Spirituality+and+Religion

//Spirituality and Religion// by: Sarah and Morgan

The way the youth of America interacted with sprituality and religion was one of the most important aspects of the counterculture movement. Before this movement, it was generally expected that most Americans would adopt the traditional Roman Catholic religious practices. However, as the youth of America began to rebel against the hypocrisies and stereotypes within their society, they also rejected many of the traditional religious principles. Counterculture embraced this shift in spirituality through the practice of several variations on eastern culture and religious practices.

__Eastern Religion__

As the counterculture gained momentum, people began to pay attention to the relatively unknown religions of the east. Groups such as Hare Krishna, Meher Baba, the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization, and Trenscendental Meditation became an important part of the movement. These religious groups took their basis from eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. The Hare Krishna, one of the biggest and most well-known groups, encouraged its followers to wear dhoti, an orange, long, wrapped loin cloth worn by Indian men. The dhoti represented a rejection of western culture and exemplified the principle of non-materialism. Many of the members of the Hare Krishna were former political activists such as Allen Ginsberg, a protester turned religious activist. A major part of the religion involved mantras, used to focus followers on inner peace and spirituality. One of the other major religious groups, the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO), did not approve of involvement in political matters, but encouraged purification of the body, mind, and spirits of its practicioners. The group's followers wore all white outfits, complete with a white turban. Like the orange dhoti sported by followers of Hare Krishna, the white clothing was meant to alienate members from western vanity and materialism. The members of 3HO focused on making themselves models of virtue in hopes of gaining followers and improving the world as a whole. Transcendental Meditation taught its members that the world's suffering was a result of tension between humans. It preached that the elimination of this tension was possible and necessary in order to achieve world peace. Naturally, Transcendental Meditation utilized mantras and meditation in order to cleanse the mind and bring happiness to the individual. Meher Baba was a religious guru from the east who gained a large following. Having taken a personal vow of silence, he preached love and happiness through hand-signals and alphabet boards. Like the other religions of the countercultuer, his movement preached improvement of the world through the improvement of oneself.

These religious movements had never been so prominent within America before the counterculture movement. These religions reflected the message behind US counterculture in their goals of world peace, self-improvement, and ultimate rejection of western materialism and hypocrisy.

__Works Consulted__

Kent, Stephen A. //From Slogans to Mantras: social protest and religious conversion during the late Vietnam War era.// Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2001.