"Material Fanatic" - Sep 20, 7:30pm @ AVA Ojai

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Hari Bolo Friends of the Vedas!

Please accept my respects. All glory to the transcendental light of the Bhagavad-Gita as It Is!

This Issue’s Feature Article: "Material" Fanatic

The Next Gathering of the American Vedic Association’s Bhagavad Gita

Discussion and Fellowship is

the 3rd Tuesday of September, 9-20-2005 @ 7:30 p.m. "Material Fanatic"

One of the things we all share to a greater or lesser degree is an

addiction to our material condition. Some are fanatically attached to the

mundane, while others know it is an illusion but can't seem to sidestep its

influence. Find out how to get untangled at AVA! 7:30 p.m. 640-0405 At: 687

Villanova Road, Ojai California, 93023 Always Free!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thank You to Our Reader Editors!

The last issue of the AVA newsletter had a few embarrassing

typographical, grammatical and spelling errors for which we apologize.

However, we do appreciate all who wrote in to point them out. The “AVA

Newsletter” is actually a book in progress, so all your corrections are

always appreciated and not in vein. We are always open to feedback from our

readers and want to encourage you to contact us wherever there is something

unclear, incorrect, or philosophically inconsistent.

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Material Fanatic

Karma: Action = Reaction

When I studied Industrial Design at the University of Kansas in 1974, one of the

most important things we discussed a lot was the future of gasoline powered

vehicles. This was a hot subject because earlier in that year, the people of

the United States had experienced a brief, but unforgettably bitter taste of

what it might be like if Mother Earth no longer yielded up enough oil to keep

fueling our insatiable gasoline demands.

For about two months that year, car owners had to wait in line for over an hour

to purchase gas. All you could do while you waited patiently for your turn to

fill up was hope that the tanks supplying the fuel pumps at the station would

not run out. Prior to that fuel crisis, petrol cost about 30 cents a gallon.

By the time it was all over, the price of gas had increased by a dollar a

gallon. (300 %!)

We are now again experiencing run-away costs for petroleum products. Nobody

knows where the cost of a barrel of oil will stop, but the recent disaster in

the Gulf has some saying it could shoot up to over $4 per gallon before it

levels off. The anxiety this is causing is compelling many people to

“re-think” their driving habits, but it is too late for many to

change the way they consume gasoline. The real question that should have been

asked a long time ago is: “Why are we so obsessed with the need to drag

2000lbs of steel around with us everywhere we go?”

One of the reasons why we studied the life cycle of a car in my Industrial

Design class was to better understand how the principal of “Action equals

Reaction” would impact new products that we might be responsible for

designing. The automobile offered a very dramatic example of the importance of

forward thinking. As engineering wannabe’s, it would be our

responsibility to attract future consumers to purchase new products. The

average shopper might not be fully aware of the inevitable packing, waste,

social and environmental impact that comes along as byproducts with every new

invention, but as conscientious designers we needed to keep those things in

mind as well.

In retrospect, it’s not likely that Alfred Ford had any idea of how much

his horseless carriage would evolve into one of the worst killing machines ever

created. Nor did he probably realize that he would be the reason for huge

junkyards in every city, mammoth regional oil refineries, and the proliferation

of ugly oil wells in some of the world’s most desirable pristine

locations.

To herald the path for the automobile we blanketed the earth with millions of

acres of cement. The price we pay for today’s automobile fuel goes way

beyond $4 per gallon. To feed our mobility habit we have also seriously

jeopardized the air we breathe and the ability of the earth to produce the

agriculture we rely on for sustenance. It has also compromised the space we

need to grow the trees that give us fruits, nuts, paper, wood, cooling shade,

oxygen, and many valuable medical by-products. Now the oil crisis is pushing

nations dangerously close to territorial conflicts and some insist the war in

Iraq is all about controlling oil supplies.

Will Karma Repeat Itself?

Has our co-dependence on the automobile taught us to rethink the direction we

are rushing toward? It doesn’t seem so.

Now the high tech industry is clamoring to integrate the cell phone, e-mail

messaging, I-Pod tunes, a Global Positioning Device, Personal Data Assistant

and the Digital camera into one convenient pocket size device, powered by

deadly cadmium, beryllium, antimony, lead, zinc, mercury and arsenic

components. This becomes particularly disturbing when you consider that a

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimated that by 2005, 130 million cell phones

will be discarded annually, totaling approximately 65,000 tons of trash over the

first three years! (<http://environment.about.com/cs/ewaste/a/ewaste.htm>)

Consumer advocates are also quite concerned about the dangerous impact cell

phones may have on our health due to the non-ionizing radiation this device

omits when used in such close proximity to the operator’s head! This is

a controversial subject because initial research seems to indicate that the

radiation is so low it couldn’t possibly hurt anyone. Yet even the

researchers who make this argument will admit that nobody really knows just how

much radiation the body can absorb safely when exposed over a long period of

time! But has this ominous unknown factor enticed anyone into doing a study on

the correlation between low-level radiation exposure and the memory crippling

Alzheimer’s epidemic? I don’t think so.

