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JUNE–OCTOBER 2000
Letters
to the Editor
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Flagrant Disrespect 3
October
6, 2000 4:04 PM
Poor
Narayan Krishnan! Suffering
so much anguish from a terrible insult!
It
makes no difference that he imagined the insult, or
that only his imaginary ego was wounded. The pain feels
real to him.
If
instead of worrying about outward gestures of respect,
he took Ramana's teachings to heart and applied them,
the pain would vanish!
Karen
Ramirez
. . . . . . . . . .
Flagrant
Disrespect 2
October
6, 2000 12:52 PM
If
Narayan Krishnan is right,
then the minister of my church insults Jesus every time
he calls him "Jesus" in a sermon.
I
guess my minister is going to be pretty ashamed of himself
when I point this out to him.
Walter
Carter
. . . . . . . . . .
Flagrant
Disrespect
October
5, 2000 4:45 PM
I
was reading the article on pranayama
by Freddie Yam and was shocked and dismayed by the flagrant
disrespect for Ramana Maharishi, one of the greatest
saints India has ever had. He is always addressed as
swami or acharya or Maharishi, not as Ramana. He is
not Freddie Yam's pal to be addressed in this fashion.
Kindly ask your authors to learn proper conduct while
writing about gurus or desist from writing about them.
This is truly disgusting behavior and I am surprised
that you put up a website with this kind of writing.
I am passing on this article to the entire Indian community
as an example of flagrant disregard for our community
and our gurus.
Narayan Krishnan
You
are mistaking a normal American literary practice for
a sign of disrespect. It is customary in American published
works to refer to saints by their first names without
titles after they are introduced. For example, Saint
Augustine is called simply "Augustine" in
the Encyclopedia Britannica.
And, by the way, Ramana is usually referred to as Maharshi,
not Maharishi. -- Editor.
. . . . . . . . . .
Vasanas
and Samskaras
June
29, 2000 8:59 PM
I've
been trying to find an answer to this question for months.
Maybe you can help. What is the difference between vasanas
and samskaras?
Jamie
Feldstein
In
Hindu philosophy, the words are often used loosely as
synomyms. However, according to Surendranath Dasgupta's
History of Indian Philosophy, many authors make
the following distinction: samskaras are impressions
that were acquired in any life, past or present; vasanas
are samskaras that were acquired in previous lives.
--Editor.
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Paintings
Should be Indian
June
1, 2000 9:46 AM
I
am puzzled by your new habit of illustrating the Upanishads
with paintings by European artists. In at least one
case, you chose a painting from the Christian tradition.
This could be interpreted as a sign of disrespect for
Hinduism and Indian civilization. I urge you to consider
that artwork by Indian artists would be more appropriate
for this purpose.
Michael
Buchanan
We
always look first for an appropriate Indian painting
when we illustrate a Sanskrit text. Unfortuntely, we
rarely find one because there is very little Indian
art on the Web. We hope this will soon change. In the
meantime, you can regard our use of European paintings
as an ethnic insult. Or you can view it as a respectful
acknowledgement that Indian scriptures have universal
significance for peoples of all times and all cultures.
It's your choice. -- Editor.
. . . . . . . . . .
Have
You Stopped Printing Letters?
May
17, 2000 6:05 AM
You
haven't printed a letter to the editor in months. Have
you stopped printing them?
Jed
We
still like to print them, but nobody has sent one lately.
-- Editor.
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