I didn't want to derail Orbit's thread any more than it's already been derailed so am starting this new one on the topic of why Advaita Vedanta is often the first Hindu philosophy that non-Hindu curious westerners hit.
I agree with Shiv on it. I think its because its the one that's most readily available, although that's most likely changing. Many western non-dual teachers like Tolle, etc. use it, and disconnect it to Hinduism is so doing. For me, that's sad for several reasons.
1) It largely ignores the path, and how our sages came to those conclusions in the first place. In other words, bhakti and self-improvement. It just starts right out at the top, and has transformed the true advaitic realisations into an intellectual study.
2) It can ignore ethics altogether. Living ethically, according to dharma, is necessary to get there mystically.
I think study of the east is somehow more pallatable to newcomers if it's coming from westerners. Maybe it's language, maybe it's race, I don't know really, but it seems that if it is presented outside of Hinduism , its just more pallatable. There is also the factor of anti-Hindu programming so prevalent. "I want no part of it if it's of the devil."
I truly believe that the final conclusion is Advaita ... pure monism. The difference is all about how we get there.
I agree with Shiv on it. I think its because its the one that's most readily available, although that's most likely changing. Many western non-dual teachers like Tolle, etc. use it, and disconnect it to Hinduism is so doing. For me, that's sad for several reasons.
1) It largely ignores the path, and how our sages came to those conclusions in the first place. In other words, bhakti and self-improvement. It just starts right out at the top, and has transformed the true advaitic realisations into an intellectual study.
2) It can ignore ethics altogether. Living ethically, according to dharma, is necessary to get there mystically.
I think study of the east is somehow more pallatable to newcomers if it's coming from westerners. Maybe it's language, maybe it's race, I don't know really, but it seems that if it is presented outside of Hinduism , its just more pallatable. There is also the factor of anti-Hindu programming so prevalent. "I want no part of it if it's of the devil."
I truly believe that the final conclusion is Advaita ... pure monism. The difference is all about how we get there.