SV: , Idiom, and, Grammar, (and, chariots, again!)

[V.V. Raman]

<The discussion in this thread demonstrates for me the difference between
religious/ideological/nationalistic and scientific interpretation.>

1. I had called to attention some months ago the difference between an
endo-approach and an exo-approach to any work of historical/religious/spiritual
significance, whether it is the Rig Veda or the Bhagavad Gita, the Torah or the
Koran, the Dhammapada or the New Testament, colonial history or American Indian
history, or whatever.

2. The question is not which is right and which is wrong, because each in its
own way, if undertaken with sincerity and honesty, can be fulfilling and
enriching.

3. Controversies, arguments, and unpleasantness tend to arise under one or both
of two conditions:
(a) Te discussants approach the subject matter from the two different
approaches, often without being consciously aware of this.
(b) When there is actual or perceived lack of sincerity and honesty, and
suspicions (valid or not) of sinister motives in the interpretations, exo- or
-endo.

V. V. Raman
April 10, 2001