Monday, March 7, 2016

Equating dissenting students with asuras is also violence

06-03-2016 Previous Parts
https://indiafacts.org/opposing-the-left-is-not-right-part-iiithe-debate/
Kundan Singh: I am saying this: There is an inherent connection between left-wing ideology and violence, which comes in the garb of social transformation. The legitimate concerns of social transformation of the left can be addressed in a much more evolved way from the Indian spiritual paradigm, which the left thinking in India has relentlessly persecuted and not allowed to get established in academia.

Debater: You think only the left think ideology damaged the ancient wisdom? Right, occult and superstition has been perpetuated by the neo-right pretty violently, that has also resulted in bloodshed and loss of knowledge and wisdom. The irony is that in the midst of all this the real traditional Indian science, medicine (actual ayurveda), ancient agricultural science, ancient metallurgy has got lost. That’s the real loss.

Kundan Singh: I agree. But I have never sided with the Right. You are again linking me with the right or neo-right, and once again prove the central theses of my arguments: “This is what the left-wing does to dissent and difference of opinion coming from the classical Indian traditions, necessarily in the same order: Hindu, Brahmanical, RSS-BJP, Gandhi Killers, Gujrat violence, Nero, fascists, Nazis.”

Debater: But your arguments mirror exactly that of the violent right!

Kundan Singh: I will state again from the post: “This is what the left-wing does to dissent and difference of opinion coming from the classical Indian traditions, necessarily in the same order: Hindu, Brahmanical, RSS-BJP, Gandhi Killers, Gujrat violence, Nero, fascists, Nazis.” Thank you for proving me right time and again.

Debater: And thank you proving me right, which I was from the very beginning when I started challenging your assertions.

Kundan Singh: You have not challenged my assertions. You have debated on issues where I have not had an opinion.

Kundan Singh: [Besides] The job of a journalist is to not be anti-establishment. The job of a journalist is to have different sides of truth presented so that people can make up their mind, and if he or she has clinching evidence of something, present it as such. When they already become anti-establishment, they have already become biased. But again, as I have said earlier, I am not pro establishment either. I will remain focused on the nexus of ideology and academics in the pedagogy of leftists. There is violence embedded in their ideology because they are always fighting some real or fabricated other.

There is a way to deconstruct oppressions and their hegemonic centers and yet take the discourse to such a level that the embedded violence in such discourse gets transformed and transmuted. The self-righteous left wing scholars have disallowed the space, and they continually disallow the space by linking it to the Hindu Right. This is the problem here. My data comes from reading the left discourse for many years, not the data that you are pointing out. I will point another thing in your position. Once you made your point in favor of freedom of expression, you moved towards deconstructing the journalist who favored the nationalism side of the binary divide. Once again: this is not about nationalism vs freedom of expression.

Debater: Sorry to say you know nothing about journalism and should refrain from commenting on it…I have spent a good part of my life studying journalism. You should know that the establishment is the natural adversary of people. And this journalistic philosophy has been put to test and stood the test of time since the first newspapers rolled. If you don’t take that as a starting point then you are starting out as a propagandist. The natural tendency of the establishment is to hide the truth, hence the anti-establishment stance remains the only starting point of journalism in its truest form.

Kundan Singh: The contentions of the post were neither pro or anti-establishment. I should not have got dragged into the debate in the first place. Here I fell for the trap.

Kundan Singh: So what makes you think that I do not favor love and compassion but I do distinguish between genuine compassion and idiot compassion! Idiot compassion is compassion without having honed the faculty of discernment, which the Vedantic literature calls vivek (and I am not taking a jab at you; merely mentioning).

Debater: Kundan! I see that you have been propounding some very serious theories about spiritualism, but have you ever dared to be in the high Himalaya where you can be feel the spiritual and divine energies doing a cosmic dance within yourself. I have despite being an atheist, because I seeked. I stepped out of the comfort zone, which you haven’t?

Where the ego is shattered like a fragile cube of ice, where each gasping breath makes you see your inner self, where each step is a discovery of malarkey, where each word resonates the hollowness of the mortal self. No you haven’t. So, please keep this diversionary theories and postulates to your self, and don’t spread any more hatred in the name of left, right or even centre. Peace my friend.

Kundan Singh: You have no inkling about my inner spiritual life; so the comment was not necessary. You neither have any idea of what comfort zones I broke to get into pursuing what I pursue. And besides I did not seek a certificate of your spirituality and I do not need a certificate of my spirituality from you. Again you are making the mistake of getting personal in a debate which neither is in good taste nor required.

As far as your comment on diversionary theories is concerned, I will say this again: “This is what the left-wing does to dissent and difference of opinion coming from the classical Indian traditions, necessarily in the same order: Hindu, Brahmanical, RSS-BJP, Gandhi Killers, Gujrat violence, Nero, fascists, Nazis.” I think I need to add in the quote, left-wing and left-wing supporters.

Debater: And using your logic and reasoning I can say that the patronising tone of the post and equating dissenting students with asuras is also violence

Kundan Singh: And my opinion has been formed by observing Indian leftists in American academia for a very long time. I am already aware of the article.‬

2. It also does not matter what credentials one may have. My friends are fully aware that I have been practicing my spirituality and yoga under the aegis of Sri Aurobindo for close to two decades now. They are also in awareness that I am an academic in the university system teaching in the areas that I have mentioned at the beginning of this article. But all of that does not preclude them from making charge of violent extremism. This is the classic strategy of the left-wing academia and media, whether avowed or a supporter: not inquire into their own violence and project it right into someone other: it can be an individual, collection, or a group.

10. A word about the title of this article: In the spirit of pluralism and diversity that I am inviting in social science discourse in India, I have titled the paper as “Opposing the Left is not Right.” This title actually incorporates the voices of both: the debater and me. The debater is opposing my opposition to left and hence “Opposing the Left is not Right.” Simultaneously I am saying that opposing the left thought in India does not put me in the camp of Right; hence “Opposing the Left is not Right.”

11. After the publication of this piece, I will not be surprised that there are more attempts of the Indian left to link me with Hindu extremism and efforts to marginalize and tarnish me. There is a strong possibility that my publishing the piece on “Indiafacts” will be used against me—but the fact remains that it is only a couple of days ago that I have even come to know of “Indiafacts” when a friend of mine, after reading my posts suggested a possible publication on this forum.

To those who will use extra-academic means for such purposes, I want them to know: As an academic, I should only be challenged on what I write and what I teach. I will be willing to debate them on all areas regarding epistemology and philosophy spanning many branches of western and left scholarship including postmodernism, post colonialism, subaltern studies, post-colonialism, philosophy of science, cultural studies, among others. Any other extra-academic effort to tarnish my image will be dealt with strongly with a legal recourse, including libel and slander. Civil debate is welcome and I will be more than happy to engage in it; in fact encourage it.

Author of “The Evolution of Integral Yoga: Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramakrishna, and Swami Vivekananda,” and several other edited-book chapters like “Beyond Mind: The Future of Psychology as Science” “Beyond Postmodernism: Towards a Future Psychology,” “Relativism, Self-Referentiality, and Beyond Mind,” and “Relativism and Its Relevance for Psychology.” Kundan Singh, PhD is an academic who teaches and lectures in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a graduate of the California Institute of Integral Studies and University of Delhi.

Speculation: [A most probable unstated and even unconscious influence on Dr Ambedkar could have been Sri Aurobindo.] http://swarajyamag.com/magazine/ambedkar-democracy-upanishads/ …
Savitri Era of those who adore, Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother.
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