| Awaken Bharata |
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| Books By David Frawley |
| THE HINDU RENAISSANCE AT A TURNING POINT | |
| They
did not raise the banner of Hindu Dharma as a universal tradition
itself but tried to be all things to all peoples, Christians to
Christians, Muslims to Muslims, even atheists to atheists. Even when
the teacher preserved the traditional and cultural roots of the
teachings, which did occur, their followers and political
interpreters often remade the teachings to accommodate all religious
beliefs, however hostile or contrary, so as to make the teacher more
popular.
Naturally such an effort could not reinvigorate Hindu culture but had the reverse effect in making all religions equal to encourage further neglect and diminution of the cultural foundations of Hinduism. This attitude went beyond mere tolerance of all religions or openness to all people, which is of course necessary, to what was almost an effort to court all religions by favor. Some teachers, though relying on traditional Hindu teachings, did not want to be called Hindu so as to appear modern, attractive to all, or a religion in their own right. Some claimed not only to honor and respect but even to teach all religions, even if they had not studied them in depth or in any traditional setting. They tried to tell all religious groups that they were right and that their religion, if they merely followed it faithfully, could lead them to a spirituality comparable to Yoga teachings without having to abandon their traditional beliefs. They tried to teach the esoteric aspect of Hindu Dharma, Yoga and Vedanta, to members of all religions, while leaving the cultural forms behind, as if such practices could be grafted on to cultural or religious backgrounds that provided neither the foundation nor the space for them to grow. |
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