Replacing the Sacred With a Balance Sheet

Thousands of years ago recorded in India’s great Mahabharata epic we learn

of a conversation between the most honorable sage Yudhisthira and his warrior

opponent the heroic Bhishmadeve. The fearless general Bhishmadeva also

happened to be Yudhisthira's teacher from childhood. He was shot with hundreds

of arrows during the first day of battle and lay waiting until the end of the

day to leave his body at will, which was not uncommon for great yogis in those

times. In the evening while he waited for the sun to reach the auspicious

position in the Northern Hemisphere when sages chose to leave this mortal

world, Yudhisthira approached the revered Bhishmadeva to ask about the

essential principals of religion. Bhishmadeve answered all his questions at

that time. One of the last things he shared with him was a landmark in

India’s most sacred hymns: The Vishnu Sahasranama - The 1008 names of

Lord Vishnu. Ever since then this highly revered mantra has been chanted by

India’s most enlightened souls.

In today’s world, the advice of corporate accountants and attorneys has

replaced the wisdom of the exalted Bhishmadeva. Instead of vibrating mantras

that glorify the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, which automatically raise the

consciousness of all who hear them, these modern day pundits chant

“Reduce, Recycle, & Reuse.” Their sole motives are focused on

improving stock earnings for corporate investors and nothing more. This is a

bit better than the disposable marketing mentality that has prevailed in the

past because it slows down the process of global entropy. However, it

doesn’t make us any less “Materially” Fanatical. As long we

continue to believe that the purpose of life is to exploit all of the resources

of the earth for pleasing our insatiable senses, we are setting ourselves up for

slow, painful and inevitable environmental suffocation. The question is, how

big and toxic does the junk yard have to get before we realize the prudence in

what the great sages understood thousands of years ago?

“A materialistic person, thinking himself very advanced in intelligence,

continually acts for economic development. But again and again, as enunciated

in the Vedas, he is frustrated by material activities, either in this life or

in the next. Indeed, the results one obtains are inevitably the opposite of

those one desires.”- Srimad Bhagavat Purana Canto 7”The Science Of

God”, Chapter 7 “What Pralada Learned In The Womb”, Text 4.

Some people are beginning to question the prudence of gross material indulgence

but that hasn’t slowed down the construction of the mega-homes that

evolve into large monuments glorifying the vanity of the individuals who live

in them. In this way the whole world races recklessly towards endless

permutations of material sense gratification. That doesn’t deliver the

promises to make us happy, but in many cases, people don’t even know what

the long range intangible costs really are for our sensual fantasies in the form

of consequences.

Race down the Spiral

Nearly everyone senses that Western society is leading the entire world on a

downward spiraling path of excessive pride, misdirected ambitions, inflated

expectations, and endless demands for faster, greater variety, more efficient,

and less expensive permutations of sense indulgence. Yet despite these ominous

intuitions and inauspicious signs, very few people will seriously consider the

wisdom of the ancient Vedic Sages, which included the sobering advice not to

pursue unwanted and unnecessary things:

“For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the

minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be

intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to

perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for

nothing.” - Srimad Bhagavata Purana Canto 2”The Cosmic

Manifestation”, Chapter2 “The Lord in the Heart”, Text 3.

Acknowledging the indentured relationship we have with our senses is what

separates real transcendental knowledge from the recklessly indulgent effects

so called “enlightened” teachers preach to naive followers.

Charlatan gurus are more interested in filling the donation basket or selling

seminar tapes than they are in teaching the less palatable, but more accurate

simple truths, so eloquently expressed in the Bhagavad Gita.

“The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly

carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to

control them.” - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 2 “Contents of the

Gita Summarized,” Text 60.

The “Material” Fanatic is so obsessed by his relentless attempt to

satisfy insatiable desires that he becomes completely delusional and truly

believes that the very purpose of the material world is for him to enjoy it, if

only for a few short years before impaird by the predestined inevitable effects

of suffering from illness, disease, old age and death. Such individuals may

even give some charity or volunteer philanthropic services in the name of

“Spirituality.” However, often such pseudo-religious sentiment is

motivated by politically correct social obligations instead of a real change of

heart. This very scenario is so common; it is described in noteworthy detail in

the Bhagavad Gita.

