Who owns Yoga?
The Debate
With bragging rights to what has become a multi-billion dollar industry at stake, the debate over who authentically “owns” yoga has never been more hotly contested. In presenting my contribution to this dispute, it is not my intent to ignore or disrespect the many centuries of deeply nuanced inquiry concerning the origins, definition or practice of Yoga — that is not my focus here. Instead, I propose a single question that would inextricably link Yoga’s definition to what I consider to be its true origin. And, the question is:
“Was Yoga invented, or discovered?”
If Yoga was invented, that means it didn’t exist on this planet prior to its development by ancient sages. Since those sages were Indian, their heirs could argue a claim to its authentic precepts, traditions and techniques — perhaps even rightful use of the word “Yoga” itself.
Many scholars, teachers and pundits assert this claim every time they cry out in the digital town square: “Yoga belongs to the Indian Vedic tradition!” This claim, of course, entitles them to proclaim everyone else to be stealing, corrupting, misinterpreting, misrepresenting, distorting, illicitly profiting from, or otherwise violating their sacred tradition.
I view this perspective to be fundamentally in error because Yoga was, in fact, discovered. I assert that Yoga could no more be invented or owned than electricity, gravity or respiration.
What the ancient sages discovered was: Yoga is an eternal, inherent attribute of nature that reveals itself as the tendency of living systems to seek equilibrium. The philosophy of Yoga seeks to understand that fundamental equilibrium, while its practice is the art of identifying and resolving any obstructions to this completely natural state.
Yoga, like gravity or electricity, is a force of nature which undeniably existed before we humans started recognizing or utilizing it for our betterment. My view has ample support in many traditional teachings, which I do not deny were codified by intrepid seekers dwelling on the ancient Indian subcontinent, and we should be forever grateful to and deeply respectful towards those pioneers who first delivered us Yoga’s potential. But, to limit Yoga’s definition, application or availability based on the geographical location of its discoverers would be as ludicrous as the British claiming perpetual patent rights to gravity because Sir Isaac Newton happened to have been born in Lincolnshire.
Indian Givers
The “Vedic traditionalist” argument that Yoga has been misappropriated falls apart pretty quickly when viewed in the light of recent historical fact. The teachings of Yoga weren’t stolen from India by avaricious foreigners, they were given to the world by generous Indian masters.
My first Yoga teacher was Swami Vishnu Devananda — from Kerala by way of Rishikesh — whose guru Sivananda dispatched him from the ashram with specific instructions to spread Yoga to the entire world, which he did in his own charismatic, idiosyncratic, magnificent fashion. My core teaching lineage is that of T. Krishnamacharya — no slouch when it came to Vedic scholarship — who declared Yoga to be India’s greatest gift to the world. Never having crossed the sea himself, Krishnamacharya – that most traditional of Vedic Brahmins – nevertheless lived to see that gift permeate every corner of the globe as his students unreservedly shared his highly adaptable teachings with anyone willing to simply show up, be still and try.
It’s important to note that upon exiting his teacher’s Tibetan cave 90 years ago, Krishnamacharya’s payment to his guru in exchange for the teachings was a promise to complete a life-long, arduous task: he was charged with becoming a householder, raising a family, and sharing what he had learned. For a high-born, deeply religious Brahmin scholar like himself, this was no small promise — in fact, it was the biggest promise he could possibly have made. The India of 1925 had long rejected her own gift, and Yogis were held by most of society in the lowest esteem possible, associated with street beggars, fakirs, criminals and frauds. The tireless work of Krishnamacharya and his contemporaries resurrected, in decades, what it took India centuries to discard.
The worldwide renaissance of Yoga could never have happened if those relentless, magnanimous, Indian masters had limited their teachings to the rarefied strata of the upper castes — the same Vedic banner-wavers who are now crowing so loudly about how misguided, unschooled thieves have absconded with their precious heritage.
Yoga, if it’s nothing else, is a living, breathing, adaptable lineage of learning — open to all. It both transforms and is transformed by its practitioners. It belongs to everyone because it is part of how everyone’s living system operates. It would be the height of narrow-minded folly to think you can collect patent royalties on something that wasn’t invented in the first place. You don’t own Yoga. You can only own your Yoga.
