Bombastic Science -Tue. Feb 20, 7:30pm, Ojai Ca.

[Guest guest]

"Roberts, William NAVSEA" <william.roberts (AT) navy (DOT) mil> wrote: "Bombastic Science" -Tue. Feb 20, 7:30pm, Ojai Ca.

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:13:18 -0800

"Roberts, William NAVSEA" <william.roberts (AT) navy (DOT) mil>

<AVA (AT) jagannatha (DOT) com>

 

Hari Bolo Friends of the Vedas!

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

Come join this wonderful evening that includes:

Congregational Mantra Meditation

A short study in Sanskrit

A FREE Vegetarian Feast and

A Bona-fide Sat-sanga where we will discuss:

 

 

“Bombastic Scienceâ€

3rd Tuesday, Feb 20, 2007 7:30PM

Everywhere we look it is evident that chemicals come from life, but for years chemists have struggled to prove that life comes from chemicals and they still haven’t produced even a seed that can procreate. Scientists speculate endlessly about the origin of life, but wise people accept how the Vedas scientifically explain how it originated by a sound wave. Learn more at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

NOTE: Broadcast schedule of AVA Television Programs can be found below the Feature Article.

March 3, 2007-02-14

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Appearance Day !

Lord Caitanya is actually Krishna Himself appearing as His own devotee to relish the highest taste of God Consciousness, Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of Love and Devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna. He appeared at Mayapur India, in the town of Nadia just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd Phalguna 1407 Sakabda, which was equivalent to the 18th of February, 1486, of the Christian Era.

Many aspiring transcendentalists in the Western Hemisphere have little or know awareness of Lord Caitanya. A lot of people may be familiar with Siva-Ratri, celebrated on Feb 16th this year but not as many aspiring transcendentalists are familiar with Gour-Purnima. (The appearance of Lord Caitanya on March 3 of this year.) This is because many people are attracted to Lord Shiva for material benedictions, which He is fond of awarding to His devotee. Lord Siva is also a very popular deity of affection for those who accept the impersonal Mayavadi philosophy as the highest realization of the Absolute Truth. However what the followers of Lord Shiva do not know is that Rudra, (Lord Siva) is an incarnation of Lord Krishna (Bg. 10.23) in charge of the mode of ignorance. In the Bhagavad Gita it also reveals that He can be found within Krishna’s Visva-rupa (Universal Form) form, (Bg. 11.15) and that He, along with the Adiyyas, the Vasus, the forefathers and all the

other perfected demigods are beholden (Worship) to Lord Krishna! (Bg. 11.22)

Vaishnavas offer respect to Lord Siva, but they understand properly that their real focus should always remain on Krishna’s personal form which was the essence of what Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught. This is the same conclusion India’s greatest saints have come to since the beginning of time. This essential truth was revived by Lord Caitanya Himself about 530 years ago in West Bengal! It is very important that aspiring spiritualists understand this point or they will simply waste a lot of time engaging in pseudo-spiritual practices that have no value at all and could even be detrimental to the elevation of their consciousness. This is explained more by His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami in the Preface of the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita. (The Authorized Biography of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu written by his disciple Krishnadas Kaviraja Goswami.)

“Due to a poor fund of knowledge, the Mayavadi philosophers cannot go beyond the Brahman effulgence, which may be compared to the sunshine. The Upanisads confirm that one has to penetrate the dazzling effulgence of Brahman before one can see the real face of the Personality of Godhead.†- Last sentence paragraph two, Preface to Sri Caitanya Caritamrita.

 

The impersonalists can not understand God on their own no matter how much they may try. God can only be understood when he agrees to reveal Himself… and He states clearly who He intends to do that with.

