Criticism

Regarding nonsense. I take it you mean that my claims are false or wrong. In that case, I would like to read your reasons. There is no point in simply saying something like that without telling which other theory of religion does better than mine. Even if there are problems in my theory, I claim that this is the best theory we have in the market place. If you think differently, I would like you to …

The first question: “By saying that there exist “Western” and “Indian” cultures aren’t you somehow essentializing cultures into monoliths?” I do not see how. When we talk of ’the human species’ (in the singular), or about ’life’ (again in the singular) while doing evolutionary biology, we do not presuppose or imply that either of the two is a monolithic entity, do we? In fact, diversity is a …

I do not want to indulge in a discussion about Behavioral Psychology either on this forum or on any other forum. It is to waste of time I do not have. Let me very briefly state where I stand with respect to that discipline. In its early days, it was useful in providing some insights into animal behavior. I share the dominant consensus regarding its status today: it is obsolete. It does not quite …

Is there a ‘wannabe Indianism’ in our attempts to understand our tradition? I am not sure: maybe there is, maybe there is not. Of course, the question is why is this relevant? Whatever the motives or the contexts of any individual writer why should that be an argument for either accepting or rejecting or even putting his opinions on hold? The way I see it, the nature of the phenomenon is of …

About who the ‘authentic Hind’ or ’the authentic Indian’ is. The greatest strength of our culture lies in the fact that this is a non-question as far as our traditions are concerned. Even though I have now spent nearly as many years outside India as I have spent inside, I do not feel an ‘outsider’. Nor am I considered as one by the members my family, for instance, most of whom have never left …

Let me lay this fear to rest: I am not speaking for the community. To the question, ‘Who speaks for the Indian traditions?’ my reply is simple: anyone, everyone, whoever feels like. (Of course, I do not consider the question very sensible, but that is a side-issue for the moment.) Having said this much, let me also say that my discussion with Jeffrey Kripal is not about the moral right to speak in …

You ask us not to ‘judge’. It is not clear what the force of judgment is to which you object. When I listen to someone (today) insisting that the earth is flat or that the Sun revolves round the earth, I judge that this person (in all probability) does not have much of an idea about the physical theories. Because I am not sure, I try to find out what his arguments are. If they do not cognitively …

In a way, and in some sense, I do agree with you that one’s acquaintance with a culture is useful in writing about that culture. It is not sufficient, of course (think of the nonsense written by most anthropologists during the last 100 years on other cultures); nor are there any compelling reasons to believe that it is a sine qua non to understanding cultures. However, I am not challenging the …

Is the model of games useful in understanding evolution of some aspect of society? If you use ‘games’ in a very, very general sense (viz. there are players, strategies, end-results, and such like), then it might. There is a flourishing branch of mathematics called ‘Game theory’ that has been used to study many things in nature and society: from the evolution of rules and norms to seeing evolution …

I do not see why I have to study the history of the last 4000 years to understand modern India. To the extent past becomes relevant (my research into some particular question will tell me whether the past is relevant, if so which part of the past is relevant, and how far I need to go in understanding the issue I want to understand), only to that extent do I need to study the past. The general …

About the possibility that I was already ‘westernized’ by the time I became a teenager. Even this question is wrongly posed. I am not claiming that there is some ‘authentic’ Indian culture, which lives somewhere or lived some when in India. Such a culture, even if it exists or existed, does not concern me. I am interested in the Indian culture as it exists today: including the aftermath of the …

“Every one of us believes our own viewpoint to be the best one: such is human nature.” This is not quite how I would put it. Let me, therefore say what I think with respect to this issue. Whenever I formulate a theory, I believe that my description is ’true’. If I thought that it was ‘false’, I would not write what I write. This is a belief about the status of my description and its relationship …

It appears that Sir Isaac Newton was frequently complimented for being the greatest genius the world had ever known. One of his replies is alleged to have been the following: “Even a pygmy sees further than the giants if he stands upon their shoulders. And I, Sir, stand upon the shoulders of giants.” The extraordinary humility apart, there is something very important to what Newton is saying: his …