Mundane decline cause

पूर्व-पक्षः

Vedanta and bhakti introduced scriptural certitude and magical thinking. Despite that, the quality of works Hindus produced was much superior to what the Christians and Muslims produced. However, it was a pale reflection of the great heights our ancestors had scaled. Naiyayikas, Lokayatas, mathematicians, yogis, and grammarians made individual contributions of great significance. However, the market was flooded with Vedanta apologetics and self-abasing bhakti outpourings that truly significant works became increasingly less frequent and less noticeable. By the time the Europeans had begun dominance, India had very little to contribute in terms of knowledge.

उत्तर-पक्षः

Why is there something, rather than nothing? Why am I alive? What kind of life is excellent?

These are questions many high IQ people naturally face; and vedAnta + bhakti represent this. Once such questions are settled, it frees up such people to consider other mundane questions - so such study is not necessarily a bad thing.

Also, such studies necessarily employ lot of logic, mImAMsA, mundane analogies etc.. Consider a few bhakti tradition texts which would present such in stunning magnitudes; so that they are not feckless outpourings - yAmuna’s Agama-prAmANya , rAmAnuja’s vedArtha-sangraha, venkaTanAtha’s tattvamuktAkalApa .