It is not too much to say that the mind of the West with all
its undoubted impulses towards the progress of humanity
has never exhibited such an intense amount of intellectual
force as is to be found in the religious speculations of India
...These have been the cradle of all Western speculations,
and wherever the European mind has risen into heights of
philosophy, it has done so because the Brahmin was the
pioneer. There is no intellectual problem in the West which
had not its earlier discussion in the East, and there is no
modern solution of that problem which will not be found
anticipated in the East.
Matheson
Recently, increasing numbers of Westerners in revolt
against what they have found to be the shallow, gadget-
dominated, spiritually empty civilization of the West have
turned to "Hinduism" in search of greater meaning or
purpose in life. There is no doubt that the great Hindu
tradition offers profound spiritual insights, as well as
techniques for attaining self-realization, detachment, and
even ecstasy.
Beatrice Pitney Lamb