WHAT IS DECOLONIALITY?
In the context of dharma traditions, decoloniality is the approach of de-centering and challenging Eurocentric norms, historical perspectives, and its orientalist and hegemonic gaze.
For indigenous communities whose cultures have endured the abuse and violence of colonization, decoloniality provides a platform for their voices to be heard and their viewpoints to be valued. It redresses the power imbalances created by supremacist ideologies and colonial capitalism, which seek to commodify and profit from indigenous cultures through the appropriation and erasure of traditional knowledge systems.
With regard to 'Hinduism,' known to insiders of the culture as Sanatana Dharma, commonly reduced to 'Dharma' in popular culture, decoloniality, as a lens, unmasks its colonial construction and unveils the original culture's vast architecture of knowledge and meaning, highlighting the unity within its diversity.
Much like the process of Indigenisation, decoloniality acknowledges the importance of cultural remembrance and reclamation while asserting self-sovereignty.
RESOURCES
I've compiled a list of books, articles, and resources to support your exploration of dharmic modalities of healing and transformation, such as Vedic Sciences and Yoga, from an emic viewpoint, or the perspective of an 'insider' of the culture.
By engaging with these resources, you can re-learn Indic histories and knowledge while centering the indigenous voice.
This toolkit will strengthen your critical thinking and discrimination skills helping you to identify authentic sources of knowledge that will support your personal healing and transformation journey, as well as those you may wish to teach or guide using practices rooted in these traditions.
Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah
धर्मो रक्षति रक्षित
'Protectors of Dharma, Are protected by Dharma'.
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