The Federation of Associations for Vedic Educators and Scholars (FAVES)
and the Need for New Scholarship in Indian Studies

The Development of Indian Influence in the West

The ultimate questions of existence and meaning in life have compelled thinkers for millenia. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have witnessed the influence of Indian culture and thought upon the Western world. The first appearance of an Indian speaker in the West was in 1893, with the lectures of Swami Vivekananda at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago.

The influence of India has shaped modern Western thinking on the Ultimate. After Vivekananda's initial impact upon the West, interest in Eastern philosophy waned for decades. Then a revival of interest in the East came with the Beat movement of the 1950's with its focus on Buddhism, and particularly with Zen. Jack Kerouac and Alan Watts brought back the discussion of Eastern ideas on American soil.

The counter-cultural movements of the sixties reintroduced Indian thinking to America and Europe. The Beatles, particularly George Harrison and John Lennon, in their fascination with Indian music and philosophy created a surge in Vedic influence in the West. With the enthusiasm of the Beatles and Ravi Shankar, many Western celebrities developed anything from an interest to a passion for Eastern thought.

Swami Prabhupada and Maharishi Mahesh became commonly understood names among Westerners, and the seeds of interest in the East were well planted in American soil. The 1970's witnessed the major wave of immigration of young Indian students and physicians to America. Indian faces and culture became part of the American landscape.

Today, yoga studios and yoga classes are a common fixture in American society. Alternative medicine has also brought interest in traditional Chinese and Indian systems of prevention and treatment.

While much cultural interest has developed in the West, and much introductory material has been available to Westerners, a high level of scholarship is to be desired in giving a greater depth of understand of the Vedic tradition in both Eastern and Western societies.

The Development of Indian Studies in the East

The late nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought a renewed interest in scholarly study of the Hindu and Dharmic religions in India. With the gradual removal of British influence and the eventual development of Indian independence from British rule, much scholarly freedom was experienced in India. Established concepts were now being questioned. The Aryan Invasion Theory of the British and German scholars was openly challenged with the newly renewed Indian scholarship and the evidence of the archaeological record. The notion that Harappan Culture was to be deemed Dravidian, and the established distinction between Dravidian and Aryan ethnicities and cultures then faced the critical examination of new scholarship.

An Inspiration and Means of Promoting Scholarship

The twenty-first century now provides a climate for a deeper understanding of Indian history, traditions, and culture. With modern technology and the Internet, original Sanskrit texts are now available for viewing worldwide by an unlimited number of viewers and scholars. More and more of these documents are being translated into English, providing access to a still larger number of people.

The time is ripe for new scholarship to bring a deeper understanding of the Indian tradition. FAVES provides a means for encouraging scholarship and for the dissemination of Vedic knowledge. Its purpose is to encourage scholarship worldwide and to make this scholarship available to all.

Now is the time to get involved.