- The
New Age Movement
- BY G KUMAR,
ASTROLOGER & EPISTEMOLOGIST
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 Castañada,
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,
Church Universal & Triumphant, 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 Millenium 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 emphasises 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
- (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: --> next page
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- ARTICLE POSTED
JULY 21, 2003
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