Hindus as a people have spread all over the world in recent decades. There is scarcely a major country or metropolitan city that does not have a significant Hindu population.

 Hindus have come not so much as laborers but as doctors, engineers and computer specialists and are generally part of the higher echelons of society. Hindus are the most affluent and best educated of the ethnic groups both in the United States and in Great Britain. 

This social success in Western countries adds to the credibility of the religion. Such a Hindu presence can be used to counter anti-Hindu stereotypes and to project a more futuristic Hindu and Dharmic vision. Meanwhile Hindu gurus and spiritual teachers have gained followers all over the world, particularly among the younger generations in the West, not as simply visionaries of the past but as those of the future and of all time. 

Many people in the West have taken up Hindu based Yoga, meditation or devotional traditions, and almost everyone has heard of them. 

The influence in America has been so strong that Christian fundamentalist groups have come to regard Hinduism in America as their greatest threat and competition. This all shows the seeds of a spiritual clash of cultures that must continue to grow.

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