Haribolo Friends of the Vedas!
Please accept my respects,
Then next gathering of the American Vedic Association Is:
1st Tue: Nov 3, 2015: Non-Dual Advaita is Troubled Path will be discussed at the American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita as It Is Fellowship: The oneness movement is very popular but it’s riddled with inconsistencies, double standards, idealistic platitudes and is dependent on misinformation! ● 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!
What Does “Non-Dual Advaita” Mean?
The terms “Non-Dual” and “Advaita” are becoming very popular in the vocabulary of many individuals who posture as advanced souls teaching some aspect of ancient Vedic wisdom. These words indirectly refer to the universal “Oneness” concept indicated by the English term “Non-Dual” and the Sanskrit equivalent “Advaita.”
God as the Environment
According to the Vedas, recognizing nature’s magical like arrangements is a very neophyte form of God realization. It is relatively easy for one to observe how well life is sustained by the complex orchestration of the various seasons, blooming of trees, and the delivery of rain water all of which is dependent on the sun etc. Acknowledging this clock like arrangement of the natural world is a form of what the Vedas refer to as Brahman realization and the equivalent is found in virtually all faiths. We are all part of that ONE universal dance and we all contribute in a positive or negative way to the pulse of life which occurs within the dimension of time.
Some are so enamored by nature’s mind boggling beauty, symmetry and power that Brahman realization alone fulfills their spiritual appetite. Those individuals may take up any of the numerous forms of environmental work focused on planting trees, eliminating pesticides, improving air standards, or healing the oceans etc. They are the ones who support groups like John Robbins “Earth Save”, Greenpeace or the Sierra Club. The American India was perhaps the most obvious example of a faith that was founded intensely on Gods Brahman features. They lived in such perfect harmony with nature for perhaps more than 10,000 years in North America that there are only a few scars on the earth like the Bandelier caves in New Mexico confirming their long heritage. The American Indians recognized God in the Environment as the “Great Sprit” and personalized the longevity of the stones use in their Sweat Lodges as the “Grandfathers”.
This is all well and good, but in today’s world attempts to protect the earth and our natural resources often run smack into the face with investor driven commercial greed and the behemoth of corporate power and political influence. After getting arrested for sitting in tall trees, or vandalizing caterpillar tractors environmentalists may rethink the prudence of their choices and seek out a deeper cause to champion. Those who sense there is more to life then teaching people how to recycle their trash or install low flow toilets and showerheads push on and if they are fortunate, they will soon discover that their relationship with God can go much deeper then appreciating the majesty of the ocean or the beauty of a Sunset.
Serving God As He Appears in the Heart of Others
The Non-Dual Oneness concept can also be forced to fit into another relatively easy to observe aspect of God’s presence. When one perceives the commonality between all forms of life they understand what the Vedas refer to as the Paramatma feature of Gods nature. (Param= Supreme, Atma=Soul: The Supreme Soul) However when we start looking more closely at our individual uniqueness, the defects in the Advaita propaganda is exposed. It is clear that we all share commonalities like a body which sustains our consciousness, but it is equally clear that each individual soul is very unique expression of the Supreme. Non-Dualists dismiss that uniqueness as illusionary and claim that our concept of self is the reason why we are trapped in this word. They contend that when we give up all sense of uniqueness we can joyfully merge into the Brahman energy describe above. That amalgamation with “White Light” or “Cosmic Energy” is what they assert is our spiritual objective and there are many who claim that the blissful annihilation of the self is actually the perfection of full enlightenment.
As popular as that concept may be in certain circles, it is not founded on anything other than the speculations of those who promote it. Krishna clearly states that the unique individual soul is eternal and will never become dissolved in the “Oneness Blob of Energy” regardless of all the Advaita propaganda suggesting otherwise.
“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.”– Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 2. Text 12.
None-the-less; Those who are inspired by the simplistic “Oneness” commonality are applauded for their deep commitment in respecting those from other cultures, national origins or different bodily features like the color of their skin etc. They are the driving force behind much of the philanthropic bodily oriented charitable work like drilling wells, building schools, and providing medicine to people in distant lands.
Many of these folks soon become aware of the popular greeting “Namaste” and often adopt it to reflect their awareness of God in the hearts of others. (Namah = Respects Aste= unto you/God within) These good people are contrasted by the racists who completely fail to understand God’s presence in the hearts of others and haven’t understood even the most fundamental aspect of spiritual life which is that: “We are NOT these bodies.”
