Attention
very important steps in deconstruction and reconstruction of indian worldview.
http://www.youtube.com/cultuurwetenschap
a perspective
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/09/storie...20950090400.htm
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<i>What is the framework you would use to define Hinduism in this conference?</i>
The definition will only come later. We would first need some kind of description. We will look at traditions first. Is it possible to demarcate traditions? Can we, for example, say that Buddhist traditions are completely different from Advaitin traditions? Do they overlap? Where do you draw the line? Should you draw the line? Why draw the line? These are the kinds of questions that will be asked.
The plurality of Indian traditions has led to them being described as âdeficientâ religions. An attempt of this conference is to start developing new ways of thinking about these traditions, finding out what their strengths are and how it might be possible for us to recover their essence and explain them in 21st century language. It makes no sense to speak of chittasuddhi, manasuddhi, atman, etc. because many of us donât even know to what these terms refer. We would have to explain the concepts in a simple language â English in this case, because it is the language of the present time.
<i>Do you think part of the problem in understanding Hindu concepts like atman is that we donât speak Sanskrit any more? And most of our philosophical texts are in Sanskrit.</i>
No, because Sanskrit, in the first place, was never a spoken language. It was a language of the literati who wrote the texts. It is not simply the absence of Sanskrit that creates a problem. The problem lies in transmitting words, but not their underlying meanings and theories. One could, of course, read up Patanjaliâs Yogasutra, but it is very difficult to agree with his theories of the gross body, the subtle body etc. These kinds of explanations are both inadequate and unscientific.
<i>But is there no understanding beyond scientific understanding?</i>
No, but what Iâm going to say is something more interesting. Indian insights in themselves are scientific in nature. <b>What we need to do is understand and develop these extraordinary insights into the nature and structure of human psychology that no sociology, psychology or political science has ever come even remotely close to doing. And we have to re-formulate in 21st century language what was formulated 3,000 years ago in languages and idioms of that time.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[youtube]6u3jRa8bW3o[/youtube]
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->why is this conference relevant?
<i>it is very simple. if it is the case that the research programme we are doing is true. then most of the social policies in a country like india and most of the political posturing is based on nothing. so, in that sense it will to have to reconfigure certain political constellations and certain social policies which have become the corner stone and characteristic of india after indian independence.
so the relevance would be this: if you are able to get this into the common, commonsenses of it somehow or the other i think this is going to mean an immense change in india society ...</i><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lots of work... but this i had posted a link to earlier.
The Secular State and Religious Conflict: Liberal Neutrality and the Indian Case of Pluralism
-- S. N. Balagangadhara and Jakob De Roover
http://heathenfaqs.googlepages.com/jopp1.pdf
very important steps in deconstruction and reconstruction of indian worldview.
http://www.youtube.com/cultuurwetenschap
a perspective
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/09/storie...20950090400.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
<i>What is the framework you would use to define Hinduism in this conference?</i>
The definition will only come later. We would first need some kind of description. We will look at traditions first. Is it possible to demarcate traditions? Can we, for example, say that Buddhist traditions are completely different from Advaitin traditions? Do they overlap? Where do you draw the line? Should you draw the line? Why draw the line? These are the kinds of questions that will be asked.
The plurality of Indian traditions has led to them being described as âdeficientâ religions. An attempt of this conference is to start developing new ways of thinking about these traditions, finding out what their strengths are and how it might be possible for us to recover their essence and explain them in 21st century language. It makes no sense to speak of chittasuddhi, manasuddhi, atman, etc. because many of us donât even know to what these terms refer. We would have to explain the concepts in a simple language â English in this case, because it is the language of the present time.
<i>Do you think part of the problem in understanding Hindu concepts like atman is that we donât speak Sanskrit any more? And most of our philosophical texts are in Sanskrit.</i>
No, because Sanskrit, in the first place, was never a spoken language. It was a language of the literati who wrote the texts. It is not simply the absence of Sanskrit that creates a problem. The problem lies in transmitting words, but not their underlying meanings and theories. One could, of course, read up Patanjaliâs Yogasutra, but it is very difficult to agree with his theories of the gross body, the subtle body etc. These kinds of explanations are both inadequate and unscientific.
<i>But is there no understanding beyond scientific understanding?</i>
No, but what Iâm going to say is something more interesting. Indian insights in themselves are scientific in nature. <b>What we need to do is understand and develop these extraordinary insights into the nature and structure of human psychology that no sociology, psychology or political science has ever come even remotely close to doing. And we have to re-formulate in 21st century language what was formulated 3,000 years ago in languages and idioms of that time.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[youtube]6u3jRa8bW3o[/youtube]
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->why is this conference relevant?
<i>it is very simple. if it is the case that the research programme we are doing is true. then most of the social policies in a country like india and most of the political posturing is based on nothing. so, in that sense it will to have to reconfigure certain political constellations and certain social policies which have become the corner stone and characteristic of india after indian independence.
so the relevance would be this: if you are able to get this into the common, commonsenses of it somehow or the other i think this is going to mean an immense change in india society ...</i><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lots of work... but this i had posted a link to earlier.
The Secular State and Religious Conflict: Liberal Neutrality and the Indian Case of Pluralism
-- S. N. Balagangadhara and Jakob De Roover
http://heathenfaqs.googlepages.com/jopp1.pdf