Being Different Without Rancor

Last updated on: March 6, 2012 at 1:51 pm by Guest Contributor

Being Different Without Rancor 2012-03-06T13:51:02-07:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Jagdish Chandra Pant

[This post is part of a conversation on the new book Being Different by Rajiv Malhotra, now featured at the Patheos Book Club.]

The book Being Different authored by Rajiv Malhotra, provides a refreshing perspective of of the panorama of ideas relating to the inner most concerns of human kind, since times immemorial in the whole world. The vast number of readers of the English prose based in India have perhaps, never been exposed to such a comprehensive comparative study of knowledge systems of different civilizations, in one go. The novel idea of gazing at the West instead of aping it, which educated Indians have doing been since a few hundred years, seems to have shattered the world view of a large number of the young readers of the English language in India, who appeared to have been brainwashed into believing that the ancient Indian Culture was no longer relevant in the Globalized World, that had been ushered here since the decade of nineties of the last millennium.

For the older generation of Indians, which was just about gathering their wits when India became free from the British yoke in 1947, “BD” was like a breath of fresh air, which echoed their deeply felt perceptions & feelings about the importance of India as a land, which had still a great deal to give to the rest of the world. To a reader like me whose working life as a civil servant in India for over thirty five years, had exposed him to the machinations of external forces, working their devious ways to manipulate the prevailing fissiparous social tendencies, dedicated to “Breaking India”, confirming to me the validity of the thesis of a book of a similar title by the same author, “BD” was an astonishing feat of scholarship which had been invested in crafting it, to elaborately explain the importance of being different without rancor.

The enormity of the magnitude of insidious appropriation of Indian knowledge systems by the West for the last five hundred years, without even the decency to acknowledge their sources, was indeed a revelation to many Indians, which “BD” has since exposed, with such professionalism that would be difficult to emulate. It is earnestly hoped that the noble mission of “BD”, to generate free & honest debate between the East & the West, would be understood by the latter in its proper perspective & jointly, the two civilizations which otherwise compliment each other so beautifully, would now get down to charting a road-map, to work together as equal partners for the larger good of humanity in the years to come. The देवासुर संग्राम – the motif on the cover page of “BD” signifies just this joint enterprise between the forces of “Inner Sciences” & the “Physical Sciences”.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 5, 2012

The Two Cities: A Review of The Pope Who Quit

Next Post

March 6, 2012 An Indian Renaissance

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Author Q&A Book Review Christian Living Church Leadership Stump a Scholar Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2022 March 2021 October 2020 August 2020 February 2019 November 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first son of Adam and Eve?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Abel Cain Levi Irad