Paul Brunton (1898 -1981) was a British philosopher, mystic, traveler and author of A Hermit in the Himalayas, A Message from Arunachala and The Orient: Legacy to the West. A Search in Secret India is one of the great classics of spiritual travel writing. With a keen eye for detail, Paul Brunton describes taking a circular journey round India: living amongst yogis, mystics and gurus, seeking the one who would give him the peace and tranquility that come with self-knowledge. His vividly told search ends at Arunachala, with Sri Ramana Maharshi. He has observed:
"We are witnessing in the West the appearance of an at present thin but slowly deepening current of interest in those very thoughts and ideas which the young men of India are today doing their best to reject as inadequate to their needs and which constitute the faith and religious traditions of their forefathers."
"For Indian culture is fruitful in the domain of psychology, philosophy, and religion, so fruitful that there are few doctrines which appeared out of original Western sources that have not already been anticipated and developed...in India. "
The Bhagavad Gita contains the mental quintessence and successful synthesis of the various systems of religion and philosophy, it offers a unique epitome of the high culture of prehistoric India. The following sentences from the Bhagavad Gita unite in making the same declaration of an unseen Reality and Unity which dwells behind nature.
“My self is the bearer of all existence.”
“All this world is pervaded by Me in My unmanifested form.”
This doctrine is the keystone in the entire arch of the earliest Indian philosophy.
This idea appealed to several “wise men” of our Western world - philosophers and scientists, living so many centuries later, including Tennyson, Thomas Carlyle, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Alfred Lord Tennyson, (1809-1892) one time Poet Laureate of England sings:
“The sun, the moon, the stars, the hills and the plains,
Are not these, O Soul, the vision of Him who reigns?
The ear of man cannot hear, and the eye of man cannot see;
But if we could see and hear this vision – were it not He?”
"Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), whose Transcendentalism earned him the appellation of "the Boston Brahmin." Reading through his writings and essays we find several passages which insists, as the Hindu texts on the subordinate character of the visible material creation."
The work of physicists like Currie, Rutherford, Fermi, Cockcroft, Chadwick, Anderson and Millikan has brought us to the practical and proven scientific principle that the inner structure of matter is reducible to a single fundamental substance, an essential and immortal energy which is the "life" of the myriad forms that make up the universe. Modern development in the laboratory will vindicate the theory of a single element underlying all the visible and different manifestations of material Nature, we shall have to grant that the assertions of the Hindu philosophers, made thousands of years ago....are but results of the insight practiced by keenly perceptive and concentrated minds."
"The ancient Hindus took their philosophic statements in the nature of a revelation from on high, as issuing forth from their seers as a result of a personal self-experience in the spiritual domain. Our Western scientists have no such experience, and if they are approaching similar conclusions, it is because they are working their way from the profoundest depths of this material world up to its farthest frontier where the ions elude them and vanish into mystery……the wisest men of the ancient East and the modern West…are beginning to arrive at precisely the same conclusions."
" This Indian doctrine declares human cognition of the entire manifold universe to be illusionary in character. The vast multitude of tangible objects and tangible creatures which we so plainly witness around us were said to be the product of the constructive imagination of the One Hidden Self. Man and his material environments were but finite dreams passing through the mind of the Infinite Dreamer. Consequently all that we know of the world is nothing more or less than a series of idea held in our consciousness. Thus we arrive at a completely idealistic metaphysics which, because of its very nature, must apparently remain for ever purely speculative and beyond the scope of the finest instruments which can be devised to prove or disprove. Nevertheless the strangeness and unfamiliarity of the doctrine fascinated the Indian mind to an amazing extent. That this early foreshadowing of modern idealistic philosophy was not merely a worthless superstition is evidenced by the fact that some brilliant minds of the West have been equally fascinated and perplexed. "
One of the greatest 19th century scientists was Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), his work, Collected Essays vol. VI, serve to show how much ancient Indian philosophy anticipated modern Western thought.
