RE: [Y-Indology] De-Essentializing the 'Eastern Wisdom'.

[Guest guest]

Allen W Thrasher on Friday, May 11, 2001 2:56 PM: "I'm not sure what would

make Dr. Malhotra happy, but it strikes me that in recent posts he

simultaneously is asking that Indian philosophical and religious ideas be

taken seriously in philosophy departments, as something that might be

adopted or refuted by anyone anywhere, which means that its Indianness is

unimportant, and that it be (at the same time, and by the same teachers and

students?) viewed as profoundly intertwined with all other aspects of Indian

culture and indeed with the Sanskrit language, which therefore must be

studied simultaneously."

 

 

 

RESPONSE:

 

This is an important question: What is particular and what is universal

about the Indic? Also, is a given item (e.g. caste, cows, curry, dowry) an

'essence', or resulting from historical dynamics that Indians as agents

participate in and can change? This is a major topic not adequately covered

in a small space. In general, my position is that 'essentializing' a

selective portrayal of negatives seen as being distinctly Indian has become

a common mistake. However, the specific item I had raised is an opposite

problem: that the history of universal ideas does not do justice to the

Indic. Hence, to de-contextualize Yoga first into neutral space, and then

(more dangerously) to re-contextualize it into Christianity/'western'

science is problematic. We don't sacrifice the universality of Plato by

acknowledging it as part of Greek thought, or sacrifice the universality of

Newtonian Laws by acknowledging their British history.

 

To those who have considered Europe as having no Eurocentrism, I have a

question: How many well-educated Italians know that Boccacio's Decameron are

Indian stories? How many would believe this when told, considering that

these are central items in the Italian Renaissance, the foundation of the

so-called 'miracle of Europe', and to admit that it was based on borrowed

ideas (not even acknowledged) might be disturbing? Please don't send me an

isolated reference of some scholar who already wrote about it. That's not

the point. But do let me know if you have data on how many Italian college

curricula on the Renaissance explain the Indic origins of such items, how

many school textbooks discuss it. Gary Tubb (at Columbia) has studied these

literary knowledge transfers from India to Europe for the past decade, and

many persons are hoping that he publishes his papers and talks. He has also

researched how linguistics was an Indic influence on Europe, and the idea of

thesaurus came from India. So did Chaucer's famous Tales. Some scholars know

these things but these ideas are discouraged from becoming mainstream.

 

Should Indology also include influence out of India, or remain one-sided

only focusing into India? Should the program of globalization also include

the globalization of the history of ideas, the acknowledgment of others'

including knowledge property?

 

 

Rajiv Malhotra

The Infinity Foundation

53 White Oak Drive

Princeton, NJ 08540

www.infinityfoundation.com