The attraction of oriental and esoteric cults

Abstract

For at least half a century, orientalist groups have appeared, most of which are of Buddhist or Hindu inspiration and have continued to proliferate and gain followers, not in the large numbers of the Protestant dissident processes, but with a noticeable social presence and not little resonance.

It is more properly a matter of sects, in the strict sense indicated by the dictionary. Indeed, it is not about the great Hindu, Brahmanic, or Buddhist doctrines, but rather sectarian movements that draw their inspiration from these great religions, ordinarily directed by a teacher, and to a greater or lesser degree adapted to the western sensibility and ideas.

These groups are very varied and a few are short-lived. We could distinguish, although not with clear limits, the HINDUIST GROUPS. These are ordinary schools of Vedic inspiration. Oriental teachers, generally Hindus, founded schools that found a welcome in the West. To name a few: Vedanta Yoga Schools, Hare Krishna Movement, Hatha Schools and Raja Yogas. The oldest of these centers in Chile cannot be forgotten, since 1919, still active, the Sudda Dharma Mandalam.