William Cooke Taylor (1800-1849) author of several books including A popular history of British India, commercial intercourse with China, and the insular possessions of England in the eastern seas. He spoke glowingly of Sanskrit literature:
"It was an astounding discovery that Hindustan possessed, in spite of the changes of realms and chances of time, a language of unrivalled richness and variety; a language, the parent of all those dialects that Europe has fondly called classical - the source alike of Greek flexibility and Roman strength. A philosophy, compared with which, in point of age, the lessons of Pythagoras are but of yesterday, and in point of daring speculation Plato's boldest efforts are tame and commonplace. A poetry more purely intellectual than any of those which we had before any conception; and systems of science whose antiquity baffled all power of astronomical calculation.This literature, with all its colossal proportions, which can scarcely be described without the semblance of bombast and exaggeration claimed of course a place for itself - it stood alone, and it was able to stand alone."
"To acquire the mastery of this language is almost the labor of life; its literature seems exhaustless. The utmost stretch of imagination can scarcely comprehend its boundless mythology. Its philosophy has touched upon every metaphysical difficulty; its legislation is as varied as the castes for which it was designed."
Gertrude Emerson Sen ( - 1982) historian and journalist and Asia specialist. Author of several books including The Story of Early Indian Civilization. She married a Bengali - Basiswar Sen and in her Voiceless India, she learned to love the deep-rooted Indian view of life, Indian ways of thought and Indian ideals.
She considered Hinduism a priceless heritage of India. The vast archaic literature been handed down, and which faithfully preserves the ideas and ideals of those far-off times. It establishes the wonderful continuity and depth of Indian civilization.
"As the Indian sages pondered on the problem of good and evil, they were confronted with the apparent injustices and cruelties of the world around them, and this state of affairs was finally reconciled with their idea of Brahman by the conception of a universal ethical law applying to all life. This law as proclaimed as the law of karma. In the words of the Upanishads, "As is a man's desire so is his will, and as is his will so is his deed, and whatever deed he does that he will reap."
"India held a strange and irresistible attraction for the whole of Asia in the first millennium. People in the most primitive stage of development as well as the Chinese with a civilization as ancient and illustrious as India's own, acknowledged India as first in the supreme realm of spiritual perception. Yet the civilization of India, transplanted abroad, did not have a deadening effect of suppressing or stifling native genius, as the imposition of a foreign culture often does. On the contrary, it called out the best that others had to give. As a result of India's fertilizing influence, new and distinctive types of culture everywhere arose, and each new colony was able to create and contribute fresh treasure, to be added to the great Asiatic heritage. How Indian religions and Indian culture blossomed anew in foreign environments and endured for many centuries is a fascinating and little appreciated chapter of Indian history."
The Indian colonies which began to grow up all along the periphery of the motherland were essentially cultural and religious, rather than political or racial. Yet they were subject to strong Indian influences. These swept outward like tidal waves. They passed south to Sri Lanka and beyond to the remote islands of the Pacific. They inundated Burma, Malaya, Siam and Indo-China. They overwhelmed Nepal and Tibet. From Afghanistan, they passed along to central Asia and China. They lapped at the far shores of Korea and Japan. Indian religious ideas and literature, Indian conventions of art and architecture, Indian legal codes and social practices...all took root in these outer territories." "For a long time Indians seem to have held the monopoly of maritime commerce in both the southern and eastern seas of Asia. They possessed large ocean-going vessels, in which they first ventured to Sri Lanka, Burma, Malaya and gradually they extended their journeys to Java and Sumatra and then to southern China.'
Swami Rama Tirtha (1873-1906) renounced his career as a Mathematician in order to practice and preach Vedanta.
"Sanatana means Eternal. In its purest form, this religion is Sanatana, because it is based on Truth. Truth is immortal and is never annihilated. It remains the same yesterday, today and forever. Therefore our true Sanatana Dharma, in its purest form, cam never be exterminated. It, however, does not follow that we should relax into inaction, in the belief that our religion is the best or that it can never be destroyed. No, no. This idle thinking is the result of our indolent minds. It is, therefore, absolutely essential for the followers of Sanatana Dharma to keep it safe from the evil and aggressive designs of the non-Hindus, who are generally ever ready to malign us."