Should you feel the need to admonish someone for not practicing or teaching a “true” Yoga, I urge you to reflect on your attitude and let it go — by offering it into the flame of Yoga — swaha. Why waste your energy obsessing about how anyone else — past or present — has chosen to interpret Yoga? It is quite literally none of your business. The dividend of this offering will be an enormous energy savings that can be re-invested into a far more profitable enterprise — uncovering your own true Yoga in the only place it’s ever been, within yourself.
……
The fire is hot, the water cold,
refreshing cool the breeze of morn;
By whom came this variety?
from their own nature was it born..
Brahmins have established their
splendid rituals for the dead;
but there are no souls in other worlds —
it’s just their means of livelihood. *
……
Leslie Kaminoff
Truro, MA
July 22, 2015
……
* Freely adapted and condensed from Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha by Madhava Acharya, translation by E. B. Cowell and A. E. Gough
……
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If you wish to express a counterpoint, please note that a pull quote and a hyperlink do not constitute an argument of any kind, much less a convincing rebuttal. With the exception of the cited poetry, what you have just read is 100% original — it was typed straight from my brain through my fingers. I sincerely request that any commenters offering dissenting views respect the spirit of my efforts, and do the same.
If, however, you totally agree with me, feel free to post anything you want. 😉
Oh, I see the thread now. About payment.
Yes, my question stands, and you have not answered it. You condemn the dollar, so I wish to know if your landlord accepts good karma as payment.
Dear Leslie,
To correct someone who reduces Yoga to a methodology is to render a service.
Signed,
Someone who knows
So 17th century would mean the 1600s. No? Given that we are living in the 21st century.
Yes. 1600’s.
Dear someone who knows:
You don’t seem to know what you don’t know.
What you don’t know is what I teach or don’t teach to my students, and I will thank you to not comment upon that subject – especially when addressing a student of mine. If you have disagreements with what you do know of my views, direct them at me.
Dear Leslie,
How do you reconcile your belief in objectivism with Yoga? Do you think that Yoga is compatible with Objectivism? You have said already elsewhere that you identify with being a Charvakan, so how could you be actually teaching what Yoga points to?
Signed,
someone puzzled but curious
That is actually the topic of the book I’m currently writing.
I’m afraid you’ll have wait for the full answer along with everyone else.
In brief, I agree with the Nastik Atheist stand of Carvaka, but not its skepticism or hedonism. And yes, there is indeed a place for Yoga within that view.
But ‘nature’ is a concept which you have left undefined, but in using that term you are going towards a dualism.
You might say instead that Yoga is a process within consciousness (which is not a concept, but directly known as such) which seeks to know itself.
Dear Leslie,
I am prepared to teach you some things which you lack, pertaining to Yoga, without renumeration. For an example, you could look at your use of the term ‘force of nature’ below… you are spreading confusion and require correction.
Signed,
Someone willing to work without renumeration as long as it helps the spreading of Yoga in defensible ways (referring to debate).
I am not prepared to debate my position by conceding any of your premises.
I will be happy to send you a review copy of the book when it is completed, so you can pick apart my argument once it is complete.
I assure you that argument will not be made in the comments section of my blog, so save your breath.
How many times must I remind you that I am not, nor will I ever be interested in your “teachings.”
Your repeated efforts to cast me as your student are incredibly disrespectful to me, my teachers, and my students.
For someone who claims to represent the Vedic teachings, you exhibit a shocking lack of respect for my teaching lineage.
Since this is at least the fourth time I have had to point this out to you, I will now have to ask you for an apology. If that is not forthcoming, I have no choice but to ban you from any further interaction with me.
(NOTE: An apology from Pankaj was not forthcoming, and as a result, he has been banned from further access to this forum.)
Pankaj, thank you for your comment. For me yoga is both the path and the goal. But at the same time, talking about a goal to yoga is to deny what’s already here now. From This perspective, nothing needs to be done, life doesn’t need improvements. Also from this perspective, yes! everything is yoga, even this little chat. From Leslie’s perspective, I really like the idea of yoga having been discovered rather then invented. I think the “who” discovered it, is irrelevant. It could have been anybody. It just happened to be human beings! Regards and be well.
It is not a question about “who gets to determine what is authentic Yoga.” That question is already answered with the plethora of ancient traditions that exist today which have been passed on from student to teacher through millennia. These traditions are what are authentic, and naturally they are to be adapted for the times, but if the deviations are so great as to strip them of their core philosophical basis, then what is left is not authentic and is to be rejected.
