Sahasranama
13 September 2010, 03:45 PM
http://www.iisc.ernet.in/prasthu/pages/PP_data/uturn.pdf
Topic: The U-Turn Theory: How the West appropriates Indian culture
Speaker: Rajiv Malhotra
Chair: Prof. Girishwar Misra.
Date and time: Friday, March 1st, 2006, 2-5 pm
Venue: Main Psychology Lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Delhi.
There will be a short Mantra invocation by Shruti before the talk.
Abstract: Westerners appropriate Indic ideas through a process which
Rajiv Malhotra has called the U-Turn. In its basic form the U-Turn
Theory states that a member of the dominant Western culture first
whole-heartedly learns the Indic tradition. He or she, for a variety of
reasons, then repackages it and projects the knowledge gained from
India from within his/her own culture. The next thing you know is that
s/he claims these ideas were always an integral part of Western
culture. Some, but not all, also start demonizing the source Indic
traditions using a lot of pretexts, such as calling them "world
negating" or accusing them of "human rights" abuses. As an
example, Malhotra has examined on how Jung appropriated much from Indic
thought - including key ideas of collective unconscious, archetypes,
and synchronicity - but did the classical U-Turn from Indic thought. In
all, Malhotra has done 50+ case studies of such U-Turns, and each has
its own story as to why and how it was done. U-Turns have played an
important role in shaping Western ideas, literature and popular
culture; yet they are typically ignored in discussions on the history
of ideas. The U-Turn Theory also explains that many Indians internalize
the Western adaptations of Indian culture and re-import them into
India: For instance, Tantric healing is more fashionable as "energy
healing" or as reiki; yoga's return to India's Westernized middle
class owes a lot to the West's adoption of it; and Western research
on cognitive science and neuroscience includes yogis who are mere
"subjects."
About Rajiv Malhotra: Rajiv Malhotra is a US based public intellectual
whose research includes the study of Western society's complex
relationships with India. In particular, for the last ten years, he has
been researching the Inner Sciences combining the Indic and Western
perspectives. He has debated a variety of Western systems, such as the
Science & Religion paradigms of Templeton Foundation, Ken Wilbur's
claims to Integral Psychology, Jung's encounters with Yoga, the
Christianization of Yoga, etc. In parallel, his Infinity Foundation has
pioneered investigations into the Science of Consciousness at US
institutions such as: University of California, Institute of Noetic
Sciences, Kira Institute, MIT, Association of Transpersonal Psychology,
etc. For eight years it has also had a research and teaching program on
Indian Philosophy and Psychology at University of Hawaii. It also
funded a pioneering non-duality curriculum Columbia University.
Infinity started the 'Yogapsychology' Internet discussion group of
international scholars and intellectuals. Infinity has sponsored
academic scholars and programs in India, such as: International
Conference on Integral Psychology, Pondy (2001); National Seminar on
Psychology in India, Kollam (2001); IIT Kharagpur Conference on Mind
and Consciousness (2002); National Conference on Yoga and Indian
Approaches to Psychology, Pondy (2002); National Institute of Advanced
Studies, Bangalore (2003); Institute For Human Science & Service,
Andhra University (2003-5); Indian Psychology and Yoga Conference,
Pondy (2004); IIT Kharagpur Conference on Indian Theories of Death &
Dying (2005). It has sponsored the research and/or publishing of
various books on Consciousness and Psychology, such as: "Psychology
and its Transformation, Meditation Systems of the World" (Jonathan
Shear); "Kalachakratantra" (Vesna A. Wallace), "Integral
Psychology of Sri Aurobindo" (Don Salmon). It is funding the
development of a college textbook series on Indian approaches to
Psychology. Over ten years, Infinity Foundation has given about 250
grants for research, education and philanthropy, to institutions as
well as about 100 individual scholars. Mr. Malhotra was been appointed
to the Asian-American Commission for the State of New Jersey, where he
served as the Chairman for the Education Committee to start Asian
Studies in schools. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the
American Red Cross in New Jersey. Details of the Infinity Foundation's
projects may be found at: www.infinityfoundation.com
The Department of Psychology, Delhi University looks forward to having
you with us for this interesting event. It is open to the public.