“The materialistic person thinks: ‘So much wealth do I have today,

and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will

increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have eliminated

him, and my other enemies will also be removed. I am the lord of everything. I

am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man,

surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none as powerful and happy as I

am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall

rejoice.’ In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.” -

Bhagavad Gita as It Is, Chapter 16, “The Devine and Demoniac

Nature.” Texts 13-15.

For these reasons it is virtually impossible for the “Material”

Fanatic to comprehend that there is another reality, which lies beyond the

gross senses and is not subjected to the observable defects of this world -

namely: “Birth, Death, Disease, & Old Age.”

“Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is

transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is

never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as

it is.” - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 8 “Attaining the

Supreme,” Text 20.

What Type Of Fanatic Are You?

The "Material” Fanatic does not have the personal integrity to acknowledge

the limitations of their ability to figure anything out properly on their own.

Instead of surrendering to the impeccable advice of the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, they attempt to prop up their own flawed conclusions primarily because

they are more conducive to the pursuit of material gratification.

Unfortunately that often includes deriding the more sober Vedic advice that

guided ancient India for thousands of years far better than mankind has faired

since the advent of Lord Christ.

“That understanding which considers irreligion to be religion and religion

to be irreligion, under the spell of illusion and darkness, and strives always

in the wrong direction, O Partha, is in the mode of ignorance.” -

Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 18 “Conclusion the Perfection of

Religion,” Text 32.

One of the most obvious symptoms of a “Material”Fanatic, is that

they give more credence to the perpetually changing conclusions of speculative

science, and the whimsy of public opinion, than the more stable, reliable, and

historically accurate wisdom so clearly presented in the Vedic Literature. Yet

despite these ill-founded viewpoints “Material” Fanatics arrogantly

defend their beliefs as emphatically as those they pejoratively refer to as

“Spiritual” Fanatics.

“Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, those

bewildered by material sense gratification become envious of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies

of others, and blaspheme against the real religion.” - Bhagavad Gita As

It Is, Chapter 16. “The Devine and Demoniac Nature,” Text 18.

For further information on this verse go to the following link:

<http://vedabase.net/bg/16/18/en>

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Vegetarian Cooking!

We are happy to see how nicely the AVA congregational members are

improving their Vegetarian culinary skills! Adopting a diet that allows

other creatures to live their lives peacefully is a tradition that extends way

back in both Vedic as well as Buddhist traditions. One would think that all

serious transcendentalists would understand this simple principal, but

unfortunately that does not appear to be true.

Educating people about the importance of a Vegetarian diet is essential for

anyone who is serious about escaping the serious laws of karma delineated in

the Vedas. Unfortunately there are many teachers who will compromise the

importance of the Vegetarian diet in order to attract more followers and

promote their own watered down ideas about what real spiritual maturity is all

about.

AVA is committed to teaching the science of Self Realization the way it has been

handed down and respected by the great sages for thousands of generations.

That is why part of the service we offer is to teach anyone who is interested

in this process how to eat properly.

Those who are raised in a carnivorous society but then want to convert to a

Vegetarian diet often experience a lot of cognitive dissonance. On one hand,

they are intellectually convinced that they ought to be a vegetarian, but they

simply don’t know how to convert their diet over to that lifestyle.

Instead of postponing that on-going dilemma, why not consider learning how to

cook wonderful Vegetarian foods using herbs and spices that not only taste

good, but also make eating a tremendously fulfilling experience! You can do

that prior to any AVA meeting where we always prepare a nice meal for all the

guests who attend. Those who want to learn this tremendous skill are advised to

contact us 36 hours prior to the AVA event so we can tell you what and when we

will be cooking for that program. You can then join us at that time and start

learning how to adopt the eating habits recommended in the Vedas for Human

life, which is also the most beneficial for rapid spiritual maturity. :-)

Public Engagements?

As the AVA newsletter continues to find new audiences, some have asked

about the possibility of bringing the subjects we discuss into other

gatherings. If it is possible to schedule those requests we will be happy to

do so as part of our service to the community. For this purpose AVA has

compiled a list of contemporary subjects for which we have essays, books,

charts, graphs, and in some cases, videos to augment our presentations. For

more information about scheduling an engagement to learn more about the Vedic

Siddhanta (conclusion) please contact us directly.

Suggest A Subject?

