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03 March 2010, 04:53 AM
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Hindus in U.S. urge Penguin Group to withdraw book on Hinduism (http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tradingmarkets.com%2Fnews%2Fstock-alert%2Fpngn_hindus-in-u-s-urge-penguin-group-to-withdraw-book-on-hinduism-818096.html&usg=AFQjCNGXNdXIPEiFwmDpJx5gHhRP6X1WYA)
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Hindus living in the United States have urged the Penguin Group to "immediately" withdraw noted scholar Wendy Doniger&#39;s book on the Hinduism, reported the ...
Hindus urge Penguin USA to withdraw book on them (http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ptinews.com%2Fnews%2F544752_Hindus-urge-Penguin-USA-to-withdraw-book-on-them&usg=AFQjCNFjNd0oqhzTWaF4acHMyS62TuNN1A)Press Trust of India

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Ashvati
15 March 2010, 02:09 PM
I think I have her edition of the Rig Veda (which is only a tenth of the book aparently) and I do have to agree that she does seem to inject a lot of freudian psycho-sexual theories into her interpretations.

Eastern Mind
15 March 2010, 03:31 PM
Vannakkam: Wendy Doniger is a western 'scholar' , not a Hindu. Her interpretation is sad, but laughable as well. Too bad some westerners buy it, lock, stock, and barrel.

If we were to turn the tables around and I re-wrote the bible, for starters Christ would not exist. From that point I guess it would be hard to continue.


Aum Namasivaya

Ashvati
15 March 2010, 06:42 PM
Oh I'm well aware from reading it that she's not hindu, its just the only english edition of the book available to me.

Come to think of it I should really see if either of the temples I've been to could help with that.

Eastern Mind
15 March 2010, 07:17 PM
Vannakkam: I would recommend 'What is Hinduism?" from Himalayan Academy for a more positive well rounded American English take on the subject.

Aum Namasivaya

Ashvati
15 March 2010, 08:44 PM
I'll look into it. While I'm thinking of it, are there any english editions of the Shiva Puran would you recomend? And what do you think of the William Buck retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, if you've ever read them or heard anything of what others thought of them?

Eastern Mind
15 March 2010, 09:18 PM
Vannakkam Ashvati:

I read versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata a long time ago, but mostly as stories, not as scripture. They wouldn't be classified as important Saiva scripture. Neither would the Puranas.

Personally I prefer direct American English I can understand, not translations of books that have to be interpreted to get all the metaphors. Some of these are like Shakespeare to me.

Of course I am just expressing my opinion, and others may (probably will) vary.

My variety of Saivism is the South Indian one which is based in a philosophy called Saiva Siddhanta. Worship of Muruga, Ganesha, and Siva are big.

Aum Namasivaya

sanjaya
16 March 2010, 01:18 AM
Hmm, I'm not really sure what to do in cases like this. On the one hand, I don't want to censor scholars or try to control their academic output. There are scholars out there who have, as EM suggested, written that Jesus doesn't exist. Centuries ago they would have been burned at the stake, but today they are free to write whatever they wish, and we consider ourselves more enlightened for granting them that freedom. So why do we cry foul when the heresy is directed against Hinduism?

Having said that, in the past Hindus have suffered at the hands of Christian Westerners precisely because the West was allowed to portray Hinduism as polytheistic heathenry. Even today, Western evangelicals seek to curtail the rights of Hindus in America, and more misinformation will only give these people ammunition. A PhD isn't a license to print lies, as evidenced by the fact that universities do censor Christian creationist material and other absurdities masquerading as science.

Perhaps the question then becomes: does Dr. Doniger's work fit into the category of academic absurdities (in which case we can throw it into the same trash heap as creationism), or is it a legitimate academic pursuit? Note that when I say "legitimate academic pursuit," I'm not saying that the theory is necssarily true, only that it has academic merit and is worth further study. I've done some reading on Wendy Doniger. Whatever we may think of her theories, she's not just a crackpot who knows people at publishing companies. She seems to have a well-established research record. While we may disagree with her ideas, I don't know that we want to try and shut her up.

For a long time, religion has been a hinderance to human growth and creativity. Fortunately for us, virtually all of that religious hinderance came from Christianity, and Hindus could rightly claim innocence when it came to witchhunts and inquisitions. We shouldn't go the way of Western religion by silencing people that we don't like. I don't know the specifics of her claims about Hinduism. But if she's saying things that aren't true, then perhaps some competent Indian scholars of Hinduism should engage her in debate, and publish a book that argues against her ideas. That's how our ancestors defeated Buddhism in the land of its birth, and why Buddhism flourishes in the rest of Asia while claiming a very small proportion of Indians. I don't know why we would abandon our tradition of defeating abberant ideas with the pen instead of the sword.

Ashvati
16 March 2010, 09:50 AM
Sanjaya, you make a lot of sense with that answer. I think her work is academically valid, even if her interpretations do seem misinformed or missing the point, but I consider that just another intellectual challenge. You have to take what she says something means with a grain of salt.

Also, even if those aren't important Saiva scriptures I still would love to read them. The William Buck retellings of Ramayana and Mahabharata are definitely done as stories rather than scriptures, but they're told in more or less plain english that any westerner can understand, so I think he accomplished his goal with writing those retellings. I would still one day like to try to tackle a literal translation or eventually learn sanskrit and read the originals, though.

sanjaya
16 March 2010, 12:36 PM
Sanjaya, you make a lot of sense with that answer. I think her work is academically valid, even if her interpretations do seem misinformed or missing the point, but I consider that just another intellectual challenge. You have to take what she says something means with a grain of salt.

Also, even if those aren't important Saiva scriptures I still would love to read them. The William Buck retellings of Ramayana and Mahabharata are definitely done as stories rather than scriptures, but they're told in more or less plain english that any westerner can understand, so I think he accomplished his goal with writing those retellings. I would still one day like to try to tackle a literal translation or eventually learn sanskrit and read the originals, though.

I'm trying to read a literal translation of the Srimad Bhagavatam right now. It's not so bad, actually. I would recommend trying to take on a Hindu Scripture directly.

As far as Dr. Doniger's work goes: if we can agree that it's academically valid, then the calls for the books withdrawal shouldn't be happening. Why are we afraid to debate whatever issues she's raising? Instead of keeping her quiet, let's demonstrate with the facts that she is wrong.

Eastern Mind
16 March 2010, 01:13 PM
As far as Dr. Doniger's work goes: if we can agree that it's academically valid, then the calls for the books withdrawal shouldn't be happening. Why are we afraid to debate whatever issues she's raising? Instead of keeping her quiet, let's demonstrate with the facts that she is wrong.

I think this is the point the petition found here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/dharma10/petition.html

is trying to make.. that it's not academically valid partly because of the large number of errors.

Why should we stand by, and have the portrayal of Hindus continue is such a derogatory way? We have every right to complain.

Aum Namasivaya

Ashvati
16 March 2010, 01:18 PM
I suppose what really deters me from trying to take on a direct translation is the intimidating factor of the sheer length of some works. And as far as disputing Doniger's work, I personally would rather not spend so much time on challenging someone else's work and debating it, but I do think it would be a better reaction from the hindu community for works to be published doing just that rather than trying to silence the book altogether.

Eastern Mind
16 March 2010, 03:27 PM
Vannakkam Ashvati:

I once read a translation of the Tiruvacagam by Manickavasagar. It was extremely tedious and I doubt if I got much out of it at all. Reading vast quantities of literature is something I feel is best left to scholars. To think I could have spent the time in nature, or at a beautiful temple worshiping God.

But again, to each his or her own.

Aum Namasivaya