Indian Wisdom and Western scholars

                     

   Western Greats on INDIA

              With the beginning of the new millennium we are witnessing more frequent and dramatic instances of Nature’s destructive power; the severe earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan being the most recent. For many of us these natural catastrophes, as well as manmade disasters, have caused deep reflection on the age-old questions of life. If tens of thousands of lives can be wiped out in an instant, without warning, what does it all mean? Life, as we know it, is so fleeting—why are we even here? Is there anything permanent we can latch onto in this world?

           These events bring home the value and relevance of the great mystical teachings, particularly the Vedanta philosophy of India as set down in the Upanishads and The Bhagavad Gita. In an impermanent world they speak uncompromisingly of that permanent reality we are all seeking (consciously or not). In Vedanta that Reality is called Brahman and is defined as eternal, immortal, unchanging, indivisible, beyond the pairs of opposites and, according to mystics from all traditions, can be directly experienced by us. Moreover, the purpose of life is to realize our identity with that Divine Reality.

          The Vedantic principles speak of the unity of all existence, the universality of spiritual truth (that each religion is a path to God), and a God that is not distant at all. Although transcendent, It is also immanent—is the indwelling Presence that gives life. These basic truths are becoming more and more part of our thinking. Evidence of this can be seen in the works of great Western philosophers, scientists and writers. ‘Great minds on India’  by Salil Gewali provides an extensive compilation of what these influential, world-renowned individuals have said about India’s contribution to science and spirituality. The wisdom of these teachings also permeates the works of many modern spiritual writers and thinkers such as Eckhart Tolle, Thomas Merton, and Don Miguel Ruiz. The influence of these ancient Vedantic teachings of India started early in American history and can be seen in the works of such great writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain and TS Eliot.

           With technology fostering a global consciousness and change in our worldview, we have a newfound sense of interconnectedness. Can it be a coincidence that the Vedantic scriptures of ancient India, which speak of the oneness of all life, are now available to us? It would appear that humanity on a larger scale then ever before is ready to hear these crucial ideas. Fritjof Capra’s world famous ‘The Tao of Physics’  is a successful attempt to validate the ancient wisdom. He says ‘The two foundations of twentieth-century physics - Quantum theory and Relativity theory both force us to see the WORLD very much in the way a Hindu sees it.

           The urgency of our times makes the dissemination of these teachings of oneness, universality, and acceptance of other paths imperative for our future existence. A great thinker Arthur Schopenhauer exclaims  ‘Upanishads have been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death. They are the product of highest wisdom.’ 

          India, the country shaped like a heart, is the mystical heart of the world. It is the great reservoir of spirituality for humanity to dip into whenever it tires of the aridity of secular life and materialism, of doctrines and sensuality. Since its precious teachings have been translated and given away to the rest of the world over the last two centuries, perhaps it isn’t as necessary now to go to India to discover them: India is a spiritual territory, a spiritual direction, not geography. So in this text we will try to capture the spirit of India—the India of the sages, of lofty thoughts, of the highest mysticism—and the essence of that is called Vedanta. The author’s hope and prayer is that the ideas, insights, and promising message of these marvelous scriptures of India will inspire and encourage the reader to personally test the validity of these universal truths. Thus Salil’s compilation “Great minds on INDIA” will be a most worthwhile gift to all of us.

Anna Hourihan
Redding, California, USA