|
|
|
| Next | Back
|
Home | Fiction |
Non-Fiction | Poems |
Book Excerpts |
The New Age Movement
Non-fiction by G Kumar
New Age - A Paradigm Shift to Divine Consciousness & a Universal
Philosophy
The New Age Movement (NAM) is a revival of spiritual and divine values
and can
be called as a Divine Regeneration Movement. New Age Philosophy has
conquered the West intellectually and Western culture is currently
experiencing a phenomenal shift - sociological, spiritual &
ideological. It's a secular, multi-cultural,
multi-religious synthesis, of the Oriental mystical philosophies,
mainly Hinduism,
Buddhism, Taoism & Western Occultism, emphasising Holism, the doctrine
that Reality is organically One ( now taught in American Universities
after Einstein's Theory of Relativity ).
Behind the evolution of the species, there is an evolution of
Consciousness.
The aim of Life is Self-Actualisation, to evolve to the level of Unity
Consciousness,
defined as the 7th state of Consciousness in Transcendental
Philosophy.
The social disturbance caused by the Vietnam War, the threat posed by
AIDS, the
disillusionment with materialistic ideas and the erosion of faith in
Morality
& Ethics brought a sense of futility & meaninglessness in the Western
psyche. The
limitations of the Western system of Chemotherapy & adverse
side-effects of antibiotics, sedatives and certain other drugs and the
disillusionment with the promises of science & technology made
millions turn to Oriental philosophies, occult practices & systems of
therapy.( Interest in Alternative Medicine developed to such an extent
that there are now more than 180 systems of Alternative Medicine.
Exponents of New Age Philosophy in Europe and America include
Transcendentalists like Thoreau, Emerson & Walt Whitman, Wordsworth,
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), & Theosophy introduced by Madame
Helena Blavatsky (1831- 1891) & Col Olcott & the philosopher, Annie
Besant. As the world witnessed a Consciousness Revolution,
Transcendental Meditation, Yoga ,Zen, Carlos Castaņada, the Beatles,
Holistic Medicine ( both Western and Ayurveda ), Tantra, Astrology (
both Western & Vedic ) all became popular .
There are 6 million New Age sites on the Web and the NAM consists of a
massive & well organised network consisting of thousands of groups,
trusts, foundations, clubs, lodges, and spiritual groups whose goal
and purpose is to prepare the world to enter the coming Aquarian Age.
( The Age of Aquarius ). In astrological symbolism, Aquarius
represents Spirituality and Pisces Rationality. The Piscean Age, an
age of Computer and Cybernetics revolution, will be followed by an Age
of Consciousness Revolution or a Spiritual Revolution, the Aquarian
Age.
Some New Age Organisations are : California New Age Caucus, New World
Alliance, World Goodwill, The Church Universal and Triumphant, The
Theosophical Society, Amnesty International, Zero Population Growth,
the Forum, Planetary Initiative for the World We Choose, the Club of
Rome, Christian Science, and the Unity School of Christianity.
New Age believes in the essential goodness of Man and the Divine Spark
in Man
and the New Age movement is not a unified cult system of beliefs and
practices,
even though its roots derive from Vedic Philosophy. There is no
central authority,
no official leader, no headquarters, nor membership list, but instead
is a network
of groups working toward World Peace and Universal Love. There are
millions of
worldwide followers of various New Age practices and the world is
moving from
Chaos ( Disorder ) to Cosmos ( Order ) ! This is a Phase Transition
from Entropy
( Disorder ) to Order !
Significant influence has been gained by NAM affecting almost every
area of Occidental culture -- Sociology, Psychology, Medicine, the
Government, Ecology, Science, Arts, Education, the Business Community,
the media, entertainment, sports, and even the Church. Organised
spiritual forms such as Christian Science, Unity and even forms of
Witchcraft ( from the German ' Wicca' meaning the Wise; Witchcraft
means the Craft of the Wise ) are all its expressions. Various Human
Potential Seminars, Transcendental Meditation, Zen Meditation and some
Alternative Holistic Medicine practices are also its manifold
manifestations.
Some popular New Age publications and journals are New Age Journal,
the Z Files, Clarity, Body Mind Spirit, Yoga Journal, Gnosis, East
West, Noetic Sciences, the Millennium Being and Omega. The new
tendency of people now is to view everything from a New Age
perspective
The major goal of the New Age Movement is to prepare Man for entering
the Aquarian Age and to bring world peace in an already bruised world.
"All is wrong with the world" said Shaw & some of the other goals of
the NAM are to establish an entirely New World Order in the fields of
Economy & Government. The idea of a World Government was proposed by
Bernard Shaw earlier and was implemented by Mahesh Yogi and occurs in
the writings of the foundational apostle of the New Age Movement,
Alice Bailey.
The word 'Initiation" is derived from the Latin "In ire" to go within
and Initiates
were termed by the Great Master as the salt of the Earth. The mystic
Ward defined Reality as "Within and within and within and within" .
Another mystic described it as "It is hidden, it is hidden and it is
hidden". To the mystic, self evolution is the means and only by
changing and correcting ourselves can we change others. The primary
goals of the movement then, are to prepare the world to receive the
Divine Consciousness and to enter the Age of Aquarius, thus
establishing the New World Order.
New Age Philosophy believes that human evolution can be accelerated,
if not in
the entire mass of humanity, at least in suitable individuals. Human
nature is
perfectible, through an intensive process of purification and
Initiation.
