"SQ is from Vedanta Branch - I attached to you this article - a PROOF that ESQ has nothing to do with Islam even they mention it anywhere in this article "--------------------------------
IQ and Genius - NOW IT`S SQ! - by Cherian P. Tekkeveettil http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/evolution/iq-genius/intelligence.asp
For long, the world gave much importance to Intelligence Quotient.
"My son has an IQ of 210!" the proud mother would gush. "He's going to be a scientist." This attitude is a legacy of the early 20th century when psychologists devised tests to measure intelligence. These tests primarily measured intellectual or rational intelligence (used to solve logical problems). The higher the figure, the belief went, the greater the intelligence.
In mid-1990s, Daniel Goleman revealed findings in
neuroscience and psychology that stressed the importance of Emotional Quotient (EQ). This makes us aware of our feelings and that of others. It gives empathy, motivation, compassion and an ability to respond skillfully to pleasure and pain. Goleman argued that EQ was a basic requirement for the use of IQ. If the areas of our brain that feel are damaged, our ability to think effectively is diminished.
Last year, however, authors Dana Zohar and Ian Marshall introduced a new dimension to human intelligence.
Spiritual Quotient (or SQ) is the ultimate intelligence,
they claim. This is the intelligence used to solve problems of meaning and value.
"Is my job giving me the fulfillment I seek?"
"Am I relating to the people in my life in a way that contributes to their happiness and mine?"
Answers to these questions determine whether we will find happiness or not. IQ and EQ are inadequate in such issues. "Spiritual intelligence," explains Ram Mohan, a Vedanta teacher,
(What is Vedanta - See article below)"is about the growth of a human being. It is about moving on in life. About having a direction in life and being able to heal ourselves of all the resentment we carry. It is thinking of ourselves as an expression of a higher reality. It is also about how we look at the resources available to us. We realize that nature is not meant to be exploited. Ultimately, we discover freedom from our sense of limitation as human beings and attain moksha."
Anand Tendolkar, a workshop leader, says:
"For me spiritual intelligence is about pondering over my life's purpose. Just being in touch with that question is fulfilling. Finally I realize that there is an immensity to me. As I move along the path, deeper levels of myself get unfolded, leading to fulfillment."
Humans are essentially spiritual beings, evolved to ask fundamental questions.
"Who am I?" "Where am I going?" "What do others mean to me?"
It is an ability to answer questions like these that lead people to personal growth workshops. Spiritual intelligence motivates people to balance their work schedules to spend time with the family. Or an executive with a high SQ might look beyond profit margins and devote time for voluntary work with orphans. Spiritual intelligence also addresses the need to place one's life in a shared context of value.
The transformative power of SQ distinguishes it from IQ and EQ. IQ primarily solves logical problems.
EQ allows us to judge the situation we are in and behave appropriately.
SQ allows us to ask if we want to be in that situation in the first place. It might motivate us to create a new one.
SQ has
little connection to formal religion. Atheists and humanists may have high SQ while someone actively religious may not.
"The awakening of our spiritual intelligence may be a time of great joy and meaning," says Anita Pandey, who frequents personal growth programs.
"Suddenly I had a feeling of being in control. Earlier things happened to me. Now I am more aware. Also, I have actually started living those values I had heard about—like acceptance and unconditional love."
In their book Spiritual Intelligence—The Ultimate Intelligence, Zohar and Marshall discuss the scientific evidence for SQ. In the 1990s, research by neuropsychologist Michael Persinger and neurologist V.S. Ramachandran at the University of California led to an identification of a 'God-spot' in the human brain. This area is located among neural connections in the temporal lobes of the brain. During scans with positron emission topography, these neural areas light up whenever research subjects are exposed to discussion of spiritual topics.
