marked it and bought at least a gram of gold each.
People around here live by a Hindu calendar when it comes to marking events like festivals, birthdays, weddings etc. May-June-July have no role. But most people - even people who like to call others Deracinated Indian Elites do not know anything about the Hindu calendar that every Indian around you is using. That is loss of narrative for those of us who are helping top forget and helping to ignore what is still there.
But there is some analysis and archeology to be done and it must be done for anglophones who are helping the loss of narrative.
Why is Hindu child taught not to tell lies? Guess why? Could it be because it says "Thou shalt not lie" in the Ten commandments?
Most people you ask will tell you "Because our elders/teachers taught us that one must not tell lies"
That may be true, but who taught the teachers? Moses?
The basis of Hindu morality lies in the countless retelling and recalling of stories from Hindu epics that mold the Hindu character into a person who feels guilty if he tells lies, is unfair, or if he ill treats and animal, or if he is unkind to an elderly person, or disrespects what must be considered "holy"
Countless Hindu stories speak of morality and huge number are based on the epics. The retelling of those stories that grandmother used to tell you when she fed you as a baby is being lost. I would not be surprising at all to find a Hindu saying that he must not tell lies because it says so in the ten commandment. That would be an irrevocable loss of Hindu narrative.
I am not sure if India forum considers it its mandate - but we need a place to dump stories from Hindu childhood for recording and spread.
Some time down the line I am going to start a thread and write down every single sloka that I know - and which were transmitted to me verbally by my father in the same order that his grandfather used to say them. I will put them down in angrezi script because even that has a role. Keywords will be Googl-able, and I will ask anyone with knowledge who recognizes a sloka to provide a translation, which my father did not give me - leading to what is a personal loss of narrative.
Every festival needs to be marked - at least a "Happy diwali" and a brief description of any special features of Diwali in your ancestral home - eg a particular item of food is traditionally cooked in my home for no discernible reason. Al this is part of the narrative.
Forgive me, but I am still standing at the station - trying to figure out what "Hindu Narrative" means.
Is it mothers all over the universe telling their brats;
<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Ramayan patha ... phir pooccha: "Seeth ko Rama kaun thi? <!--emo&:blink:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
..
Narrating what, please?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Yindoo story, The way the Yindoo sees the world. What the Yindoo does. Did you know that "Akshaya Tritiya" was celebrated recently? Anyone have a clue what that is? But thousands of Yindoos marked it and bought at least a gram of gold each.
People around here live by a Hindu calendar when it comes to marking events like festivals, birthdays, weddings etc. May-June-July have no role. But most people - even people who like to call others Deracinated Indian Elites do not know anything about the Hindu calendar that every Indian around you is using. That is loss of narrative for those of us who are helping top forget and helping to ignore what is still there.
But there is some analysis and archeology to be done and it must be done for anglophones who are helping the loss of narrative.
Why is Hindu child taught not to tell lies? Guess why? Could it be because it says "Thou shalt not lie" in the Ten commandments?
Most people you ask will tell you "Because our elders/teachers taught us that one must not tell lies"
That may be true, but who taught the teachers? Moses?
The basis of Hindu morality lies in the countless retelling and recalling of stories from Hindu epics that mold the Hindu character into a person who feels guilty if he tells lies, is unfair, or if he ill treats and animal, or if he is unkind to an elderly person, or disrespects what must be considered "holy"
Countless Hindu stories speak of morality and huge number are based on the epics. The retelling of those stories that grandmother used to tell you when she fed you as a baby is being lost. I would not be surprising at all to find a Hindu saying that he must not tell lies because it says so in the ten commandment. That would be an irrevocable loss of Hindu narrative.
I am not sure if India forum considers it its mandate - but we need a place to dump stories from Hindu childhood for recording and spread.
Some time down the line I am going to start a thread and write down every single sloka that I know - and which were transmitted to me verbally by my father in the same order that his grandfather used to say them. I will put them down in angrezi script because even that has a role. Keywords will be Googl-able, and I will ask anyone with knowledge who recognizes a sloka to provide a translation, which my father did not give me - leading to what is a personal loss of narrative.
Every festival needs to be marked - at least a "Happy diwali" and a brief description of any special features of Diwali in your ancestral home - eg a particular item of food is traditionally cooked in my home for no discernible reason. Al this is part of the narrative.