Udaya Shreyas of The Sanskrit Channel talks about the Challenges with Learning the Language in India

Udaya Shreyas of The Sanskrit Channel talks about his journey into the beautiful world of the Sanskrit language, his transition from being an atheist into spirituality.

We also talk about

1 Difference between Vedic Sanskrit, Panninian Sanskrit and conversational Sanskrit

2 Learning language through speech or grammar? Initiatives taken by Samskruta Bharati

3 How Sanskrit can be revived on a mass scale via both govt and private initiatives

4 Qualities of Sanskrit as a scientifically suitable language for computer programming

5 The poetic qualities of Sanskrit, the different poetic meters, same words having different meanings

6 Future outlook of Sanskrit

7 Future goals for The Sanskrit Channel

The Indic Explorer channel is a platform to explore different facets of Indic Culture and its relationship with modernity. On our show ‘The Indic Underground’ we speak to newer & younger people from different spheres of cultural life that represent less known aspects of Indic culture. If you are tired of the same folks & are looking for fresh voices, then this is the place for it.

Our endeavor is to reach out to culturally conscious younger people who are deeply tied to the values of Indian culture while still embracing modernity. We will soon be bringing interesting discussions on different topics ranging from culture, civilizational issues, history, geopolitics, philosophy, music, literature dance, art and architecture.

Do subscribe to the channel at https://www.youtube.com/theindicexplorer

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Ari Jayaprakash talks about the Indian Underground Art Scene, Analyzing Art & AI Art of the Future

On the 1st Episode of my weekly podcast The Indic Underground on The Indic Explorer YouTube channel, I chat with artist Ari Jayaprakash.

We discuss modern Indian Underground art, its roots in Indic cultural values, his artistic influences, the development of the artistic aesthetic, the interpretation of some of his curated artworks (yes, we analyze artworks on the show) and the evolution of art with the advent of AI.

Ari Jayaprakash is an internationally acclaimed Indian artist and musician born in Wellington, India. He belongs to the Badaga tribe, who inhabit the Nilgiris. Having worked and showcased all over the world, his work is a confluence of influences that are constantly being explored and realized through art, photography and music. His work incorporates relevant global themes of alienation, isolation, identity, corruption, oppression, urban seclusion and other social commentary.

The Indic Explorer channel is a platform to explore different facets of Indic Culture and its relationship with modernity. On our show ‘The Indic Underground’ we speak to newer & younger people from different spheres of cultural life that represent less known aspects of Indic culture. If you are tired of the same folks & are looking for fresh voices, then this is the place for it.

Our endeavor is to reach out to culturally conscious younger people who are deeply tied to the values of Indian culture while still embracing modernity. We will soon be bringing interesting discussions on different topics ranging from culture, civilizational issues, history, geopolitics, philosophy, music, literature dance, art and architecture.

Do subscribe to the channel at https://www.youtube.com/theindicexplorer

and follow me here

Twitter- https://twitter.com/theindicexplor1

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/theindicexplorer/

Substack-https://digitaldharma.substack.com/

Being anti-Brown is anti-Hindu

In one section of the Washington Post piece Cal State banned caste discrimination. Two Hindu professors sued an activist professor states:

Sundaram, who supports making caste a protected characteristic, said critiquing Hinduism — even in a country where Hindus are a minority — is not akin to promoting Hinduphobia. She said most discrimination against Hindus is based on the fact that many are South Asian, rather than on their religion, and that Hinduphobia is not a widespread problem.

There are two issues I have with this assertion.

As a person of non-Hindu background and upbringing, I can tell you that prejudice against the Hindu religion is tightly coupled with “anti-South Asian” bigotry. The number of times people made fun of me for “worshipping cows” or “elephants” and “monkeys” was frequent. I actually learned about Ganesh and Hanuman due to this mockery as I had to look up what people were making fun of.