Many of the subjects we cover in the “AVA Newsletter” come

from questions or topics that are only vaguely commented on by other sources.

If you have a subject you would like us to address, please send the question in

to us and we will consider it for a future AVA topic. Simple questions are

also addressed during the “Bhagavad-Gita Fellowship” meetings for

the benefit of all those who attend.

Vedic Authority

What makes the AVA program different from all other contemporary sources of

transcendental learning? We rely on the methodical, thorough and scientific way

the Vedas portray the world we live in. The Vedas are so vast, and unlike any

other literature known to man, they are often criticized as confusing and

esoteric. But this is because the secret of the Vedas can only be unlocked by

one who has been properly trained how to “decode” them. Although

that sounds like an exhausting study, it is actually quite easy if the

candidate is willing to accept instruction from a good source. In fact, the

path of Bhakti (Loving Devotion to the Supreme Lord in His Personal Form) is so

powerful that the essences of all the Vedas become automatically realized to

that soul who surrenders to the Personality of Godhead and engages in

devotional service to Him.

“A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the

results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austere sacrifices, giving

charity or perusing philosophical and furtive activities. Simply by performing

devotional service he attains all these and at the end he reaches the supreme

eternal abode.” - Bhagavad-Gita Gita As It Is Chapter 8 “Attaining

the Supreme” Text 28.

To grow transcendentally requires a reliable authority like the Bhagavad-Gita,

(The torchlight of knowledge, Bg. 10.11) One is free to reject Vedic authority,

but the consequences of doing so returns one to the words of speculation,

conjecture, flawed empirical analysis, and a plethora of silly ideas about what

spiritual life is from psycho-therapists, self declared gurus, charlatans, and

carpetbag religionists, to name just a few.

Back Issues of AVA Newsletter

The subjects that we have already covered in 2005 are also included at the end

of this newsletter. If you would like a digital copy of a past “AVA

Newsletter,” let us know and we will be happy to forward it to you for

your further erudition.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hoping this meets you in good health, happy spirits and enthusiastically engaged

in the service of Lord Krishna.

Your servant,

mayesvara dasa (md @ jagannatha.com)

aka: William Roberts* Director

American Vedic Association

“Dispel the Darkness of Ignorance With the Torchlight of Knowledge!” - Bg. 10.11

687 Villanova Road

Ojai California, 93023

(805) 640-0405 AVA @ jagannatha.com

* William Roberts is the founding director of The American Vedic

Association. He began studying Vedic philosophy in 1973 and assimilated the

works of eminent Vaishnava saints while living in India for several years. He

became an ordained Brahman priest under the tutelage of the world-class

authority on Bhakti Yoga, HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. The American Vedic

Association is currently sponsoring the Free Bhagavad-Gita Gita Fellowship

gatherings held on the First and Third Tuesday of every month. For more

information call, (805) 640-0405, or contact william.roberts @ jagannatha.com.

 

Bhagavad-Gita Gita As It Is Discussion Fellowship

Every 1st & 3rd Tuesday of EACH Month

Sanskrit, Mantra, Kirtan, Prasadam!

• ۩‎ • ۩ ‎• AVA Schedule 2005 •

۩ ‎• ۩ ‎•

Date/Event Meeting Subject

1st Tue: Jan-04-2005 Vows, Resolutions & Austerities

3rd Tue: Jan-18-2005 You Are NOT Your Body!

1st Tue: Feb-01-2005 Defrocking Religious Phobias

3rd Tue: Feb-15-2005 Primordial Valentine

1st Tue: Mar-01-2005 What To Do; What Not To Do & Why!

3rd Tue: Mar-15-2005 Who Is Lord Caitanya?

1st Tue: Apr-05-2005 Are You an April fool Being Cheated?

3rd Tue: Apr-19-2005 Carnivorous Environmentalist = Kleptomaniac Security

Guards ßHOT!

1st Tue: May-03-2005 Is Knowledge Necessary, Useful or Just Plain Irrelevant?

3rd Tue: May-17-2005 What Is Om & Why Vibrate That? ßHOT!

1st Tue: Jun-07-2005 Distinguishing Good From Evil

3rd Tue: Jun-21-2005 Derailed by Silent Meditation ßHOT!

1st Tue: Jul-05-2005 No-One Is Independent!

3rd Tue: Jul-19-2005 Nine Paths to Perfection

1st Tue: Aug-02-2005 Huge Ancient Rolling Temples!

Festival of Chariots, All Day Venice Beach Sun: Aug-7-2005

3rd Tue: Aug-05-2005 Liberation Is The BOOBY Prize!

