Misrepresentations of the Hindu Tradition : Talk by Pravrajika Vrajaprana
Misrepresentation of Hindu tradition in academia and media: We live in a global society in which the religious and the nonreligious live door to door, yet the prevailing social trend is toward increasing secularization. Along with it have come competing for truth claims concerning who is qualified to speak for a religion. Perhaps more than any other religion in the United States, Hinduism has been subject to intense debate over who is qualified to accurately represent its philosophy and practice. The contending groups are primarily two—one, Hindu practitioners (“insiders”), and second, non-practitioners (Hindu or not) such as academics and journalists (“outsiders”), whose presumed objectivity is deemed to give them greater insight and intellectual freedom. The debate has played out painfully and with great controversy in recent decades. Pravrajika Vrajaprana examines a number of issues in the debate as well as what is at stake for the American Hindu community. About The Speaker: ...
