The most evident example of this phenomenon is the Ramakrishna - Vedanta movement. Originally founded as a Vedantic movement, it clearly articulated the basic principles of Hinduism and the Swami himself was perhaps the great modern revivalist of the Hindu tradition. The movement in the beginning emphasized Upanishadic learning, Advaita Vedanta, and Sanskrit. But in time, perhaps compelled by its reaching out to the Western mind, it began to mold itself more and more after Christianity.

Perhaps in the beginning Ramakrishna's followers only wanted to prove that their teacher was equal to Jesus, but in time they made him into the new Jesus. Ramakrishna became the new avatar, meaning in a Western, not Hindu sense, the Son of God, savior and founder of a new religion. This new religion, on one hand, was a universal religion combining all the others within itself, but on the other hand it was a cult of Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna, who worshipped Kali and Krishna, became the central figure, and Kali and Krishna were given a secondary status.

The new religion, seeking members of all faiths to join it, gradually distanced itself from the rest of Hinduism and tried to stand on its own. The ultimate outcome was that the Ramakrishna movement declared that it was a new religion, Ramakrishnaism, and that it was not Hinduism or even Sanatana Dharma. Ramakrishna's short unorthodox experiments with Christianity and Islam were turned into a complete practice of these religions, proving not only that he could achieve what there was to achieve in these religions, but that he could find the fullness of Divinity in them as all their members potentially could.

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