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,…
Read moreCriticism: you are not using game theory
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,…
Read moreCriticism: you are not studying Ancient India!
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…
Read moreCriticism: you are ‘Westernized’!
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’…
Read moreVacuity of Essentialism?—S.N.Balagangadhara
[For more on the postcolonial diet called ‘essentialism’, check this paper] I have had difficulties in understanding the use and meaning of some words, especially ‘essentialism’ and its cognates. Here…
Read morePuja and Worship
X says: if “pujya” means “worthy of worship”, wouldn’t “puja” mean worship? ‘Pujya’ means “deserving of ‘puja’”. If ‘puja’ translated as ‘worship’, quite obviously one translates ‘pujya’ as you do. You…
Read moreGod, Devil (Satan), and Polytheism
It is true that the modern Jewish thought, which is more influenced by the Rabbinic than by apocalyptic or Qumranic literature, places less emphasis on the Devil. Rabbinic Judaism was…
Read moreAre Muslims ‘Mohammedans’?
Let me begin by Mujeeb’s objection to calling the Islamic people ‘Mohammedans’. Mujib’s objection was that the Muslims do not worship Mohammed, and Naseem spoke of it as an insulting…
Read moreMultiple meanings: puja, thondam—S.N. Balagangadhara
About the multiple meanings for the Puja of Ganesha. Of course, there is no one ‘meaning’ to this act either now, or before, or in the future, as far as…
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