CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

CONCLUSIONS

EDWARD TARABILDA: Who would like to begin a critique of the Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living as a new paradigm for holistic knowledge?

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: As usual, I have more questions!

EDWARD TARABILDA: Fine.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: This book is entitled "The Spiritual Labyrinth: Alternative Roadmaps to Reality", but only a few chapters are devoted explicitly to the spiritual life. I take it you are suggesting that all eight fields of living are part of the spiritual life, although only one is called "spiritual" and serves to organize the other seven?.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Yes. Any true spiritual teacher can start with a problem in any field of living, and show you how to handle that problem on its own level, while at the same time guiding you to transcend the problem through your spiritual nature. Both elements, problem-solving and transcending, are required for any therapy to be truly holistic.

As we mentioned, Gurdjieff used to say, "Don't talk of ego, talk of multiple personalities within the individual". The Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living suggests that there are eight major personalities within each person. To understand each personality, and how each of the eight interacts with the others, is of immense value to anyone. It gives us a clear blueprint for our evolution.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: I feel that you have made a strong case for the Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living as a tool for holistic living. I also feel you have made a great contribution towards what you call "transdisciplinary education" in explaining the eight archetypal spiritual paths. However, I would like to see more application in multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary education before evaluating its effectiveness in those areas.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It would be wonderful to have that opportunity, and some enlightened educators out there may be able to create it.

SCIENTIFIC MATERIALIST: I still have many reservations about this esoteric approach to knowledge, but I must admit that my horizons have been broadened regarding how natural it is for people to have different perspectives of reality. The other thing I like is the tolerance towards many diverse points of view. It is more than that -- understanding the necessity of different viewpoints provides a bedrock upon which tolerance can be built!

But the secrecy you maintain about the inner workings of this discipline is a stumbling point for me. I believe in the strength of the scientific method, which respects no secrets. You appease me somewhat when you suggest your willingness to have your predictions tested scientifically, but then you also talk of the difficulties in creating the right conditions for such tests. This leaves me uneasy regarding your real intentions.

I've come a long way since the beginning of these dialogues, and I feel that your work is not to be summarily dismissed. That is all I have to say.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Thank you. Who would like to be next?

PSYCHOLOGIST: I gained a great deal from your delineation of life into eight distinct fields of living, and your discussion of the key principles in each field. I now realize that even my field of psychology can be thought of in terms of eight different approaches to mental health, and I am anxious to begin thinking more about how each therapeutic method falls within your framework. In other words, some therapies may appeal to people whose career nature is governed by Mercury. Other therapies to people whose spiritual or career nature is governed by Mars, etc.

The same principles would hold true for people in therapy. The ideal combination of therapies varies tremendously from person to person.

PHILOSOPHER: I also was a little taken aback when I realized that the various systems of Indian Philosophy refer to different perspectives on reality. This ties philosophy to theology and spiritual practice in the most intimate ways. This is a whole new perspective for me, and it is going to take me a while to assimilate this new paradigm.

I was equally surprised by the realization that individuals have different ways of thinking, and will naturally emphasize one branch of philosophy over another, not because they don't see the value of the others, but because they naturally conform to a particular style of thinking. Of course I already knew this, but not with the clarity I now have.

A few days ago I might have faulted you for your lack of philosophic rigor in explaining your work. Now I realize that the rigor is largely internal and subjective, although it includes knowledge obtained through the external senses. I guess this is what Rudolph Steiner called "supersensible knowledge".

Many philosophers hold that this supersensible approach is beyond the realm of philosophy. I am not so sure that this is the case. Maybe there is an inherent union between philosophy and spiritual science which only a materialistically-oriented philosophy will try to deny.

ARTIST: I, too, am excited about the rebirth of a subjective discipline of knowledge which can rightfully take its place alongside the highly developed objective sciences. Our survival depends on just this development!

I can see that it is a challenge to enliven all sixty-four principles of creative intelligence so that they don't seem abstract and remote from daily existence. Art can help in that process, but much more applied work is needed.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Yes. I know an art professor at Maharishi University of Management who tries to do this very thing. Through examples of great works of art this professor brings to life some of the principles of creative intelligence which Maharishi Mahesh Yogi has unfolded. This professor is more popular than his colleagues who use a more abstract, theoretical approach.

Unfortunately, when the fundamental principles of life are not tied to a true science of the stars, they lack concrete application to each individual, community, and nation. The abstract principles remain abstract and theoretical. Although a true science of the stars is not the only possible way of applying abstract principles to concrete problems, it is a particularly precise and comprehensive methodology.

What we need is a school to conduct these experiments.

ARTIST: What about that university you were just speaking of?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Not likely. It all comes from the top down at that school, and the top is Maharishi himself. It would be difficult for him, or at least his followers, to accept into the higher echelons of his movement a renegade like me, who claims to be able to add a whole new paradigm to Maharishi's knowledge. Remember, these are true-believers who are convinced that they have all the important knowledge for saving humankind.

Years ago, when this knowledge first came to me, I made an attempt to contact Maharishi directly, but didn't feel it was worth the effort to penetrate the organization that insulates him from creative contributions by outsiders.

