Interfaith Mysticism and New Ageism

[John Zeger]

Throughout time new thinkers have repeatedly come onto the scene to present the primordial knowledge to a new generation in terms that they can understand. In that regard they are providing an invaluable service. They have often been criticized as "ripping off" ancient wisdom and simply repackaging it in order to gain fame and material benefit. In my youth I was a great fan of Alan Watts who was for the most part an interpreter of Eastern thought to the West. At that time some purists were of the opinion that if one wanted to learn about Buddhism or Hinduism one should go to the original scriptures or to earlier teachers for greater authenticity. However, I loved how Watts made everything clear and understandable as I don't think sitting down with the Bhagavad Gita would have been nearly as meaningful to me.

The same criticism has been leveled against many contemporary New Age writers such as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Neil Donald Walsch, and Eckhart Tolle. In some cases this criticism is justified as each writer presents his ideas in a slightly differerent way with a slightly different emphasis on this or that, although the basic, underlying mystical message remains unchanged. These individuals have made a great service to society in presenting mystical wisdom in a way and to many who would not otherwise have gained an understanding of it. Yet there is also the danger that some of these writers are adding a materialist dimension to their thought which attempts to marry materialism and mysticism thereby making this kind of spirituality more acceptable in our materialistic society. I doubt that people like Chopra and Walsch, for example, would be as popular as they are if they advocated asceticism and turning one's back on the material world. In that sense, I believe they are doing a disservice to true spiritual seekers in keeping people on the treadmill of material wants and who hang on their every word like it is gospel and try to emulate their lifestyles.