Influences
At the beginning of his teaching career, Cohen was mainly influenced by the Advaita Vedanta philosophy as taught by his teacher, H. W. L. Poonja, a disciple of Ramana Maharshi. He credits the ideas of cosmologist Brian Swimme, Christian theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the early 20th century Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo as helping him form his thinking about the evolutionary context of the human experience. He likewise credits the "integral philosopher" Ken Wilber, with whom he conducts frequent public discourses, with helping him form the theoretical framework of his teachings. He has also been influenced by the Spiral Dynamics theories put forward by Clare Graves.
Cohen's emphasis on community and the collective dimension of spirituality can be traced to his encounter with Swami Krishnananda of the Divine Life Society in India. Cohen was still a spiritual seeker when he was deeply moved by the swami's call, "In unity there is strength; come together, come together."
Read more about this topic: Andrew Cohen (spiritual Teacher)
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“Without looking, then, to those extraordinary social influences which are now acting in precisely this direction, but only at what is inevitably doing around us, I think we must regard the land as a commanding and increasing power on the citizen, the sanative and Americanizing influence, which promises to disclose new virtues for ages to come.”
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