Of course, this is culture specific, with Westerners responding to ideas of 'God' and
Buddhists and Hindus responding to certain symbols. While the God-spot does not prove the existence of 'God', it does indicate that the brain is programmed to ask ultimate questions.We use spiritual intelligence to transform ourselves and others, heal relationship, cope with grief, and move beyond conditioned habits of the past. To develop high SQ, each person needs to approach the task according to his/her personality.
J.L. Holland divided people into six personality types (take the test) and devised tests to determine one's type, or the mix.
On each personality test we would have scored between zero and 12. This indicates the strength of our interest in that sector of life. An average adult will score 6 or more on perhaps three of the personality types. For example, we might score highest (say nine) on the artistic type, but score seven on the enterprising type and six on the investigative. Naturally, we must allow for some degree of overlap between the different types.
Once we know our personality type, we can better choose our particular path to higher SQ.
CONVENTIONAL TYPE: THE PATH OF DUTYWe follow this path by serving the community. This is done by realizing our life's purpose and following it with full commitment. We have the interest of humanity in mind and pursue what we truly love for others' sake. Many of us may want to associate ourselves with a specific organization to fulfill this ambition.
Whatever outlet we choose, we must avoid two common mistakes that people on this path make. Avoid becoming narcissistic. It is an easy trap to slip into. At one point we may withdraw completely from relationships and focus only on ourselves. Behaviors associated with such self-absorption include lying in bed late, heavy drinking and smoking and overindulgence in food and sex. A narcissist must address his problems adequately through therapy or spiritual practices before he can progress on the path of duty.
Avoid extreme identification with your group and its uncritical championing. We must realize that there is a place in the world for groups whose values differ from ours.
SOCIAL TYPE: THE PATH OF NURTURINGThis path is about loving, nurturing and protecting.
It corresponds to the Mother Goddess. People on this path include parents, teachers, nurses and therapists, who reach out to others with acceptance and compassion and provide them with the space to grow and find themselves.
To pursue this path, the right attitude is crucial.
"How can I serve others when I myself need so much from others?" explains Ram Mohan. "For example, I live in a city where many of the things I consume—like food and medicines—are not produced. I need the efforts of so many people to make life possible. I realize that I am only making my talents available to people in return for things I am receiving. When I look at it this way, it helps me face the many disappointments I may encounter."
It is important to be mindful of the way we help others. A distorted way is to succumb to the shadow aspect of love and nurturing, which is hatred and revenge. Love can be patient and kind but when we do not truly love ourselves, our love for others becomes bitter and destructive.
Another common failing is to suffocate the person we seek to love. We have to give the person space to grow. To pursue this path effectively, we must be receptive and listen to the other person. We must be willing to reveal ourselves to others. A risk-free approach is unlikely to succeed.
When we meet great teachers, one striking thing about them is their ability to truly be there for another person. Such attention and empathy is rare. To pursue this path, we must model ourselves on a teacher or mentor who has already clarified his life before reaching out to others.
INVESTIGATIVE TYPE: THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGEThe path of knowledge covers a broad range of experience. It could be something as simple as solving everyday problems. Or, as vast as pursuing a spiritual path. Most people on this path are scholars, scientists or those who have an intense love of learning.
How we pursue this path can have profound benefits for mankind. One can engage in research that solves problems plaguing mankind. For instance, a scientist could devise a cheap fuel that is eco-friendly.
While the potential of this path is limitless, we must clarify our intention in pursuing it.
We must realize that all things are interconnected and we cannot apply our knowledge to one area of experience without having profound effects on others.
Nandan Savnal, Mumbai-based NLP trainer, alerts us to another crucial aspect: "One of the most important challenges on this path," he says, "is whether you are going to be honest with yourself and question things. When you investigate matters, your value system will be challenged. You will have to press on regardless. You cannot afford to operate from your comfort zone."
Another spiritually unintelligent way to walk this path that must be avoided is using our talent to support morally reprehensible work. Like the historians who deny the Holocaust or those who devote themselves to spreading racist propaganda.