The New Age Movement is secular & universally diffused over the
earth's surface
& its basic underlying philosophy emphasizes Gnosticism and Occultism.
(Gnosticism is an ancient philosophy stating that Divine essence is
the highest reality, and that the Self of man is actually this
Essence. Behind the phenomenal world is the Transcendent Reality which
Intuition alone can see ). It bears a remarkable resemblance to the
Universal Religion that H. G. Wells predicted would one day take over
the world.
The six main characteristics of New Age thinking are: (1) All is
Unity; (2) All
is Divine (3) Humanity is divine (4) A change in Consciousness; (5)
All religions
are One; and (6) Cosmic Evolutionary optimism.
Basically Dialectical Integralism, New Age Philosophy unites both
Matter and
Spirit.
Spirit shall see through Matter's gaze
Matter shall reveal the Spirit's face !
The 13 main principles of New Age Philosophy are:
(1) One Global Order - One World Government, One Currency, One
Universal Being.
(2) Universal Energy, Universal Matter, Universal Life, Universal Soul
As God
(3) An Eternal Universe - Uniform in Space and Unending in Time
(4) Divine practices ( Astrology Yoga & other esoteric arts)
(5) Syncretism ( Unity of all Religions ).
(6) The need for Meditation ( for generating altered states of
Consciousness
);
(7) Life is Cyclical- Everything is cyclical, subject to the cyclical
upheavals
of Time.
(8) Holistic Medicine & Vegetarianism (The patient is more important
than the
Doctor & Alkaline diet)
(9) Pacifism ( Anti-war activities);
(10) Reincarnation; ( The Law of Conservation of Soul )
(11) The Evolution of Man into Divinity; ( The latent Life Force
evolving naturally
to the Divine )
(12) The Union of Man with the Divine; ( Merger of man into the
Infinite )
(13) Matter's Illusoriness; - Esse est percipii - Perception is
Essence; Mind
is Substance.
The practices of the New Age are psychic practices like : Astrology,
Reiki, Bioenergy, Chi energy, Chakras, Nirvana, Christ- Consciousness,
Spiritualism, Native American Spirituality, Prajna, Out-of-body/near-
death experiences, Reincarnation, Yoga, Meditation and the occult
disciplines, as well as psychotherapeutic techniques and scientific
applications of the healing powers of crystals and pyramids.
Some commonly used New Age terms are: Quantum Healing, Transmutation,
Transfiguration, Guided Imagery, Reincarnation; Positive Thinking;
Human Potential; Holistic; Holographic; Synergistic; Unity; Oneness;
Transformation; Awakening; Zetworking; Communal Sharing;
One-world/globalism/new world order (i.e., One language, One
Government, One currency, One religion); Cosmic Consciousness; Zodiac,
etc.
Some New Age practices are: Transcendental Meditation, Parapsychology,
Inner
healing; Biofeedback; Yoga; I Ching; Reflexology; Therapeutic Touch;
Transpersonal Psychology; Witchcraft; ; Magick; Tai Chi; Shamanism;
Hypnotherapy; Acupuncture/Acupressure; Martial arts; Zen; Relaxation;
Silva Method (formerly Silva Mind Control); Visualization; etc.
Some prominent New Agers are: Jeremy Rifkin, Norman Cousins, Elizabeth
Clare
Prophet, John Denver, George Lucas, Norman Lear, Alice Bailey, Alvin
Toffler,
Dr. Barbara Ray, Benjamin Creme, Levi Dowling, George Trevelyan,
Fritjof Capra, Abraham Maslow, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Ruth Montgomery,
Shirley MacLaine, J. Z. Knight, Marilyn Ferguson and David Spangler.
Soothing audio environments are created by New Age musicians and they
believe
rightly that Music has psycho-therapeutic properties. ( This concept
is derived from the Vedic Philosophy that All music is Samaveda, the
4th Veda of the Indians ). Born of an interest in spirituality and
healing in the late 1970s, it is often
used as an aid in meditation.
Essentially meditative, New Age Music is soothing to the Soul. Isn't
Music defined
as the food for the Soul ? Harmonic consonance, uplifting themes,
contemplative
melodies & nonlinear song forms are the characteristics of New Age
music. Even
natural sounds or sounds from Nature and traditional electronic
instruments are
used by New Age musicians. With roots in classical music or Eastern
Music, New
Age music is often meditative. Prominent New Age musicians include
vocalist Liz
Story; harpist Andreas Vollenweider, electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty
, electronic-music pioneer Brian Eno, multi-instrumentalist Kitaro &
solo-piano artist George Winston.
New Age practices have almost conquered the world. Athletes are using
guided
imagery. Graduate schools of business are invoking T M, Yoga, and
Tarot cards
in teaching courses on creativity in business (e.g., Stanford Graduate
School
of Business). Based upon Astrology, the Science of Time, stock market
gurus employ Fibonacci numbers and "Wave Theory" in their forecasting.
We can summarise that the term New Age is an innovative term derived
from the
mother of all sciences, Astrology, indicating that this earth is
undergoing an
evolutionary transitional phase from the Piscean Age of Scientism to
the Aquarian
Age of Divine Wisdom, Cosmic Consciousness , Knowledge and Love.
Since the New Age is a conglomeration of spiritual practices, let us
analyse
the basic principles of N A M
1. The Divine Source of Authority. New Agers do not claim any source
of authority -- Only Inspiration by the Divine. By the Divine we mean
a principle within, the Divine Spark or the Self and many are there
who receive the revelations of the Self within or the intuitive
insights of the Self.
|