YOGANANDA DISCIPLE: I still have mixed feelings about everything you discuss, because of my belief that Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda's own guru, was a great sage and astrologer capable of being a beacon for the astrological field of knowledge, and he never emphasized many of the things you do.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Ramakrishna, Sri Aurobindo, Sri Raman Maharshi, and many other great saints never talked of many of the things we've discussed here. Perhaps the time wasn't ripe, or it wasn't their mission. Does that invalidate anything we have said?

YOGANANDA DISCIPLE: I'm beginning to accept such a possibility, but I tend to move slowly in such things.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Thank you for staying open.

WESTERN ASTROLOGER: I don't feel that you have done enough to inspire western astrologers. You only point to the flaws in all forms of astrology as presently practiced, without giving us concrete tools to improve our craft.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Pointing out what is false can be the greatest contribution towards helping one discover for himself what is true.

WESTERN ASTROLOGER: I'm sure that is true, but I get frustrated trying to apply what you say to my own practice.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Today's astrologer must reexamine all his fundamental assumptions. That is my message.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: You haven't convinced me that my methods are incorrect.

EDWARD TARABILDA: For the moment, you are beyond help, because you have such a vested interest in what you are presently doing. You are required to "save face". My primary purpose is to warn the public about the distorted and fictitious nature of both eastern and western astrology as presently practiced, not to convince you of the error of your ways. As long as gurus give their approval to your practice, their disciples will blindly accept all the trash you tell them.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: How offensive! There is no reasoning with you!

EDWARD TARABILDA: What I say cuts deeply, which is why I never explore this knowledge with someone who has not given permission for me to do so. But in entering this debate, you have implicitly agreed to engage in a search for truth, wherever it might lead. Dialogue and debate in pursuit of truth do not mean exchanging pleasantries and avoiding all contentious issues.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: A well-know Vedic saying is "Speak the sweet truth".

EDWARD TARABILDA: Tell that to the great Vedic sage Shankara, who debated so fiercely that his opponents often lost their whole following when defeated! Your attitude has led to the continuous propagation of a false knowledge for thousands of years. Malpractice of astrology has contributed enormously to India's tragic decline!

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: So you say.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST (to Vedic Astrologer): I think you have made your point. Nothing of value will come from your assertion that the Vedic astrology handed down to you through the generations is the complete and correct practice.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: I didn't say that.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Then what are you saying?

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: I'm objecting to his assertion that there is no value in what I do.

EDWARD TARABILDA: I would never make such a judgment. You may be a great counselor, or you may be psychic, or you may have other talents which enable you to help clients.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: I mean my astrological skills.

EDWARD TARABILDA: I've already made my position clear on that point -- to the extent that you rely on the traditional uses of Vedic astrology, you only interfere with your other gifts.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: See what I mean!

QUANTUM PHYSICIST (to Vedic astrologer): You seem to have missed the fact that this whole book is about a new paradigm of knowledge, a new subjective discipline. It is your right to resist but you cannot filibuster indefinitely.

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: I want to warn people that this man is trying to destroy the Veda.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Can the Veda be destroyed? I thought the Veda is structured in consciousness and re-enlivened every time someone reaches a certain stage of enlightenment. Am I wrong in this assumption?

VEDIC ASTROLOGER: That may be true, but few, if any, of us are able to cognize the whole Veda internally. Thus we value the sacred knowledge passed down to us from generation to generation. We won't let someone like this man destroy our precious heritage.

EDWARD TARABILDA: A large part of your Vedic heritage was destroyed a long time ago, but you are blissfully unaware of it because you accept your training on faith, rather than seeking to recreate it in your own experience. It may be a faith in your heritage or a faith in your guru, but a blind faith it is.

Let us speak no more of this matter.

THEOSOPHIST: I, for one, am not threatened by your attack on many of the disciplines of the Veda. Madame Blavatsky had great respect for the inner tradition of the Veda, but not necessarily its outer form. In fact, she and other early Theosophists relied more on Buddhist teachings than the Vedic tradition of the Hindus. Buddha came to reform the Vedic tradition. Perhaps Ed does, too.

BUDDHIST MONK: I'm not certain I want Ed's work linked to Buddhism directly, although I have no objection to his work.

THEOSOPHIST: Why?

BUDDHIST MONK: Just because it does seem so tied to the Vedic tradition and people have trouble separating the useless parts of Vedic culture and tradition from the useful parts. That is why Buddha started with a clean slate and gave us a whole new approach to the spiritual life.

EDWARD TARABILDA: All my comments on the Veda hold equally true for Buddhism. I do not distinguish them. Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism are all part of the Veda from my point of view. The living Veda for modern humanity includes all of these three streams of the Veda.

BUDDHIST MONK: Then I may have some serious reservations about supporting some aspects of your work.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Which aspects?

BUDDHIST MONK: The caste aspect, the apparent worldliness, and perhaps the lack of mention of the Buddha, who I feel had a special role in history similar to what you describe as Christ's mission.