ARTISTIC TYPE: THE PATH OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATIONWriters, artists, musicians and their like constitute only 10 to 15 percent of the population. But most of us walk this path to some extent. The task facing such people is personal and transpersonal integration. We must explore the depths of ourselves and weld the disparate fragments into a harmonious whole.
The path most closely associated with the brain's God-spot activity, people here are most open to extreme emotions and eccentric behavior. For this reason, artists are most often thought of as society's healers (or shamans). They journey into the unknown and return with a fragment that can heal us all. This is the process that has created some of the world's greatest art.
Cultures throughout history have treated the artist as someone blessed with special vision. Indeed, their capacity to create societal awareness is profound. Consider the great saint-poets like Rumi and Kabir.
For Savnal, engaging with great stories from different traditions has been therapeutic. "When I was young," he says, "I was fascinated by the story about Bhima in which he has a wrestling match and jumps up with the strength of ten elephants every time he is knocked down. With time, I realized that the suggestion is to bounce back with greater energy every time you face a setback."
We must watch out for certain traps, however. One is becoming an aesthete—people concerned with form only who produce art purely for sensual gratification. Their goal is acquisition and display. Another common failing is to be a compulsive, permanent rebel. Such people will resist order and imagination in their art, fight committed relationships and even miss deadlines.
The extremes described above are a turning away from conflict. But when an artist embraces his conflict he can claim his spiritual intelligence and produce art of lasting value.
REALISTIC PERSON: THE PATH OF BROTHERHOODPriti Sen is a caring middle-aged mother and a devoted wife. Her husband is a rich, influential businessman. She loves socializing and also does charity work. Seemingly strong, cheerful and in charge of her life, the truth about her is not immediately obvious. Her teenage son lost both his legs in an accident. While her shattered husband and other children cry almost daily, Priti is quiet, sensible and calm. She busies herself caring for her son, building a new life for him. Her ability to accept adversity is a source of strength to her family.
Priti exemplifies the attributes of the realistic type. Practical, no-nonsense, uncomfortable with overt feelings, these people personify the virtues of the hero. Their mission in life is to pursue the path of brotherhood and justice. It is to see a connection between themselves and all other beings. A Buddhist sutra describes this: "In the heaven of Indra (the king of the gods in the Hindu pantheon) there is a network of pearls so arranged that if you look at one, you see all the others reflected in it. In the same way, each object in the world is not merely itself, but involves every other object and in fact is every other object."
Those who have internalized this precept form organizations that bring justice into the world. They decide how rights and goods are distributed for the benefit of all. This involves respect for the other's point of view. When such people work together in NGOs or spiritual organizations, they grow toward a deeper understanding that all people are players in a larger pattern.
ENTERPRISING TYPE: THE PATH OF SERVANT-LEADERSHIPAll human groupings, families, tribes and societies need leaders to impart vision, motivation and purpose. Effective leaders must be confident, outgoing and comfortable with power. Truly great leaders are servant-leaders-those who serve humanity by creating new ways for people to relate to each other. They put the good of society above their own good and take society in new directions. Buddha and Jesus were such leaders. In India, we had Emperor Ashoka who, after his brutal conquest of Kalinga, converted to Buddhism and embraced nonviolence. And environmentalists like Sunderlal Bahuguna and Medha Patkar have forced people to look afresh at ecological issues.
It must be stressed, however, that a servant-leader should have a great deal of inner clarity. A spiritually unintelligent way to walk this path is to use one's power to exploit others. Another mistake is to focus purely on one's petty needs and ignore the interests of the people we serve.
"The challenge is to have a vision," says Ram Mohan. "After that, the task is to build trust and empower people to give their best." It is essential to do this ethically. In a corrupt society, there will be pressures on us and we must know how to handle it. To retain his balance, a leader would do well to think about trusteeship. Gandhi declared that when an individual has more than his proportionate share of wealth, he should become a trustee of that portion on God's behalf.
