Anna Hourihan
What is needed most in a world in turmoil and divided along religious lines especially like ours is today?
That would be unifying principles that go beyond religions and teach acceptance of all paths that lead to the ultimate goal of knowledge of Divine Reality, or God. India has generated these great teachings from ancient times. The Vedanta philosophy in particular as set down in the Upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita speaks uncompromisingly of that permanent reality we’re all seeking (consciously or not) in this impermanent world. 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 every tradition, can be directly experienced by us. Moreover, the purpose of life is to realize our identity with that Divine Reality.
With technology fostering a global consciousness and change in our worldview, there is a newfound sense of interconnectedness. Is it a coincidence that the Vedantic scriptures of India, which speak of the oneness of all life, are now available to us across the globe? It appears that humanity on a larger scale than ever before is ready to hear these crucial ideas that were once the secret teachings of the forest-dwelling sages of early India. 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 an Indian sees it.’
The eminent thinker Arthur Schopenhauer exclaimed ‘Upanishads have been the solace of my life; they will be the solace of my death. They are the product of highest wisdom.’ The Vedantic principles speak of the unity of all existence, and that each religion is a path to God. These basic truths are becoming more and more part of our thinking and permeate the works of many modern spiritual writers and thinkers such as Eckhart Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz and Deepak Chopra.
In America the influence of Indian thought came early in our history as seen in the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain whose writings on civil disobedience inspired such influential leaders as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., derived much from the Bhagavad Gita. Thoreau in his masterpiece Walden writes ‘In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta … and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.’
What’s ironic is that many of us here in the West are accepting and living by the principles espoused in the great spiritual texts of India, whereas many in India, especially the youth, are looking to Western values and standards without appreciating the treasure trove of knowledge that is so much a part of their heritage. ‘Great Minds on India’ by Salil Gewali is a remedy to this lack of recognition and appreciation. It provides an extensive compilation of what many prominent, world-renowned individuals have said about India’s contribution to science and spirituality, as illustrated in the above quotations.
As the publisher and editor of Children of Immortal Bliss by Paul Hourihan, which is an introduction to the Vedanta philosophy, my hope and the author’s hope and prayer are that the ideas, insights, and promising message of these marvelous scriptures of India will inspire and encourage us to personally test the validity of these universal truths. Salil Gewali’s work puts a spotlight on the importance of these teachings, which are imperative for our future existence in these crucial times. His book is a most worthwhile gift to all of us. But chiefly it it’s for the people of India so that they may realize the importance of the role of India and Indians from early times, and which continues even today with its scientists, sages and also the Indian diaspora.
(The author is from Redding, California, USA)
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
Follow our WhatsApp channel