India - A sacred geography bound by Dharma

Very very candid and thruthful interview. How the servants of God betray the God himself...

Thanks for the rendering. Good effort. Can you teach the ----- that there were scientists before them

Correcting the Master Narrative of Indian Heritage

Richard Bulliet, Historian at Columbia University, had this to say about the changing nature of master narratives of history:
1) History is structured according to master narratives.
2) Master narratives are those things about history that have been repeated so often and so confidently with so little variation that they are taken to be true.
3) Master narratives are the triumph of the historian.
4) The more successful these narratives are, the less inclined people are to questioning them.
Successful narratives linger longer but they are most definitely not the only narrative.

Western bias to the master narrative:

How the master narrative is written for a culture or tradition is influenced heavily by who writes it. It is hardly a surprise then that the West, which has been in a position of power for centuries, writes a master narrative of history that almost exclusively shows its own past as a collage of stupendous achievements while showing others in poor light or no light.

India had no voice in the master narrative:

Indians did not contribute to the master narrative of World history or even to their own history. The West did. The West continues to control it. In the master narrative of world history, West has painted Western philosophy and Abrahamic religions as the epitome of human achievement while painting Indian civilization, culture, traditions, philosophy and Dharmic knowledge as a hapless and hopeless mediocrity of thought and achievement. Indian voices which attempted to correct this injustice were discredited, unheard, and when forceful were branded unauthoritative or jingoistic and marginalized. Westerners continue to control the master narrative of Indian history.

Need other voices heard in the master narrative:

One-sided master narratives are against diversity and fail to offer richness of thought. They show extreme inequity in undermining entire cultures and their contributions. Such extreme inequity arises not only because of the desire of the Western narrators to present Western grandeur but also because of the prejudicial blinders imposed on the narrators by the predominant foundation of Western thought.

In the name of literary freedom, Westerners continue to write very biased articles either painting West positively or Indian thought and culture negatively. We have had too much din from the West. Let us hear more of the Indian side. As the article points to, one should read Being Different by Rajiv Malhotra - a fresh perspective that breaks free of Western master narrative and sees the world from the viewpoint of Indian traditions. It is quite eye-opening.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/frenc...-293948.html/2

First of all, Panduranghari, the interview by the priest was a good read. Though it is not so relevant here, but it is worth mentioning that in his candid interview, the Father did reveal some of his deceitful methods used to spread the Christian religion in India. Also revealed the connection between the church and Sonia Maino of Italy. Very unfortunate that such reports never get the attention they deserve.

When events from millennium past are narrated in beautiful words, they can appear to be mythological. Consider 3 things - Dwarka was discovered, the Ram setu was discovered and various astronomical events described in the mythology have been found to be true today - in fact these astronomical events now provide a source of dating the mythology and from that, the events described. By themselves, they do not prove the authenticity of the narrations but they definitely lend added credibility. Finally, what proof can one give for the mythology to be considered true? An ability to go into the past? Ask the Pakistanis about proof. So it is a matter of belief and your belief is as good as mine.

Please distinguish between the rituals and the deep philosophical content in these ancient texts - their depth has astonished greater minds than us.

Golden words!