No Process - No Progress

BY: MAYESVARA DAS

Jan 03, OJAI, CALIFORNIA, USA (SUN) — AVA Discussion, 19:30 January 5th, 2010 Ojai.

On Tuesday, January 5, 2009, 7:30 pm at the American Vedic Association, please 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:

No Process = No Progress

"Anything Goes" may be a Broadway comedy but it's not the way the soul transmigrates. If you don't manage your situation, the modes of nature will control you! Don't leave change up to chance.

Learn the authorized scientific process for transmigration at the next AVA program. - 7:30PM / 687 West Villanova Road - 640-0405 Always Free!

On Tuesday, January 5, 2009...
TIME: 7:30pm
AT: American Vedic Association
STREET: 687 West Villanova Road
CITY: Ojai, California, 93023
PHONE: (805) 640-0405
C/O: mayesvara dasa ACBSP AKA: William Roberts MBA/MIS, CCP

Current Events:

Guest Speaker Halayudha Dasa !
Starts the First AVA Program of the Decade!

I am pleased to inform the AVA congregation that Halayudha Dasa will return to be the guest speaker at the next Gita Fellowship Gathering!

Born on the island of Grenada in the West Indies, Halayudha dasa transferred from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and Barbados, to study for the Christian Ministry, graduating with Honors with a degree in Theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena, California. His continued search for spiritual answers subsequently led him to abandon Christianity and to embrace the science of Krsna consciousness, the path he has followed since 1985.

With a background in Classical Ballet, Jazz Dance and Theatre, Halayudha dasa became involved in writing, directing and performing Krsna conscious dramas at the Los Angeles and Utah Temples. He has also served as the Assistant Head Pujari (priest) of the LA Temple, and did spiritual counseling, lectures and kirtan programs at the Terminal Island prison in San Pedro, California, for 15 years.

Halayudha hosted his own Radio show for Radio Krsna, KHQN, in Spanish Fork, Utah. He has also appeared on TV to explain the philosophy of Krsna consciousness in his native island, has given many lectures, and is currently completing a book on the preeminence of Vedic philosophy.

Prelude to This Month's Feature Article

No Process = No Progress
Four Personal Alternatives...Which one describes you?

The internet reaches out to all corners of the world and the airline industry brings the customs of distant places together. This has helped the general population realize that the culture and traditions they were raised in are not the ONLY perspective to view the world from. The result is that many are starting to inquire about what people believe in other places around the world and this leads some to reexamination the beliefs they learned in their youth.

This explosion of alternative traditions, religions and philosophies, impacts people in one of four ways. In this study we will examine each of those responses and use that to help illustrate how those with NO Process, will make NO Progress towards mitigating their material conditioning.

1) Stick to the traditions one grew up with. (Most Common)

This is the path of the most familiar. It doesn't introduce any upheavals into ones personal relationships, and allows one to coast along with the status quo. To the degree that ones family faith teaches the importance of upholding the four legs of dharma, (Mercy, Austerity, Cleanliness, Truthfulness) then to that same degree their soul will remain unencumbered and their dormant spiritual nature will slowly evolve.

For Example: In Christianity there are firm instructions about maintaining a monogamous relationship with ones spouse. Recreational sex is condemned and the responsibilities to the family are emphasized. Because the Christians are committed to this standard, they are actually upholding the principal of Cleanliness, because that dharmic quality is lost when people become too preoccupied with indiscriminate sexual activity.

However the average Christian is not very well trained in the finer principal of austerity or mercy. Consequently we see that intoxication, particularly with wine, is a prevalent problem within the Christian congregations. In the same way, the disciples of Lord Christ make up one of the biggest single demographic groups responsible for patronizing the cruel factory-farm slaughterhouses. (Particularly during the holiday season!)

So Christians score well in relation to practicing Cleanliness, but they fail miserably in relation to upholding the dharmic principals of austerity and mercy.

2) Conclude that any "Belief" is an irrational man-made myth & reject all faiths!

