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, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, and his most recent work, The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru;
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.
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