And now for the West's relationship with the East, based on Christopher Harding's book "The Light of Asia. A History of Western Fascination with the East." (2024). Of course, a brief summary is all we have room for here.

Colorful tales out of India were doing the rounds in Europe as early as in the 5th century B.C. which were later complemented by news from China, Japan and elsewhere in Asia. From Europe, it all seemed like one distant East full of gold, jewels, spices and silk. Then came colonies, Christian missions, and the East became a source of new wisdom. But more than a few aspects of Asian culture have been reduced to the level of cliches in the West.

In Ancient Greece, the first circle of the outside world belonged to barbarians, after whom came the wild peoples and after them the great river Oceanos which encircled the world and designated its end. Herodotus also described the River Indus behind which there was no more life for him.

The campaigns of Alexander the Great provided a lot of new information, even though he only went as far as eastern India. Veterans of his army who decided to settle in turn brought Greek influences to India. The first contact between the Greco-Roman world and China happened in the 3rd century B.C. with both sides taking a suspicious view of traveling peoples. But the West's newfound appetite for luxury goods from the East persisted through the end of the Roman world and the Middle Ages. Spices were in especially high demand, both for use in cooking and among physicians for their supposed medicinal properties.

The 13th century brought Marco Polo's travels, even though many have considered his descriptions to have been works of fantasy. The eastern perspective opened up even more when Portuguese seafarers reached Japan in the middle of the 16th century. It was there that Jesuits learned of the special form of heresy that is Buddhism.

In the West, there was growing interest in travelogues as well as foreign cultures and customs in both Asia and the New World in the 17th century. Looking to China, Europeans got to know the teachings of Confucius, while the Chinese familiarized themselves with the Western cast of mind, and missionary efforts led to the rise of Chinese Catholicism. The Chinese also studied European mathematics, cartography, astronomy and other disciplines. The import of tea from China became important in Europe. And once tea became common, porcelain became a new exotic luxury next to silk.

The only European philosopher to really delve deep in Chinese thought was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz whose recommendation was to exercise patience and reverence when trying to grasp the Chinese frame of mind.

He even believed it would be good to bring Chinese missionaries to Europe. Voltaire is perhaps the most important among Western interpreters of China. For him, China was a country where life, honor and property were protected by law. But by the time of Voltaire's death, things had changed and the church turned against China. The emperor reacted sharply by banning Christianity in China. Voices in Europe started speaking of the Chinese as frauds and gambling addicts. The fascination with China subsided.

India became the new focus of oriental interest, which source was studiously used by the British. The similarity between Sanskrit and the classical European languages was discovered. That made India not far-away and exotic, but part of the family. Philosophers and writers in Germany started looking to the East for inspiration. They included Goethe, Hegel and Schopenhauer.

One Indian influence was an intuitive approach to religion. At first, Hinduism shone, but then Buddhism was discovered and Buddha was even considered the Asian analogue of Martin Luther. Edwin Arnold's book "The Light of Asia" proved hugely popular, with over a million copies sold by the middle of the previous century.

The East also found a new place in the religious movement of theosophy, with Annie Beasant likely its best-known name, even though Helena Blavatsky is also widely-known. The latter claimed she was taught by two Tibetan mahatmas and was the one to coin the term "theosophy."

The Parliament of the World's Religions played a key role in the development of theosophy, with Hindu Swami Vivekananda one of the stars of a grand forum held in 1893. Psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung is also known to have leaned on Eastern teachings.

It is suggested that yoga became popular after Vivekananda visited the United States. Whatever the case, it had taken on a particular form in the West by the beginning of the previous century. Following World War Two, Asian enthusiasts found that decolonization and other developments had created an opportune moment for cooperation between the East and West.

Englishman Alan Watts had become a guru in his own right, becoming popular especially among the youth in the early 1960s, and in his wake came psychedelics. Their use went beyond the margins of society, with many students synthesizing their own LSD and a huge market developing in major cities. The hippie movement was considered trendy.

There were also Indian influences in Western music, with the Beatles and George Harrison perhaps contributing the most. Tens of thousands of young people started traveling to India and the guru cult formed. But many eventually tired of the hippie life. The 1980s and 1990s became a controversial period where efforts were made to find a permanent home for Eastern wisdom in the West. Some looked to introduce variants of Buddhism, while others supported the New Age movement. There were attempts to combine Eastern and Western science, philosophy and religion for an all-encompassing worldview or a new vision of reality.

In summary, the West's fascination with the East has always been tied to three questions. What is real? How should we live? And who says so? Looking back, we are left with the conclusion that the West's understanding of the East has always been muddled and changeable, with matters of spirituality, mental health and human existence in the air at different times throughout history. These questions have by no means disappeared.

Asian medical ideas and practices also linger, ranging from reiki to ayurvedic medicine. Time will tell whether something useful will float to the surface or whether it is just foam.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!