According to the American Religious Identification Survery, "The most significant influence on American religious geography over time has been the increase in the 'Nones,' or 'No Religion' block,... Nationally the 'Nones' more then doubled in numbers from 1990 to 2008 and almost doubled in their share of the adult population from 8 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2008" (Questioning 54, 461 American adults reported in March of 2009)

Further studies indicate that the atheists outnumber the Buddhists 2:1, the Jews 41:1 and Mormans 58:1 (Zuckerman "Athiesm: Contemporary number and Patterns" Cambridge University Press 2007) Actually the statistics are much worse then this because Buddhists ARE ATHIESTS! (Although unlike gross atheists they can be respected because the disciplines they follow are in the mode of goodness and if practiced diligently will eventually lead them to full Bhagavan realization.)

The most alluring thing about Athiesim, which includes all those who have adopted the bastardized version of the Advaita (non-dual) path now popular in the West, is that it removes all moral inhibitions and throws the doors of hedonism wide open. This is the path for those who are more interested in servicing their own whimsical sense gratification then they are in pursuing a serious investigation into the Absolute Truth. Despite all their rhetoric about "Being in the Now" and experiencing the "Oness of it All," these individuals follow NO bona-fide Process. They therefore not only make NO Progress towards spiritual maturity but in fact often slip away from it as is evident by their bad habits and contradictory assertions.

3) Accept all traditions are same and posture to honor them all! (New Age)

Claiming to accept ALL traditions is just the flip side of the atheistic coin. The people who fall into this category like to refer to themselves as "Spiritual NOT Religious" It sounds so much more sacred and accepting but it's actually just "Cafeteria" religion. This is a more clever way to rationalize doing whatever you want. All you need to do is find the "religious" tradition that has no conflict with what you want to do. If one actually took the time to look at the teachings found in the different faiths it would become quickly apparent that the audience Moses spoke to was different from the audience Jesus or Mohammed addressed. When this is done hundreds of examples of mutually exclusive instructions will become evident. Perhaps one of the most obvious examples of that is found when we compare Christianity to Islam. Christians fully embrace the claim that:

'Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' - John 14:6

Yet to be a good Muslim one must fully embrace the "Profession of Faith", "Shahadah" which insists : "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet".

Similarly there is an epidemic of New Age Gurus preaching various flavors of: "There Is Nothing To Be Done" but this is a direct contradiction to the advice Krishna gives Arjuna in the concluding chapter of Bhagavad Gita.

yajna-dana-tapah-karma na tyajyam karyam eva tat
yajno danam tapas caiva pavanani manisinam

"Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls." - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 18 "Conclusion the Perfection of Religion", Text 5.

The conflicts that come up for those who claims to "Accept All Faiths" becomes really apparent when we look at instructions related to recommended dietary practices. Moslems avoid Pork but eat the cow, Jews are expected to follow Kosher laws and Christians will eat anything. The legitimate followers of Buddha are vegetarians and real Hindus not only respect all forms of life but they honor the cow as their own mother because she provides life sustaining milk!

So when considered this way, it is obvious that those who claim to be following "All" traditions are really following non of the traditions. Contrary to the atheists they are apparently smart enough to realize that there is a higher energy sustaining the universe and that is to their credit. However it is equally true that these individuals are just too indifferent, lazy or materially conditioned to learn what the culmination of that Absolute Truth is and what our relation ship is to it! Because they never select a legitimate process, they are basically wasting their time and making no spiritual progress.

4) Adopt a more encompassing tradition. (Wise Pursuit of Absolute Truth = RARE!)

Krishna declares that four type of people come to the rare stage of devotional service. (Bhakti Yoga) One of the four types He identifies is the individual who consciously wants to know what the Absolute Truth is:

catur-vidha bhajante mam janah sukrtino 'rjuna
arto jijnasur artharthi jnani ca bharatarsabha

"O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me -- the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 7 "Knowledge of the Absolute", Text 16.

Many people consider themselves a "Truth Seeker" (jijnasur), but unless one is in the grove of ALWAYS scrutinizing their own level of spiritual awareness against other world viewpoints, the tendency is for one to fall into the rut of what is familiar. This occurs in every tradition. If one is only willing to share their realization with those from the same persuasion then there will be little new growth. Admonitions about fearing those who do not see things the same way as one's immediate group is actually a symptoms of an unhealthy cult. Religious fanaticism prevails when members are taught that the general public "doesn't get it" and that one should NOT attempt to share their viewpoints with others because it will undermined their faith.

