The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of holiness, both in its theoretical and practical aspects, as it occurs in the Indian and Western traditions. It will be shown that the fundamental ontology of each tradition governs its concept of holiness. That this is the case has far-reaching and significant practical consequences. It will be shown in particular that such questions as: Can man be holy? What does his holiness consist of? How does a holy man relate himself to the world? receive different answers in the two traditions. Finally, we hope to show that holiness as found in the Indian tradition, by its concrete exemplification here and now, carries with it an enormous power of transformation undreamed of in that of the West. In short, the living presence of holiness not only makes men become keenly aware of the gulf between what they are and what they could be but also serves as inspiration and encouragement to bridge the gulf, thereby realizing their potential to the highest degree. We shall now consider each of these points in turn.
By the term "Western tradition" we mean in the present context Judaism and Christianity; accordingly, we shall deal with the concept of holiness in these two religions. Under the "Indian tradition", we shall consider holiness in Hinduism and Buddhism. Before discussing holiness, it would be in order clearly to set forth the fundamental ontologies of the Indian and Western religious traditions. The following propositions constitute the ontology of the Western religious tradition: i. There exists one and only one God, known as Jahweh, the creator of heaven and earth. 2. Man suffers from original sin. 3. Being a creature, man is capable of only limited perfection. 4-The gulf between man and God is unbridgeable: it is a heresy for man to think he is identical with God; that is, man can at best attain union with God but never unity. 5-Man can only attain salvation through the free grace of God but not 1. Patanjali's Yogas~tras, sections 3 & 4.