If someone screams “go back to Mecca” at a bunch of Hindu Indian Americans is that not Islamophobia because they’re not Muslim and they are being targeted for being vaguely brown? Similarly, non-Hindu brown people are bracketed into the same category and subject to discrimination because of widespread prejudices against Hinduism. In fact, despite my clear Bengali non-ashraf appearance online Indian Leftists now call me an “upper caste Muslim” to insult me. Bangladesh, unlike Pakistan, does not have caste-like stratification (look at my genetics, my ancestors were clearly from many castes), so that’s wrong, and I’m not a Muslim by belief or frankly even much upbringing (I’ve always been an atheist or agnostic and was not raised in a Musim community). But even these secular online Indian Leftists deploy tropes and insults that draw on our South Asian ancestral culture, which is broadly Hindu, even if not always orthodox Brahmanically sanctioned Hinduism.

Second, it’s pretty apparent there is an anti-Hindu streak in American society simply because of its Christian (and Abrahamic)  cultural basis. Sometimes it is hateful, sometimes it is mean. Many conservative Christians, including some Hindu converts to Christianity, believe that Hindu gods do exist, but that they’re devils and demons. I once asked a friend who is from a Hindu background but converted to Christianity in college if he believed his ancestors worshipped the devil, and he pretty much admitted he believed this to be the case. Some of the same apply to Islam, but most Christians outside of the fundamentalist fringe generally concede that Allah (Arab Christians use this word for God) is the same God that they worship.

This Hinduphobia is broad, but shallow. It doesn’t effect most peoples’ lives deeply, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Many, though not all, Indian American Hindus are clearly embarrassed by their religion because of the mockery. This is obvious when I hear young Indian Americans emphasize that “actually our religion is monotheistic just like yours.” This is the Hindu version of Muslims saying “actually Jesus is a prophet.” Both of these assertions might be true, but the impulse behind them is to mitigate marginalization and pull themselves back to the center and normalcy.

Note: I dislike terms like “Hindophobia” and “Islamophobia,” and the stance of becoming a victim to win an argument. But this is how the game is played in America now.

Caste and California: the lawsuits are in!

Cal State banned caste discrimination. Two Hindu professors sued:

Two Hindu professors are suing the head of their university system to oppose the addition of caste to an anti-discrimination policy amid a broader battle over whether colleges should explicitly call out caste-based bias.

The California State University System professors argue that naming caste as a protected characteristic unfairly targets Hindus and wrongly suggests that oppression and discrimination are among Hinduism’s core tenets. Sunil Kumar and Praveen Sinha contend in the complaint, filed Monday, that Hinduism is about compassion and equanimity — principles directly opposed to a discriminatory caste system.

Here are some things I believe

– This law is impractical and wrongheaded. There are very few Dalits in the US, so there is by definition very little discrimination against Dalits (even if you grant that individual Dalits experience pervasive discrimination, which I honestly do not grant). Additionally, most Americans cannot tell different types of brown people apart, so its impact is not religious-cultural but racial.

– Hinduism has a strong connection with the caste system because Hinduism, as it exists today, developed out of the indigenous religious systems of the Indian subcontinent, and those religious systems are inextricably connected to Indian culture, which is riven with caste.

– Caste consciousness also seems pretty pervasive among many Christians and Muslims in the subcontinent.

– If you view religion as a bundle of characteristics that change over time, there’s nothing fundamental to Hinduism, or any other religion. This is my personal belief. For most of its history, Islam and slavery were closely connected because slavery is addressed in the sharia. That ended in the 20th century for historically contingent reasons. Though some level of varna awareness seems to exist in Bali and among the Chams of Vietnam, the elaborate jati system does not. Probably because here Hinduism is unmoored from its Indian matrix.

Some interesting quotes…

 But Sundaram said many younger Hindus have formed alliances with other affinity groups, such as Black Lives Matter, and are more inclined to call out caste discrimination.

Young American Hindus are the least likely to care, or even know, much about caste. But they are the ones worried about it and engaging in activism. This is performative because they are progressives searching for a problem that is fading and diminishing before their eyes.

Most importantly, she said, she disagrees with the Hindu American Foundation’s argument that caste is not foundational to Hinduism.

“You absolutely can acknowledge this as part of the tradition and fight back against it, but to argue that it doesn’t exist in the tradition, it’s just false,” Sundaram said. “There’s just no way to really make that case.”

