Those of you familiar with Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet (Thea) are aware that in furthering the work begun by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother of Pondicherry her focus was largely on unveiling the unique destiny of India as Soul of the Earth. The Indocentric cosmology she developed is elaborated in nearly all of her written works.
In an effort to expose and undermine perceived historical, social, economic and political injustices, many who consider themselves liberal humanitarians analyze issues through the only lens they know: a ‘Western’ academic and inherently separative one. The reach of this sort of analysis and the critiques it generates is broad. At times its gaze has turned upon India, resulting in accusations of various social and political abuses. While the existence of abuses cannot be denied, the framing of their cause and the solutions posited when utilizing the Western academic framework are flawed. At best, such assessments serve as a distraction; at worst they obscure and thus impede India’s destined contribution to Earth’s evolutionary process.
Thea wrote at length regarding this flawed academic approach, particularly involving interpretations of the Veda, as well as various ‘invasion’ theories [See ‘The Origins and Nature of Hindu Decline’]. The recently published book Snakes in the Ganga, co-authored by Vijaya Viswanatha and Rajiv Malholtra, addresses the inaccuracies which arise from such flawed analyses and the resultant damage (in this case to the Indian nation).
An excerpt of the book blurb on Amazon states the following:
“Snakes in the Ganga unveils uncomfortable truths concerning India’s vulnerabilities: Intense warfare against India’s integrity is the work of a well-orchestrated global machinery driven by a new ideology. Marxism has been reincarnated as Critical Race Theory in US academia and serves as the framework to address America’s racism. This has been recklessly mapped on to India: Caste is equated with Race. Marginalized communities of India are considered as Blacks and Brahmins as the Whites of India. Groups claiming grievances (like Muslims and LGBTQ+) are artificially clubbed together. Popularly called the Woke movement, the mission is to dismantle Indian civilization and heritage by waging an uncompromising war against India’s government, educational institutions, culture, industry, and society.”
In an article in Swarajya magazine November 28, 2022, ‘Rebutting The Latest Woke Attack On Hindu Universalism By Western Academia’, Rajiv Molhatra says (bold emphasis added):
““The recent article titled, The neocolonial futurism of US Hindutva, by Dheepa Sundaram, goes to show how much Western academia is being troubled by the book, Snakes in the Ganga, recently published along with my co-author Vijaya Viswanathan.
“Besides the factual errors Sundaram makes while naming me as her target, there are more serious issues concerning the manner in which it has been framed using categories of Western Universalism.
“Western Universalism is the conscious and unconscious use of Western history, philosophy and social experience as the template presumed to speak for all of humanity . . .
“In sharp contrast with the Abrahamic models that are embedded in Western Universalism, Hindu dharma does not presume an external god separate from the cosmos. Rather, the cosmos itself is nothing other than a manifestation of the supreme being. Nor is there the concept of a devil in this framework, and one must experience everything as forms of the ‘one’.
“All particulars are within this universal. All relatives are within this absolute. The appearances of form and functionality are like elements of a play. This divine play, known as Lila, is dynamic and ever evolving. It is the infinite that assumes every finite role in this play.
Beneath the ever-changing Lila lies the unchanging.”
He goes on to talk about the ‘fashionable assault on ‘Hindutva’, stating “This term stands for ‘Hindu-tattva’, which literally means Hindu-essence . . .
But critics find it problematic because the term was coined in the context of politics in the twentieth century. The charge is made by many (such as Shashi Tharoor) that Hinduism proper should stay out of politics. They use this view to create a wedge between Hinduism (which they claim to support) and Hindutva (which they fight fiercely) . . . Hindu dharma, like all other faiths, very clearly and explicitly includes the social-political dimension. That is what is called Kshatriya dharma, the dharma of political, military, judicial, and civic roles.”
There is so much distilled into this article, I highly recommend you read it. No subscription is needed to read three articles. Go to: HTTPS://SWARAJYAMAG.COM/POLITICS/RAJIV-MALHOTRA-REBUTS-LATEST-WOKE-ATTACK-ON-HINDU-UNIVERSALISM. It is an important piece of the mosaic being constructed to make ever clearer India’s destined role regarding humanity’s future.
Before signing off, here is another excerpt – this one regarding the perverting influence of ‘wokeism’ when used to assess events in other cultures (bold emphasis added, and he makes an insightful statement about America and ‘ego’):
“Another blatant imposition of Western Universalism by the ‘woke’ academy is the way in which the Black/White race relations in America are being universalised and projected on other cultures. Sundaram claims that Hindus have created “a mythologised past” that denies “anti-Blackness”. Her assumption is that Blackness and Whiteness are the appropriate categories for understanding India’s past and present societies.
“This is the blunder of Western Universalism being projected on others. I would argue that the concept of White people was peculiarly American and even different from Europe’s identities as English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, et al.
“The framing of social problems in the ‘Blackness’ and ‘Whiteness’ grid shows the American colonisation of social sciences, because these categories are intimately linked with the peculiarities of American society and its historical conflicts. No two societies are the same, and thus no two societies have the same problems.
“For example, the highest ideal in America is the individual ego’s freedom to act. This freedom has nothing to do with the ultimate freedom in the Vedic world view, which is freedom from causation. Thus, imposing a framework of power struggles onto a Vedic society is flawed and arrogant to say the least.
“Snakes in the Ganga explicitly acknowledges multiple times that social abuse has existed in India, as in every other society. And that it has also found remedies from within the system over the ages.”
These excerpts provide an important perspective that can help us move closer to ‘Seeing in Understanding’ as relates to analyzing events in India.