Advanced Spirituality

From the novel Nobody Does the Right Thing, by Amitava Kumar (Durham NC: Duke UP, 2010), page 92. There's a tendency to romanticize and idealize Eastern religions, and I think this sums them up nicely.

Binod was looking at an article on Vedic myths by one Sukumari Bhattacharji. Bhattacharji had written: “The spiritual life of the period exhibits peaks and lows. We have philosophical speculations of considerable significance in a few hymns. But simultaneously, there are many prayers for the destruction of enemies, of co-wives and rivals, and prayers for the safe abduction of a girl on a dark night, for her brothers to sleep soundly and for the dogs not to bark.”

Not all that different from the crass, materialist West. Just a thought.