Foundational and traditional are distinct. Is the reporter engaging in manipulation, or did the activist professor consciously misunderstand?

Ajit Datta talks about organizing the Pondy Lit Fest & the cultural impact of Lit Fests

On the 4th Episode of my weekly podcast The Indic Paradigm on The Indic Explorer YouTube channel, I chat with Ajit Datta- part of the organizing team of the Pondicherry Lit Fest.

We discussed about the behind the scenes aspects of organizing such an event and the broader socio-cultural impact of Literary Festivals.

The Indic Explorer YouTube channel focusses on the interplay of Indic culture with modernity explored through different facets in the socio-cultural sphere.

Do subscribe to the channel at https://www.youtube.com/theindicexplorer

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Dr. Vishakha Moghe on Ayurveda, Yoga, Mental Health, Diet Plans and Satvik Food

23rd October 2022, is being celebrated as the National Ayurveda Day in India.

Topics Covered Include:

1 Principles of Ayurveda

  • What are the basic principles of Ayurvedic treatment?
  • What is Vata, Pitta Kapha and how are they detected in a person; how does treatment vary?
  • How is exercise routine designed?
  • Things to do in the morning as per Ayurveda?
  • What solution does Ayurveda have for dealing with stress and its take on psychological health
  • What is Aama in Ayurveda and how do u treat it ?

2 Ayurveda and Food

  • What food and dietary habits are recommended? How is a diet plan designed as per Ayurveda?
  • What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
  • What is Sattvic food and what impact does it have on our body?
  • Popular Foods that don’t mix well together like banana milk shakes? Shrikhand and Amarkhand? Fruits and yogurts mix is it fine?
  • Ayurvedic take on Veg vs non-Veg food?
  • Should Chavanprash be consumed as an immune modulator regularly
  • Organic food vs processed and what is ayurvedic take on it
  • Indian food and spice vs pepper?

 

3 Ayurveda and Modernity

  • Ayurvedic spa and massage treatments?
  • How do you handle the argument of Ayurveda vs Allopathy vs Homeopathy and other medicinal forms like Siddha, Acupuncture, Acupressure?
  • What is the link between Ayurveda and Yoga? Can Ayurveda be considered just a science delinking it from Hinduism & Yoga and the spiritual/philosophical aspects
  • Clinical trial and Ayurveda
  • What do you see the future of Ayurveda?

The Indic Explorer YouTube channel focusses on the interplay of Indic culture with modernity explored through different facets in the socio-cultural sphere.

Do subscribe to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/theindicexplorer

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Rishi and the past

Rishi Sunak will lead the nation just below India in the world GDP nations. Racial or cultural triumphalism is gauche, so nice to see that that’s low-key so far. But I personally hope that this will be an opportunity for Indian elites to fixate less on the British past and engage more forthrightly with their Asian future.

The Conservative party looks to be in serious trouble, and Britain looks to be in for a rough few years. Good luck to him, he’ll need a lot of it.

Episode 15: The Vijayanagara Empire

 

Shrikanth and Gaurav talk to Maneesh on all things Vijayanagara Empire.

An empire that lasted longer than the Mughal Empire and whole legacy thrives to this day.

@shrikanth_krish   @gaurav_lele    @maneesht

 

Sources and References:

A Forgotten Empire by Robert Sewell
 
2. A History of South India by KA Nilakanta Sastri
 
3. Sources of Vijayanagara History by S Krishnaswami Aiyangar
 
4. Vijayanagara History by KAN Sastri and Venkataramanayya
 
5. Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagara by TV Mahalingam
 
6. The New Cambridge History of India 1-2 by Burton Stein
 

 

 

Genetic distances across the world

There was some discussion online about variation among South Asians. I decided to compute a few pairwise Fst statistics (measures between population variation) with some South Asian, European and East Asian populations (along with Iranians). I plot them below in two graphs. Also I ran Treemix.

I don’t have any major conclusion, just draw your own conclusion.

Here is a Google sheets with Fst values in a matrix.

 

Brown Pundits