Re: [mukto-mona] America's First Hindu Think Tank Now Established

I welcome any initiative that aims at seeking knowledge. But seeking knowledge must go hand in hand with the critical analysis of the same. Value judgment must get priority over establishing or confirming the value. But "the singular purpose of academically affirming the preeminence of the philosophy, practice and culture of Sanatana Dharma in the intellectual realm" to me seems to be too restrictive. Also noteworthy is the the publication objective: "the goal of your paper must be to demonstratively establish the preeminence of Sanatana Dharma over the non-Dharmic philosophical proposition you are comparing it to. We are not interested in purely historical, hagiographical, philological, or needlessly abstract papers – but only papers that directly interface Sanatana Dharma with modernity in a polemically engaged manner."

 

It seems it will not encourage interfaith dialogs which is really important in the present world. It will not engage in comparative study of religions either. In interfaith dialogs the attitude that mine (my religion) is the best has to be shaken off first and the participants must have the openness of mind to accept good things from a competitive religion. They must also have the spirits of not trying to impose some thing from their own religion on the followers of the competitive religions if it is not acceptable to them. Mutual understanding is not possible without the spirit of sacrifice.

 

Comparative study of religions demands a lot more broad based forum in which believers, skeptics, and non-believers can fruitfully participate. 

 

From: qar <qrahman@netscape.net>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 4, 2012 8:33 AM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] America's First Hindu Think Tank Now Established

 

My best wishes to this initiative. More we learn about different religions, it will remove misunderstandings and promote peace among people of all faith (Or no faith) traditions.


Shalom!

-----Original Message----- From: Jiten Roy <jnrsr53@yahoo.com> To: mukto-mona <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sat, Aug 4, 2012 7:25 am Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] America's First Hindu Think Tank Now Established

 

Mr. Sudhir Kumar, I am glad that this center wants to promote open-minded intellectual deliberations about SanatanDharma. I have a proposal to all intellectuals in this center, and that is – how about promoting 'Formless-worshipping (Nirakar Upashana)' to revive the spiritual understanding of the essence of religion through yoga, meditation, etc., since SanatonDharma has a provision for that already, and does not require idolatry for religious purposes. Idolatry is merely a ritualistic act to commemorate a particular memorable scriptural event, and as such - it is much more a cultural festivity than a religious act. Idolatry breeds superstitions and prejudices; it divides community into sects and castes. It should be separated from the core religion ASAP. In my view, SanatonDharma, as it exists today, is 80% idolatry and 20% spiritual. Could this trend be reversed through mass education? Thank you so much. Jiten Roy --- On Fri, 8/3/12, Sudhir-Architect <ar_sudhirkumar@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Sudhir-Architect <ar_sudhirkumar@yahoo.com> Subject: [mukto-mona] America's First Hindu Think Tank Now Established To: Date: Friday, August 3, 2012, 12:36 PM   America's First Hindu Think Tank Now Established The Center for the Study of Dharma and Civilization http://www.dharmaci vilization. com After more than a decade of discussions, planning and organizing, the very first credible and professionally led Hindu think tank in America has now been formally established to serve the Hindu community. The Center for the Study of Dharma and Civilization (CSDC) is the very first academic think tank of the Sanatana Dharma tradition ever created in American history. Established by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya in May of 2012, the CSDC brings together several of the most prominent Hindu scholars in America with the singular purpose of academically affirming the preeminence of the philosophy, practice and culture of Sanatana Dharma in the intellectual realm. The Board of Advisors for this first ever Hindu think tank includes: Dr. David Frawley, Professor Subhash Kak, Professor Ramdas Lamb, Professor Ramesh Rao, Professor Parmender Mehta, and Professor Daniel Wilkins. Our goal is to reveal to the world the unique Vedic perspective on all of the most important philosophical, social, religious, political and cultural issues of the day. We will offer comparative analyses of the Dharma world-view versus every other world-view of prominence in the 21st century, thus establishing Sanatana Dharma as the philosophical system par excellence designed to solve the many crises and confusions that our world is facing today. Seeking Paper Submissions We are seeking papers to publish on our website, and that may eventually be published in printed form. We are exclusively interested in papers that firmly contrast any civilizational aspect of Sanatana Dharma with any juxtaposing aspect of a non-Dharmic belief system, theological stance, philosophy, ideology, or idea. The goal of your paper must be to demonstratively establish the preeminence of Sanatana Dharma over the non-Dharmic philosophical proposition you are comparing it to. We are not interested in purely historical, hagiographical, philological, or needlessly abstract papers – but only papers that directly interface Sanatana Dharma with modernity in a polemically engaged manner. You can submit papers online at: http://dharmacivilization.com/submissions/ We Need Your Help The CSDC is currently operating on a limited budget. We will need further funding for larger office space rental, internet development and maintenance, possible fellowships for scholars who we would want to employ full-time, development of multimedia production capacity, etc. If you would like to donate to this important cause, please do so by visiting: http://dharmacivilization.com/donate/ Aum Tat Sat   Thanks & Regards, Sudhir Srinivasan B.Arch, MSc.CPM, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM | Architect |

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