Lesilie: I wonder what your Guru would think of what you are teaching now and if he would approve of you doing so.
Now, if he were to disapprove and you were to teach the way you were taught by your Guru, would that mean less money for you? hmmmm.
Good points, mostly.
BUT, when you say that the “traditions are what are authentic,” it’s important to remember that traditions are nothing more or less than the sum of what individual human beings have contributed. It is only an individual who can be authentic — not a tradition as such.
I’m sure there are certain individuals in your “tradition” you’d rather not be associated with — there certainly are in mine.
It was my teacher (not guru) who insisted, above all else, that I trust my own experience, and follow my own path. And yes, that has led me to hold views he would most likely not agree with.
And, to answer your snarky question about money: what would really hurt my income would be putting out phony ideas in which I did not believe only because I thought it might make me more popular.
This topic reminded me something about BKS iyengar
When BKS Iyengar was asked why he does not apply a patent for the design of props, he said, “I designed props so people can benefit. Thousands are benefitting and will continue to benefit from them. Does God ever file a patent for his creation? Then what right do I, a mortal, have to do so?”
So i think to know the history of things is important, but in my opinion the yoga has a fundamental principle: Yoga is to share it, thats all. ( Sorry for my english)
who owns yoga is an important topic
many want to copyright it and commercialise it
as you mention.
it sad that a philosophy science practice spiritual life is treated as such
much so in the “west” which does not have the ashram system much
(and from adverts its commercialised in India too, now)
where most things are commercialised and valued in money
even the water we drink and air we breath
keep yoga free and non commercial for everyone to benefit
Dear Leslie,
Is there an error in comparing ‘gravity’ with ‘Yoga’ ? Has gravity been understood by scientists? Are the laws of gravity sacrosanct or even ‘sutras’ that can take us to the truth. Yes gravity exists but why , this is still a mystery. The laws of gravity are hypothesis after hypothesis and applies to gross mass that too not universally. This is where your assumptions and erroneous camparisons with science of Yoga , may need correction. Thank you.
The law of gravity ceases to be a hypothesis the moment you jump out a window.
You can’t be serious. At no point in the essay — anywhere — do you specify what you mean by yoga; what practices you include within yoga, or even what ‘yoga’ is as an experience, other than a ‘force.’ It’s not clear from your vague reference to ‘force’ whether it was ‘yoga’ that was discovered, or endorphins.
You pride yourself in rational argumentation, but you do not define your terms sufficiently — and simply brush off anyone who points that out with a version of ‘go find the needle in the haystack.’ You certainly do not initiate the discussion with any kind of specification of the meaning of your terms. ‘Yoga’ is not as self-evident as you assume ‘it’ to be — as if it were a ‘thing.’
Moreover, you accept a false premise. Anyone with more than a superficial knowledge of the evolution of yoga knows that yoga is not ‘Vedic’ in any exclusive or proprietary sense. One need not argue with the idea (of Vedic ownership), but rather simply demonstrate it to be false. There are plenty of resources for doing so.
I repeat: as a ‘rational argument,’ yours falls woefully short and adds little to the conversation. It is a soufflé, puffed up and defended with bluster. I know — that’s your ‘brand.’
We agree that the ‘Vedas’ do not ‘own’ yoga.
Now please come up with a better — and more factually/historically supported — argument (which really isn’t so hard to do), rather than rely on facile analogies to natural ‘forces’ like gravity. Don’t act like a pigeon who lands on a chessboard, knocks over all the pieces and then struts about like he’s won.
PS If you insist that you have adequately defined yoga, then please explain — based on your definition — how yoga is anything like the ‘force’ of gravity.
Gravity as a force operates independently of human action or will. Gravity ‘works’ whether you want it to or not.
Yoga on the other hand has to be practiced for it to ‘work.’ It relies upon will, intention, action and [discriminative] understanding.
Unlike gravity, yoga doesn’t ‘happen’ when no one is doing it.
In other words, gravity doesn’t have to be ‘practiced’ — yoga does…Unless you have a different definition of ‘yoga’ that doesn’t involve people, in which case you need to be more clear.
How does yoga in any way resemble gravity, such that you can rest your argument on the analogy?
