Introduction 15
Singer, “Americans tended to take over and exaggerate ... the prevailing
European images of India.”^26 In other words, being further removed from the
physical realities of the Indian subcontinent allowed Americans an even greater
freedom of imagination when it came to imposing their imagined narratives
onto India and its people. Orientalism thus has served not simply as an imperi-
alizing force but also as a wellspring of internal narratives. A prime example of
this phenomenon is Sheldon Pollock’s analysis of German Orientalism as con-
structive of nationalistic Aryan- race ideolog y.^27 The Germans, who likewise
had no significant political or economic stake in India, effected a colonialism
that was ideological rather than physical in nature. This results in an intro-
verted Orientalism wherein texts of the Other are used in positive manner to
elevate the Self. In a similar dynamic, on American soil, Orientalism combined
with the ideologies of a universal religion allowed the West to claim India’s
holy men as its own. The superhuman potential of the Yogi becomes the latent
birthright of all humanity.
Of course, not all Americans saw the sudden influx of Indian ideas and, in
smaller doses, Indian people as a culturally elevating phenomenon. In analyz-
ing the multivalent nature of Indian Orientalism, Richard King has pointed out
that perspectives easily became polarized depending on context. Underscoring
the importance of charismatic celebrities like Vivekananda in reshaping the
Orientalist thought, King observes:
In Vivekānanda’s hands, Orientalist notions of India as “other worldly”
and “mystical” were embraced and praised as India’s special gift to human-
kind. Thus the very discourse that succeeded in alienating, subordinating
and controlling India was used by Vivekānanda as a religious clarion call
for the Indian people to unite under the banner of a universalistic and all-
embracing Hinduism.^28Thus the Orient, even pre- Vivekananda, was characterized by a sharply bipolar
nature. On the one hand, it served as a receptacle of Western fear and disgust
at its purported uncivilized backwardness and depravity. On the other, it was
a place of a kind of magic, mystery, and spiritual enchantment that had long
faded from the rationalist landscape of Western culture.^29 The same general
framework could be applied to the Yogi, who for some came to represent every-
thing that was depraved and backwards about India, while for others stood as
the embodiment of spirituality and human potential. The Yogi was grotesque
yet fascinating in his mortifications, deceitful yet enchanting in his magic
tricks, and, above all, visionary and venerated yet sinister and threatening in his
hypnotic powers.