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Author Archives: ashramdiary
Yoga and Science, from East to West and from West to East
6. Hinduism and the Scientific Paradigm: Quantum Physics compared with Vedanta, from Erwin Schrödinger to Fritjof Capra; Robert Oppenheimer, the military-industrial complex, and the Bhagavad Gita. The pertinent chapter from Goldberg (American Veda, pp. 282-308) will be the basis of … Continue reading
Posted in dialogue, Hinduism, inter-spirituality, science
Tagged Bhagavad-Gita, Fritjof Capra, Nikola Tesla, Rationalism, Robert Oppenheimer, Romanticism, Yogananda
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Hinduism in Anglo-American cinema
5. Hinduism in Anglo-American cinema (e.g. “The Razor’s Edge”, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, “A Passage to India”) and pop culture; Reincarnation for the masses; Health-club Yoga; rock-stars and transcendental meditators; is the culture itself ‘spiritual but not religious’? … Continue reading
Yogananda, S.R.F., and other offshoots of Yogananda’s mission
4. Yogananda’s idea of ‘Christianity’ as opposed to ‘Churchianity’ (this expression was first used by Vivekananda). Offshoots of Yogananda’s mission, whether institutional or charismatic: Self-Realization Fellowship, Kriyananda and his Ananda Community, Roy Eugene Davis. The opposition between Christianity and Churchianity … Continue reading
Posted in dialogue, Hinduism, India, inter-spirituality, yoga
Tagged Ananda Community, Churchianity, Daya Mata, Kriya Yoga, Kriyananda, Roy Eugene Davis, Self-Realization Fellowship, Yogananda
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Yogananda’s Autobiography, 1946, and Thomas Merton’s, two years later
3. Autobiography of a Yogi, 1946: Yogananda’s song of himself in India and America; compare with Thomas Merton’s autobiography, The Seven-Storey Mountain, 1948, and with Merton’s subsequent, wide-ranging dialogue with the East. The opening lines of AY: “The characteristic features … Continue reading
America’s Parliaments of Religions, 1893 and 1993
2. The Parliaments of Religions in Chicago, 1893 and 1993; Vivekananda’s resounding voice at the first, the subtle Catholic presence at the second (Joseph cardinal Bernardin and the Benedictines). Gurus on the lecture circuit. When we realize how important newly-translated … Continue reading
January Course @GTU “Vedic America”, first day
1. Transcendentalists: Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, together with poet John Godfrey Saxe, 1816-1897 (whose poetry, in his own day, sold better than Hawthorne’s and Tennyson’s), best known for his poem on the Indian parable “The Blind Men and the Elephant”, with … Continue reading
Creating a disturbance in the temple
Another talk I gave last Sunday, on the gospel story about Jesus chasing merchants and moneychangers out of the temple (John 2:13-25). I’d like to begin with the gospel acclamation: “God loved the world so much, he gave his only … Continue reading
Transfiguration
Thoughts I shared today with friends gathered to worship at Incarnation Monastery in Berkeley. Our gospel reading today (Mark 9:2-10) shows us Jesus transfigured, talking with the prophets Elijah and Moses, that is, a prophet of Spirit and a prophet … Continue reading
Posted in apophatic theology, Bible, Jesus
Tagged cross, divine birth, elitism, Jesus, messianic secret, ordinary, resurrection, revelation, son of God, transfiguration
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Future blog themes
Beatrix Murrell, seeing that I was considering not offering any more courses within the narrow time frame of the January intensive session at JST-Berkeley, suggested that I might do a series of blogs based on a book I coauthored years … Continue reading
Posted in eros, green theology, spiritual sexuality
Tagged David Steindl-Rast, eros, Fritjof Capra, green theology
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