“My dear Arjuna, Only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of my understanding.†- Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter11 “The Universal Formâ€, Text54. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/11/54/en

Mayavadies have some appreciation for God’s energy, but without being properly taught about the personality of God as He is revealed in the Vedic Literature, all he can do is speculate about that aspect of Godhead. That process nearly always leads to the arrogant conclusion that the conditioned individual is equal to God. This type of thinking has become very popular in Kali Yuga, and it is the common theme found at the root of all New Age teachers who manipulate the false pride of their uninformed followers for commercial gain. However the pattern is not new. History is filled with introspective individuals who may have meant well, but because they simply did not have the good fortune to study the Vedas under the tutelage of a realized teacher, they came to the same wrong conclusion that the 14th century German mystic Meister Eckhart deduced:

“The eye by which I see God is the same as the eye by which God sees me. My eye and God's eye are one and the same - one in seeing, one in knowing, and one in loving.†-Meister Eckhart

 

Mature transcendentalists never consider themselves to be one with God. The very thought of it is repugnant. To merge with God means the end of the object of their affection and that is unbearable for God’s devotee who see themselves as Gods dedicated servant, awaiting His divine guidance and instruction. This is properly illustrated by how Arjuna surrendered to Krishna in the beginning of the Bhagavad gita. Arjuna did not say:

“Hey dude, Krishna, you and I are one and the same,.. What you know I know, what you see I see, yea, we are one. That’s cool, I’m Ok and You are Ok too. But about this conflict here between my brothers and Dyurodona, hey look that’s a bummer and I don’t want to have anything to do with it cause,.. ya know,.. it ain’t cool. I mean war just isn’t cool dude. It’s not spiritual or politically correct. Yea… So don’t be judgmental about my desire to bail out of this battlefield thing cause I don’t dig it… ya know it just doesn’t feel right to me… my animal instinct tells me it’s all wrong and I confirmed that in my heart so now I just want to go home to meditate and chant om… you can handle this big battlefield mess here at Kuruksetra by yourself. Yea… It’s all relative man, see ya later…â€

 

NO! Arjuna was a great devotee and knew his limitations. What He did say instead was:

“Now I am confused about my duty an have lost all composure because of miserly weakness., In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me, Now I am Your disciple and a soul surrender unto You. Please instruct me. “ - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter2 “Contents of the Gita Summarizedâ€, Text7. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/2/7/en

Lord Caitanya was Krishna’s exemplary devotee and what He taught was the same thing Krishna taught which Krishna nicely summarized at the end of the Bhagavad Gita:

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do Not Fear.†“ - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter18 “Conclusion the perfection of Renunciationâ€, Text 66. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/18/66/en

The majority of individuals are not ready to surrender to Krishna because of their own false pride. They think they can figure it all out on their own, and consequently the world continues to become a more hellish place on the brink of total destruction. All the New Age nonsense about impersonal meditation, balancing chakras, projecting peace into our future, staring at the flame of a candle, wearing crystals or even chanting OM will not stop the onslaught of terrible consequences as long as people do not know the laws of Karma. Instead of getting good instruction from a bona-fide source like Bhagavad Gita, they place their faith in their own feeble deductive reasoning or one of the many self declared contemporary so-called gurus that promote their own ideas about religions principals that are crafted to fuel the ego, cheat the individual and keep bringing in the bucks to pay for their often extravagant lifestyle. Some of the more prominent modern prophets

are subject to a lot of public scrutiny and therefore feel the need to fund hospitals, schools or some type of mundane philanthropic research work which appears benevolent on the surface, but is charity in the mode of goodness at best and not any more significant then the first phase of Karma Yoga. According to the science of self realization as laid out in the Vedas, this type building a hospital has no intrinsic spiritual value in itself. Rich people fund all sorts of socially correct charitable projects and their hearts become tinged with pride and false ego. As long as they fail to take advantage of their human birth by restoring their lost relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they will fall down again into the pool of material cause and effect karma driven activities.

Those who are ready to give up all the man made nonsense ideas about religion and are humble enough to realize their own personal limitations like the great heroic warrior Arjuna did, will instead surrender to the message of Godhead and want to learn more about His extraordinarily incarnation Lord Caitanya. The first step in that direction would be to read the entire preface to His Biography provided by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada which can be easily acquired simply by clicking on the following link.

http://www.prabhupadaconnect.com/Caritamrta_Preface.html

The next step would be to get out of your house and join us at our bi-monthly AVA Gatherings. If you are too far away to do that, then treat yourself to the purchase of one of the books authored by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami and start reading them. You life will never be the same. They are all available at: http://www.krishna.com/main.php?id=302

“I have read Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami's books with great care, attention and profound interest, and have found them to be of incalculable value to anyone who is curious about India's spiritual and cultural heritage. The author of these books displays on every page an astounding scholarship in the subjects treated, and also an understanding and ease of exposition of abstruse ideas, which are rarest gifts." - Dr. H. B. Kulkarni

Professor of English and Philosophy, Utah State University

 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Start This Issue Feature Article *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Scientific Progress: Bombastic Words

This exchange between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his disciple Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, Ph.D., took place in Atlanta during March of 1975.

