Veda`s demise at NY Hinduja Ctr.

[Peter Gaeffke]

Whoever takes money from outside has to live with the stings attached to
it It is something to propagate Indian religion outside India which is a
honorable matter of free speech and, on the other hand, the scholarly
study of Indian traditions This is not just a philological activity but an
attempt to get a clearer insight in the intellectual and
cultural/religious changes in the course of time.  One can not assess the
unique contribution of Tulsidas without comparing him to Valmiki's
Ramayana. Modern Indian Hinduism is a multifaced phaenomenon which becomes
much clearer when it is projected against say 19th century and medieval or
classical ,material. 

The most impressive example of this methods is still Paul Hacker's study 
of the Prahlade myth and many of his minor writings show the 
application and results of this approach

It remains a question whether scholars, especially in the West, should 
abandon independent judgment and become involved in the attempt to look 
at tradition solely from present necessities Then you 
get "neo"hinduistic interpretations of the past. which can be interesting 
in themselves but are not valid in their assessment of the past in a more 
scholarly sense..

Peter Gaeffke