“…At no point in the essay — anywhere — do you specify what you mean by yoga…”
Other than here, of course:
“Yoga is an eternal, inherent attribute of nature that reveals itself as the tendency of living systems to seek equilibrium. The philosophy of Yoga seeks to understand that fundamental equilibrium, while its practice is the art of identifying and resolving any obstructions to this completely natural state.”
— did you miss the fact that I used bold, italic type?…
A fuller explanation will be forthcoming in the book I’m currently writing, but you can find ample support for this view in the Yoga Sutras — specifically in the second chapter’s treatment of the kleshas. My use of the term “obstructions” was intended to link directly to that part of the teachings. Additionally, a major hint is contained in the fourth chapter’s third sutra, wherein transformation is described as being possible only when we remove certain obstacles that prevent the “natural intelligence” of nature from asserting itself.
BTW, I didn’t say that Yoga WAS gravity, I said it was a natural force LIKE gravity. Asana practice can be viewed as a process of aligning ourselves and our actions with forces that are already present, rather than thinking there is something essential that is missing, or needs to be added.
I can rest my argument on these views because in my 36 years of teaching Yoga, I have found them to be true, practical and effective.
Yes, and the metaphysics and philosophy of these individuals must be examined. So, as far as Yoga is concerned, if Consciousness is not rooted at the center of the metaphysical and philosophical teachings, then it is not Yoga. Without Consciousness, it is Anti-Yoga, non-Yoga yoga, or whatever else you want to call it.
When you capitalize the word “Consciousness” in your comment, I can only assume you give it Primacy, a view I reject.
As far as I can tell, the most basic distinction re: consciousness is whether it is primary — as opposed to existence being primary. Meaning: does the universe emerge from some kind of eternal, primal consciousness, or is it the universe itself which is primal and eternal? Giving primacy to existence would mean that consciousness is an *attribute* of certain entities, which cannot exist independently of those entities that possess it.
I subscribe to the latter view – the primacy of existence – which is what makes me, in Sanskrit terminology, a Nastik – one who rejects the supernatural origin, and thus the ultimate authority, of the Vedas. While I do not dispute the fact that great wisdom can be found in Vedic teachings, I reject the idea that they were “heard” by sages who were in mystical communion with some other dimension – for the simple fact that I reject the existence of that other dimension. This view actually attributes great respect and wisdom to the rishis, for it holds their insight and intelligence in high esteem as the *authors* of the Vedas – as opposed to being some sort of passive human dictaphone for the divine.
Holding these beliefs has not in any way hampered my ability to teach Yoga. It has, in fact, greatly enhanced that ability by freeing me from the burden of accepting at face value centuries of mystical, unfounded assumptions about the core teachings.
I hope this clarifies where I’m coming from. Thank you for your contribution to this dialogue.
yes it is not invented but discovered but in India and this is a simple fact not the matter of ownership because the people who discovered it, were definitely never wore the the idea to own it. it is for humanity. it is for one consciousness. In your blog you mentioned that some time it was totally ignored or belonged to fakirs, beggars. People did not practice Asana
because of so many contemporary reasons but Yoga as a philosophy was always alive and in whole India’s freedom movement it worked immensely as a guiding factor. A new thought is yoga is an extension or evolved version of Sanatan dharma also seems true. because the people discovered it belonged to the Sanatana philosophy and were looking for some better purpose of life , some ways to live life better, to achieve real happiness and that is how they left every thing and just kept one thing in mind, the purity of soul and discovered a new thing – Yoga. it jins whole world. Please don’t claim it for any bodys ownership keeping in the mind that it was discovered in India for the whole humanity.
I am disappointed that people continue to get Krishnamacharya’s history in relation to yoga asana completely wrong. Krishnamacharya never studied with a “Tibetan Sage” in Nepal. Please refer to “The Yoga Sutra of Pantajali” by David Gordon White. Until Krishnamacharya’s history in relation to the yoga asana is understood, this debate will fail to gain any real traction.
You raise an interesting issue, and I’ve been corresponding with Dr. White about it.
But, what does your comment have to do with my post?
The primary reason yoga is so hotly debated at present is because of the popularization of yoga asana. If in fact, as Dr. White suggests, that asana was constructed not more than 100 years ago by Krishnamacharya, then there is little debate around its origins. In your article you used the fictional history Krishnamacharya presented to authenticate his style of exercise/gymnastics he created to teach his students in Mysore. According to Dr. White this has nothing to do with yoga. If we want to talk about philosophy, meditation etc… then I am in full agreement with the thesis of your article, but you lost me when you brought Krishnamacharya in to the debate.
