(no subject)
Apr. 10th, 2004 07:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheWrath over a Hindu God
Folklore has it that elephants never forget, and Paul Courtright has reason to believe it. A professor of religion at Emory University, he immersed himself in the story of Ganesha, the beloved Hindu god with the head of an elephant. Detecting provocative Oedipal overtones in Ganesha's story -- and phallic symbolism in his trunk -- he wrote a book setting out his theories in 1985.
Nineteen years later, thanks to an Internet campaign, the world has rediscovered Courtright's book. After a scathing posting on a popular Indian Web site, he has received threats from Hindu militants who want him dead.
[...] New Jersey entrepreneur Rajiv Malhotra argued that Doniger and her students had eroticized and denigrated Hinduism, which was part of the reason "the American mainstream misunderstands India so pathologically."
Folklore has it that elephants never forget, and Paul Courtright has reason to believe it. A professor of religion at Emory University, he immersed himself in the story of Ganesha, the beloved Hindu god with the head of an elephant. Detecting provocative Oedipal overtones in Ganesha's story -- and phallic symbolism in his trunk -- he wrote a book setting out his theories in 1985.
Nineteen years later, thanks to an Internet campaign, the world has rediscovered Courtright's book. After a scathing posting on a popular Indian Web site, he has received threats from Hindu militants who want him dead.
[...] New Jersey entrepreneur Rajiv Malhotra argued that Doniger and her students had eroticized and denigrated Hinduism, which was part of the reason "the American mainstream misunderstands India so pathologically."
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You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 04:52 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 09:22 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 07:57 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 09:22 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 09:58 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 10:03 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 11:01 pm (UTC)Re: You don't wanna fuck with Ganesh:
Date: 2004-04-10 11:16 pm (UTC)*disappears in a puff of smoke*
I think the important question is
Date: 2004-04-11 11:10 am (UTC)Re: I think the important question is
Date: 2004-04-11 11:15 am (UTC)The original post is about "American views of Ganesh".
This action figure suggests a uniquely American take on what Ganesha would be like....
(no subject)
Date: 2004-04-10 06:41 pm (UTC)"This book seeks to use questionable theories to demean Ganesha, likening the child deities fondness for sweets to a desire for oral sex, for instance."
What the hell does eating sweets have to do with oral sex?? What a fucking idiot. I'm sure his book is just garbage that should be ignored. Saying he deserves to die for this is just feeding into his delusions of grandeur.
elephants never forget
Gods are masks that humans put on ourselves and/or the things we feel very strongly about. We are the puppetmasters. Gods aren't trademarked, either, so I could say things like "Jesus built my hotrod" and "Kali's the best I've ever danced with", and it doesn't kill your idea of Kali-Ma or Jesus.
Words lie. People don't own ideas.
A.
(no subject)
A.