In Peter van Der Veer's "Spirituality in Modern Society," we see how the rise of spirituality has evolved in the West. While it took some time to travel to our shores, particularly from foreign shores as far east as India, China, and Japan, the influence of "alternative" thinking about our existence and purpose, if you will, has significantly altered the influences on our lifestyle. Some embrace the changes, others question, and others prefer to remain dutiful to what works for them. Two noted individuals, political leader Mohandas Gandhi and Nobel Prize-winning poet Radindranath Tagore "argued that the materialism of the West created warfare and colonial exploitation, while the spirituality of the East provided an alternative that would lead to world peace and equal prosperity for all" (1109). While the latter part of that claim seems like a wonderful promise that has yet to come to fruition, for which we cannot speak of with any knowledge or insight as yet, the first part about our materialist ways is something we are quite familiar with and can speak of with some depth of knowledge.
Part 1
Since you're a westerner, you live in a western country, respond to their claim about what we've created in the West. If you agree with what they are asserting, explain why. If you disagree, explain why. Your response should be about a paragraph, enough to explain your position fully.
resource
https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781841697772.ch3
https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781841697772.ch3
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