Critique of the West in Indic literature and society

[mani at srirangam.esd.sgi.com]

Re: Hinduism Today

Vidyasankar writes:
* In this matter, they are only about as much Hindu or  
* non-Hindu as ISKCON is.

However, unlike ISKCON, HT claims both implicitly and
explicity to speak for all Hindus, and puts forth a rather
distasteful face of Hinduism.  They are fundamentalists
in the sense that they are absolute literalists, who,
unlike ISKCON, have a very poor understanding of Sanskrit
and Indian vernaculars as well as Indian scripture.  
They base their belief system on English "catechisms" 
put out by their guru, who himself claims to have 
invented a language or two.

Using this base of ignorance, they then propound their 
flawed view of Hinduism as "the" Hinduism, confusing 
the already confused Hindus and non-Hindus even more.
Their oft-reprinted spread on the many religious sects
in India is ample evidence of this ignorance, as is their
opinion on "the" Hindu view of priesthood, astrology, etc.
I have tried to have a conversation with their 
editor-in-chief about these issues, only to come away
with the feeling that I have hit my head against a stone
wall, to borrow a phrase from Sayana.

* As for dangerous right-wing fundamentalist  
* Hindu agenda, it is absolutely no comparison to the right-wing  
* fundamentalist Christian agenda represented by the rich and  
* influential Pat Robertson and like-minded individuals and groups in  
* the continental US. 

Completely agree. I think Hinduism Today is annoying but 
probably harmless. 

Mani