Truth is not only Eternal but also unlimited and infinite. It is all-embracing. It is the religion for all, irrespective of their caste, creed or nationality. In fact, it is great and glaring, and never sectarian. It is liberal. Other religions have all been founded by individuals. But this Sanatana Dharma is not based on the teachings of any one single person. Much before Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, Shankarcharya and others, the germs of the fundamental principles of Sanatana Dharma were present.
Sanatana Dharma is very simple and natural because it is based on the Laws of Nature. The man whose life is molded according to these Laws, irrespective of their being physical, mental and spiritual, is in the real sense, a Sanatani. Santana Dharma is a grand and all-embracing religion. There should be no narrow mindedness in a Sanatani. He should feel His presene in the Chandala, in the thief, the lowest beings, the sinners, the foreigners and in all. He should worship God in all, especially in the hungry, the needy and the downtrodden with selfless service and liberality. This is in real sense, the true worship of and devotion to God."
"The result is the profound Philosophy of Vedanta to which more and more men and women from all parts of the world are flocking today for light, solace and fulfillment. So in India, Philosophy is not a hobby or an escape, but an intense search for Truth after having found from experience that mundane achievements only complicate our lives and takes us farther from our real goal. In fact Rishis of yore did not make a distinction between Science on the one side, and Religion and Philosophy on the other. The Science of the Upa-Vedas and the Vedanagas, and the Philosophies are the Vedas-Vedangas, all culminating in the Vedanata – the end of the Vedas.
"Sanatana Dharma" the most ancient of all the living religions of today, a non-prophetic religion popularly known as "Hinduism" since the last few centuries, based on all-embracing universal love, the eternal values of life and human endeavor, time-tested knowledge and wisdom, and all-comprehensive in its vision, has a permanent message enshrined in it, for the entire humanity irrespective of time, place and circumstances.
Andrew Harvey (1952 - ) has devoted hi life to studying the world's mystical traditions. He is the author of several books including The Direct Path creating a journey to the divine through the world's mystical traditions.
"The Sanatana Dharma is a gallimaufry of the most extravagantly varied faiths, rituals, customs, beliefs; Hinduism has no single dogmatic authority and, until very recently in its history, no "missionary zeal" to convert others, sine it has never seen itself as the one true religion or the only hope of salvation.
"While there is no one 'exclusive' dogmatic Hindu tradition, then, there is a very definitely, a spirit of inquiry and of revelation that is so consistent with the greatest of modern Hindu mystics, Ramana Maharshi...down the Upanishads more than two thousand years before him. It is this consistency that gives the Hindu mystical tradition its timeless purity, weight, and grandeur. "
"What, then, is the core truth of the Hindu tradition? It is the truth of the mystery of a Spirit that pervades, creates, and transcends all things and of each soul's conscious identity with it beyond space and time. In the Upanishads, this all-pervading, all-creating, all-transcending Spirit is named Brahman. For the Upanishads and all the later teachings rooted in them, every human being is naturally one with Brahman in his or her Atman, his or her "soul" or "indwelling core of divine consciousness." The aim of human life and the source of liberation from all the chains of life and death is to know, from inmost experience, the Atman's identity with Brahman and to live the calm, fearless, selflessly loving life that radiates from this knowledge."
"It is its sublime ancient tolerance, that was the true proof of the wisdom and mature dignity of the Hindu tradition. While there is no one "exclusive" dogmatic Hindu tradition, then, there is very definitely, a spirit of inquiry and of revelation that is so consistent that we find one of the greatest of modern Hindu mystics, Raman Maharishi, speaking in ways and with images that echo exactly the terminology of the anonymous seers who wrote down the Upanishads more than two thousand years before him. It is this consistency that gives the Hindu mystical tradition its timeless purity, weight, and grandeur. It is as if one eternal voice is speaking in and through a myriad different voice tirelessly exploring different registers of its own majestic range, as if all the tradition's poems and meditations and philosophical texts are, in Zaehner words, "different-shaped peaks in one vast, grand, interconnected mountain chain, like the Himalayas."