Yet it is alarming how many progressive spiritualists fail to recognize that it is equally bigoted for one to justify the consumption of animals based on the differences between their body and ours! This is particularly disturbing with those who are carnivorous Buddhists. Although they preach the doctrine of MERCY and COMPASSION they fail to demonstrate it when they consume an animal simply to tantalize the nerves on their tongue with the flesh of an innocent creature. Lord Buddha’s whole missing was specifically to teach Ahimsa which means “Non-Violence.” Consequently it is an embarrassing disgrace whenever someone who claims to follow the teaching of Lord Buddha fails to adopt a strict vegetarian diet. Yet there are thousands who do exactly that and don’t realize that their ignorance of this fact is as obviously foolish as a person claiming to be an expert boat-man while rowing with the anchor down.
Those who are particularly aware of God as Paramatma allow their hearts to expand out far enough to include compassion for all of Gods children including the ones in non-human forms. Those sensitive souls adopt a strict vegetarian diet and often assist in the process of protecting the rights of animals by joining organizations like the Animal Defense League, the Human Society or PETA etc.
Recognizing Gods Paramatma presence in the heart of everyone is a wonderful part of spiritual maturity, but it is plagued by the risk of believing that bodily oriented philanthropy to others is the highest expression of devotional service. That is the driving force behind why so many people volunteer their time and give funds to help feed, house and medicate the homeless etc.
Vivekananda was the classic example of this with his “daridra-narayana” campaign to promote the poor man up to Gods status. Daridra-narayana means the poor, poverty-stricken Bowery men and he taught that serving them was equivalent to serving God. But the concept that God is loitering in the street as a poor man is speculative, sentimental nonsense. God is never poor, suffering, or begging for anything. His position is clearly described in the Brahma Samhita. Laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam [Bs. 5.29]. Here we are reassured that “God is being served by hundreds of millions of goddesses of fortune.”
“Reading for the blind” is no doubt a wonderful expression of loving human kindness, but is it the most effective thing one can do at this time while the world is racing towards self-destruction? When one contemplates this thought carefully eventually it becomes apparent that attempting to mitigate the flood of suffering present all around us is futile as long as nothing is done to address the ignorance which is the origin of the destructive forces we all know are getting worse.
Restoring Ones Lost Relationship with the Person “God” Is Spiritual Perfection
It is only when one comes to the level of Bhagavan Realization that one can begin to understand the full nature of the Absolute truth. At this stage one realizes that just as each of us has a unique and eternal personality, God must also have His own unique and eternal personality. The great sage Parasara Muni explains how the word bhagavan is a reference to one who is full in six opulence’s; 1) Full strength 2) Full fame 3) Full wealth 4) Full knowledge 5) Full beauty and 6) Full renunciation. Each of us has small portions of these characteristics, but Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna has them all in greater quantities than anyone else. While Krishna was present on this earth, He displayed all six opulence’s. Therefore great sages like Parasara Muni accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and millions of others have also done so since then.
This is where the Advaita path completely collapses into a pile of useless rubbish. The Non-Dual tradition proposes that the highest truth culminates in everything merging indistinctly into one Brahman energy where all sense of relationship or exchange is dissolved. However we are all instinctively attracted to the famous Beatles mantra: “All you need is love.” because it speaks to our soul. Yet it is an axiomatic truth that there can be no love unless there are both the lover and the person being loved and all of that is dismissed as an illusion by the priests of Neo-Advaita. The simply analogy is: “Would you rather become sugar or taste it?”
That is where the loving devotion experience by the practitioner of Bhakti yoga excels right past all the rhetorical silly things preached by the Non-Dualists. Those who are proud and not willing to address their own foibles are attracted to the Advaita shuffle where nothing really matters in the end because it’s all a grand illusion. But for those sincere few ready to take responsibility for their choices in life, the Bhakti path promises the greatest rewards. It is thru a genuine loving exchange with the Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, one is radically inspired to “Clean up one’s own Act.” Just as young lovers strive to become more presentable to each other, so also the devotees aspires to be the best he can in the eyes of God.
When each individual is driven by a deep reciprocal desire to please the Supreme Lord, many of the dire ills of this world naturally fall away. When people begin to restore their lost relationship with the Supreme Lord their taste for the mundane pleasures of the senses begins to dry up. Lust, Anger and Greed are the underlying forces behind much of the world’s strife and as ones spiritual acumen increased those pushing agents are brought under control and the evidence of that is how we really identify a saintly person. It is knowledge of this extraordinarily personal relationship with the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna that is the most chronically lacking thing on the earth today. Helping educate the public about this fact is the greatest service anyone can do for oneself as well as for everything else in this cosmic universe.
One can get a taste of that relationship with God via any of the numerous great religious traditions but not thru the popular Non-Dual Advaita sophistry which collapses the concept of a personal God into just the imagination of man. This is why those who properly understand the Vedas strive to educate those who are unaware of this important distinction. Although those who promote Advaita do so thinking it is greatest truth and the zenith of genuine spirituality it is ironically just the opposite. According to Lord Shiva, who taught the Advaita path when he decended as SankaraAcarya, that non-Vedic ruse is the root cause of everything that is wrong in the world today!