It is to this noble vision of leadership that one must aspire. In an increasingly fragmented world, we need leaders of vision who can bring hope and purpose into the lives of others, someone who sees all of humanity as God's people. As Jesus said: "Not my will, Lord, but thine."
The outline of the above paths is meant to help those who wish to develop their spiritual intelligence and gain a better awareness of themselves. To this awareness must be added the invaluable ingredient of hard work. But thinking of ourselves as spiritual beings is a useful start. Once we do this, we can enlarge our idea of intelligence to include this greater vision of ourselves.
When we commit ourselves to the chosen paths in this light, we begin to imbue greater meaning, value and fulfillment in our lives.
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EIGHT SIGNS OF HIGH SQ
1. Flexibility
2. Self-awareness
3. An ability to face and use suffering
4. The ability to be inspired by a vision
5. An ability to see connections between diverse things (thinking holistically)
6. A desire and capacity to cause as little harm as possible
7. A tendency to probe and ask fundamental questions
8. An ability to work against convention
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SEVEN TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE
With the popularity of EQ and SQ in recent years, it might be worth remembering an older way of conceiving intelligence, which helps cultivate individual aspects of ourselves. This is Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligence. In 1984, in his book Frames of Mind—The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, he offered a critique of IQ testing and suggested that what we possess is not one 'intelligence' but seven different intelligences. These are: logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and spatial.
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
This is what we use to manipulate concepts and arrange them into meaningful patterns. We develop this by constantly confronting objects, assessing them and reordering them.
How to develop :
1. Learn a computer language
2. Work on logic puzzles
3. Identify scientific principles around the house: pumps, bulbs etc.
Linguistic Intelligence
This is the intelligence that gives us sensitivity to language, an ability to absorb and manipulate it skillfully and to be aware of shades of meaning.
How to develop :
1. Take a writing class
2. Record yourself speaking into a tape-recorder
3. Memorize passages of poetry
Musical Intelligence
This gives us our sensitivity to sound, our ability to arrange sounds into patterns pleasing to the human ear.
1. Sing in the shower
2. Memorize tunes
3. Spend time listening to music everyday
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
This is the intelligence that gives us the ability to perform tasks of great discipline and commitment with our bodies. Dancers, athletes and martial arts practitioners have this.
1. Take up martial arts like tai chi or karate
2. Take up a sport
3. Learn a craft such as woodworking or crochet
Intrapersonal Intelligence
This is about becoming truly aware of ourselves and having the ability to constantly purify ourselves in order to access higher levels of joy and power.
1. Do a vipassana course and make it a part of your life
2. Spend time with yourself everyday, just being quiet
3. Read biographies of people with powerful personalities
Spatial Intelligence
This form of intelligence calls upon our ability to create a mental image. It gives us the capacity to perceive the visual world accurately and to perform transformations and modifications upon our initial perceptions. Artists, designers and architects have this intelligence.
1. Take classes in painting, sculpture or photography
2. Buy a graphics software program and create designs on the computer
3. Watch films with attention to lighting, camera angles, color and other aspects of cinema.------------------------------------------
Comments from Malaysians/Indonesians Sunni Moslems on a training workshop known as ESQ"ESQ - another way of mind control using Islam as a platform - be aware Muslims! We are the Sunnis - not others"
"IQ, EQ, SQ have nothing to do with Islam and Muslims" (counter-commenting to the trainer Ginanjar of Malaysia and Indonesia)
"The trainer is a FAKE PROPHET! Trying patethically to insert the ESQ with the pillars of Islam and telling us that this is a new religion! WRONG WAY TO DO IT!!"
"Mind control, Mind control I'm telling you - Belial, Anti-Christ, Dajjal!! - New kind of black magic!!"
"IQ, EQ, SQ are about neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry and pedagogy...they are only methods created by human beings like you and me to explain the unknown. Don't divert from the real purpose, don't smear pure science and make it a pseudo-science. Leave Islam out of it!!"