"The Hindu tradition provides exquisite, firm guidance toward this attunement because it has always recognized that different temperaments take different paths into the Sacred Marriage. It has not only recognized the validity of other religions, but has also acknowledged within itself a variety of paths." No other mystical tradition has had so broad and wise and all-embracing a vision of the different aspects and faces of the path. As Robin Zaehner used to say, "If anyone feels excluded from the Hindu embrace it is by his or her own perverse choice."
"Perhaps the supreme gift of Hinduism to the world is that its Tantric traditions have kept the truth of the splendor, majesty and power of the Bride vibrant and alive in all her unbridled fullness. Worshipping Her as Devi, Ambika, Durga, Lakshmi or Kali, the Hindu Tantric mystics have known how to adore Her both as Queen of Transcendence and Earth Mother, and love Her both in Her terrifying, life-devouring aspects and as infinitely benign and tender."
General Joseph Davey Cunningham (1812-1851)
"Mathematical science was so perfect and astronomical observations so complete that the paths of the sun and the moon were accurately measured. The philosophy of the learned few was perhaps for the first time, firmly allied with the theology of the believing many, and Brahmanism laid down as articles of faith the unity of God, the creation of the world, the immortality of the soul, and the responsibility of man. The remote dwellers upon the Ganga distinctly made known that future life about which Moses is silent or obscure, and that unity and Omnipotence of the Creator which were unknown to the polytheism of the Greek and Roman multitude, and to the dualism of Mithraic legislators, while Vyasaperhaps surpassed Plato in keeping the people tremblingly alive to the punishment which awaited evil deeds."
Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1890 -1936) was the first South Asian immigrant to the United States to carve out a successful literary career, publishing more than twenty books Caste and Outcast was the first book on India written by an Indian that was widely read in America. As an interpreter of Indian thought and spirituality, Mukerji's influence on American literary circles was considerable. Among his long-time literary associates were the eminent critic Van Wyck Brooks and the historians Will and Ariel Durant. Mukerji's opus was an integral part of a far-flung intellectual effort in the early twentieth century that seriously studied Indian civilization and drew upon it for inspiration and direction. Those involved included such figures as T. S. Eliot, Theodore Dreiser, Eugene O'Neill, Lewis Mumford, Luther Burbank and A. J. Liebling.
The book won high critical acclaim: Saturday Evening Post reviewed it as "the most important and inspiring book that has appeared in America since the war." Its theme is the contrast between Hinduism's pervasive spirituality and tolerance and the Western world's materialism and religious dogmas. Mukerji proposes that the West should learn "repose and meditation" from India, and India should learn the value of "activity and science" from the West. In Caste and Outcast, Mukerji depicts India as a tolerant Hindu civilization.
He illustrates Hinduism's tolerance with numerous narratives. An example: As a child, Mukerji brings home a picture of Christ given to him by his Christian teacher in the missionary school with the admonition to get rid of false Hindu gods and instead worship the only true god, Christ. Mukerji's mother places the picture of Christ next to Vishnu's and says, "God is one. We have given him many names. Why should we quarrel about names?" She burns incense and meditates before the images of Christ and Vishnu."
He talks about the role of Art in Hinduism. "According to the Shilpa Sastras, in which the symbolic art of India has been thoroughly explained, certain rules have been laid down for the guidance of artists. One of these is that the novice should not be taught the technique for the asking. He must meditate, and find within himself a vision that clamors for expression, and only then may his masters instruct him in technique.
In India, all our art is ritualistic, especially the art of the temples and the caves. When I went to the cave temples, to Elephanta or Ellora, I found mountains hollowed out, and temples built underneath them. The columns supporting the roof resembled elephant legs, and the ceilings and the walls were gorgeously decorated with the sculptured forms of human beings and of gods. About 200 B.C, or earlier, a groups of monks went to meditate under the rocks of Ajanta. In meditation they experienced ecstasy, and having experienced it, they carved it on the wall. The story of all the gods of India is carved on these walls, and the youngest of them all is Buddha. Seven hundred years of Indian history is written out in these caves covering vastness with terrific forms.