“It’s important to note that upon exiting his teacher’s Tibetan cave 90 years ago, Krishnamacharya’s payment to his guru in exchange for the teachings was a promise to complete a life-long, arduous task: he was charged with becoming a householder, raising a family, and sharing what he had learned. For a high-born, deeply religious Brahmin scholar like himself, this was no small promise — in fact, it was the biggest promise he could possibly have made. The India of 1925 had long rejected her own gift, and Yogis were held by most of society in the lowest esteem possible, associated with street beggars, fakirs, criminals and frauds. The tireless work of Krishnamacharya and his contemporaries resurrected, in decades, what it took India centuries to discard.”
To conflate yoga with asana is problematic at best. In response to this statement slightly more educated people will quote the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the lesser educated will go so far as to regurgitate the current and popular myth of the Yoga Sutras. While the Yoga Sutra argument is ridiculous and not worth discussion, the later texts could be misconstrued by the novel reader. If one reads those texts with a clear understanding of “Hatha” or the history of the Nath sects, then there should be no confusion.
Speaking as a student of Krishnamacharya’s son, Desikachar, I can say that in my experience, asana can be a valuable tool of Yoga. Asana and Yoga are not the same thing, but they are completely compatible, and mutually illuminating. I can say this with assurance from a purely rational and anatomical perspective, irregardless of whether the teachings I received came out of a cave or not.
Regarding Dr. White’s deconstruction of Krishnamacharya’s timeline, it’s interesting to point out some information he did not have access to. First, Krishnamacharya was apparently teaching sutras in Mysore, contrary to Dr. White’s conclusion that he only turned his attention to Patanjali after his move to Madras. We have recorded testimony of Pattabhi Jois that he learned the Yoga Sutra from Prof. K. during a period of 7 years in Mysore. Additionally, during that time, KPJ was told that his teacher’s guru Rama Mohana Bramachari lived in the forest outside of Benares, which undercuts Dr. White’s contention that the geographical logistics behind the story of the Tibetan (or Napalese) cave are simply untenable. Why Krishnamacharya chose to change the location of the “cave” on subsequent re-tellings of his story is a question about which we can only speculate.
Now, could all of this be just another fabrication or misremembering? Sure. But, my point is that it’s not quite as cut and dried as the case made out in Dr. White’s book. It’s simply a matter of which story you choose to believe, and which story you choose to challenge. It’s all stories in the end.
None of the stories really matter as far as the authenticity of the teachings are concerned. What makes them authentic is not geography, antiquity, pedantry, or anything else that adds up to an external appeal to authority. Authenticity comes from embodiment, trail and error, and concretizing the principles in real life. That’s what I’ve been taking a stand for all these years.
Namaste
So if recipe of chicken tandoori was discovered in india and is liked worldwide, people opening restaurants and serving chicken tandoori in Indian restaurants worldwide, getting money, nothing is wrong in it.
But we would mind if anyone does not know what chicken tandoori is basically and if you are selling “bat ” tandoori using your own ingredients like orange zest and chocolate,cheeze , if it tastes aweful and if nothing really is common with original recipe but people are buying it just because YOU ARE SELLING IT UNDER BRAND NAME of Chicken tandoori, you are indirectly making the person who discovered this recipe feel shameful with that businessman’s BS things like using bat and some strange ingredients. And at that time he will say ” you are not delivering it properly to people, first come and learn it from me and then sell it to people under the name of recipe I discovered “. But your ego hurts when people try to tell you that you are adding completely irrelevant and negative things to yoga.
What Indians are telling you about yoga is not different, You are selling so different things under the name of Yoga, so it is making the authentic people (no matter indian or western white guy yogi) feel bad …you just make all authentic people feel shameful by adding irrelevant things like Ayn Rand and what not!
If people are truly authentic, how can anything I say make them feel shameful?
There is no such thing as a right to not be offended.
Thank you for posting this. I agree that yoga is a living, breathing set of disciplines that is owned by no one, that the only part of yoga one can own is one’s own unique practice of yoga. I further thank you for saying that “Should you feel the need to admonish someone for not practicing or teaching a “true” Yoga, I urge you to reflect on your attitude and let it go — by offering it into the flame of Yoga — swaha.” I have seen too much of the arrogant attitude that one particular lineage is the “only” way to practice, and that others are inferior.
