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Today, a “paradigm change” (a term
introduced by scientist Thomas S. Kuhn in 1962) in the religious
beliefs of Western culture is evident by the stylish embrace of
Eastern mysticism and fashionable paganism. According to Webster’s
Dictionary, the meaning of paradigm is “an example” or “a model.”
However, this is not the meaning of the word today. When one speaks
of a paradigm shift this means that one interprets reality as he
believes it to be. In other words, truth is within one’s own mental
formation. Of course, in order to reach this state of belief one
must discard all sound logic and reason. Originally, the initial
establishment of both Europe and North America were based on a religious
belief in one Almighty God followed by belief in His standards of
right and wrong, and His provision and intervention in the affairs
of mankind. These once prominent beliefs have largely been replaced
with the mythical belief of gods and goddesses, paganism, evolution,
and a lack of morality in society.
One such example is the YMCA and Scouts
of America. George Williams founded the YMCA in 1844 to meet the
needs of young men in the city in order to cultivate a place where
they could exercise and socialize within a Christian environment.
The YWCA was started in 1866 to meet the similar needs of young
women. As a result of the YMCA, the Boy Scouts of America was founded
in 1910 and the Girl Scouts of America followed in 1912. Whereas
the original intent of these organizations was to pursue Christian
ideals, they have now added an amalgamation of Buddhist and Hindu
rituals, such as tai chi and yoga.
The promise of unlimited human potential
is the foundation of Eastern mysticism, New Age movement, occult,
paganism, Satanism, and witchcraft. The promise of empowerment
is very seductive for often naïve practitioners. It is this promise
that is continually repackaged into businesses, churches, education,
and health care. Bookstores tout elaborate New Age sections that
titillate their unsuspecting readers with Eastern philosophies.
However, the lurid promises of Eastern religion fail to deliver
in the end. For instance, the Eastern worldview of Hinduism has
completely turned the value system of India on its head. Nevertheless,
the consequences of such a worldview seem to escape Westerners who
are viewing these beliefs as charming and chic.
Is there a movement powerful enough
to influence this Eastern seduction of the Western mind? The largest
missionary organization in the world is the Vishva Hindu Parishad.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad was founded on 8 July 1966 at an international
Hindu conference. While missionaries are excluded from evangelizing
Hindus in India, the Hindus send their gurus to the West in an effort
to proselytize Westerners to accept Eastern Mysticism. In fact,
it was at the international conference that the Hindu gurus were
chosen to be the first crusaders. According to paragraph 4 of the
Vishva Hindu Parishad’s constitution their chief goal is “to establish
an order of missionaries, both lay and initiate, the purpose of
propagating dynamic Hinduism.” In other words, the aim of this
organization is an aggressive strategy to convert the world to Hinduism.
Naïve Westerners may believe that these Eastern gurus have come
to the West by mere happenstance and have nothing to do with “dynamic
Hinduism.” Oftentimes these gurus have tried to pass off their
Hinduism with scientific terms, but this would be much like the
Catholic Pope saying that he represents a group of scientists that
just happen to have their headquarters stationed in Rome.
One of the most aggressive missionaries
was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Eastern Mysticism impacted millions
in the 1960s through the Transcendental Meditation Movement. Transcendental
Meditation (TM) is one of many yoga techniques that have been imported
from the East. Yoga is literally “yoking” or “union” with the one
divine Reality. There are eight stages to yoga: moral restraint
(yama), self-culture (miyama), posture (asana),
breath control (pranayama), control of the senses (pratyahara),
concentration (dharana), meditation (dyhana), and
a state of elevated consciousness (samadhi).[1]
The techniques of TM involve emptying one’s mind of distracting
influence by reciting a Sanskrit word known as a “mantra,” and to
engage in an initiation rite that is in essence a Hindu worship
ceremony. TM is a Hindu-based practice that pretends to be a science.
Maharishi originally introduced TM as a religion in his book, The
Science of Being and Art of Living,[2]
published in 1963. Later when the government as a religious practice
excluded it, Maharishi began presenting TM as scientific. He called
it “The Science of Creative Intelligence,”[3] substituting the term “creative intelligence”
for “Being” (or Brahman). Self-realization comes about by realizing
one’s innermost nature as identity with the Being. The scientific
nature of TM was called into question in the 1977 Federal Court
Case of Malnak v. Yogi. One of the most important stages
in the initiation ritual of TM is the puja, a Vedic hymn.[4]
Concerning the puja, Judge H. Curtis Meanor of the US District Court
at Newark, New Jersey wrote: “The puja chant is an invocation of
a deified human being who has been dead for almost a quarter of
a century….It cannot be doubted that the invocation of a deity or
divine being is a prayer.”[5]
Furthermore, the teaching of “creative intelligence” as a science
was not validated and its religious nature was raised. The teaching
of the course in New Jersey public schools was ruled to violate
the First Amendment.[6]
Scripture never encourages one to stop
thinking in order to concentrate on a mantra. On the contrary,
the exhortation is to be sober and alert, actively resisting the
wiles of the devil (1 Pet. 5:8, 9). Christian meditation focuses
not on the vain repetition of a mantra, but on the solid foundation
of God’s Word (Ps. 1:1, 2; 19:7-14).
