New Age & Neo-Hinduism: a two-way street in cultural relations between West and East

Abstract

This article is a reflection on how Indian cultural references circulate onthe West, through social processes better understood under the notion ofGlobalization. The widespread of Indian religious elements and practices acquiresits meaning as one of the cultural dimensions of the globalization process. Thefirst issue to be addressed is the clear difference between the viewpoint of theleaders of these movements and that of their audience. This fundamentaldiscontinuity enables the existence of a double between between, on the one hand,an ocidentalizing India, in certain places and times, and on the other hand, anorientalizing West, with its own places and times. We conclude with an interpretationmodel of this cultural transit, which generates a circulation of Indian products,habits, beliefs and values throughout various parts of the world, including LatinAmerica. Consequently, we find a wide market of cultural goods, motivated andkept by the universalization of Indian sects.