As someone who has been active in the western mindfulness meditation community for the last 20 years, I'd have to agree with everything in this article. I am 100% guilty of using meditation as a way to de-stress and cope with the insanity of modern culture but I no longer have any delusions that I am doing otherwise. I would still recommend that people practice some form of meditation as it can be incredibly beneficial, but be aware that western forms of meditation are largely stripped of their morality and marketed as a way to pacify the masses and maintain the status quo. The message is "Don't try to change the world, just accept it as it is. Instead look inside and change yourself, for that's where all the problems lie." It is much easier to exert power over someone who simply accepts the unhealthy dynamic and internalizes blame. But seriously, meditation is great - it has truly changed my life for the better. I still maintain a daily practice though I try to distance myself from the neoliberal and new-age culture that has co-opted it in the west.
Very true. Buddhism and Hinduism were born from caste based cultures that use the concept of reincarnation as a way to control the masses. If you were born into a low caste it was because of some past life karma that you need to work through so you should just accept your place in society. When I was living in Nepal I noticed a large number of locals who had converted to Christianity. Nepalis loved that religion for a couple reasons: 1- there is no caste system, everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord and 2- no more karmic cycle and reincarnation, all you have to do is accept Jesus Christ as your savior and you go to Heaven. For a low caste Hindu or a Buddhist this is very attractive. So they took Christianity, stripped it of the ugly bits, adapted it to Nepali culture and it has become their new-age feel-good religion - very much like what we've done to Buddhism and Hinduism in the west.I have found even eastern Buddhist sects are largely doing the same thing.