*-*-*-*

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami: Modern scientists are working very hard to create life in the laboratory.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Try to understand this. Just as God is already existing, so the living entities, being part and parcel of God, are also already existing -- eternally. So you haven't got to "create." That is foolishness, because the living entities are eternal -- they are never created. They simply become manifest in the material world in four different ways. Some of them are manifested through seeds, some of them through fermentation, some through eggs, and some through embryos. But the living entities are already existing, so there is no question of "creation." This is the science of the living entity.

There are already so many millions and trillions of living entities, and yet the materialistic scientists are holding big conferences on how to create something. Just see this childish proposal. They are wasting time, misleading people, and wasting everyone's hard-earned money. Therefore I say they are rascals. They are trying to "create." What will they create? Everything is already there. But they do not know this, even with all their advanced education. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita describes them as mudhas, rascals.

Now, you tell these mudhas, "My dear sir, you cannot create, nor can anything be created. Just find out where the living entities are coming from, what is their source, who is the brain behind all of nature. Find that out. That is real knowledge. If you struggle for this knowledge and try to find the original source of everything, then some day you may come to the platform of vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah: you'll understand that God is the source of everything, and your knowledge will be perfect."

bahunam janmanam antejnanavan mam prapadyate

vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah

 

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.†- Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter7 “Knowledge of the Absolute’, Text19. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/7/19/en

Look at this nice flower -- do you think it has come out automatically, without the direction of any brain? This is nonsensical philosophy. These so-called scientists use so many bombastic words, but how much are they actually explaining? Nobody else can understand; it is understood by them only. They put forth some complicated language in such a way that unless they explain it, nobody will understand. They say that everything is automatically done "by nature." That's not the fact.

Nature is an instrument. Just like a wonderful computer. But still there is an operator. These rascals have no common sense. Where is the machine that is working without any operator? Is there such a machine within their experience? How can they suggest that nature is working automatically? Nature is a wonderful machine, but the operator is God, Krsna. That is real knowledge. Just because the machine is working very wonderfully, does that mean there is no operator? For example, the harmonium is also a machine, and if an expert musician is playing it, then it produces very melodious, pleasing sounds. "Oh, how nice." But will the harmonium play automatically and give out melodious sounds? So they don't even have any common sense, and still they are calling themselves scientists. That is our regret -- that these people don't even have any common sense, and still they are passing as scientists.

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami: They are thinking that because through chemistry they are able to synthesize some primitive amino acids...

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: That is craftsmanship; that is not knowledge. For instance, let us say that you paint a picture of a rose. You are a painter -- not a man of knowledge. "Man of knowledge" means someone who knows how things are being done. A painter simply imitates what he sees, that's all. Therefore, art and science are two different departments.

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami: So if they create some synthetic, that is just an art.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes. For example, a good cook knows how to mix the spices and condiments and make very tasteful things. So you can call a chemist a good cook. Chemistry is nothing but the art of mixing different chemicals, that's all. There is oil, there is alkaline, you mix it very professionally, and soap comes out -- very useful.

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami: But the scientists are convinced that somehow they'll be able to create life and even make a human being.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: This is not a problem that without your creation of life the world will go to hell. Life is already there. For instance, there are so many motorcars -- if I manufacture another motorcar, is there any great credit for me'? So many motorcars are already there! When there were no motorcars, the first man who manufactured one had some credit. "Yes, you have done something nice -- a horseless carriage. People will benefit from it -- a convenience -- that's all right." But when there are millions and millions of motorcars simply creating accidents, and I manufacture another motorcar, what is my credit? What is my credit'?

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami: Zero.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Zero. And to achieve this "zero," they are going to hold some big conference, and so many people will come and spend money.

Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami: They want to make a better human being. They want to make life better.

HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes, that is our proposal. We say to the scientists. "Don't waste time trying to make life. Try to make your life better. Try to understand what your actual spiritual identity is, so that you may become happy in this lifetime. This research should be done."

The first thing they have to learn is that there is a driver, or soul, within the "motorcar" of the body. This is the first point of knowledge. Unless one understands this simple thing, he's an ass. The driver -- the soul -- is moving the motorcar of this body. And if the driver is educated, then he can move his body for self-realization, so that he can go home, back to Godhead. Then he becomes perfect. So we are educating the driver -- we are not trying to manufacture another tin car. This is Krsna consciousness.

"Scientific Progress: Bombastic Words "

(BTG #14-12, 1979)

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* End This Issue Feature Article *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Scheduled AVA Television Shows In Ojai & Ventura

Interesting & Educational!

 

 

All of our readers are encouraged to tune in and see as many of the following well produced television shows that are now being broadcast on local Public Access Television. It is easy to see by the listings provided below that we have a large catalogue of very interesting material that includes Serious Vedic Philosophy, Reincarnation, Vegetarian Lifestyle, Dharma, Meditation, Yoga, Contemporary events, Dance, Drama, Religion and very sacred places of pilgrimage in India.

Volunteer to Get AVA Shows Broadcast in Your City?

 

 

We are anxious to expand our viewing potential to the cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara, Santa Paula and Simi Valley! However in order to do that a local resident must make the request. If you live in one of these areas, understand the importance of this work, and are willing to assist in getting these shows broadcast on your local Public Access Station, the please contact AVA and let us know. AVA will assume all administration fees related to getting the shows aired. All we ask you to do is submit the paperwork which we will help you do, and spot check that the broadcasts are actually being made when scheduled

Purchase or Borrow Shows From AVA for Educational Purposes.

 

 

All of our shows are very educational and have been loaded to Educators, Yoga Teachers, Open Minded churches, or anyone who would like to show them to public audiences free of charge. All of these shows can also be purchased directly from the producers if one would like to do that. For further information about how you can borrow or purchase any program on VHS or DVD format please contact AVA directly. Thank you!

Ventura Cable Channel 6 Scheduled Broadcasts:

Ventura Cable Channel 6; Week of FEB 25th – Mar 3rd, 2007

Sun:4pm-5pm / Mon:Noon to 1pm / Tue:9pm-10pm / Fri:10am-1am

13.1. Kumba Mela

The 45 day Kumba Mela festival attracts over 71 million people making it the largest human gathering in the world. It is celebrated in Allahabad where the three most sacred rivers of India, the Sarasvati, the Yamuna, and the Ganges, flow together. This event occurs every twelve years when Jupiter enters Aires and the Sun enters Capricorn. Whatever India has to offer can be seen at the Kumba Mela which includes a parade where all significant denominations of Vedic Culture including Shivites, Vaishnavas, and numerous other less well known branches of Hinduism, participate with much pomp and ritual. This show includes an appearance of the renown Tibetan Dali Lama. The viewer gets chance to peek into many cultural performances that appear in the largest tent city in the world and include Sanskrit Mantras, dramatic dance, and strange or bizarre austerities performed by acetic yogis.

Tale of Four Temples

This short documentary tells the inspiring story of how four magnificent temples were built in response to the inspiring teachings of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

The Baroda Temple in Amanabad attracts over 10,000 people to it’s weekly Sunday program. The Temple in Deli includes robotic dioramas, the largest waterfall in India, and 200,000 holiday guests. Near Bombay, the Chowpati temple was an orphanage that now teaches pure Brahminical Vaishnavism. Bangalore includes multimedia exhibits, a cultural theater, and large scale feeding programs for thousands.

Cooking With Kurma:

In this episode we learn how to make: 1) Potato & Pea Crochets 2) Tomato Relish 3) Asparagus Pizza with Pine Nuts.