The Hare Krishna is also part of the
Hindu missionary strategy. They gained their prominence chanting
in the streets. Swami Prabhupada was a Sanskrit scholar and the
guiding spirit behind the Hare Krishna Movement. Prabhupada translated
and interpreted the ancient language of India for the West. Noted
celebrities, such as George Harrison, have composed songs as dedications
to the Hare Krishna. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON) has established a temple in New York City and numerous
ISKCON centers throughout other cities. Sometimes the Hare Krishna
is called the “fundamentalists” of the Hindu missionaries.
There are literally scores of religious
cults and sects that have been influenced by Eastern Mysticism.
Werner Erhard is the founder of both EST (Erhard Seminars Training)
and The Forum seminars, which were the product of Erhard’s influence
by his Hindu guru, Swami Muktananda.[7]
In India, particularly, The Theosophical Society began among the
Vedanta and Sankhya. The Upanishads taught theosophy as well.
H.P. Blavatsky’s books made the teachings popular in modern culture.
Blavatsky confessed that she received her teachings from Indian
masters.[8]
Many mystics like Paracelsus accepted
the belief that there is an all-pervading spirit, the life force
behind all life and energy. Anton Mesmer developed this belief
in the anima mundi or “life force” in hope of explaining the forces
he believed to be at work during hypnotism. The combinations of
mesmerism, Eastern Mysticism, and Swedenborgism led to the development
of the New Thought teachings of Phineas P. Quimby. In turn, Mary
Baker Eddy’s Christian Science and Charles and Myrtle Fillmore’s
Unity School of Christianity were deeply influenced by the occult,
yoga, meditation, Spiritism, and mysticism.[9]
Paul Twitchell, who said he received
his commission by Rebazar Tarzs, a Tibetan monk who appeared in
spirit form while Twitchell was in the mystic Himalayas and the
Kush mountains, brought the popular occult religion of Eckankar
to the modern world. Not only was Twitchell influenced by Tarzs,
but also by a Hindu guru, Sudar Singh. Singh provide Twitchell
with the foundation of Eastern Mysticism at the core of Eckankar.
Later in life he was initiated into Ruhani Satsana, the “Divine
Science of the Soul.” The development of his involvement with Eastern
and occult practices led to the start of his movement that is a
plagiarism of the Hindu sect, Radhasoami.[10]
Not only is Hinduism influential in
religious movements, but also in the schools and universities.
Aurobindo, Da Free John, Krishnamurti, Rajneesh, Ram Dass, and Yogi
Bhajan are a few of the Hindu gurus influencing this movement.
Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, Ram Dass, Meher Baba,
Da Free John, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and Shree Aurobindo gave nihilism,
the rejection of all religious and moral principles as the only
means of social progress.[11]
While the Vishva Hindu Parishad is
influential as a missionary organization, there is one individual
who is the most prominent of the proselytizers of Eastern Mysticism.
That person is none other than the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Believed
to be the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama, he finds
himself appealing more and more to those who know nothing of his
philosophy based on the noblest of Buddhist principles and unadulterated
sorcery. Tantric practices of magic and sexuality are presented
as spirituality without the need for faith.[12] He receives much help for his
cause from The Gere Foundation. Hollywood actors, Richard Gere
and Harrison Ford, hosted an event that raised $650,000 for Tibetan
causes. Among the 1,000 guests were such Hollywood luminaries as
Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid, Steven Segal, Sharon Stone, Oliver Stone,
Leonard Nimoy, and Shirley MacLaine.[13]
It is obvious that just as the serpent
beguiled Eve, he is actively working at corrupting the minds of
the world through his subtlety (2 Cor. 11:3). The beliefs of Eastern
mysticism are not at all new for they have been around since the
beginning of time. The lie of the devil that mankind can be as
gods is always undergoing revision by the archenemy of mankind (Gen.
3:1-15). An awareness of the wiles of Satan in the affairs of the
world should not cause one to be surprised since Scripture has already
declared that Christians are to “be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). It is highly possible that many
who worship false gods of the current time do so quite ignorantly
(see Acts 17:23). Nevertheless, no matter the level of deception
or sin in one’s life the Word of God still stands true. If anyone
will believe that salvation is a free gift of God given solely by
His grace through a faith relationship with Jesus Christ then he
will be saved for it is the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection
for sinners that is “the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). The battle will rage onward until
Christ returns to this present earth in all His glory to do away
with the devil and all wickedness. In the meantime, the Word of
God must be preached and the good fight of faith fought vigilantly.
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