Swami Akhilananda specialized in the study of psychology. My feeling is
that his thinking may have gone like this: “Most people are not suited for
monastic life. Even in India, out of our huge population only a small percentage
even want to become monks, despite coming from a deeply religious culture that
extols monastic life and glorifies its heroes. Of those who do become monks,
many fail and many more become charlatans.
“The situation of the Americans is infinitely worse. Their secular culture not
only discourages monasticism; it is saturated with materialism and sensuality.
From the time they are born, Americans are bombarded with materialistic and
sensory stimuli that render them completely unfit for monastic life. There may
be a few rare Americans who might make good monks, but it is unlikely that I
shall meet them in this lifetime. If I were to encourage Americans to become
monks, and if they were later to break their monastic vows, they would be guilty
of a great sin. And it would be my fault for having encouraged them.”