In defense of Wendy Doniger

[Guest guest]

When I was just out of college (so it must've been in the mid to late-1970s) I

signed up for a series of lectures at the Museum of Natural History given by Dr.

Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty. I found her a sympathetic, open-minded, and

entertaining lecturer, who illustrated her talks with profuse photographic

slides of Hindu art. After taking the lectures, I purchased several of her

books (notably, " Shiva, the Erotic Ascetic " ) and read them with great interest.

 

Partly as a result of exposure to this (now controversial) Western scholar of

Eastern religion, I was open to the idea of visiting the Hindu Temple in

Flushing, Queens, when I moved to that neighborhood. I became friends with some

of the regular devotees at the temple, began reading the writings of Ramprasad

Sen, Swami Sivananda, Shree Maa, and (heh!) Hinduism Today, and began a practice

of Hindu Shakta worship that has continued to this day.

 

I do not think that Wendy Doniger is particularly bigoted against Hindus or

Hinduism. She's far from perfect, but whom amongst us is? I don't always agree

with her work, but I enjoy reading it. She certainly doesn't deserve to be

pelted with eggs.

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

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