No! Those who are REALLY committed to the pursuit of the Absolute truth will be vigilant about testing what they have learned on the front lines of progressive thought. They do not cower in groups of like minded colleagues or especially self-aggrandizing "Satsangas" which are hostile to probing questions. Instead those who are mature will speak their truth with great confidence knowing one of two useful things will happen. 1) They will either be adequately capable to philosophically defend their world view which will reinforce it; Or: 2) If they are defeated they will discover yet a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of what the Absolute Truth is and grow from that experience.

In this way the truth seeker may evolve from one faith to another, and with each step they will be exposed to yet more effective guidelines, rules, regulations, meditations, austerities, prayers, instructions, practices, and processes etc. for disciplining the ever distractive senses, which includes the mind.

dravya-yajnas tapo-yajna yoga-yajnas tathapare
svadhyaya-jnana-yajnas ca yatayah samsita-vratah

"Having accepted strict vows, some become enlightened by sacrificing their possessions, and others by performing severe austerities, by practicing the yoga of eightfold mysticism, or by studying the Vedas to advance in transcendental knowledge." - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 4 "Transcendental Knowledge", Text 28. LINK:

apane juhvati pranam prane 'panam tathapare
pranapana-gati ruddhva pranayama-parayanah
apare niyataharahpranan pranesu juhvati

"Still others, who are inclined to the process of breath restraint to remain in trance, practice by offering the movement of the outgoing breath into the incoming, and the incoming breath into the outgoing, and thus at last remain in trance, stopping all breathing. Others, curtailing the eating process, offer the outgoing breath into itself as a sacrifice." - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 4 "Transcendental Knowledge", Text 29.

For any of this to happen one must have both the demeanor to make a comparative effort to other teachings and the willingness to adopt the principals of a more comprehensive lifestyle when it does show up. This required real personal integrity and is therefore rare but the rewards for doing so are well worth it. For those who accept this path, the clutches of illusion will eventually be mitigated as they integrate the mode of goodness into their life. Eventually their vision will become purified and they will start to enjoy the greatest form of self esteem, personal achievement and tangible divine love as they "...advance toward the supreme eternal atmosphere."

sarve 'py ete yajna-vido yajna-ksapita-kalmasah
yajna-sistamrta-bhujo yanti brahma sanatanam

"All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reactions, and, having tasted the nectar of the results of sacrifices, they advance toward the supreme eternal atmosphere." - Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Chapter 4 "Transcendental Knowledge", Text 30. LINK: http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/4/30/en

This Issue HOT LINK:
The pathless path for knowing the unknowable. Huh?

Ok. This month I will go out on a limb and share with my readers a six minute clip of the typical type of word juggling nonsense that is rapidly being accepted by an innocent public as spiritual wisdom. The title says it all. The pathless path for knowing the unknowable.

It is evident by the picture on the side table that this man is a disciple of Ramana Maharshi. who was a staunch teacher of advaita Vedanta. The rishi deserves some respect because he asked those who approached him to study the Vedas and he walked his talk. He personally was a staunch vegetarian, always wore a loin cloth and lived his life as a life long nastika brahmacari (Celibate Student) This confirmed that he was indeed a real renounced soul unlike all those who plagiarize what he taught so they can make a business out of snookering the public with a cheating version of the Advaita path. However all his followers sound like the fellow in this clip. They NEVER speak about any of these things and instead like to distract their audiences with catchy questions like the one you will witness in this clip:

"Use the fear to find out who is suffering"

Other variations on this popular and pathetically sophomoric theme are:

"Seek out the one who is doing the asking."

While these may seem like fascinating pursuits to the uninformed, they reflect a lack of integrity on the part of those who claim to be disciples of Ramana Maharahi. Now any fool is told that all they need to do is stay preoccupied with these silly rhetorical koans and they too can proudly claim to be practicing the pathless path of Advaita! Whoppee...we are all gonna die!

Hot Link

"The theory of Mayavadism, (The Non-dual Advaita Teachings) - though given a facade of great importance and claming itself to be derived from the Vedas, is in truth a non-Vedic theory O goddess (Paravati) It is I, who have propagated this concocted theory which is the root cause of the worlds destruction." – Mahadeva Siva speaking to Parvati (Padma Purana)

Main Article by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

No Process = No Progress
We Must Have A Definite Process!

