Awaken Bharata
Major Sections
Books By David Frawley
THE HINDU RENAISSANCE AT A TURNING POINT
Hindu Dharma requires not merely a spiritual revival today but a cultural and intellectual renaissance. Hinduism was never merely a philosophy for monks and renunciates alone but contains teachings for all levels and types of individuals. It was never a religion whose only concern is going beyond the world but a vast culture addressing the whole of life and all aspects of existence. While the spiritual core of Hinduism through Yoga and Vedanta, the Science of Self-knowledge, has perhaps been preserved, its cultural forms are deteriorating and, in many cases, disappearing.

Culture, after all, is the field (Prakriti) in which the spirit (Purusha) is cultivated. The daily life and environment of a country creates the basic samskaras or tendencies through which individuals can grow or decline. Without the proper cultural field, the spiritual force has no place to descend. Unless Hindu culture is reinvigorated, what remains of the spiritual essence of Hinduism will have no proper ground on which to flourish. One cannot neglect culture in the spiritual life. Though the goal of the spiritual life may be to transcend all outer and cultural limitations it cannot do this without the right cultural foundation on which to develop.

Such a Hindu renaissance must address all aspects of Hindu Dharma, not just its yogic traditions but its philosophy, art, medicine, science, and politics. Only with the full awakening of Hindu Dharma can this renaissance be complete and able to serve for a new spiritual regeneration, not only of India but also of the entire world. While there has been an important Hindu renaissance over the past two centuries, and while there is a new intellectual awakening among Hindus today, this has yet to achieve its real flowering. Now is the time to push this movement forward and bring it into the entire cultural sphere.

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About The Hindu Renaissance
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