Eastern Philosophy and Meditation

The message of Hinduism - how it can help save the world from itself

The major religions of Asia are Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam. There are many sects and different schools of these religions but they all fall under the above umbrella.

I would like on this page to tell you a bit about one of these major religions of Asia – Hinduism. It's as stated in the Upanishads is a mystical experience of oneness with all. This ideal can be contrasted with the Greek conception of the Promethean spirit, the power of the human spirit of overcome external obstacles and establish man's superiority over the forces of nature, and if necessary over the forces of other human beings as well. This ideal is highly regarded in the West, which has been at the forefront of all modern scientific progress that has changed the lives of mankind. Also the macho image sought by many in modern society and the action movies of Hollywood reflect this ideal of the Promethean spirit. It certainly has its uses as our mastery over nature has been achieved through science with this ideal as one of the guiding forces.

But times have changed dramatically over the past century and mankind is in danger of destroying all life on this planet if the Promethean spirit is left unchecked. As Bertrand Russell eloquently puts it in The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell man is in a position now to completely eradicate all forms of avoidable human misery or alternately to extinguish all forms of life on this planet. We need a different ideal; a different conception of what is best in man. This ideal is provided by almost all of the major religions of Asia. Specifically I want to talk about Hinduism and its message in the Upanishads.

The main defect of the Promethean spirit is that when pursued by itself it does not carry all humanity together. Conflict and competition, dominance and submission, winners and loser are inevitable. The ideal of the major religions of Asia and the main religious text of Hinduism, the Upanishads on the other hand is that of experiencing oneness with all. And when you have dropped your false sense of separateness with the Universe, you find that there is nobody left to dominate. There is no sense of separation with anybody or anything and so no question of conflict.

Such an ideal has become imperative in today's age amongst nations and even individuals. You may not find this advice practicable while running a business or appearing for a job interview, but this is in fact the highest ideal of Hinduism and the Upanishads – that of the Universal Man – and indeed is the essence of all major religions of Asia. And so we need to take this ideal seriously and do our best to experience this oneness, which alone will transform our lives.

Meditation in the eastern tradition will help us achieve this goal. I have detailed resources for the practice of meditation elsewhere on this website.

A study of the Upanishads will also take you some distance towards this goal. One of the main benefits of experiencing this oneness is the complete dropping away of all fear in our lives. Obviously when there is no sense of separation from the world, no sense of a separate self, which can be harmed, fear will completely drop away.We read in the Bhagvad Gita – "Even a little of this Dharma will save us from great fear."

Such are the benefits of meditation in the eastern tradition and of studying the Upanishads. But be warned – the Upanishads are not meant for light reading. It is not a newspaper that can be read once and then thrown aside. You need to study it. The Upanishads reveal truths of great depth, truths that were experienced by the sages who wrote the text. These experiences are what we are all aspiring to. It will not come easy but is definitely worth the struggle and the wait.