Visionary ministers like Rob Bell, Bishops along with Jack Spong and Carlton D'Metrius Pearson understood the mantra "Change or Perish" and Pastor Paul was following their lead. It was the fear based Christians that were driving people away from God and throwing Christianity into Crisis. Pastor Paul remained undeterred to make a difference and he adopted the mood of President Abraham Lincoln to do so:
"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." - Abraham Lincoln
Church Overhaul
The hard pews in the sanctuary of the Ojai Valley Community Church were replaced with huge sofas and a monthly potluck was started to meet, greet and dine with other members of the church after the first Sunday of the month service. Pastor Paul also understood how passing around the offering plate to collect a donation was intimidating so he stopped it. Instead he located donation boxes at the back of the sanctuary. This way what the church collects is truly given freely out of real love, not because a church-goer felt stared down by their neighbor.
This is particularly interesting because it is consistent with the injunction given in the Manu Samhita (Vedic Law book for Mankind) forbidding the exchange of fees for any type of personal growth work or religious dialogue.
"Neither by (explaining) prodigies and omens, nor by skill in astrology and palmistry, nor by giving advice and by the exposition (of the Sastras), let him ever seek to obtain alms." - Manu Samhita Chapter. 6, Text 50
It has become standard operating procedures for the purveyors of the New Age to violate this important principal. They are the equivalent to the professional reciters of the Bhagavata (scripture) in India. Those individuals approach religion as a business and it is condemned for the same reason. Manu understood that as soon as one is asked to give alms in exchange for any of these services, the person rendering the service would be inclined to say what the "believer" wants to hear… thus introducing cheating into the process. Although the euphemism "Love Offering" is used instead of the words "Admission Price" it is completely in appropriate for any type of event related to the Glorification of God, which must always remain free lest it become immoral.
When a ticket collector is posted at a so called "Spiritual Event, Presentation or Meditation" it is not spiritual or auspicious, it is business.
When business is being conducted in the name of religion one should immediately walk away. Whatever is said under that type of circumstance should not be taken seriously. It is hardly different when the blessings given by a Medieval priest from the Catholic Church after the aristocrat purchases his recommended quota of "Indulgences." The fact that the Ojai Valley Community church discontinued the tradition of passing the offering plate around is a huge testimony to the purity for which they are aspiring. In it is quite unlike the behavior of any "New Age organization" which is what Pastor Paul is sometimes criticized for by other ministers in the Ojai Valley.
How Cool is This?
On December 29, 2014 two sanyasi (learned celibate monks) came thru Ojai to visit with me and they asked what type of preaching opportunities might be available to do on that day. Since my appreciation of Pastor Paul Bergmann had grown over the years I half-jokingly suggested: "Well I sometimes go to a local church which has been very favorable to Krishna Consciousness. Would you like to do that?" I wasn't really expecting they would agree but to my surprise they did.
The next day we got all dressed up in our traditional Vaishnava dress including tilaka and bead-bags then drove off to church. As we proceeded to walk towards the main hall we met the assistant minister Victoria. She stopped mid-stream in a conversation with someone else to greet us with a big smile. Almost immediately after we entered the sanctuary a few friends that I had met on other occasions came to greet us with big grins as well. One lady was so exhilarated that she hugged both of the swamis before I realized what was happening but they handled it tactfully. (It is simply not appropriate for sanyasis to associate alone with women or in particular touch them.) Apparently another person observed the awkwardness of that, and when she approached them she reached her hand out as if to shake and then inquired, "What is the proper way to greet you?" We demonstrated the pranams with folded hands, which she then immediately did with a big smile, and the accommodating "Namaste."
Before too long Pastor Paul saw the activity going on and came over beaming while bellowing out how happy he was to see us there. The whole experience was wonderfully strange when you consider that fourteen years earlier at this same church I had been asked to leave. Except for the few who defended me, those Christians were not even comfortable accepting that my appreciation of Lord Christ was slightly different than theirs.
Eventually we all settled down and heard Pastor Pall's insights into what the villagers of Nazareth must have thought about Mother Mary when she was obviously pregnant but not by her husband Joseph. He continued with his understanding of what it must have been like for Mary to raise child Jesus as he ran around getting into mischief like all kids tend to do. It was hard not to think of Mother Yasoda (Krishna's mother) and the stories we know about Krishna steeling butter to the consternation of the other ladies in the village.
After the sermon we went to the courtyard and spoke with a few more members of the church who were curious to know more about who we were. Meanwhile I got out my camera and thought it would be memorable to take a few photos before we departed. Earlier I had hoped that we might be able to get a good photo of Pastor Paul with all of us, but the church had pretty much emptied out by then. I assumed he was very busy and had probably departed immediately after the sermon. Then almost as if on cue from Supersoul, Pastor Paul emerged and came right over to us. I inquired if he would be willing to sit with us for a photo and he confirmed he would be happy to sit wherever I asked so we opened up a place for him and he jumped right in embracing us all. I was anticipating putting it on Facebook but felt I should first inquire from Paul how he felt about such a public display of what we were photographing. I knew he had to face the consternation of other priests that make up the Ojai Valley Ministerial Association. However Supersoul was again way ahead of me transmitting quite clearly. Paul had already asked one of his congregational members to also take photos of us. As she did, he indicated that he intended to post it on Facebook! What a wonderful surprise!
Chant Hare Krishna Happily Ever After!
This tale which started with much angst and woe had a very happy ending. It is noteworthy because it demonstrates the real love of Christ that we all need to believe in when faced with prejudice or treated inappropriately. It is a story we can hope will repeat inself as the cloud of ignorance lifts from the misconceptions of the past.
By the time we left the church, everyone was very happy. Immediately people began commenting on the Facebook posting that Pastor Paul put up with our photo. In keeping with the whole mood of the day he added the following comments as the dialogue unfolded and confirmed their appreciation of the exchange.
"My Krishna brothers graced me with their presence this morning… Thank you my brother, good people are good people and that be you all! You know…many people "belong" to Community who never come on Sunday's. It's literally the place you can belong and never come to on Sunday. You can be a Jew, agnostic, atheist, Hare Krishna or whatever and be loved, valued and respected." – Pastor Paul Bergmann Dec 14, 2014 c/o Facebook Postings.
Within a few days over 75 people confirmed that they approved of this genuine Inter-denominational exchange. In giving their blessings they were indirectly concurring with the words of Maitreya Rshi's who observed that the best thing anyone can ever do for the benefit of humanity, is to engage in discussions related to the activates of the Supreme Lord:
"The highest perfectional gain of humanity is to engage in discussions of the activities and glories of the Pious Actor (Supreme Lord). Such activities are so nicely arranged in writing by the greatly learned sages that the actual purpose of the ear is served just by being near them." – Srimad Bhagavat Puranan, Canto 3, "Status Quo", Chapter 6. "Creation of the Universe," Text. 37
Mayesvara dasa (ACBSP)
AKA: William Roberts MBA/MIS, CCP
Director: American Vedic Association
Proprietor: Jagannatha Enterprises
687 West Villanova Road
Ojai, California 93023
(805) 640-0405 mdjagdasa @ gmail.com
