Hence there is no reason why the
media realm should be beyond their capacity. Certainly Hindus have
succeeded in articulating the views of their particular religious
groups. There are great Vedantic thinkers, great Vaishnava thinkers
and great yogis active today. Almost every great Hindu guru has his
intellectual exponents. But when it comes to the field of the
religion and spiritual tradition as a whole, particularly its social
and political concerns, we find little thought or regard.
A
Hindu thinker can write a great book on Yoga or Vedanta, but will
write only a short article on Hinduism, generally stating how broad
and tolerant the religion is, making sure not to offend any other
religious beliefs in the process.
Hinduism has produced many extraordinary minds in modern times.
Excellent Hindu critiques of the West and of the modern world can be
found in the writings of great Hindu gurus like Aurobindo,
Vivekananda, Shivananda or Chinmayananda. The problem is that their
works get placed in the religious or spiritual field and do not
enter into the intellectual realm. Their teachings are often
confined to their disciples, who personalize them rather than
promote them for their global relevance. Much of the work of
creating a new Hindu intelligentsia should consist of taking the
works of these great gurus and reformulating them for a broader and
more intellectual audience.
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