The Wisdom of IndiawithHuston Smith (1919 – 2016)

Books Mentioned In This Interview

huston smith beyond the post-modern mind huston smith cleansing the doors of perception huston smith forgotten truth huston smith the world's religions

Huston Cummings Smith PhD (1919–2016) was an American scholar of religious studies. He authored at least thirteen books on world’s religions and philosophy. He was the author of The Religions of Man which sold over three million copies as of 2017.

In this video he recounts how India transformed his understanding of spiritual life—from early Advaita/Jñāna practice in the U.S. to immersive encounters with India’s sacred culture. He reflects on reports of siddhis (yogic powers) while affirming the “greater miracle” of moral transformation, visits Gandhi’s ashram and Vinoba Bhave’s village movement, observes laboratory studies of yogis’ psychophysiological control, and traces a Buddhist detour into Vipassana that leads to a discussion of Southern and Northern traditions. In conversation with Jeffrey Mishlove, Smith explores symbolism, pluralism, and the living presence of the divine in everyday life.

00:00:00 Opening: Siddhis vs the “greater miracle” of goodness

00:02:03 From U.S. Advaita/Jñāna practice to “3-D” India

00:04:49 Arrival in Delhi: sensory shock, poverty, and buoyant spirit

00:07:08 India’s religiosity and a critique of Western materialism

00:10:02 Seeking gurus and siddhis: disciple accounts and Nityananda stories

00:18:02 Lonavla lab: yogi biocontrol (pulse, temperature, perspiration) with scientists

00:22:03 Gandhi’s ashram: truth, simplicity—and Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan cooperatives

00:27:27 Many gods as visual poetry: symbolism, pluralism, and “33 million deities”

00:43:10 Burma detour: Vipassana intensive, “divine eye,” Goenka lineage, IMS & Rains Retreat

00:52:30 Southern vs Northern Buddhism: Bodhisattva ideal, civilization vs religion, society tripod

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Download and read Jeffrey Mishlove’s Grand Prize essay in the Bigelow Institute competition, Beyond the Brain: The Survival of Human Consciousness After Permanent Bodily Death, go to https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/docs/1st.pdf

To order The World’s Religions by Huston Smith, go to https://amzn.to/3JpteId

Published on August 30, 2025

Transcripts

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