See our website: www.ESHAusa.org
Educators’ Society for Heritage of IndiA (ESHA) is a resource for teachers, students, parents and members of the academic community. ESHA provides information and resources from 'emic' perspective on topics related to India's heritage of Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, Dharma, philosophy, spirituality, science, history, culture and traditions,Hindi and Sanskrit langua
ges, to schools and colleges, teachers, curriculum developers, publishers, education officials, media, interfaith organizations, political leaders and the public. Note: Emic and etic, in the social and behavioral sciences, refer to the two kinds of viewpoints:
'emic' refers to the viewpoint of members of a social or ethnic group about their own group's culture or history, while 'etic' refers to the perspective of an outside observer studying the social group. Etic perspective is as seen from the lense (prejudices) of the outside observer. India has always attracted world's attention. India’s culture, heritage, traditions and philosophies find its place in school and college education and the media. Much of this information has been controlled and
interpreted by people who come from outside of the Indian traditions and do not have the first hand knowledge, appreciation or experience
of these traditions. Their's is an 'etic' perspective (outsiders looking in)
of India and Indic traditions. Members of the Indian American community who understand and practice these traditions, and want to impart them to their new generation as their heritage, find that considerable
misinformation exists about Indian traditions in the American academia. With this concern, a number of scholars, educators, and community leaders met at the Global Dharma Conference in Edison, New Jersey
in July 2003 to address the need for greater involvement of Indian professionals in the school and college curricula, textbook reviews
and selection process, and providing more accurate, 'emic' perspective about our traditions to the media and the general public. The Educators' Society for Heritage of IndiA (ESHA) was thus formed by scholars, educators, and community leaders. ESHA is incorporated in New Jersey as a tax-exempt organization under 501(c)(3).
