As I was editing the book in August 2009, Newsweek published a column by religious editor Lisa Miller titled We Are All Hindus Now. It was extremely gratifying to have a mainstream publication validate my main thesis: that American society has moved ever closer to a spiritual worldview that resembles the core principles of the Vedic traditions. Many complex forces have given rise to this development, chief among them the 200 years of access to Indian philosophy chronicled in these pages. Millers article was like a good advance review. A second reason her piece intrigued me was its provocative title. Certainly Americans are not becoming Hindus, in the sense of attending rituals in Hindu temples, performing pujas (ceremonies) at home altars, celebrating holidays such as Duvali and Shivaratri, and praying to Ganesh or Lakshmi. But that is not what Miller was referring to. Rather, she argued, large numbers of Americans have arrived at a worldview consistent with a principle articulated in the ancient Rig Veda, which she translated as Truth is One, but sages speak of it by many names Millers title alludes to only one subset of Hinduism, not to the religion as practised by the majority of Hindus. Which brings us to the name itself. Philip Goldberg Author AMERICAN VEDA Harmony Books US
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 02:40:45 +0000
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