Appearance Day of Lord Sri Krishna! - Sat: Aug-20-2005

1st Tue: Sep-06-2005 Hogs, Dogs, Camels & Asses

3rd Tue: Sep-20-2005 "Material" Fanatic

October

1st Tuesday, Oct-04-2005 Prodigal Sons Know Everything, Adults

Surrender”

We have all observed how proud an adolescent can be. Some mature into

sober adulthood and get a good education, while others retain their childish

pride and insist they: "Don’t need ‘nuthin from-nobody." Find out

if you are you a spiritual adolescent or an adult. 7:30 p.m. 640-0405 Always

Free!

3rd Tuesday, Oct-18-2005 Party-Yoga or Hedonism?”

Bhakti yoga doesn't require entangling your limbs or staring at your

nose. It's more equivalent to a galactic party where life is celebrated with

intimate friends from all over the universe. Get with the program and take up

Party-Yoga at AVA! 7:30 p.m., 640-0405 - Always Free!

November

1st Tuesday, Nov-01-2005 Vedic Understanding of Universal Time &

Creation

The Vedas provide detailed descriptions of universal time and a

scientific explanation of how the entire creation began with a sound vibration.

Discover how the archaeological record seems to confirm the Vedic version of

Genesis at AVA. 7:30 p.m. 640-0405 - Always Free!

3rd Tuesday, Nov-15-2005 The Non-Judgment Myth”

A lot of people plea - "Don't be judgmental!” But what does that

really mean? At AVA you will learn how to make wise, non-prejudicial decisions,

and avoid the trap of claiming aloofness, while your senses rage out of control

and make all your decisions for you! 7:30 p.m., 640-0405 - Always Free!

December

1st Tuesday, Dec-06-2005 All Faiths Equal Sophistry”

It is poor discretion that leads one to claim that "All religions are

the same." They may share some characteristics, like all schools do - but a

junior college is not the same as Harvard University! Learn spiritual

discrimination at AVA! 7:30 p.m., 640-0405 - Always Free!

3rd Tuesday, Dec-20-2005 Gods "Prayer-Order" Warehouse?”

There is only one legitimate thing that a devotee of God would ever

request. Everything else springs from selfish ignorance and spiritual

immaturity. If you don't know what that simple request is then find out at the

next AVA meeting. 7:30 p.m., 640-0405 - Always Free!

C/o William Roberts / mayesvara dasa: AVA Director (805) 640-0405

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Why This Newsletter Was Sent To You & the AVA Purpose

This newsletter is being sent to you because someone felt you might have

an interest in the “Science of Self Realization” as it is explained

in the Vedic literature of ancient India. It is posted twice a month and its

primary purpose is to remind the American Vedic Association congregation to

attend the bi-monthly Bhagavad-Gita Gita Appreciation Gathering that is held on

the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.

The material presented in these newsletters is based on the conclusions

of the Vedic Literature as understood by India’s foremost authorities on

that subject namely, Lord Brahma, Maharaja Pariksit, Narada Muni, Madhavacarya,

Ramanujacarya, Krishna Dasa Kaviraja, Narotama Das Thakur, the Six

Goswami’s of Vrindaban, Bhaktivenode Thakur and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

to name just a few. The purpose of this correspondence is to help readers

properly explain Sanskrit terms, clarify misunderstandings about Indian

theology, and make the Vedic conclusion more accessible to the Western mind.

Questions are always welcome, and may be integrated into future

newsletters. It is our hope that you will find the content to be informative

and meaningful. It is also an invitation for you to consider joining us at one

of our bi-monthly Bhagavad-Gita Gita as It Is meetings if you happen to be

within a reasonable driving distance from Ojai, California, USA.

Must Say No?

Most people are familiar with the Biblical advice given in the

“Sermon on the Mount”

“Give not what is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls

before swine. Lest they trample them under their feet, and turn against and

rend* you.” - Bible, Matthew Chapter7, Text 6. (*rend = tear you apart

violently.)

This is not only a common theme found in all great scriptures, yet even

secular teachers have no interest in trying to explain something to a defiant

student. Therefore, if you prefer not to receive any further information

about the Vedas, AVA events, or the process of spiritual growth honored by the

great sages of ancient India, then simply request to be removed from our

mailing list. We will lament seeing you go when we do, but will gladly comply

with your request.

“Bewildered by the modes of material nature, the ignorant fully

engage themselves in material activities and become attached. But the wise

should not unsettle them, although these duties are inferior due to the

performer’s lack of knowledge. “- BG 3.29

Thank you for your patience and interest!