So far in this book, we have concentrated on the pagan Far Eastern religions like Hinduism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Jainism, Shamanism and Taoism and their influence on Asian cultures. However, this influence is not restricted to the Asian continent alone. In time, these superstitious far eastern teachings found followers far from the lands in which they were born. Their influence began to spread owing to the carefully targeted propaganda of certain circles whereby these pagan religions literally became an important part of Western culture.
There are a number of reasons for the interest in superstitious Far Eastern religions. One of these is the depiction of their perverse rituals and rites as full of enigmatic features. The way of life, dress code, pagan beliefs, philosophies and strange sermons of the followers of these religions are wholly different to Western societies. The presentation of these differences in a positive manner creates a sense of curiosity and interest in the Western mind. People who choose to enter or practice these pagan religions do so not because they believe in them or find them rational, but because they are influenced by the so called “mystical” aura surrounding them. However, there is another reason behind the continuing spread of these superstitious religions in Western society besides the excitement and interest: they are pagan, materialistic and atheistic.
NEW AGE: ATHEISTIC RELIGION COMPRISING THE HERETICAL TEACHINGS OF FAR EASTERN RELIGIONS
The introduction of superstitious Far Eastern religions into Western society began in the 19th century. At that time many European “scientists” traveled to the Far East and the west learned about the cultures of the east through their published travel accounts. Translations of scriptures from the superstitious faiths in question further increased the interest in the east. However, the West’s current intimate acquaintance with Eastern cultures began in the 1960’s.
The sixties were a dark turning point for Western societies. The destructive effects of two world wars, the atom bombs dropped on Japan, the Vietnam War, the hysteria around the justified struggle against communism and successive political scandals like Watergate created a great sense of rebellion in American youth against the establishment. However, this reaction while perhaps understandable, was emotional in nature, and was not based on a rational and reasonable framework, and this was used as a path to turn people away from religious moral values. The situation was no different in Europe. All the institutions of the Christian church were portrayed as a part of the “system” and the hostility towards the various governments of the democratic West was also directed at the church. In this era many young westerners and intellectuals left their traditional Christian beliefs in the search for a different way of life. Some irrationally chose atheism, others chose superstitious Far Eastern religions. The search for new ways of life was partly driven by the sense of “rebellion” as well as “attention seeking”.
This trend was intentionally, or unwittingly, manipulated by those who shaped popular culture. The Beatles were one such influence. The news that band member George Harrison had chosen Hinduism created an admiration for this religion among millions of Beatles fans. Not just members of the entertainment industry but also many renowned intellectuals and scientists acquired superstitious far eastern teachings and supported their spread among the youth. However, the motives for their support were different: the compatibility between superstitious Far Eastern culture and the materialist aspects of Western culture. Those who adopted and promoted the superstitious Far Eastern culture were usually western materialists. The Judeo-Christian community on the other hand, remained distant to Far Eastern religion and never missed an opportunity to criticize them.
The “hippie” culture of the 1960’s and 1970’s lost its appeal and disappeared from the public mind, but the Eastern cultures that gripped the West never lost their pull on certain sections of society and developed and grew in power. Far Eastern religions then went one step further by becoming a new heretical syncretic movement with a new name that combined the pagan aspects of all Far Eastern religions, was atheistic, yet revered man instead (Allah forbid). The New Age Movement was driven by the dream of uniting the world under this “one single religion”, thereby pronouncing the end of all Divine religions.
The Christian researcher Wilbur Bruinsma examined the development of this movement from the 1960’s onwards in an article titled “The New Age Movement and Entertainment”. He points out that the youth’s rebellion against the system and quest for peace led them to the use of marihuana, LSD and other drugs, and then to seek supposed salvation in Hinduism and Zen Buddhism (A movement popularized in the West by the Japanese philosopher D. T. Suzuki, who combined Buddhism with various Japanese beliefs. The word Zen means meditation in Chinese, and superstitious practices such as these represent the basis of Zen Buddhism). He then proceeds to describe the effects of this pagan trend on the present day:
In the 1960’s, and perhaps even more so in the 1970’s, as in no prior time in history, there was a synthesis of Eastern and Western mysticism; the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, and Chinese Taoism were blended together with the radical occultism of Western mysticism. Given the well-fertilized seedbed of humanism, the fundamental teachings of mysticism have taken solid root in our country and culture and even throughout the world. This is the New Age Movement.139
As Bruinsma states, the New Age Movement is a continuation of the hippie culture of the 1960’s, but its actual origins can be traced back to the 18th century. The Theosophical Society (theosophy is a Greek word meaning “Divine Mind”) which was founded in America and then emerged also in Europe, aimed to introduce the pagan religions of the Far East into the lives of westerners and was the first instance of this movement.
Islam and Far Eastern Religions 