"Respect the Hindus and the Muslims, do not create or mix Hinduism elements in Islam"
"Those who mix religion and science immaturely will likely be the followers of Illuminati - whether they like it or not whether they notice it or not - the chances are the trainer doesn't know or possibly he knows but for the money he is getting, wow..."------------------------------
"SQ is from Vedanta Branch - I attached to you this article - a PROOF that ESQ has nothing to do with Islam even they mention it anywhere in this article "
FROM WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedanta
Statue of Adi Shankara, the most influential expounder of the Vedanta.Vedānta (Devanagari: वेदान्त, Vedānta) was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a sandhied form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal [end] of the Vedas." By the 8th century CE, the word also came to be used to describe a group of philosophical traditions concerned with the self-realisation by which one understands the ultimate nature of reality (Brahman).
Vedānta is also called Uttarā Mīmāṃsā, or the 'latter enquiry' or 'higher enquiry', and is often paired with Purva Mīmāṃsā, the 'former enquiry'. Pūrva Mimamsa, usually simply called Mimamsa, deals with explanations of the fire-sacrifices of the Vedic mantras (in the Samhita portion of the Vedas) and Brahmanas, while Vedanta explicates the esoteric teachings of the Āraṇyakas (the "forest scriptures"), and the Upanishads, composed from ca. the 9th century BCE until modern times.
The goal of Vedanta is a state of self-realization or cosmic consciousness. Historically and currently, it is assumed that this state can be experienced by anyone, but it cannot be adequately conveyed in language.
Vedanta is not restricted or confined to one book and there is no sole source for Vedāntic philosophy.
HistoryIn earlier writings, Sanskrit 'Vedānta' simply referred to the Upanishads, the most speculative and philosophical of the Vedic texts. However, in the medieval period of Hinduism, the word Vedānta came to mean the school of philosophy that interpreted the Upanishads. Traditional Vedānta considers scriptural evidence, or shabda pramāna, as the most authentic means of knowledge, while perception, or pratyaksa, and logical inference, or anumana, are considered to be subordinate (but valid).
The systematization of Vedāntic ideas into one coherent treatise was undertaken by Badarāyana in the Vedānta Sutra which was composed around 200 BCE . The Vedānta-sūtra are known by a variety of names, including
(1) Brahma-sūtra, (2) Śārīraka, (3) Vyāsa-sūtra, (4) Bādarāyaṇa-sūtra, (5) Uttara-mīmāṁsā and (6) Vedānta-darśana.
The cryptic aphorisms of the Vedanta Sutras are open to a variety of interpretations, resulting in the formation of numerous Vedanta schools, each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own sub-commentaries. Consistent throughout Vedanta, however, is the exhortation that ritual be eschewed in favor of the individual's quest for truth through meditation governed by a loving morality, secure in the knowledge that infinite bliss awaits the seeker. Nearly all existing sects of Hinduism are directly or indirectly influenced by the thought systems developed by Vedantic thinkers. Hinduism to a great extent owes its survival to the formation of the coherent and logically advanced systems of Vedanta.
All forms of Vedānta are drawn primarily from the Upanishads, a set of philosophical and instructive Vedic scriptures. "The Upanishads are commentaries on the Vedas, their putative end and essence[citation needed], and thus known as Vedānta or "End of the Veda". They are considered the fundamental essence of all the Vedas and although they form the backbone of Vedanta, portions of Vedantic thought are also derived from some of the earlier āranyakas.
The primary philosophy captured in the Upanishads, that of one absolute reality termed as Brahman is the main principle of Vedanta. The sage Vyāsa was one of the major proponents of this philosophy and author of the Brahma Sūtras based on the Upanishads. The concept of Brahman – the eternal, self existent, immanent and transcendent Supreme and Ultimate Reality which is the divine ground of all Being - is central to most schools of Vedānta. The concept of God or Ishvara is also there, and the Vedantic sub-schools differ mainly in how they identify God with Brahman.