Topic: The U-Turn Theory: How the West appropriates Indian culture
Speaker: Rajiv Malhotra
Chair: Prof. Girishwar Misra.
Date and time: Friday, March 1st, 2006, 2-5 pm
Venue: Main Psychology Lab, Dept. of Psychology, University of Delhi.
There will be a short Mantra invocation by Shruti before the talk.
Abstract: Westerners appropriate Indic ideas through a process which
Rajiv Malhotra has called the U-Turn. In its basic form the U-Turn
Theory states that a member of the dominant Western culture first
whole-heartedly learns the Indic tradition. He or she, for a variety of
reasons, then repackages it and projects the knowledge gained from
India from within his/her own culture. The next thing you know is that
s/he claims these ideas were always an integral part of Western
culture. Some, but not all, also start demonizing the source Indic
traditions using a lot of pretexts, such as calling them "world
negating" or accusing them of "human rights" abuses. As an
example, Malhotra has examined on how Jung appropriated much from Indic
thought - including key ideas of collective unconscious, archetypes,
and synchronicity - but did the classical U-Turn from Indic thought. In
all, Malhotra has done 50+ case studies of such U-Turns, and each has
its own story as to why and how it was done. U-Turns have played an
important role in shaping Western ideas, literature and popular
culture; yet they are typically ignored in discussions on the history
of ideas. The U-Turn Theory also explains that many Indians internalize
the Western adaptations of Indian culture and re-import them into
India: For instance, Tantric healing is more fashionable as "energy
healing" or as reiki; yoga's return to India's Westernized middle
class owes a lot to the West's adoption of it; and Western research
on cognitive science and neuroscience includes yogis who are mere
"subjects."
About Rajiv Malhotra: Rajiv Malhotra is a US based public intellectual
whose research includes the study of Western society's complex
relationships with India. In particular, for the last ten years, he has
been researching the Inner Sciences combining the Indic and Western
perspectives. He has debated a variety of Western systems, such as the
Science & Religion paradigms of Templeton Foundation, Ken Wilbur's
claims to Integral Psychology, Jung's encounters with Yoga, the
Christianization of Yoga, etc. In parallel, his Infinity Foundation has
pioneered investigations into the Science of Consciousness at US
institutions such as: University of California, Institute of Noetic
Sciences, Kira Institute, MIT, Association of Transpersonal Psychology,
etc. For eight years it has also had a research and teaching program on
Indian Philosophy and Psychology at University of Hawaii. It also
funded a pioneering non-duality curriculum Columbia University.
Infinity started the 'Yogapsychology' Internet discussion group of
international scholars and intellectuals. Infinity has sponsored
academic scholars and programs in India, such as: International
Conference on Integral Psychology, Pondy (2001); National Seminar on
Psychology in India, Kollam (2001); IIT Kharagpur Conference on Mind
and Consciousness (2002); National Conference on Yoga and Indian
Approaches to Psychology, Pondy (2002); National Institute of Advanced
Studies, Bangalore (2003); Institute For Human Science & Service,
Andhra University (2003-5); Indian Psychology and Yoga Conference,
Pondy (2004); IIT Kharagpur Conference on Indian Theories of Death &
Dying (2005). It has sponsored the research and/or publishing of
various books on Consciousness and Psychology, such as: "Psychology
and its Transformation, Meditation Systems of the World" (Jonathan
Shear); "Kalachakratantra" (Vesna A. Wallace), "Integral
Psychology of Sri Aurobindo" (Don Salmon). It is funding the
development of a college textbook series on Indian approaches to
Psychology. Over ten years, Infinity Foundation has given about 250
grants for research, education and philanthropy, to institutions as
well as about 100 individual scholars. Mr. Malhotra was been appointed
to the Asian-American Commission for the State of New Jersey, where he
served as the Chairman for the Education Committee to start Asian
Studies in schools. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the
American Red Cross in New Jersey. Details of the Infinity Foundation's
projects may be found at: www.infinityfoundation.com
The Department of Psychology, Delhi University looks forward to having
you with us for this interesting event. It is open to the public.