HINDU MONK: I'm not threatened by anything Ed says now that I have had a chance to think about it. Hinduism has always been tolerant of new or different points of view, and our culture has assimilated many different streams of thought and lifestyle.

BUDDHIST MONK: Just like your claim to have absorbed Buddhism! I'm feeling a subtle form of one-upmanship here. When a Hindu claims tolerance, there is actually a subtle intolerance beneath it. He is suggesting that Hinduism is so ancient and complete that it is capable of absorbing everything into its fold. That is why it is easy for any Hindu monk to suggest, "Practice any religion you want, but just add this one meditative technique that I give you, and you will find God".

JAIN MONK: I have not participated in these dialogues, but would like to make a brief comment. If you study Indian philosophy deeply, you will find that Hinduism and Buddhism, respectively, represent the two extreme poles of life, absolute and relative. Hinduism emphasizes the absolute oneness of life; Buddhism sees all life as change, or relativity. Only Jainism does justice to both poles. And that is why I am not only not threatened by what Ed says, I like his use of Mahavir's view that all relative issues have a seven-fold perspective and no one perspective is complete without the other six.

Do you agree, Ed?

EDWARD TARABILDA: I agree with that tenet of Jainism, but there are many other aspects of Jainism I may not agree with -- I'm only accepting this one point.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: I am both fascinated your paradigm and afraid of it, due to the papacy's warnings about getting involved with occult knowledge. I am on the horns of a dilemma.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Be easy on yourself! There is no easy answer to your dilemma.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Thank you for your compassion.

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST: I'm not surprised that the Hindu monk is receptive, but I'm appalled that another Christian, the Catholic priest, is giving serious consideration to your teaching. He had better be careful. I'm not judging you, but God will! I said I would be open to what you have to offer, but I see your work as an example of the occult arts the Bible warns against.

A ROSICRUCIAN: There will always be esoteric approaches to Christianity which are a threat to the more exoteric groups. I don't see any way around this. At the same time I cannot accept the idea that our great spiritual teacher, Max Heindel, was not a great astrologer. So I distrust a lot of your work, even if I like some aspects of it, such as the eight archetypal spiritual paths.

EDWARD TARABILDA: That's fair. I can only warn about certain things, not prove or disprove them, and thus, you have no way of evaluating the validity of the astrological criticisms I make, and are right to be distrustful until your own experience either confirms or denies what I say.

TM MEDITATOR: Yes, but you build this whole edifice around your alleged astrological cognitions and suggest that virtually all the Vedic disciplines are defective and watered-down. That doesn't seem fair. It undermines confidence in Vedic knowledge and deprives people of many of the benefits of that knowledge.

TANTRIC PRACTITIONER: My teacher, Osho, also shook up the Vedic community, and I loved watching him do it. So much of the Vedic lore is nothing but superstition or corruption of the original Veda. But I don't need astrology to teach me how to live life. My teacher gave me all the tools I need.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Even this tantric has a fundamentalist streak to him -- that lack of openness to new ideas.

TANTRIC PRACTITIONER: I'm open to new ideas and accept others' right to different ideas. I just use what works for me, and don't get lost in all these fancy theories.

EDWARD TARABILDA: The New Age market is full of seekers who want to taste everything in the smorgasbord, trying all the different teachers, therapies, and spiritual practices. Most of them express enthusiasm for many different programs, but when you look closely at their lives, they are like rudderless ships. Their nagging problems of health, relationships, and spiritual direction don't go away. I'm trying to offer them a theoretical framework tailored to their individual needs so they don't waste precious life in random dabbling. The theoretical side of this knowledge is just as important for the person seeking physical, emotional, and spiritual growth as knowledge of electronic theory is to an electrician. If you try to fix your house wiring without knowing about voltage and current, you may be in for a shock!

TANTRIC PRACTITIONER: That's a good point. I guess there are a lot of defenders of the faith, but I don't think of myself as that.

EDWARD TARABILDA: A true Tantric does walk a fine line between self-sufficiency and openness to new things. Good luck in finding that delicate balance.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: My astrosophist colleague and I like your fresh approach to ancient questions of life strategy. However, there is a handicap in dealing with you -- your secrecy about this discipline.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is a hindrance, but a very necessary one at this time.

SRI AUROBINDO DISCIPLE: Sri Aurobindo's teaching leaves room for a variety of perspectives about the nature of life and the various approaches to God, so I don't find anything so startling or new in what you present, but I find your work to be a useful contribution to our understanding of holistic living, multi-disciplinary education and even interdisciplinary education.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It's difficult for me to tell how much impact this knowledge has had on all of you, since most of you were polite in making your comments.

Whether The Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living can fulfill Nostradamus's prediction of a new subjective discipline to complement objective material science remains to be seen. If it does not end up serving this function, then I hope to at least preserve it in certain esoteric circles throughout the world so that ardent seekers do not lose the opportunity to take counsel from this knowledge. I also hope to continue to warn people about the dangers of following present forms of astrology, although this criticism causes resistance and resentment in many circles.

I thank you all for having participated in these dialogues and hope we can meet again in the future, face to face and heart to heart.