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A THREAD FOR WHITE PEOPLE LOOKING INTO HINDUISM:
Hi, I’m an ex-Hindu, and I’d like to address an issue I’ve seen spread across so many magic/witchcraft-related groups: a romanticisation of Hinduism without any acknowledgment of caste. 1/7
Hi, I’m an ex-Hindu, and I’d like to address an issue I’ve seen spread across so many magic/witchcraft-related groups: a romanticisation of Hinduism without any acknowledgment of caste. 1/7
Orientalism isn’t new. The phenomenon of white people feeling drawn toward the mysterious, exotic practices of the East is as old as colonialism. India in particular has been long hailed as a spiritual hub for white people who have lost their hope & faith. 2/7
Roberto de Nobili, an Italian noble, came to South India as a missionary at the turn of the 17th century and instead became, essentially, a Christianised Tamil Brahmin. Thanks to his white skin & highborn status, he was (mostly) welcomed by the Brahmin community. 3/7
de Nobili is not alone. The author of “Eat Pray Love”, a white woman, supposedly discovered “the power of prayer” in India. While she was allowed to enter temples, Bahujan people have been barred from doing so in their own home towns. 4/7
de Nobili was accepted when he became vegetarian, but Bahujan & Muslim Indians have been LYNCHED for eating beef. India’s history of racism & casteism is not secret. Yet many white people who praise Hinduism as the ultimate religion refuse to acknowledge their privileges. 5/7
They are welcomed for being white and therefore “high-born”, while so many Black & Bahujan people are denied access to Hinduism despite far deeper cultural ties to these practices.
This is not to say that no white person is ever allowed to explore Hinduism! 6/7
This is not to say that no white person is ever allowed to explore Hinduism! 6/7
But don’t play into Hindutva propaganda if you do. Make an effort to LEARN about caste and ways YOU can join in the fight to end caste violence.
Oh, and don’t call Kali a “demoness”. Ugh. Thank you. 7/7
Oh, and don’t call Kali a “demoness”. Ugh. Thank you. 7/7
Tweet’s blowing up so please SIGN AND SHARE this petition to ERADICATE casteism from the workplace in CA!! https://www.change.org/end-caste-in-workplace-ca
