Why Do Israelis Travel to India? A Spiritual Search in the Wrong Place

Many young Israelis travel to India after their military service in search of a spiritual experience in the East. But why there? It turns out it's a matter of marketing. "Eastern wisdom" is being marketed in Western society as hidden and special wisdom through countless books and lecturers who speak in its name. In Hollywood, the Indian elder is often depicted as a wise, serene guru, while other religious figures like priests are depicted in corruption and exploitation... simply a matter of marketing!

Behind the smoke screen, there is actually great irony in the aura of mystery and depth attributed to Eastern religions, as well as their claims to human love. First of all, Eastern religions have over 1.2 billion adherents and are not "secretive" at all. These pagan religions have existed for thousands of years, and their primitive followers worship idols and figures with bodies, desires, and drives, offering them food and sacrifices (between 2014 and 2021, 103 cases of human sacrifice to appease idols in temples were recorded in India...). The Indians tend to sanctify not only images but also humans: hundreds of gurus in India are worshipped like gods, with their followers bowing before them and offering gifts and money at their feet.

Regarding human love, Eastern religions have not created more moral or just societies over the generations. For thousands of years, Indians have mistreated the weak and unfortunate in society, the poor and orphans, including the practice of widow burning ("Sati") and the caste system—a racist belief in "pure" versus "impure" people from birth, with no possibility of "conversion" or changing their fate. Fundamental concepts like "do not afflict a widow or an orphan," "do not close your hand from your poor brother," and "do not put a stumbling block before the blind" were foreign to Indians.

The "spirituality" of the Buddhist boils down to a selfish solution to his personal suffering, an obsessive focus on his consciousness, not on human love or world improvement. For thousands of years, Buddhists have secluded themselves in monasteries. They did not open soup kitchens or orphanages, did not seek to help the poor and weak in society, nor did they strive to promote justice and morality in the state. For this reason, to this day, Indians live in dire poverty (41.6% of the population below the poverty line, with government corruption at record levels). Because Eastern religions opposed intellect and reason, they did not advance medicine and technology, leaving their followers to live in primitive societies. Even after exposure to Western science and advancement, millions of Indians still die from diseases and lack of hygiene that could be remedied if they abandoned idol-focused thinking.

Despite these well-documented historical facts, marketing has already taken its toll, and today many Israelis believe that they will find the spiritual answer they sought in India. If they only searched for their spirituality at home, studied "Pirkei Avot," experienced "Jewish meditation" known as the holy Shabbat, and were exposed to the rich and ancient wisdom of Israel, dating back 3,300 years, they would not be able to be impressed by any imitation or falsity.