Abstract

After confronting the epistomic problems and possible misunderstandings of East-West research, the dissertation discovers that the Upanishads and Jesus offer similar views regarding the relationship between Deity and the individual self. ;Three Upanishads iya, Katha, and Svetasvatara) and the symbolic usage of Sanskrit words establish an Eastern view of individual self as unitary and non-dual. Upanishadic seekers explored and developed their spirituality on the way to actually experiencing Ultimate Reality . ;By means of a study of the Hebraic origins and New Testament meanings of Jesus' words in Matthew, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," the dissertation shows that Jesus was understood in Old Testament terms by the Jewish community and in Hellenistic terms by Greeks, Gentiles, and Jews who had lost their religious heritage. ;Study of the original contexts of the Hebrew and Greek words for heart, soul, mind, and might revealed the Hebrew conception of persons as unitary and non-dual, like the Upanishadic conception of persons as unitary and non-dual, and the Greek view as dualistic , like the contemporary Western view. ;A comparison of key Sanskrit and Hebrew terms established that the Hebrew idea of Deity's relationship to the individual self resembled the thought of the Upanishads more than that of the Greeks. ;Greek dualism is the basis for the Western contemporary view of a mechanical universe. This subject-object dichotomy is embraced by most Western disciplines: psychology, philosophy, science, and anthropology. It is ironic that modern groups promote spiritual and physical wholeness through the Greek concept of a body-soul dichotomy. ;The new emerging paradigm of Western disciplines in education, medicine, and psychology, apear to be approaching an integration of the great contribution of achievements of the East and West. ;For those seeking knowledge and experience of physical and spiritual integration and wholeness, the dissertation strongly recommends further cross-cultural analysis and research