CHAPTER TWO:

THE EASTERN AND WESTERN PATHWAYS

EDWARD TARABILDA: Rudolph Steiner did a series of lectures, now in print as "The Tension Between East and West". Does that tension still exist? If so, in what form?

When answering, it would be good to distinguish whether you are speaking of the exoteric or the esoteric level of spirituality.

SCIENTIFIC MATERIALIST: As an outsider looking at exoteric religion, it is apparent that the major religions are constantly at each others' throats with everyone trying to convert everyone else to their brand of religion. Particularly vicious are the Christian fundamentalists, who try to label every non-Christian religion or sect, a cult and product of the devil!

THEOSOPHIST: The same holds true with the major esoteric groups. Anthroposophists are always attacking us Theosophists and suggesting that we are second class spiritual citizens. A recent example is the book by Richard Levington entitled "Imagination of Pentecost".

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: He was not attacking you; he was just pointing out the dangers of accepting passive channeling as a reliable source of knowledge.

THEOSOPHIST: Then why did he suggest that Madame Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, was a passive channeler? This is a blatant attempt to undermine the very foundations of Theosophy.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: The book is not written by any leader of the Anthroposophic movement. This is just one man's opinion.

THEOSOPHIST: The book is published by Anthroposophic Press. That indicates some level of organizational approval of his ideas.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: I'm not that familiar with all these groups.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is a difficult subject to summarize.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Why?

EDWARD TARABILDA: First of all, because when we talk of East and West, the distinction between exoteric and esoteric groups becomes blurred.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Why?

EDWARD TARABILDA: There is a natural tendency for people from the East to see spiritual traditions from the West as esoteric, and vice-versa. Witness the reception of eastern gurus in the West and Christian missionaries in the East. A person deemed ordinary in his own land is crowned a saint in another land.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: So we label as esoteric anything exotic and mystical?

EDWARD TARABILDA: It's a sad but true fact. I'll tell you a funny story. While I was living in Crestone, Colorado I met a woman from India who was searching for what to do with her life. I noticed she had those deep, penetrating eyes which some Indians have, and I jokingly suggested she would make a good guru because of her charisma. Later I found out she had, in fact, become a guru and is now quite well known and respected! There seems to be no end to people's gullibility.

Moving on in our discussion, let me try to review some of the leading esoteric groups. To do this I should summarize Rudolph Steiner's description of the five Post-Atlantean ages, and possible modern day, esoteric representatives of each of these ages:

1) The first Post-Atlantean civilization was the Vedic civilization of ancient India. The Theosophists best represent this tradition on the esoteric level. But if you are from the West, for reasons just mentioned, you may be most attracted to what Indians would consider to be exoteric gurus as the best source of deep knowledge. These gurus will be the true esoteric leaders for many westerners.

2) Second was the ancient Persian civilization. The Sufi tradition holds the esoteric mantle for this civilization.

3) Third was the Egyptian-Chaldean civilization. The Gurdjieff-Ouspensky groups have a tie to this tradition. The Cabalistic tradition is also tied to this era.

4) Fourth was the Greek civilization. Plato and a few of the western philosophers who followed him -- I'm thinking of Heidegger for example -- represent what we can call "the esoteric philosophic school".

5) The fifth Post-Atlantean civilization is our present one. The Anthroposophists claim to carry the esoteric mantle for our age. The Rosicrucian Fellowship also claims this role. Those quantum physicists who connect their science with consciousness are also significant here.

Whom have we left out?

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Probably too many groups to count. I picked up a book on new-age organizations the other day and saw all kinds of psychics, alchemists, channelers, neo-pagans, and many others. Plus you have all the main-stream or exoteric religious groups.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is not necessary to list them all. Our purpose is only to understand the major streams of evolution from an archetypal point of view, not to survey all the different esoteric and spiritual groups in the world today. If we understand the eight possible spiritual paths mentioned earlier, and which we will discuss in greater detail in the next chapter, then we will also realize that there will always be both exoteric and esoteric groups representing each of the eight archetypal approaches to God.

We may not agree on which religion or group relates to which path, because once a group is formed, there is always an erosion of the pure spiritual teaching which originally inspired the group activity. Nevertheless, we will always be able to differentiate the eightfold pristine spiritual paths from the group activities resulting from them.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: I still see traces of these various paths in the Catholic Church today, but they are fairly faint.