Your question “invented or discovered” is right on. The problem is that we have created a dichotomy between science, which supposedly discovers, and arts, which supposedly invents. But many people in recent decades have been showing how science also invents and arts also discover. Yoga is a practice that, like many others, involves both invention and discovery. In fact, in any real process of research, no distinction can be made between the two. If readers of this blog are interested in pursuing this question further, I’ve written about yoga as research in my recent book, “What a Body Can Do: Technique as Knowledge, Practice as Research” (Routledge 2015).
Very nicely said. Patanjali Yoga Sutra were not invented. In the same vein yoga does not belong to India however one has to acknowledge that going on a teacher training in India reveals a lot mor of its deep spiritual roots and traditional ways than taking a course with someone who never put feet in India.
personnaly i just return from a 500 hrs course in Rishikesh and i feel humbled to have taken that step and lived through the indian masters practice. somehow it gives my practice some authentic touch. Your book by the way is in over 100 copies in the yog peeth’ library! I wish one day i cant attend one of your courses… Namaste
Leslie, I like your question, and truly enjoy the answer. Your brain transmits wonderfully, your fingers typed rightly, and your guts, they exude strength 🙂
Hello, since i came accross this post, i would like to leave a couple of words.
Well some said that like a natural force (e.g gravity) a “natural-force yoga” is not invented by anyone, simply discovered and as a result of that, no one can claim that this is sth “we” invented/evolved/produced. Leaving aside the fact that even natural forces may become at some point (while not being there before, for example in a universal evolution what would be called gravity emerged AFTER some other processes took place, in this sense it was NOT discovered), this claim is still WRONG.
Let me explain, first of all what one would call “natural force” is NOT yoga per se, but “prana” (“life-energy”) of which yoga constitutes a set of methods to deal with. And NO-ONE claimed to have invented prana or limit its use (unlike what some do with, hmm.. nuclear energy). Second, yoga, as a set of methods has a distinctive historico-culturo-geographical part which is of course and undisputable INDIAN (whether dravidian, aryan, pre-aryan or whatever is not of the essence at this point). Yoga as has been formulated traditionaly (and not only) is a product of Hindu civilisation and its distinct historical, cultural and geographical features. As such, of course yoga is Indian and no-one can claim otherwise, while at the same time leaving the meaning of yoga the same.
Nikos M. (a wannabe, wannabe student of the world)
That’s how Westerners try to impose their view on Indian Tradition …. Obviously no one owns gravity but it was discovered by Newton and all of us give credit to him …
The point is when it comes to patenting everything in this era, making money and then claiming rights on it is no more old thing for Indians … Such as Christian Yoga, Muslim Yoga , Mindfulness meditation, etc … The thing is, the digested tradition cuts off the real ethos of it And hence it becomes ritual for a seeker …
Hence many traditions like Aghori , Naga and so on are titled as ‘Taboo’ in Discovery, Nat Geo channels … These channels are supposed to give right information with right intention but thing is almost every research scholar come to India , take some data and digest it without taking any reference from real Gurus and make it a habit to claim it’s right on there selves…. They don’t give any recognition, money and more than that they call it some creepy ritual …. Yes 99 ℅ of Indian rituals are scientific though they are not Scientifically proven .. so Westerners first criticize us , then follow us, and afterwards just ignore us and claim their claim on our Discovery
Give Indians credit, recognition, financial aid for whatever others are earning and of course in the respectful manner.
Leslie Kaminoff ,
You are proving your own point … Like you mentioned above that there was some Aryan Dravidian invasion theory , this is the same thing we Indians don’t like Westerners …. You come to India to visit and get some benefit and afterwards distort our history like British invaders did and then claim that you are impure , let us write your own history in our perspective …
Aryan Dravidian Theory is completely Non Sense …. It was imposed on us by British invaders .. .
In the same way , you created gap between our castes and made us fight with each other …. You used your creepy Scientific Race philosophy in America and followed the same on us regarding caste and still we are fighting with it ….
Ohh come on now , Indologists should be Indians now onwards …. Or at least take our advice … Don’t manipulate our history
Anurag, I’m happy to address any critiques you may have about anything I’ve personally said or done.
But, it seems your comments are addressed to all white people in general, so there’s nothing I can actually say in response.