Recently, in a conversation with a friend who is currently pursuing an academic research mission at Taipei University, Taiwan, I was struck by a deeply unsettling realization. She told me that despite Taiwan being predominantly Buddhist—a tradition that finds its philosophical womb in the folds of Hinduism—people there have almost no awareness about Hinduism itself. Not just a lack of understanding, but a void. Hinduism, the mother of so many philosophical tributaries, has become an unfamiliar name in lands where its echoes still shape the dominant faith.
Buddhism, whose very founder, Gautam Buddha, was born into a Hindu royal family of the Kshatriya caste, is respected globally as a distinct, standalone religion. Yet, the world often forgets that Buddha was deeply rooted in the cultural and spiritual soil of Hinduism. His teachings were not a breakaway as much as they were an interpretation—an internal reform. And still, this nuanced understanding is absent in most international discourses.
Across West Asia, in countries with significant restrictions on religious expression, one still hears the names of ISKCON and Swaminarayan. These cults, if we may call them so with academic detachment, have successfully branded themselves. Their architecture, chants, robes, and icons are recognizable. Their centers are thriving in the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. But ask their followers or even casual observers about the Vedas or the broader Sanatan Dharma, and you’re likely to be met with silence or vague, myth-infused summaries. The philosophy is being outshined by the cult; the ocean by the rivulet.
Even within India, we are witnessing an identity crisis. There was a time when the Ramakrishna Mission—a spiritual movement inspired by one of the greatest Vedantic teachers of our times—approached the Supreme Court to define themselves as a separate religion. While their work in education and spiritual awakening is commendable, this legal move left many scholars and spiritualists puzzled. Was the need to demarcate identity so pressing that it warranted a spiritual divorce from Hinduism?
We must also mention Osho—a name synonymous with liberation for many, and controversy for others. His cult, born in the fertile soil of Indic spirituality, took a sharp turn into the world of hedonistic liberation. Today, the Osho movement has a global presence, often divorced from its Hindu origins and more focused on sensual freedom and existential exploration. Another tributary gone rogue? Perhaps.
Where are we headed?
The so-called small factions of Hinduism—meant to serve as enriching tributaries—are now asserting themselves as rivers independent of the very source that gave them life. They are growing in popularity, but not always in depth. What we are witnessing is not just diversification, but dilution. In the quest for distinctiveness, they are abandoning the spiritual integrity of their origins.
This is a matter of concern. Hinduism is not merely a religion of temples and deities. It is the most ancient, refined, and intellectually profound spiritual tradition known to humanity. It is the womb of Dvaita and Advaita philosophies. It introduced the world to the concept of Brahman—the eternal, formless, limitless consciousness that transcends space and time. It explored planetary movements long before modern telescopes existed, calculated time with astonishing precision, and discovered the atom (Anu) through the insights of Rishi Kanad.
Our seers mapped distances not just on earth, but between celestial bodies—documented in the Vedas. Saints like Tulsidas didn’t just write poetry; they embedded timeless psychological truths within verses. Yoga, which is now a global fitness fad, was once a deeply spiritual discipline intended to unite the individual soul (Jeev) with the cosmic soul (Brahman). Ayurveda, India’s ancient medical science, offered a holistic understanding of the human body and mind long before Western medicine began to scratch the surface of psychosomatic wellness.
But today, these treasures are gathering dust while rituals are gaining glitter. The core is being sacrificed for the shell. In a world increasingly driven by capitalism and consumerism, even religion is not spared. It is the age of religious branding, where charisma overshadows content, and spectacle triumphs over silence.
We now have “spiritual influencers” more than seers. The cults package and sell rituals, but forget to teach contemplation. They create communities but forget to cultivate consciousness. As a result, Hinduism is being perceived more as a chaotic festival of colors, elephants, and chants than as a rigorous school of metaphysics, ethics, and existential inquiry.
This is the tragedy of our times.
The universal religion—the Dharma that accepted every path, revered every prophet, absorbed every idea, and gave the world a framework to live in harmony with nature and the self—is becoming incomprehensible in its own birthplace. We have become so focused on the branches, that we are losing the tree.
And in the eyes of the world, the confusion is complete. Hinduism appears fragmented, cultish, and mythological rather than philosophical. It is being measured not by its capacity to awaken the soul, but by its ability to entertain the senses. Where once sages meditated under banyan trees, we now have festivals that resemble marketing carnivals.
This is a call to introspection, not rejection. The cults have done valuable work in spreading fragments of our tradition. They have kept the flame alive, albeit in colored glass. But it is time to return to the essence. To revisit the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita—not as religious texts, but as life manuals. To talk less of rituals and more of realization.
It is time to remind the world—and ourselves—that Hinduism is not a religion to be followed, but a Dharma to be lived. Not a club to belong to, but a consciousness to be awakened.
Let us not allow the tributaries to forget the river. Let the cults be gateways, not fortresses. And let us, as inheritors of the oldest wisdom tradition of humanity, reclaim our role not as marketers of religion, but as custodians of eternal truths.
The world is looking for meaning. Let us not give them spectacle instead.
Swami Vishalanand is a revered Samnyasi and devoted disciple of His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj. Views expressed are personal.
