Hinduism and New Thought: Digestion or an Opening
Madan L. Goel
Professor Emeritus of Political Science
The University of West Florida
Hindu bashing in the US has been going on for over a century.
Katherine Mayo’s infamous book Mother India (1927) comes to mind.
Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History (2010) adds to
the anti-Hindu tirade. Ditto for leading American newspapers, the NY
Times and the Washington Post.
Simultaneously, however, Hindu teachings are ascendant in America
and Europe: tens of millions meditate and practice yoga; some 25
million are vegetarian; about a quarter believe in reincarnation and 40
percent choose cremation over burial.
New Thought or New Age is a growing spiritual movement in the US
and the West. New Thought derives its philosophy at least in part
from Hinduism and Buddhism. The present essay explores this link.
American interest in Indian spirituality can be traced back to the
Transcendentalist Movement of the middle of the 19th century. Ralph
Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were the leaders of the
Movement. Other luminaries included: Phineas Quimby, Margaret
Fuller, Palmer Peabody, James Freeman Clark, Mary Baker Eddy, and
Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. Madam Helena Blavatsky and Annie
Besant founded in 1875 the Theosophical Society which attracted
many followers in the West. The Theosophical Society is
headquartered in Madras (now Chennai), India.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) wrote,
In all nations there are minds which incline to dwell in the
conception of the fundamental Unity. This tendency finds its
highest expression in the religious writings of the East, and
chiefly in the Indian Scriptures, in the Vedas, the Bhagavat
Gita, and the Vishnu Purana.
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I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavat-Gita. It was the first
of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or
unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old
intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered
and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.
Emerson’s ideas are best expressed in his lecture on “The Oversoul,”
delivered at the Harvard Divinity School in 1844.
He talked of a ‘divine presence’ that permeates the whole creation
and all living things. Behind the appearances in the universe, there is
a Reality of a Being and Consciousness which is One and Eternal. This
One Reality is the Self of all things. God could best be found by
looking inward into the core of one’s being, into one’s Soul. By living
according to the dictates of an Inner Will, one could transcend the
materialist world of sense perception, the world of cause and effect.
These tenets find their best expression not in Christianity, Judaism or
Islam but in Hinduism.
The transcendentalists believed that intuition rather than reason is
the higher faculty. A mystical union with the Divine is the goal. The
process of seeking unity with the Divine is inherently individualistic.
Contemplative solitude is necessary. Henry David Thoreau lived in a
small 10 x 15 foot cabin on the banks of Walden Pond in Concord,
Massachusetts. He lived ‘deliberately’ in the tradition of ancient
Vedic Rishis or seers. His observations are recorded in a short book,
Walden (1854). Thoreau (1817-1862) wrote:
In the morning I bathe my Intellect in
the stupendous and cosmogonal
philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in
comparison with which our modern
world and its literature seem puny
and trivial.
A number of Hindu swamis and yogis traveled to the US beginning
with 1890s. They also impacted the practice of religion in the US. I
list a few of the important ones.
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Swami Vivekananda: His lecture at the Parliament of Religions
in Chicago in 1893 gained immense popularity. He
established Ramakrishna Centers in several large American
cities and attracted many followers.
Parmahansa Yogananda: he established the Self Realization
Fellowship in 1920, which attracted many followers. His
popular Autobiography of a Yogi has sold in millions.
Recent visitors to the US include: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,
Swami Muktananda, Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada,
Swami Rama, Vishnu Devananda, Swami Sacchidananda,
Swami Chinmayananda, Swami Dayananda, and Swami
Kripalvananda.
Sri Aurobindo‘s philosophy of “integral yoga” is taught at
several American centers, including one in Pensacola, Fl.
Deepak Chopra is a popular new age writer and speaker.
Hinduism has impacted New Thought in important ways, as the
following list indicates. New Thought promotes the idea that "Infinite
Intelligence" is ubiquitous, present everywhere.
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spirit is the totality of real things
true human selfhood is divine, rather than sinful
divine thought is a force for good,
sickness originates in the mind, and positive thinking has a
healing effect
Absent in New Thought is the emphasis on “original sin” and hence
the need for a Savior. Major New Thought denominations include:
Unity Church, Religious Science, Center for Spiritual Living, and the
Church of Divine Science. Smaller denominations and study groups
under a variety of names also exist. For a list of centers, check:
http://findacenter.com/new-thought-usa.htm
My Participation in New Thought
Over the past 20 years, I have attended off and on Sunday services of
the Unity Church of Christianity in Pensacola, and also once served on
its Board of Directors. The following truth principles describe Unity
Church at Pensacola:
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Unity emphasizes the divine potential in man, rather than the
“sinfulness of man.”