Could you talk more of these Post-Atlantean civilizations?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Let us review the five Post-Atlantean civilizations in terms of their planetary significations. The Vedic civilization was under the influence of Saturn. Consequently these people, according to Steiner, were not so at home in the world; they still longed for the spiritual worlds which were slowly being withdrawn from their experience, and saw everything else as maya, or illusion.

Artistically and scientifically speaking, Saturn is responsible for developing the resources and materials available for completing a task, and then placing them in a proper hierarchy. Thus, it should not surprise us that Vedic teachers were responsible for establishing the eight paths to God.

This is why Hinduism today is the most tolerant of all major religions. They still understand that there are many different paths to God.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: But I thought you said Saturn brought a fundamentalist tendency to religion?

EDWARD TARABILDA: That quality is there in the Indian psychology as well, but they are fundamentalist in a different way than those who hold to one way as best for all. Do you know that a non-Hindu still cannot enter many Hindu temples? There is a great deal of elitism in the Vedic religions, but it is an elitism based in the knowledge of the many paths to God.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Why were they losing contact with the spiritual worlds in those Vedic times?

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: Rudolph Steiner suggests that this is a necessary part of human evolution. In order for the human ego to grow in freedom and discrimination the gods had to let go of their loving control of humanity. This process increased in impetus at the beginning of the first Post-Atlantean civilization, the Vedic age.

So what planet governs the second great civilization?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Venus. The people of this Persian civilization began to see the world as a place to be accepted and explored, even if this required great struggle. The passivity of the first civilization is replaced by a more active approach in reconciling the spiritual with the material. Put simply, in the second civilization people are required to put forth effort to come into harmony with the physical world, and they are taught that this effort has important spiritual consequences.

The third civilization is ruled by Jupiter. Life comes increasingly under the influence of elaborate political and social ritual during this time. We still see traces of this ritualistic society in the great pyramids of Egypt.

The fourth civilization is ruled by Mercury. This is the time when the human intellect reaches its zenith, and when humans feel most at home in the world and most separate from the spiritual worlds. Aristotle represents such a human.

Our present civilization has the task of ascending again towards the spiritual worlds through free, conscious choice. This fifth civilization is ruled by Mars.

A sixth civilization will be ruled by the Moon and will achieve a conscious brotherhood among people previously unknown.

The seventh civilization will be ruled by the Sun. It will not bring any new impulse to the Post-Atlantean era, but will be the culmination of all that has come before.

These planetary correspondences for the post-Atlantean civilizations are a contribution of The Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living. They help us understand the fundamental character of each age. Please note that they follow the reverse order of planets as the days of the week.

BUDDHIST MONK (See Appendix A): I don't like to be included with the Hindus. Buddhism is a separate development.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Three great religions grew out of the Vedic culture -- Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. We can distinguish them quite clearly if you like. Maybe you can help in this regard.

BUDDHIST MONK: I would be happy to when appropriate.

EDWARD TARABILDA: What shall we discuss next?

BUDDHIST MONK: I would like to know more about some of these esoteric groups you spoke of earlier, and your evaluation of them. Of course I would consider Buddhism as having both an exoteric and esoteric aspect. That is why it appeals to so many people.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Since the title to this chapter relates to eastern and western pathways to spirituality, it would be useful to distinguish whether each group mentioned has more of an eastern or western spiritual tendency, or somewhere in the middle. I'm thinking here of the European community which stands as a balancing point between East and West.

The Theosophists definitely represent an esoteric aspect of eastern spirituality and thought, with the Anthroposophists and the Rosicrucian Fellowship representing a counter-balancing western approach. A very close contact of mine who is deeply involved in the Gurdjieff system of knowledge suggests that the Gurdjieff system has a tantric origin. That would put its origins in the East, although I'm sure some people in "The Work" would disagree with him. The Sufis have a definite eastern influence, as does the Cabalah. The ancient esoteric philosophers of Greece and modern quantum physicists have a more western influence.

One of my great concerns is the fact that a healthy balance between eastern and western approaches to knowledge through their respective esoteric spiritual groups is becoming increasingly jeopardized. The western esoteric groups, represented primarily by Anthroposophy, are winning out over the eastern ones, represented primarily by Theosophy and the Vedic religions.