I shall never forget my first visit to Ellora, reached after two days tramp from the nearest town. When the sages of southern India wanted to create an image of the universe, they went to Ellora. They worked for one hundred and fifty years and used up generations of artists. They carved a mountain into galleries, and as these rose higher and higher, they gradually attained the summit, and the whole mountain was covered as the Himalayas are covered with strange life."
The "Outcast" in the title refers primarily to Mukerji's experience in America as a newly arrived, penniless Indian student at the University of California, Berkeley, where he suffered from racial discrimination - theIndian students were routinely refused service in the campus restaurants.
Sardar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar (1896-1963) Indian scholar, journalist, historian from Kerala, administrator, diplomat, Minister in Patiala Bikaner and Ambassador to China, Egypt and France. Cambridge historian Arthur Hassall (1853 - 1930) wrote that in his “long career as tutor of history at Christ Church ” he had “never had a more brilliant student”.
Author of several books, including Asia and Western Dominance, India Through the ages and India and the Indian Ocean.
He has succinctly summed up the basic tenets of Hinduism, which show that the Divine for the Hindu is a family phenomenon and not a distant Truth.
He says:
"The Hindu believe in one God, conceived as the universal soul or Paramatma, the absolute and eternal, beyond the categories of thought and expression, and embracing the entire universe. The text - there is only One, the learned speak of it in many ways. Though the Paramatma is impersonal or without qualities in itself in relation to the world expressed in terms of the relative, it is personal and man's mind conceives it as having qualities and form. This leads to the doctrine of Ishta Devata, or God, as conceived according to one's preference, as father, mother, guru, lover or even friend. The One Supreme thus assumes for the devotee the qualities and form in which he likes to worship. Many who worship the Supreme as Krishna think of him as a playful child, others as the great guru. In the same way, God is conceived by others as the Divine Mother. It is this doctrine of Ishta Devata, the freedom given to every one to worship God with the attributes of his own choice, never however forgetting that the Supreme has no qualities, that has led to the misconception that Hinduism is polytheistic. In a sense, it is true that there can be as many forms of Godhead in Hinduism as there are believers, for each one can conceive God only as the limitations of his own mind permit him."
Joseph Needham (1900-1995) is famous mainly for the formidable magnitude and scholarship of his work on science in China. He impressed by the achievements of India in the field of knowledge and learning.
He comments on the Indian fascination with perpetual motion, 'to seek the ultimate origin or predisposition of the Indian conviction in the profoundly Hindu world view of endless cyclical change, kalpa and mahakalpas succeeding one another in self-sufficient and unwearying round. For Hindus as well as Taoists, the universe itself was a perpetual motion machine."
In his lecture to the students of Cambridge University in 1963 he gave full compliments to India's intellectual heritage. He said, 'it is good to remember, therefore, that our own pious founders were not the only men, and that Christendom was not the only culture, to set on foot great and noble institutions of learning where successive generations of students assembled to get the benefits of education and research. When the men of Alexander the Great came to Taxila in India in the fourth century BC they found a university the like of which had not then been seen in Greece… and was still existing when the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien went there about AD 400.
....Indian culture in all probability excelled in systematic thought about Nature (as for example in the Samkhya atomic theories of Kshana, bhutadim paramanu,etc.), including also biological speculations...When the balance comes to be made up, it will be found I believe, that Indian scientific history holds as many brilliant surprises....."
Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana Dasa) ( ? ) American born author of several books including The Secret Teachings of the Vedas : The Eastern Answers to the Mysteries of Life and Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence.
