USA, August 27, 2008: Vedanta, an American and Hindu-based organization created for Westerners interested in Eastern religious thought and practice, is becoming increasingly Indian Hindu in makeup, causing controversy and concern among the remaining non-Indian members. Such members claim that Vedanta is losing its distinctive mission of reaching Westerners with Eastern
philosophy and spirituality.
The first Vedanta center was founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1894 in New York. The Vedanta societies 14 centers have traditionally catered to white Americans interested in Indian spirituality but not necessarily the rituals and traditions usually associated with the religion. This pattern started changing in the 1960s when many Indian Hindus immigrated to the U.S. They brought with them Hindu rituals and culture–a process many American Vedantists have called “Indianization.”
As the Indian Hindu influence in Vedanta societies has grown, Indianization has become a point of contention in the national movement. Hinduism Today magazine (July/August/September 2008) cites a recent issue of an unofficial Vedanta publication which suggests a good deal of disagreement, even among leaders, about the nature of the Vedanta society in a multicultural America.
Vasudha Narayanan, a Hindu scholar at the University of Florida (Gainesville) told Religioscope in an interview that both sides of the conflict tend to view Hinduism and even Vedanta in a monolithic way that downplays its diversity. While Swami Vivekananda emphasized the philosophical and meditational dimensions of Hinduism, he did not discard all rituals. In various Vedanta societies in the U.S. rituals are practiced. There are also various forms of Vedantic thought among Hindus in India, she added.