Sir John Woodroffe (1865–1936) was a Calcutta High Court
Justice who also translated and published writings on tantra, a hidden, ritual-based
religious practice, under the alias Arthur Avalon.
Woodroffe was one of the early European proponents of tantra as a cohesive religious path, and he defended the texts' purportedly
"impure" or "immoral" ceremonial actions.
In his tantric expositions, Woodroffe was attempting to
persuade two audiences, both of whom were outraged by the licentiousness
detailed in the tantric scriptures, which included breaking deeply established
taboos on nonvegetarian cuisine, alcohol use, and illicit prostitution.
On the one hand, Woodroffe was speaking to the British, who
were the political overlords of the moment, and on the other, educated Indians,
many of whom would have dismissed the tantras as a fad.
Although more thorough academic work has been done since
then, his publications and lectures were crucial in helping to make tantrism
acceptable.
Representatives from major global religions, including Asian
religions, were invited to the World Parliament of Religions Meeting in Chicago
in 1893.
It was a turning point in the Euro-American perception of
non-Christian faiths, when they were no longer dismissed as mere idolatry but
were considered seriously as legitimate religious pathways.
It's also worth noting that many mainline Christian churches
were not represented, with historically black congregations providing the
majority of the Christian presence.
The presentation by Swami Vivekananda, in which Hinduism—in
its logical, Vedantic form—was first seriously acknowledged by his Western
hearers, was one of the highlights of the Parliament.
Vivekananda's charm was such that he spent the following
four years in America, where he created the Vedanta Society in 1897.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
