"Science" in India

[Ven. Tantra]

To: Vidyasankar Sundaresan

Dear Sir,

As you put your contributions to the present issue to
rest, kindly accept my thanks for your concurrent
off-list assistance in translation and purport of
_Chandogya Upani.sad_, 6. 14. 2.

In addition, I would like to convey my deep
appreciation for the balanced clarity of your views
and appraisals, particularly in regard to current list
themes. I feel sincerely privileged to be affiliated
with you and this extraordinary list, which hosts such
a diverse and, frankly, quite entertaining
international community of intellectuals. In short, I
find this electronic format to be a profoundly
powerful learning tool. Salutations to the founder!

All the same, as a newcomer to this community, my
youthful enthusiasm has only now found itself quite
dismayed by all the pseudo-professional [=power
=status] posturing that's going on - that State
Department brand of macho insensitivity that has shown
its truly unbeautiful colors of late. I wonder are we
catching this while gazing at our computer screens.
It's like the Globalization of a human demeanor. Of
course, Dominick is perfectly correct in saying that
<<Someone who promotes views you disagree with is not,
thereby, necessarily disrespectful.>> His equation is
sound. Yet, now we are made to suffer someone else
gratuitously referring to a whole perceived segment of
our list community as "fools."

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0010&L=indology&D=1&O=D&P=36821

I would hardly call such a posting "courteous," nor in
the least bit subtle, whether it is coming from an
amateur or a pro. How is one to know really?

Re. "The S. Farmer Episode." I have not at all kept up
on the two contending Great Horse Sacrifices, which
would seem to stretch forth from No. 2 Divinity Avenue
on the one hand, and the desperate saddleback ravines
of Bihar, on the other. I can therefore make no
competent statement on the content of Steve's
article(s), which I have not read. But one nonetheless
senses an odious "something" in the tone of his
("snide" did you call it?) and impassioned one-liners.
And at the end of the day, I suppose it is just this
sort of incendiary arrogance that some of us,
particularly with deep South Asian roots, find so
shockingly uncivil, hurtful, and downright violent. I
mean, is this anything less "kids not yids" all over
again? All are made to suffer. Quality intellect
definitely suffers.

Thanking you for your sustaining backbone presence in
the community.

Tantra



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