Philip Goldberg has been studying India’s spiritual traditions for more than forty years, as both a practitioner and an author. After teaching Transcendental Meditation in early 1970s, he became a professional writer and has written or co-written 19 books, including The Intuitive Edge, Making Peace With God, Roadsigns on the Spiritual Path and his most recent work, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. The book was greeted by enthusiastic reviews from journalists and experts in the field.
He is also published novelist and a member of both the Writers Guild of America and the Authors Guild. His blogs appear regularly on the Huffington Post, Elephant Journal and other sites.
An ordained interfaith minister and spiritual counselor as well, Phil was the founding director of the Forge Guild of Spiritual Leaders and recently created Spiritual Wellness and Healing Associates (SWAHA) in Los Angeles, with his wife, acupuncturist Lori Deutsch. His website is PhilipGoldberg.com. This page within that site is dedicated to American Veda.
Interview recorded 1/29/2011.
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Second BatGap interview with Phil.
Video and audio below and as a Podcast.
YouTube Video Chapters:
- 00:00:00 – Introduction and Background
- 00:03:00 – The Vedic Civilization and Global Contact
- 00:06:35 – The Impact of Vedic Teachings in American Culture
- 00:09:45 – East and West Synthesis
- 00:12:42 – The Impact and Distinction of Different Lineages
- 00:15:27 – All-inclusive Worship and Devotional Astronomy
- 00:18:18 – The Receptive Audience in America
- 00:21:05 – The Emergence of Spiritual but Not Religious
- 00:23:48 – Mystical Revival in Western Religions
- 00:27:06 – The Emergence of Genuine Non-Dualism
- 00:29:59 – The Influence of Eastern Teachings on Psychology and Neuroscience
- 00:33:16 – Different Strokes for Different Folks: The Diversity of Meditation Practices
- 00:36:09 – Transmission of Vedantic Teachings across Generations
- 00:39:21 – The Influence of Eastern Mysticism on Literature
- 00:42:08 – The Evolution of Spiritual Seekers and Consciousness Expanders
- 00:44:49 – The Influences of Vivekananda, Yogananda, and Maharishi
- 00:48:11 – The Impact of Transcendental Meditation
- 00:50:20 – The Mainstreaming of Meditation
- 00:53:26 – Scandals and Controversies involving Eastern Teachers
- 00:57:01 – The Fallibility of Gurus
- 01:00:28 – Mistakes and Fallibility of Gurus
- 01:02:56 – Changing Dynamics in Teacher-Student Relationships
- 01:05:34 – It’s about the Teachings, Not the Teacher
- 01:08:27 – The Impact of India on Music and the Arts
- 01:11:28 – The Connection between Eastern Cosmology and Western Science
- 01:14:56 – The Trend Towards Vedantic/Yogic Spirituality
- 01:18:23 – Trends in the Vedic Tradition
- 01:21:48 – The Evolution of Enlightenment Teachings
- 01:24:36 – The Synergy of Absolute and Relative
- 01:27:46 – The State of Consciousness and Enlightenment
- 01:30:40 – Support and Upgrades
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