Ventura Cable Channel 6; Week of Mar 4th – Mar 10rd, 2007

Sun:4pm-5pm / Mon:Noon to 1pm / Tue:9pm-10pm / Fri:10am-1am

13.2. Himalayan Pilgramage

The Himalayas are know as the abode of the Gods and are considered a manifestation of the abode of the supreme. (Bhagavad Gita 10.25) To view the Himalayas is to have a transcendent experience. In this visually spectacular and spiritual journey through Nepal, history and religion are explored in the last Hindu kingdom on earth. Beginning in Katmandu, and ending Jomsum this documentary takes the viewer on a pilgrimage of the mind as well as the soul.

Cooking With Kurma:

Cooking Broccoli &Squash in their own juices with a zesty ginger pepper cumin aromatic chaunce.

Ojai Adelphia Channel 10 Scheduled Broadcasts:

OJAI Channel 10 Tue. 5pm Feb 27 th, 2006

11.2. Golden Avatara, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Lord Catianya was also known as “Gouranga Mahaprabhu†which literally means:“The Great Master With The Golden Complexion.†By the age of 16 he was so erudite he started his own school, philosophically defeated many of the local pundits and quickly rose to a prominent status. The show also includes a depiction of the first recorded act of massive civil disobedience. Lord Caitanya organized over 100,000 people to defiantly perform kirtan and march on the home of the local Muslim magistrate who had previously ruled for all kirtan to be permanently stopped! (Mahama Gandi formulated his “Non-Violent†movement after this event which was then further emulated by Martin Luther King.) We follow Lord Caitanya on his long walking pilgrimage to all the holy places from Bengal to the tip of South India and back!

Tribute to George Harrison:

The shy Beatle was actually a great devotee of Lord Krishna as memorialized in this show!

Death and Dying in Vedic India:

This is a fascinating look at a serious subject and the role it plays in the transmigration of the soul.

OJAI Channel 10 Tue. 5pm Mar 6th, 2006

12.1. Unconventional Teacher

This is an excellent tribute to the extraordinary life of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvathi Thakur. He was the son of the equally outstanding Bhaktivenode Thakur who was highly respected for his learning. His father was commissioned by the occupying British Empire to govern as the leading magistrate for Bengal but his greatest contribution was in his transcendental vision and Vaishnava erudition. The film shows us how the young Sarasvati Thakur Acarya fought to establish the path of pure Bhakti amongst the ocean of impersonalism of his day. He earns the title “Lion Guru†because of his ferocious assault on the nonsense mayavadi teachings of his day and eventually establishes a network of Gaudia Math temples all over India. He is also the one who re-established the process of Hari Nama Sankirtan as the proper Yuga Dharma as originally taught by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu 400 years earlier. We also learn of how Sarasvati Thakur sent his disciples to

England to teach the path of Bhakti Yoga in that dark corner of the world. When his lifeless body is transported across India in the last chapter of his life, tens of thousands of people come out to pay their last respect to the train as it passed their village. The program closes with an appropriate tribute to his formost disciple, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who actually brought the Krishna Consciousness movement to the West just as Sarasvati’s father predicted nearly 100 years earlier!

* * * * * * * * *END OF Television Schedule * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

 

Invitation to Everyone Who Receives This Newsletter!

The purpose of this newsletter is to seek out and invite anyone who is serious about real spiritual growth to come join us for a great evening of Krishna Katha, (Discussions about Krishna), Krishna Prasadam, (Wonderful Vegetarian Dinner first offered to Krishna with Love) and Krishna Nama-Bhajanas. (Glorification of Krishna’s names and Pastimes in Sanskrit.) 1st & 3rd Tuesday of every month. Reservations are NOT required. (805) 640-0405

Invitation to Fellow Vaishnavas!

Vaishnavas who have experience speaking on the transcendental name, fame, and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna are invited to contact AVA if you would like to speak atone of our programs. The AVA congregation meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month with special events held to celebrate Janmastami and Gour Purnima. If you are in the area, or would like to visit with us for the evening, please let us know of that desire and we will schedule a date and work out the details for when you can speak.

This invitation is extended to any male of female initiated member of Lord Caitanya’s Brahma-Madva Gaudia Sampraday Sankirtan tree. Our mood is that of transcendental collaboration for the glorification of Krishna sans niti-katha. Those who are interested in leading kirtan, or assisting in the preparation of the FREE Vegetarian feast are also invited to contact us so we can make the necessary arrangements to accommodate you.

