Hi,
Some might be interested on this issue which concerns many who believe and
worship Raam.
I was wondering for a long time whether this email was genuine or not - and was
trying to really understand the western perspective - if he says is really the
western perspective then this email must really have come from Harvard's
professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies - Michael Witzel. Or was this email a
myth???
Now after helping a school student (10 yearold) write a myth this week ( he
wrote about Gaara of Naruto -who controls sand) as per the directions - I
realize that Professor Witzel was not wrong. Bible, Jewishm Torah, Hindu texts
- like Vedas, Ramayan, Quoran all mention God as the creator and oversear/mover
of this world. Myths by definition mean wiritings/stories which try to explain
natural phenomena in supernatural (God/s) terms. Thus as per Western definition
myths constitute all religious books - of existiing and earlier religions.
Ofcourse there is a genuine reason for Indians to get upset when denoting
anything as myth --since the word "myth" is very much part of Sanskrit and
other Sanskrit based languages like Hindi , Assamese, Gujarati, Malayalee. The
meaning in Sanskrit for the word "mythak" is make-believe tales of
ghosts/animals
***myth (mith): any story that attempts to explain how the world was created or
why the world is the way that it is. Myths are stories that are passed on from
generation to generation and normally involve religion. M.H. Abram refers to
myths as a religion in which we no longer believe. Most myths were first
spread by oral tradition and then were written down in some literary form. Many
ancient literary works are, in fact, myths as myths appear in every ancient
culture of the planet. For example you can find them in ethnological tales,
fairy tales as well as epics. A good example of a myth is The Book of Genesis,
which recounts tales of the creation of the universe, the Earth and mankind.
See A Glossary to Literary Terms, Websters Encylopedia of Literature. Becky
Davis, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
In light of the present controversy in India where a Western person is ruling
and over-eager-to-please govt officials have sought to refute religion by
scientific arguments - Harvard professor's email has an added meaning. It was
at his behest that California's School Board rejected many proposed changes by
various Indian/Hindu groups and their Western supporters. That was the last
time I had emailed Professor Witzel - in Jan 2006 - I think. Th epeople who had
instigated him are perhaps the very people behind the Indian controversy which
has united Hindus (and perhaps muslims and other faiths) against supposed
western cultural onslaught rubbishing anything and everything non-western as a
non serious myth.
I hope Professor Witzel would take initiative again and take up cudgels on
behalf of his Indian supporters - is't he the Harvard (and hence Western
world's) expet on all Indian issues -esp history.
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm
Umesh
Raam is a myth - govt
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Govt-to-withdraw-offending-remarks-on-Lord-Ram/216476/
Michael Witzel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 16:06:47 -0000
From: "Michael Witzel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
You follow a narrow (Christian or Hindutva) idea of what constiutes myth.
All Biblical texts, just like the Vedas and Puranas are ... myth ot myth-based.
Cheers,
M. Witzel
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Try it now.
Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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