“South indians are bad monkeys.” – As per US Scholar’s Ramayana Version!

BACKGROUND

Smt. Geetha Athreya’s is a response to the piece of this typical ‘Judeo -Christian’ denigration of  ‘Sanatana Dharma’, enclosed below. Its just the same as all that was posted during the ‘California Textbooks Controversy’ in 2005.

Portland State University’s Ramayana version for kids says: “south indians are bad monkeys.”

All people who adore Ramayana traditions should protest and ask for the distorted Ramayana version be removed.

People of Tamilnadu and other states of Southern India should protest since the original version of Valmiki’s Ramayana does not refer to any monkeys, only vaanara. Details of the University’s distortion at http://sites.google.com/site/hindunow/motivated-distortio

http://www.historyforkids.org/crafts/india/ramayana.htm    

Communities who support the Portaland State University should demand that the website of Ms. Carr citing the authority of the Portland State University be taken down. This disgusting effort by Ms. Carr cannot be wished away under the guise of academic freedom, since it is an affront to the sentiments of millions of people world-over who adore the tradition of Ramayana as an itihasa, the aadikaavya, the first poem in Hindu traditions. 

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Subject: Re: The Portland Ramayana

Dear  Ms. Carr,

I wonder why Universities in America would teach kids racism and animosity where there was and is none. I am a South Indian — Tamilian to be very precise. Wonder how much you know what it is to be Tamilan born in Madras in Tamilnadu. I have never heard through out my life — I am pretty old — your Aryan invasion into the South story and depicting the South Indians as Bad Monkeys. Bad Monkeys?!!! Bad Monkeys?!!! In fact the Monkeys are so good and revered — that recently — there was a story by Discovery Channel how much Monkeys are revered in India and therefore how difficult it is to curtail them in urban areas, story!!!!!

So even if the South Indians were monkeys — in fact all of us were monkeys if you remember Darwin  —- A Monkey is a Big Time God in India and quite rightly so !!! Hanuman the Great Monkey God is the one of most powerful concepts ever conceived and you have to be either Indian or imbibed being Indian likeDr. Frawley or Francois Gautier to know, understand  and feel all these things.  

In the first episode of the Story of India by the BBC South India is almost referred to as the Mother of the World because in the beginning there was probably only the South– and we are referring to times when the Indian peninsular broke away from the Africa landmass.

The Ramayan is a fabulous text. It is in several languages and is a much revered text. You would do well to teach your kids that in India today it is a well loved story and text. It is also quite complicated- – so do not try to interpret and read into it knowing little. For example it is erroneously concluded that Ravana the King of Lanka was a so called Dravidian and therefore was against Aryans. It is nothing of that sort. Ravana’s father was a Brahmin and therefore for all practical purposes Ravana was the Brahmin !!!! ( and if you know what that means) and Rama was the Kshatriya, helped by the monkeys. But you ignorant of the World– Ramayana has not only the monkeys, it has eagles, bears, squirrels, other birds all helping Rama. A composite environment- – with water, wind, sun, earth, animals, birds people all coexisting, performing their roles and living according to their DHARMA. Ms. Carr go research on the word DHARMA– there is no equivalent to it in the world.   

Believe me I have no animosity towards you or your university. I only say ” Forgive them they know not what they say”. I am always amazed how Universities — particularly- – in the West research on people and conditions round the world and sometimes when I come across these texts or books– I feel like saying — Why on earth would you waste your time writing about something which you study for a short period of time and then write your thesis?  It makes no difference to us who actually live these things — I have come across books written about my community or caste — and I can only laugh. Well if you consider us so important go ahead and write books about us — in the end they will all get destroyed anyway when the Great “Pralaya” ( flood) comes . Only spoken words remain– that is why the Vedas have survived. Now don’t ask me what the Vedas are  !

Jai Hanuman,

Yours sincerely,

Geeta Athreya.

 

 

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