The contents of the Upanishads are often couched in enigmatic language, which has left them open to various interpretations. Over a period of time, several scholars have interpreted the writings in Upanishads and other scriptures like Brahma Sutras according to their own understanding and the need of their time. There are a total of six important interpretations of these source texts, out of which, three (Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita) are prominent, both in India and abroad. These Vedantic schools of thought were founded by Shri Adi Shankara, Shri Ramanuja and Shri Madhvacharya, respectively. It should be noted, however, that the Indian pre-Shankara Buddhist writer, Bhavya, in the Madhyamakahrdaya Kārika describes the Vedānta philosophy as "Bhedabheda". Proponents of other Vedantic schools continue to write and develop their ideas as well, although their works are not widely known outside of smaller circles of followers in India.
While it is not typically thought of as a purely Vedantic text, the Bhagavad Gita has played a strong role in Vedantic thought, with its representative syncretism of Samkhya, Yoga, and Upanishadic thought. Indeed, it is itself called an "upanishad" and thus, all major Vedantic teachers (like Shankara, Rāmānuja, and Mādhvāchārya) have taken it upon themselves to compose often extensive commentaries not only on the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras, but also on the Gita. In such a manner, Vedāntists both old and new have implicitly attested to the Gitā's importance to the development of Vedantic thought and practice.
Advaita VedāntaAdvaita Vedānta was propounded by Adi Sankara and his grand-guru Gaudapada, who described Ajativada. According to this school of Vedānta, Brahman is the only reality, and the world, as it appears, is illusory. As Brahman is the sole reality, it cannot be said to possess any attributes whatsoever. An illusory power of Brahman called Māyā causes the world to arise. Ignorance of this reality is the cause of all suffering in the world and only upon true knowledge of Brahman can liberation be attained. When a person tries to know Brahman through his mind, due to the influence of Māyā, Brahman appears as God (Ishvara), separate from the world and from the individual. In reality, there is no difference between the individual soul jīvātman (see Atman) and Brahman. Liberation lies in knowing the reality of this non-difference (i.e. a-dvaita, "non-duality"). Thus, the path to liberation is finally only through knowledge (jñāna).
VishishtadvaitaVishishtadvaita was propounded by Rāmānuja and says that the jīvātman is a part of Brahman, and hence is similar, but not identical. The main difference from Advaita is that in Visishtadvaita, the Brahman is asserted to have attributes, including the individual conscious souls and matter. Brahman, matter and the individual souls are distinct but mutually inseparable entities. This school propounds Bhakti or devotion to God visualized as Vishnu to be the path to liberation. Māyā is seen as the creative power of God.
DvaitaDvaita was propounded by Madhwāchārya. It is also referred to as tatvavādā - The Philosophy of Reality. It identifies God with Brahman completely, and in turn with Vishnu or his various incarnations like Krishna, Narasimha, Srinivāsa etc. In that sense it is also known as sat-vaishnava philosophy to differentiate from the Vishishtadvaita school known by sri-vaishnavism. It regards Brahman, all individual souls (jīvātmans) and matter as eternal and mutually separate entities. This school also advocates Bhakti as the route to sattvic liberation whereas hatred (Dvesha)-literally 'twoness') and indifference towards the Lord will lead to eternal hell and eternal bondage respectively. Liberation is the state of attaining maximum joy or sorrow, which is awarded to individual souls (at the end of their sādhana), based on the souls' inherent and natural disposition towards good or evil. The achintya-adbhuta shakti (the immeasurable power) of Lord Vishnu is seen as the efficient cause of the universe and the primordial matter or prakrti is the material cause. Dvaita also propounds that all action is performed by the Lord energizing every soul from within, awarding the results to the soul but Himself not affected in the least by the results.
DvaitādvaitaDvaitādvaita was propounded by Nimbārka, based upon an earlier school called Bhedābheda, which was taught by Bhāskara. According to this school, the jīvātman is at once the same as yet different from Brahman. The jiva relation may be regarded as dvaita from one point of view and advaita from another. In this school, God is visualized as Krishna.
