Endo and Exo

[Bhadraiah Mallampalli]

Dear Prof V V Raman

Suggesting minor changes...

1. Has Western scholarship contributed anything positive to Indology:

ENDO: Some western techies and seekers have started doing scintific research
lately, with due respect to the subject.

2. What has been the effect of Western scholarship on our understanding of
India?

>Exo:  ...Knowledge about Hindu culture and civilization has spread all
> >around the globe, thanks to the Indology initiated by Western
> >scholars....

Not sure about this. The spread of Hindu culture has been mostly done by the
satsangs. Why don't words like JAOS ring a bell in the minds of common man
in India or abroad?

3. Are the Vedas and the Bhagavad GIta divine in origin, or are they
writings/reflections of human beings?

>Endo: There is more than elements of ordinary human components in >these
>works. They are very probably revelations from a higher source.

There are ENDO's like me who believe Vedas can be seen again in the next 500
years. Not a big deal.

5. What about language families within India?

>Endo: All languages within India, Tamil and Munda included, and most
> >languages beyond, are Sanskritic in origin.

No, there are also Tamil scholars who think other way. Sanskrit can not
solely represent ENDO-Indology. The sanskrit-tamil issue may take several
centuries to resolve if there is a hope. Don't you rememeber the clashes
between saivaites and vaiSnavites? After a few centuries they are friends
again. What we today call "Hinduism" has the knack of assimilating such
differences; whether any one likes such assimilation or not.

9. Can we bridge the gap between the two?
>Endo: Rather difficult,

Rather easy if started from the ENDO side.

>Exo: Rather difficult, ...

The good works of western Indologists were not marketed properly. This makes
things difficult. Even if it can be proved that some western scholars have a
bias, Indians WILL accept it. That is the lesson of mahAbhAratA. Didn't
pANdavAs respect dhRtarAStrA who was partial to his own sons? (Please don't
get any meanings out of this!)
It is an accepted fact that in a sabhA, scholars talk harshly with each
other. But to have permanent bad feelings against a scholar after you get
home is not Hindu culture.

Btw, here is a URL about my common sense approach to speculating the age of
Vedas..

http://forumhub.com/indhistory/8322.12965.05.59.17.html

Regards
Bhadraiah Mallampalli

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