“The theory of Mayavadism (Non-Dual/Advaita), though given a facade of great importance and claiming itself to be derived from the Vedas, is in truth a non-Vedic theory. O goddess Parvati! It is I, who propagated this concocted theory which is the root cause of the world’s destruction.” – Padma Purana (Uttara-khanda 25.7)
Many in the Western hemisphere get a genuine taste for a divine exchange via the teaching of Lord Christ. In the Middle East a great portion of the population is moved by their understanding of God who goes by the name of Allah. The devotee of the Lord is not particular about the path one chooses to develop their love for God as long as one does so sincerely and there is a way to measure ones sincerity in that regard. To begin the process one must openly acknowledge: “The Supreme Lord is the origin behind everything, never subservient to anything, and always in control. I on the other hand am very small, dependent on God, and therefore my position is to serve Him however He instructs me thru His licensed representative.”
How Ocean-worthy Is Your Boat?
When one is about to cross a vast body of water an examination of the boat is appropriate so one is confident that it will adequately deliver you to the other side safely. Similarly as long as one is content with their current way of life, there is no reason for anything to change. This is true in regards the job one has, the friends one keeps or the faith one follows. While all faiths provide some knowledge about God it is easily demonstrated that the Vedic tradition provides the most details about the person God. This is because the Vedas were compiled way before this age of Kali by God Himself in the form of his literary incarnation Veda Vyasa. The Vedas are therefore are not plagued by the types of errors, inconsistencies, contradictions, and sometimes cruel or misleading portrayal of God that is found in the other scriptures which evolved haphazardly over the last 5000 years. This significant difference will only be important to those few who have a strong desire to develop a very deep and intimate relationship with the Supreme Lord.
There are only a few options for one who discovers that the boat they chose to carry them across the water has holes in the hull. One is to attempt to bail out the boat and hope to make it to the other side. Another option is to seek refuge from a passing boat that has a secure hull.
There are many serious philosophical problems with the Judeo/Christian/Islamic traditions. The followers of those faiths may not care about those problems or are so fixated by the hors d’oeuvres on the sunning deck that they haven’t noticed the water rushing in yet. But for the priests, rabbis, and fakirs who are attentive and visit the engine room, they will notice the water rushing in which is compromising the safety of their passengers. The inability to explain Hell rationally as well as numerous other philosophical conundrums is driving people to abandon the pews to investigate a plethora of New-Age Smoke-&-Mirrors, the mind numbing double-talk of Advaita, and either Science or Buddhist based atheism.
The Vaishnava devotees of the Lord wish the best for everyone but are particularly concerned about those who aspire to become more God conscious but become disillusioned due to bad influences and then give up the path of the pious. Some are frantically attempting to bail out the chronic theological flaws in kali-yuga faiths, but as atheists like Richard Dawkins, poorly informed gurus like Vivakananda, and Buddhists like the Dalia Lama continue to confuse the public with their own flavor of sophistry we can only expect things will continue to get worse.
The good news is that while the vessels of other faiths continue to take on water, there is a much more secure Vedic boat built and guided expertly by Lord Caitanya, who is none other than Krishna Himself! Those of us who have already boarded that vessel are quite pleased by the five star services it has in the form of: «1) Guru «2) Sastra «3) Sadhu «4) Kirtan «5) Deity/Krishna. Our prayer is to those who may be lost in the fog of theological confusion. Do not despair. Look into the accommodations provided by Lord Caitanya and know that his devotees welcome aboard anyone desiring to travel first class! Hare Krishna!
Ojai Events!
“Ojai Days” Downtown Ojai Street Fair October 17, 2015
Ojai Days was a great success. The American Vedic Association had the best location. We met several very nice people, distributed books and sold several sets of the Vedic educational charts designed to help new people quickly understand the core teaching of Krishna Consciousness at presented by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada! Photos of that event can be seen at: http://jagannatha.com/photos-from-ojai-valley-days-2015/
Speaker Opportunity! Annual Tofu-Turkey Pre-Thanks-Giving Vegetarian Feast November 17th.
Traditionally I like to invite someone to be the guest speaker for this annual event. At this moment I have not invited anyone in particular to lead the discussion about how our food choices impact the environment. I thought I would simply make a note of that here and invite those who are adequately trained in presenting Krishna Consciouess to step forward. If you would like to speak in Ojai and can be here on the evening of November 17th, please contact me so we can discuss the logistics in hosting you as the guest speaker for our annual Tofu-Turkey Pre-Thanksgivng gathering. Jai!
Thank You!
mayesvara dasa ACBSP