The book mentioned earlier, "Imagination of Pentecost" by Richard Levington, is a good example of how Anthroposophists are waging battle with the Theosophists and winning hands down. I doubt if there will ever be an effective rebuttal to Levington's book from the Theosophists. Not that the exoteric groups, or the public as a whole, are even aware of this struggle.

The Anthroposophists have been less successful in warning people about what they perceive to be the dangers of eastern religions, but that may change if Anthroposophists gain new ground in the future.

CATHOLIC PRIEST: Why is this even a concern -- this question of East and West and who wins out?

EDWARD TARABILDA: There will always be a fundamental tension between the East and West. The East is ruled by the Sun and the West by Saturn. These are the two poles of existence, the Sun ruling unmanifest spirituality and Saturn ruling manifest material life. In this sense the East will always be more unworldly as compared to the West, and the West more externally active and dynamic as compared to the East.

For life to flourish there must be a healthy tension between East and West. This healthy tension is threatened today by the inability of the eastern groups to hold their own against impulses and ideas from the West.

HINDU MONK (See Appendix A): I don't agree. Hinduism is flowering in the West. For example, we have just opened a huge Hindu temple outside of Austin, Texas.

TM MEDITATOR: And Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is opening Vedic Universities in every state in the U.S.

BUDDHIST MONK: And Buddhism has never been more popular around the world.

EDWARD TARABILDA: These are examples of exoteric rather than esoteric activity, in my judgment. Eastern knowledge no longer draws the best minds and souls from the West. Eastern religions draw weak westerners who want authority figures to guide their lives.

BUDDHIST MONK: That is a most biased comment. Buddhism draws some of the great minds from all cultures.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Buddhism is somewhat the exception to the rule. It has a rigorous approach to knowledge, but this approach is still imbalanced in certain fundamental ways.

BUDDHIST MONK: How so?

EDWARD TARABILDA: Buddhism still creates a tendency to view life as a form of suffering to be escaped, at least to a certain degree. Buddhism also easily degenerates into mere outer religious practice due to its glorification of the unworldly life of the monk. There is yet a third factor: Buddhism is still rooted in the Vedic culture, even if it was born as a reaction to the abuses of that culture.

The Astrology of the Eight Fields of Living indicates that this Vedic culture began to decline about four to five thousand years ago with the loss of the true science of the stars. This loss resulted in the decline of all the Vedic disciplines.

First, the spiritual disciplines began to decline and more gurus began to teach just one technique or yoga based on their strength of personality or favorite approach.

Then the intellectual disciplines lost their rigor, and the multi-dimensional approaches to truth began to decline, even though lip service was given to the validity of the various systems of Indian Philosophy.

Finally, the applied disciplines became distorted. Ayurveda began to place undue emphasis on body-type for predicting disease, and lost its more precise eightfold character. Sthapatya Veda lost its ability to use an eightfold approach to the design of home and business. Ritual fell into decline because the archetypes made lively through the true science of the stars could no longer be clearly demonstrated in peoples' lives. Gandharva Veda (Vedic music) lost its power to protect the society because the proper use and timing of primal sounds could no longer be discovered through a true science of the stars. What is played as Gandharva Veda today is nothing more than Indian classical music. The science of myth and archetype lost all of its power for the same reason ritual did. And finally, the art of community building was also lost, making India economically and politically subordinate to other powers, rather than a leader among nations.

All systems of knowledge rooted in this Vedic culture begin to decline without its users even knowing why. I'm speaking of Theosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and other traditions whose proponents are still under the illusion that the Vedic culture represents an ideal we should try to recapture.

HINDU MONK: That is a very harsh judgment.

EDWARD TARABILDA: It is important that the decline of Vedic knowledge be exposed. Otherwise, we can never revive the useful portions of the old law, including ancient Vedic law, and thereby restore a healthy balance between eastern and wester knowledge.

In each of the eight fields of living -- and we will have a chapter in this book for each field -- I will show in great detail this decline of Vedic knowledge. Stay open to the possibility that what I say is true; that is all I ask.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: You have mentioned so many esoteric groups which have arisen at various times in history, some viable today and some not. Could you give us your evaluation of each group as they stand today?

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST: There are a lot of us who might not agree with your idea that Ed is the most qualified to make such comments.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Who then? (silence).

EDWARD TARABILDA: I've already gotten in trouble with some of the participants on our panel. Now I will alienate even more!

