Philip Goldberg has been studying India’s spiritual traditions for more than forty years, as both a practitioner and an author.  After teaching Transcendental Meditation in early 1970s, he became a professional writer and has written or co-written 19 books, including The Intuitive Edge, Making Peace With God, Roadsigns on the Spiritual Path, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, and his most recent work, The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru;

The book was greeted by enthusiastic reviews from journalists and experts in the field.

He is also published novelist and a member of both the Writers Guild of America and the Authors Guild.  His blogs appear regularly on the Huffington Post, Elephant Journal and other sites.

An ordained interfaith minister and spiritual counselor as well, Phil was the founding director of the Forge Guild of Spiritual Leaders and recently created Spiritual Wellness and Healing Associates (SWAHA) in Los Angeles, with his wife, acupuncturist Lori Deutsch.  His website is PhilipGoldberg.com. This page within that site is dedicated to American Veda.

Interview recorded 1/29/2011.

Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Second BatGap interview with Phil.

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction and Background

00:03:00 - The Vedic Civilization and Global Contact

00:06:35 - The Impact of Vedic Teachings in American Culture

00:09:45 - East and West Synthesis

00:12:42 - The Impact and Distinction of Different Lineages

00:15:27 - All-inclusive Worship and Devotional Astronomy

00:18:18 - The Receptive Audience in America

00:21:05 - The Emergence of Spiritual but Not Religious

00:23:48 - Mystical Revival in Western Religions

00:27:06 - The Emergence of Genuine Non-Dualism

00:29:59 - The Influence of Eastern Teachings on Psychology and Neuroscience

00:33:16 - Different Strokes for Different Folks: The Diversity of Meditation Practices

00:36:09 - Transmission of Vedantic Teachings across Generations

00:39:21 - The Influence of Eastern Mysticism on Literature

00:42:08 - The Evolution of Spiritual Seekers and Consciousness Expanders

00:44:49 - The Influences of Vivekananda, Yogananda, and Maharishi

00:48:11 - The Impact of Transcendental Meditation

00:50:20 - The Mainstreaming of Meditation

00:53:26 - Scandals and Controversies involving Eastern Teachers

00:57:01 - The Fallibility of Gurus

01:00:28 - Mistakes and Fallibility of Gurus

01:02:56 - Changing Dynamics in Teacher-Student Relationships

01:05:34 - It's about the Teachings, Not the Teacher

01:08:27 - The Impact of India on Music and the Arts

01:11:28 - The Connection between Eastern Cosmology and Western Science

01:14:56 - The Trend Towards Vedantic/Yogic Spirituality

01:18:23 - Trends in the Vedic Tradition

01:21:48 - The Evolution of Enlightenment Teachings

01:24:36 - The Synergy of Absolute and Relative

01:27:46 - The State of Consciousness and Enlightenment

01:30:40 - Support and Upgrades