ShuddhādvaitaShuddhadvaita was propounded by Vallabha. This system also identifies Bhakti as the only means of liberation, 'to go to Goloka' (lit., the world of cows; the Sankrit word 'go', 'cow', also means 'star'). The world is said to be the sport (Leela) of Krishna, who is Sat-Chit-Ananda.
Achintya BhedābhedaAchintya Bhedābheda was propounded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Bengal, 1486–1534). He was a follower of the Dvaita vedanta of Sri Madhwacharya.This doctrine of inconceivable and simultaneous one-ness and difference states that the soul or energy of God is both distinct and non-distinct from God, whom he identified as Krishna, Govinda, and that this, although unthinkable, may be experienced through a process of loving devotion (bhakti).This philosophy of "inconceivable oneness and difference" is followed by a number of modern Gaudiya Vaishnava movements, including ISKCON. Baladeva Vidyabhushana gave wonderful comment on Vedanta.
It goes in four chapters. Bhagavad-Gita As It Is is devoted to
Baladeva Vidyabhushana, Purnādvaita or Integral Advaita
According to his followers, Sri Aurobindo, in his The Life Divine, synthesized all the exant schools of Vedanta and gave a comprehensive resolution integrating cues from the Western metaphysics and modern science. He is said to have restored the umbilical cord of the Vedantic exegesis with the Vedas
Modern Vedānta (Hindu revivalism)The term "modern Vedanta" is sometimes used to describe the interpretation of Advaita Vedanta given by Swami Vivekananda of the Ramakrishna order of monks. He stressed that:
Although God is the absolute reality, the world has a relative reality. It should therefore not be completely ignored.
Conditions of abject poverty should be removed; only then will people be able to turn their minds toward God.
All religions are striving in their way to reach the ultimate truth. Narrow sectarian bickering should therefore be abandoned, and religious tolerance should be practiced — between different Hindu denominations, as well as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.
Vivekananda traveled to the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893, and became an influential figure in synthesizing Eastern and Western thought. He played a major role in the spread of Vedanta to Western nations. His travel to the West was criticized by some orthodox Hindus. His proponents claim that he made Vedanta living, by understanding how it could be applied to the modern world, and by investing it with his own spirit. For Vivekananda, Vedanta was not something dry or esoteric, but a living approach to the quest for self-knowledge.
In his interpretation of Advaita (as in Shankara's), there is still a place for Bhakti (devotion). Monks of the Ramakrishna order suggest that it is easier to begin meditation on a personal God with form and qualities, rather than the formless Absolute, of which everyone is said to be part. Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman are viewed as obverse and reverse of the same coin
Influence in the WestThe philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel refers to Indian thought reminiscent of Advaita-Vedanta in his introduction to his The Phenomenology of Spirit and in his Science of Logic. Arthur Schopenhauer was influenced by the Vedas and Upanishads; in his own words: "If the reader has also received the benefit of the Vedas, the access to which by means of the Upanishads is in my eyes the greatest privilege which this still young century (1818) may claim before all previous centuries, if then the reader, I say, has received his initiation in primeval Indian wisdom, and received it with an open heart, he will be prepared in the very best way for hearing what I have to tell him." (The World as Will and Representation) Among western figures who have been influenced by or have commented on Vedanta are Ram Dass, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Müller, Voltaire, J.D. Salinger, Aldous Huxley, T. S. Eliot, J.B. Priestley, Christopher Isherwood, Romain Rolland, Alan Watts, Eugene Wigner, Arnold Toynbee, Joseph Campbell, Hermann Hesse, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Will Durant, Nikola Tesla, Erwin Schrödinger and John Dobson.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, also was a professed Vedāntist.In reference to the Trinity test in New Mexico, where his Los Alamos team tested the first atomic bomb, Oppenheimer famously recalled the Bhagavad Gita: "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one. Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