Here we conclude an exchange between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and an official from an impersonalist ("God-is-simply-everyone-and-everything") movement. The exchange took place in Paris, on August 13, 1973, with Prabhupada's disciples translating the official's remarks from French.
Official: Personally, I do not like the idea of killing animals.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But what is the ideal of your order? That I am asking.
Official: Love between men. Understanding.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: What have the animals done? There is no love or understanding shown to them.
Official: I love the animals. I have many animals living with me. I'm surrounded by animals. [Laughter.]
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: That is nice. But a person who is habituated to kill animals -- will he be admitted into your order?
Official: I don't think someone who kills animals would like to enter, but if a butcher wants to enter, that is all right, because gradually we will elevate him.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Then, in principle, the order does not allow animal killing?
Official: Ideally, our movement would not want to see animals killed, or anyone killed.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Therefore, I want to know what are the principles -- the rules and regulations -- of the order.
Official: Our principles are love, beauty, harmony, peace. And as you progress, one initiation after another. If you begin as a butcher, then gradually, in your own self, you will wish to give it up. But there are no rules.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: "One initiation after another," but there are no progressive rules?
Official: Our order doesn't require that you give up meat-eating. Our order is intelligent. If we were to tell people, "Don't do this, don't do this, don't do that," nobody would join us. In any case, the real mystic is someone who has controlled his own body.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But you cannot explain how to control the body.
Official: It happens immediately, or it will happen in a while.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: At least I cannot accept this. We could discuss further if you had some definite program. Say I want to enter your association. You must give me some pscription by which, if I follow, I'll make progress. But you have no such pscription.
Official: I shall submit to my grandmaster your request for a specific pscription to be given to you.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But, in principle, your order hasn't got any such pscription.
Official: We will make one special, just for you.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But not for the general mass of people.
Official: Correct. It is very good that you prescribe no meat-eating, no intoxicants, no premarital or extramarital sex, and so on. These are nice principles that you are following. And we are sure that you have come to these conclusions -- on your own -- just as perhaps one day we may also come to these conclusions -- on our own.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: So for the time being, your order has no such rules and regulations?
Official: Our order makes certain suggestions, but we do not oblige anyone to follow our suggestions.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: What are those suggestions?
Official: Our movement suggests that people live a life as perhaps yours is -- of purity, pure thoughts, moral living, and even following certain principles.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But these impure things are going on all over the world, and you don't say anything. Suppose a man is killing animals. You don't prohibit him. He is engaged in immoral life, and if you don't prohibit him, then how can he become moral? Do you think morality and the killing of animals go together?
Official: Our order likes very much the ideals of beauty and harmony and morality, but we cannot impose these things on anyone.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But, for instance, the Bible imposes the rule or regulation "You shall not kill." Yet you have no such thing.
Official: Realization is what counts.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Yes, but what that realization is you cannot explain. If you cannot explain, then what is your realization?
Official: Had I not realized something, I would not be here now.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: Then first let us see whether you can describe who you are.
Official: When Moses saw the burning bush and asked the fire, "Who are you?" the fire said, "I am what I am." Who am I? That is a question you are going to have to answer by your own meditations.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But what is your meditation? What have you learned?
Official: The thing to realize is peace. When you join our order, you receive a letter, and at the bottom of the letter, it says, "With our best wishes for your peace and happiness."
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: That's all right. Everyone wants that. But what is the process?
Official: Praying, courage, faith. A serious movement, a serious order, would never promise instantaneous illumination.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: No, that we also say. But we must have a definite process. For instance, in answer to the question "Who are you?" -- because at least one must know who he is -- you gave the vague reply "I am what I am." If you ask me, "Who are you, sir?" and I say, "I am what I am," is that the proper answer? [Laughter.] That is a nonsense answer.
Official: I could tell you my name, but the interior, the reality, is different. Now, if we all join together in silence and we enter into ourselves and create one person, then we will know who we are -- from that silence.
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: But how it is possible to remain silent? Disciple [in jest]: Bahunam janmanam ante: "After many, many births and deaths."
HDG A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami: [laughing]: That's all right. That's all right.

"We Must Have A Definite Process"
(Back To Godhead Magazine – 29-03, 1995)