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    'Famed yogi Sadhguru' - aargh! Archived Message

    Posted by Ian M on September 13, 2023, 11:24 pm, in reply to "Simplicius: SITREP 13 Sep 2023 - Tradewinds of Change"

    ...at least Simplicius notes the criticism that the proposed change to 'Bharat' is related to Hindu nationalism. Sadhguru has himself been criticised for this and his closeness to Modi and the BJP, so it doesn't surprise me to see him fully on board with this. Here's the full vid Simplicius clips from:





    [from 7:10] Kiran Bedi: Did we make a mistake then in converting our name from Bharat to India?

    Sadhguru: A serious mistake. Because… you need to understand this whenever somebody occupies a nation any conquering forces when they take over certain nations, first thing they will do is they’ll change your name. This is the technology of dominance, this is the technology of enslaving. You must see – if you look at the African-American history when African people were brought in, the first thing is at the port their names were changed – whatever they had African names they were taken away and some silly names will be given. That’s what has been done to us. Thiruvananthapuram is Trivandrum, okay. Chennai is Mad-ras (Laughs) - we don't know whether we are mad or we’re rascals (Laughter).

    Like this – “India”. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean anything. So if I give you a meaningless name, you will become a meaningless stupid person in front of me because I have a meaningful name, I have a tradition, I have a culture – you have nothing. So in that context we have become India. This is the first thing because the concept of a nation must sink into everybody’s mind because nation is just an idea. When this idea burns through your burns through your mind and sinks into your heart and your passion is risen towards that, then you have a real nation, otherwise nation is just in the paper. This is the unfortunate reality for us right now. So at least when they left in 1947 the first thing we should have done is change the name in such a way that it resonates in some way in everybody’s mind.


    I don't know if the british empire renamed the country as he claims, but a quick search shows that he's talking rubbish about the name 'India' being 'meaningless'. It relates to the Indus river and refers to the whole subcontinent (including Pakistan) unlike 'Bharat' which derives from a tribe in the north and appears to be a much younger name:

    'The Republic of India has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, India and Bhārat. A third name, "Hindūstān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern Indian states of the Indian Subcontinent when Indians speak among themselves. The usage of "Bhārat", "Hindūstān", or "India" depends on the context and language of conversation.

    "Bhārat", the name for India in several Indian languages, is mainly derived from the name of the Vedic tribe of Bharatas who are mentioned in the Rigveda as one of the principal kingdoms of the Aryavarta. It is also variously said to be derived from the name of either Dushyanta's son Bharata of Mahabharata.[1] At first the name Bhārat referred only to the western part of the Gangetic Valley,[2][3] but was later more broadly applied to the Indian subcontinent and the region of Greater India, as was the name "India". Today it refers to the contemporary Republic of India located therein. The name "India" is originally derived from the name of the river Sindhu (Indus River) and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus (5th century BCE). The term appeared in Old English as early the 9th century and reemerged in Modern English in the 17th century.

    "Hindūstān" is a third name for the Republic of India. It was popular during Mughal's rule. The term 'Hindu' was the Old Persian adaption of "Sindhu" (Indus River). "Hindustan" is still common amongst Urdu scholars.'
    - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_India

    Elsewhere in the vid he pretends that he's more interested in spirituality than nationalism, but this idea about how it supposedly 'burns through your mind and sinks into your heart' and his talk later on about indoctrinating the youth gives the lie to it. It's the same old toxic ideology of inculcating feelings of togetherness among people who otherwise have nothing in common to facilitate taxation, military service, labour towards the 'common good' etc which always means concentrating wealth into the hands of the few within the main centres of power. And above all it's about obedience, service, conformity, 'one nation under god' etc ad nauseam.

    Maybe something positive can come out of India standing up to the neo-imperial west and possibly a name change can be part of that, but the cynics will be using it for their own purposes and ultimately all nation states act the same way towards their subjects.

    cheers,
    I

    (PS: yes, I get triggered by this bloke, see previous posts, eg: https://members5.boardhost.com/xxxxx/msg/archive/1603622363.html )

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