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; 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 Governement, 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; Networking; 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. Isnt 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 Wisdome, 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 revealations of the Self within or the intuitive insights of the
Self.
2. The Lord. – Since Matter and Energy can neither be created or destroyed
and the sum total energy in the Universe is an absolute constant ( Universal
Being ), the Lord did not create the world, He became the world.
Monism –( “All is Unity” ) averrs that there is only One Essence in the
universe, everyone and everything being a part of that essence. The Self is
an utter Being and all these are its Becomings. New Agers view God as an
Impersonal Life force, Consciousness, or Energy (e.g., the “Star Wars
Force”) mainly but they also believe in His personal aspect, as the Ocean
( which is Formless ) can take the form of an iceberg! They averr that every
human has a divine spark within him because all created beings are
reflections of the Divine Idea. The eternal state is called by various
terms among different New Age groups, i.e., God-consciousness, Universal
Love, Self-Realization, the I AM, Higher Self, Brahman, Nirvana, etc.
2. The Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Christ Consciousness or the Divine
Consciousness is what the New Age advocates mean by Christ. . In other
words, Christ is a Divine Principle rather than an individual, such as
Jesus. This idea of Christ Consciousness asserts that Jesus was only one of
the Christs, but that He equipped Himself to receive the Christ
Consciousness (i.e., He was a great Master who attained Christ
Consciousness), as did other prophets like Buddha, Krishna, and Mohammed.
New Agers believe Dr Paul Brunton who stated the Jesus spent 18 years in
India absorbing Indian Mysticism and that he was initiated into the highest
esoteric doctrine.
3. Human Destiny. Man is the measure of all things and is more divine than
the animals & hence the salvation of the world depends upon Man. Cleansing
the negative elements from the collective subconscient should be the aim of
humanity. Once Negativity is cleaned from the collective subconscient, the
human positive energy will shine forth and the noble ideals of the New Age
will be actualised in an era of Enlightenment. Since man is intrinsically
divine and perfect, his only real problem is ignorance of that fact. Gnosis
means experiential knowledge and Salvation in the New Age is for man to
become enlightened through this Divine Gnosis. New Age groups offer various
spiritual techniques to enable individuals, and ultimately the world, to
evolve into this Unitive Consciousness . These techniques may include
psychotechnologies for attaining altered states of consciousness –
Transcendental Meditation, Yoga, Zen, Attunement , Channeling (Spirit
guides), Psychics, Acupuncture, etc.
4. The Ethical Opposites, Good & Evil – Believing in the Oriental
philosophies, New Agers make the distinction between good and evil. All
wickedness is weakness and Evil is imperfection. By the method of Trial and
Error, we come to know what is good and what is bad for the world and we
have to transcend the dualities.
5. Reincarnation. New Agers believe in the ancient Vedic philosophic
concept of Reincarnation — that through a long process of rebirths, man can
eventually attain Divine perfection. They also teach the Universal Law of
Karma –(( The Law of Cause and Effect ( Every effect has a cause ), the
Law of Action and Reaction, the Law of Retribution ))- that what a person
sows , he shall reap. This is also the doctrine of God’s non-responsibility,
that the Self is not responsible and it is the Ego which experiences bitter
& sweet mental experiences due to its own Karma.
6.Salvation is Self-Actualisation and Sin is Ignorance – SSome theoreticians
taught the concept of Man’s Original Sin. New Age exponents teach the
concept of man’s essential goodness. Instead of systems which emphasised the
human negative aspect and sin, New Age highlights that every man is
essentially divine and it is a sin to call man a sinner ! However, New Agers
speak of troublesome desires which are natural impulses which retard human
evolution and make the Ego move away from the Self. Sin is merely ignorance
of man’s essential divinity. The atrophied spiritual consciousness of the
normal man who lives in ignorance of his Divine Self is Sin. Like the Law of
Conservation of Energy which states that Energy cannot be created or
destroyed, the Law of Conservation of Soul states that the Soul can neither
be created nor destroyed. Matter exists in 3 states, liquid, gaseous and
solid and matter cannot be created or destroyed. Nothing ever begins to be.
Similarly Life does not at physical birth begin to be. It merely enters
physical conditions and assumes physical guise. It merely undergoes a
parallel transformation into conditions which preexisted in other
conditions. The Soul is reincarnated in different bodies in a continous
succession of lives. The good or bad Karma earned in the present lifetime
determines one’s subsequent incarnation. Attaining higher states of
Consciousness should be our aim.There are many different paths to the goal
of Divine perfection and we should be tolerant of other paths.
The divine Aurobindo predicted that spiritual influences from India will
trigger off a global spiritual movement.There will be Mass Incarnations (
many people divinely inspired ) who will work for World Peace and Universal
Love !
I saw them cross the twilight of the Age
The massive barrier breakers of this world
The sun-eyed children of a marvellous dawn
The architects of immortality
Carrying the magic Word, the mystic Fire
Carrying the Dionysian Cup of Joy !
The four systems of Philosophy which triggered the N A M are Hinduism, a
product of 5,000 years of development, Buddhism, circa 560 B.C., Taoism,
circa 500 B.C & Druidism, circa 300 B.C, the religion of the Celts, which
extended upto the Middle Ages.