He has observed the following about the total freedom in Hinduism:
"One of the unique things about Vedic philosophy is that within the many texts it contains, it deals with all varieties of viewpoints, from impersonalistic atheism, outright materialism, to loving devotion to God. And you have room to discover and realize the knowledge at your own rate, whether it be many months, many years, or even lifetimes. In other words, you may at first be an impersonalist persuasion and believe that the Supreme is only a great unembodied force. Or you might believe that God is a person. Or you may worship Durga, Ganesh, Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna, and still be considered on the Vedic path, though on different parts of the path. But this is the sort of freedom and opportunity you have in the Vedic philosophy for your growth and development. However, we find that in other religions, such as Christianity and Islam, if you question or doubt the local scriptures or authorities, or argue different points of view, or look for answers from another religion, your faith will be questioned, you may be called a heretic, and you may even be excommunicated from the Church, which is supposed to equate with eternal damnation. This is obviously a very closed minded discipline to work in compared to the freedom of Vedic system. After all, what kind of God would make a system in which you have only one life to live and only one chance to discover how to attain Him, and then follow all the scriptural demands and requirements or face eternal damnation?
"In fact, history shows that the three traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have, in their monotheistic theology developed patterns and traits of prejudice, intolerance, violence and war against all other religions and cultures. In fact, the history of these three religions show that they have spread primarily because of political intolerance for other religions, militant zeal, and through fear of persecution, rather than by spiritual purity. Hinduism, on the other hand, has not spread on the basis of fear, whether that fear be of political persecution or fear of a wrathful God. "
"The Vedic philosophy contains the oldest spiritual texts of any religion in the world, and its more advanced concepts can be difficult for event the greatest scholars of the West to fathom."
Hinduism- Huston Smith
What do People Want?
Throughout life we want different things at different stages. According to Hinduism, there are 4 main things people want.
The first two are titled the Path of Desire.
The first is pleasure. When we begin our life, we take care of ourselves and avoid harm. We seek pleasure and immediate happiness. Hinduism says to go after this and seek what we want. We should follow our desires as long as they don't harm ourselves or others. After we have filled our lives with pleasure, we will find it is too trivial and essentially a private goal. We will want more in our lives.
The second thing we want is worldly success. This is defined as wealth, fame and power. Worldly success is more satisfying to us than immediate pleasure because it is social. The satisfaction from this is much longer than immediate pleasure as well. We need success to support a family and perform our civic duties. Worldly success also supports dignity and self-respect.
Both these wants are acceptable in Hinduism because they are necessary to our deeper understanding of the world. However, they have limitations. Success has the following 4:
1. It does not multiply when shared. Wealth, fame and power must be split, and lessened when shared. However, spirituality multiplies when shared.
2. The drive for success is insatiable. When we have a desire for success or a certain want, we become obsessed with it. Finally, instead of being satisfied when we achieve what we were working for, we become more obsessed with having more.
3. It centers meaning in the self. One person is not big enough for an extensive amount of happiness.
4. Achievements are ephemeral. Our worldly happiness ends when we die. It is not everlasting like spirituality with the soul.
The next two wants are titled the Path of Renunciation.
Renunciation. Renunciation stems from disillusionment and despair. The first meaning of renunciation is that something is not worthwhile to exert one's energy upon, and sacrifice is made. Finally we will begin our search for meaning and value in our lives. This leads to the second meaning of renunciation, which is that of duty.
Duty. In life, we discover that pleasure for just ourselves is not enough. We have a duty to fulfill in society, and to help others. As Huston Smith puts it, we transfer,"the will-to-get into the will-to-give...(19)" We receive longer lasting pleasure from sharing our happiness with others, and extending our pleasure to a larger audience. It brings respect and gratitude from our peers.
What do People Really Want?
The previous wants stated are the desires of all people, however, they will eventually grow tired of these pleasures because they are finite, and last only during this lifetime. We want something on a deeper level. So the question arises, what do we really want?
According to Hinduism, the first thing we really want is being. We want to live so we can experience all life has to offer. We do not want to give up our future and future possibilities.
The second thing we really want is to know. Humans are curious creatures by nature. We always want to know more, and answer all our questions.
The third thing we really want is joy. This is the opposite of despair and sadness, and we seek that which makes us happy.
Overall, what humans really want is liberation from the finite. In Hinduism, the belief is that we want all three of these things infinitely, and we can have them and do have them. This is possible because humans are made of three things: a body, a personality and an Atman-Brahman (infinite soul).
Everything humans want, we can have infinitely through our Atman
