| Westernized
Hindus are naturally perplexed by this movement. It makes them feel perhaps a little
guilty that Westerners find value in their spiritual tradition which they have probably
never studied or taken seriously. They would like to believe that such Westerners are
uneducated, misinformed, or merely some fanatic fringe of progressive Western society and
its distrust of any spiritual or yogic practices, which many other Westerners,
particularly the religious fundamentalists, would label as cults. However many of the Westerners studying or practicing Hindu based
teachings are well educated. They include a number of scientists, artists, doctors and
teachers. For example, while modern Hindus look down Hindu mythology, Joseph Campbell
broadcast its value on American Educational Television a few years ago. Instead of showing
Hindu mythology as a strange superstition, he showed it as a sophisticated spiritual and
psychological science. |