Unity embraces non-dualism. At every Sunday service,
members recite: “There is only one power and one presence
in the Universe and in my life, God.” This statement is similar
to Isha Upanishad opening line: Isha vasyam idam sarvam—
All this is for the habitation of the Lord.
Unity de-emphasizes traditional Christianity’s emphasis on
dualism: God versus Satan.
Unity teaches that Jesus was a great Teacher, a way-shower,
an example-setter, not a “Savior.”
Belief in Karma and re-incarnation is held among many
members.
Emphasis is placed on self-discovery rather than on being
“saved.”
Meditation and mindfulness are incorporated in Sunday
services.
The Pensacola Unity Minister Rev Jamie Sanders signs his
monthly newsletter with “Namaskar.”
The source of Unity teachings in Hinduism is not acknowledged or is
not widely known. Unity was founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore
in the 19th century.
New Thought’s non-acknowledgement of Hindu sources may
represent a case of digestion, using Rajiv Malhotra’s terminology.
Digestion occurs when the original source is de-emphasized or
altogether ignored. See Malhotra’s Being Different (2011) and Indra’s
Net (2014).
Rajiv Malhotra has also written about the U Turn theory. First, the
Western seekers learn from Hinduism, then, gradually they distance
themselves from the original Hindu source; then they begin to claim
the philosophical teachings as their own; finally, they link the new
knowledge back to some Western source, and disabuse the Indian
source. Examples include: Emmanuel Kant, Paul Hacker, Joseph
Campbell, and Ken Wilber.
My view is that New Thought represents an Entryway or an Opening
for Hindu inspired teachings. Sanatan dharma can spread by way of
New Thought. I have found Unity members to be open-minded.
Personal testimony may be of value here. A beginner’s discussion
group on the Bhagavad Gita several years ago at Unity Church was
well-attended. The festival of Diwali has also been celebrated both at
the Unity Church and at the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Pensacola.
A six-week course on the Sanskrit/Hindi script was offered at the
Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola. The course sought to
clarify the meaning of certain Sanskrit terms in use in New Thought,
such as: guru, shakti, shanti, chakras, atman, yoga, karma, dharma. A
correct pronunciation of Sanskrit words was emphasized. Twenty-Five
adults attended the course over an 8-week period. Please note that
Pensacola is a medium sized city, not a large metropolis like Atlanta,
Houston, or New York.
I also found that some Americans had adopted Sanskrit email user
names: shakti, shanti, taruni, kamala, radhe, devdasi, and so on.
Women are more likely to take Sanskrit names.
The lectures I delivered have been well received. A member in the
audience once walked over to me and remarked: “I did not know that
I was a Hindu. I believe in most everything you described in your
lecture on Hinduism.” This remark has been repeated to me several
times. People do not always know the source of ideas they carry in
their heads. Many New Thought followers are closet Hindus. Many
practice yoga and meditation and also chant Sanskrit mantras.
Krishna Dass, Jai Uttal, Gaura Vani and other singers draw crowds in
Kirtans. A Kirtan is a congregational chanting of devotional Sanskrit
and Hindi hymns, often accompanied with a tabla, a harmonium and a
guitar.
Ekhart Tolle is a popular New Thought teacher. His two best-selling
books include: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
(2004), and, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (2008).
Eckhart Tolle derives his message from Vedanta and Zen, although he
is miserly in fully acknowledging it. His 2008 TV presentation at Oprah
Winfrey show attracted 9 to 11 million viewers worldwide. This is a
remarkable number.
New Thought members have been weaned from traditional Christian
teachings. Being “saved” from original sin is not a preoccupation with
most of them. Jesus is held-up as a great Teacher, and not worshiped
as a Savior.
The world is in a state of flux or change in matters of religion. The
Islamic world is being radicalized. Europe is largely de-Christianized.
Born-Again Christianity has risen in America, now claiming nearly onefourth to one-third of the American population. Born-Again Christians
are passionate about their faith, and often have an activist missionary
agenda. President George W. Bush was a Born-Again Christian.
Simultaneously, New Thought spirituality is on the rise, as described in
this short essay. The flux in religious landscape offers an opportunity
for the creation of a new world.
Hindu leaders decry that their religion is being hijacked. They decry
that Hindu teachings are appropriated without due
acknowledgement. But Hindus are absent at the table. Pensacola has
a vegetarian society. Interestingly all members are American. Indians
are visible in their absence.
I conclude with the words of Sri Aurobindo written a century ago in
New Lamps for Old:
"Our actual enemy is not any force exterior to ourselves, but
our own crying weaknesses, our cowardice, our selfishness,
our hypocrisy, our purblind sentimentalism."