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the interest in the east. However, the West’s current intimate acquain-
tance with Eastern cultures began in the 1960's.

The sixties were a dark turning point for Western societies. The
destructive effects of two world wars, the atom bombs dropped on
Japan, the Vietnam War, the hysteria around the justified struggle
against communism and successive political scandals like Watergate
created a great sense of rebellion in American youth against the estab-
lishment. However, this reaction while perhaps understandable, was
emotional in nature, and was not based on a rational and reasonable

framework, and this was used as a path to turn people away from reli-
gious moral values . The situation was no different in Europe. All the
institutions of the Christian church were portrayed as a part of the “sys-
tem” and the hostility towards the various governments of the democ-
ratic West was also directed at the church. In this era many young west-
erners and intellectuals left their traditional Christian beliefs in the
search for a different way of life. Some irrationally chose atheism, oth-
ers chose superstitious Far Eastern religions. The search for new ways
of life was partly driven by the sense of “rebellion” as well as “atten-
tion seeking”.

This trend was intentionally, or unwittingly, manipulated by
those who shaped popular culture. The Beatles were one such influ-
ence. The news that band member George Harrison had chosen
Hinduism created an admiration for this religion among millions of
Beatles fans. Not just members of the entertainment industry but also
many renowned intellectuals and scientists acquired superstitious far
eastern teachings and supported their spread among the youth.

However, the motives for their support were different: the compatibil-
ity between superstitious Far Eastern culture and the materialist as-
pects of Western culture. Those who adopted and promoted the super-

Islam And Far Eastern Religions