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 Fellowship Gatherings held on the First and Third Tuesday of every month. The program includes a formal section which includes congregational changing of sacred mantras, a short lesson in the pronunciation and comprehension of Sanskrit, and a philosophical discussion. The informal part of the program includes a Free Vegetarian Dinner, open questions and answers, and when appropriate, an interesting subject related transcendental Video. 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 Topic Schedule 2007 • ۩ • ۩ •

Date/Event Meeting Subject

1st Tue: Dec-5-2006 Respecting What Lord Christ Taught! Displays

3rd Tue: Dec-19-2006 Controlled by Vow, Force, Or Love?

1st Tue: Jan -2-2007 The Logic Of The Unlimited

3rd Tue: Jan-16-2007 Beyond The Bodily Concept of Life

1st Tue Feb-06-2007 Date & Origin of Wisdom

3rd Tue. Feb, 20 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Bombastic Science Everywhere we look it is evident that chemicals come from life, but for years chemists have struggled to prove that life comes from chemicals and they still haven’t produced even a seed that can procreate. Scientists speculate endlessly about the origin of life, but wise people accept how the Vedas scientifically explain how it originated by a sound wave. Learn more at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

1st Sat Mar, 03 2007 Lord Caitanya Apperance Day

1st Tue. Mar, 06 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Rat Race In Dangerous Place Some teach we are FREE but if that is so then why do those same people complain about being stuck in the Rat Race for survival? Psychologically negating the material world only makes it much more precarious then it already is. The only real solution is a clear understanding of how the stringent laws of nature trap us and how to avoid them, which is what you can learn at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

3rd Tue. Mar, 20 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Freedom To Be A Fool Fools may imagine that they can do whatever they like with impunity, but prudent individuals will familiarize themselves with local laws and avoide legal consequences. Similarly; those who are spiritually mature are anxious to understand the laws of Karma, Reincarnation, Dharma, and Moksha, which is what you can learn at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

1st Tue. Apr, 03 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Nature Does Not Make Any Mistakes! The popular theory of Natural Selection is based on the hypothesis that the genes mutate causing life to evolve into ever advancing species. Mutation implies that nature made a mistake, but the Vedas illustrate how nature never makes any mistakes. Learn more at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

3rd Tue. Apr, 17 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: The Allurement of Chemical Liberation From Viagra to Valium, Lipador to LSD, the fact is that drugs have become an integral part of our culture. Legal or illegal, the preferred coping mechanism for the majority of the public is the ritual of ingesting chemicals. This is not liberation but just further entrapment. Learn how to break the bonds of all illusions at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

1st Tue. May, 01 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: The Dis-United Nations In 1945 the United Nations was founded in a frantic attempt to replace the nuclear weapons that ended WWII with diplomacy. Despite 50 years of negotiating, the world is again racing towards unprecedented horrible global conflicts. The terrifying truth is that as long at the UN continues to ignore the laws of natue it can never be successful. Find out the alternative at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

3rd Tue. May, 15 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Love, Lust, Myth & Reality What some call “Love†others calls “Lust.†What some call “Myths†is historic “Reality†for others. We are free to believe whatever we like but how we interpret events of this world is influenced by the authority we accept. For many that authority is just their imperfect senses, for the wise it is what you can learn at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

1st Tue. Jun, 05 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Evasive Mysticism Nearly everyone has an intuited sense of some divine order and when they enroll others into their understanding a new “Religion†is born. Such religions are flawed with imperfect knowledge because they were based on the speculations of man. Vedic knowledge is descending and therefore eludes this flaw and you can learn at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free

3rd Tue. Jun, 19 2007

 

American Vedic Association Bhagavad Gita As It Is Fellowship: Independent Insanity The human being is a flawed instrument. As such we cannot ever understand things correctly by our own efforts. Attempting to do se leads to the chaotic world everyone is disturbed by but doesn’t know how to change. Learn how to escape the collective conundrum of reiterative cycling insanity at the next AVA meeting! 7:30pm 640-0405 Always Free!

To Be Continued in Fall of 2007…

 

 

 

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 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 Mountâ€

“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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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