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: We need this input for further discussion.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Okay, here goes! Let us start with the groups, exoteric and esoteric, stemming from the Vedic tradition. The Theosophists are not aware just how far Vedic knowledge has sunk in terms of the eight spiritual disciplines, the six systems of Indian philosophy, and the seven applied disciplines of knowledge. They are not capable of setting forth the true multi-dimensional teaching of the Veda in any of the eight fields of living. They over-generalize in areas where individually-tailored guidance is needed.

The same can be said for contemporary Vedic teachers, whether teaching in India or in the West. They tend to teach their own spiritual approach to everyone who comes under their authority, ignoring individual differences. They emphasize Vedanta, the highest system of Indian philosophy, at the expense of the other systems. They are also incapable of differentiating which system to use when. Finally, they promote the seven applied disciplines of the Veda as if these were pure and effective disciplines for organizing society. In fact, these disciplines are most corrupt.

TM MEDITATOR: I don't agree. Maharishi has brought out these disciplines in their purity. Otherwise, he would never put his name to them.

EDWARD TARABILDA: People in his largest community, in Fairfield, Iowa, have come to learn over the past few years just how ineffective Maharishi Ayurveda, Maharishi Jyotish and Maharishi Gandharva Veda really are. His "true-blue" loyal following will never admit this, but many of the more objective followers do. I won't debate you on this point, because there is no proving it either way.

Consequently, any of the major religions stemming from the Veda, whether Hinduism, Buddhism, or Jainism, suffer from this decline of Vedic knowledge.

PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS: But Mahavir, the founder of Jainism, initiated the idea that for every problem there are seven totally different perspectives.

EDWARD TARABILDA: That is true, however, Jainism is a small sect which no longer practices what its founder taught. Without a true science of the stars to point out how multi-dimensional perspectives play out in daily life, the knowledge of multi-dimensionality becomes pure theory without practice.

In summary, every group which has its roots in Vedic knowledge is at a serious disadvantage on the world stage. Other esoteric groups have significant problems all their own.

The religion of Zoroasterism, which stems from the Persian, or second ancient civilization, is no longer practiced in any significant way. Islam and Sufism, modern representatives of the exoteric and esoteric sides of ancient Persian civilization, do indeed have many followers. However, Islam is falling under the fundamentalist influence of the North Node of the Moon and Saturn, and is therefore only an influence on the surface level of spiritual life.

Sufism is a more subtle doctrine whose main principles are often highlighted through stories and anecdotes. And yet, its influence in the West remains minimal because many people have a hard time distinguishing Islam from Sufism, and aren't interested in Islam -- blacks in the West being a significant exception. It also is minimal because many people do not like, or cannot penetrate, the subtlety of the Sufi message. This reduces its influence in the West.

I have it on good authority that the Gurdjieff system, connected with the Egyptian-Chaldean civilization, is dying from within and will not survive into the next generation. The reasons this is so remain unclear, although I believe it is tied to the fact that the original knowledge Gurdjieff inherited and propagated was never meant to be divorced from a true science of the stars, without which its principles could not be effectively applied to individual differences.

The Cabalistic tradition appears to be alive and well in small circles, but is hampered by the obtuseness of its doctrine and the failure among its advocates to agree on the proper interpretation of even its most fundamental tenets. Just as there are many different views of what each chakra signifies in Kundalini Yoga, so there are different opinions on the meaning of each principle in the CabalisticTree of Life.

The esoteric philosophers stemming from Greece have an insignificant place in philosophy these days, and philosophy itself has an insignificant place in the academic community. Philosophy has become so specialized that it has lost its relationship to life! So we can't expect much help from this corner for solving life's problems. Philosophers no longer even claim such a role for themselves.

The Rosicrucian Fellowship is handicapped by the fact that its founder, Max Heindel, was not tuned into the true esoteric science of the stars. How much this affected the other aspects of the esoteric knowledge he presented is difficult to say. Nevertheless, his leadership can be viewed as a break in the fullness of the Rosicrucian tradition, and such breaks are not often repaired.

A ROSICRUCIAN (See Appendix A): How can you possibly say that!

EDWARD TARABILDA: I know because of the astrology he practiced and taught to the world. He was teaching and using a totally bankrupt system of astrology, and was not even aware of it.

ROSICRUCIAN: That's ridiculous! I've seen it work beautifully in hundreds of charts.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Then don't accept what I say. Just keep open to the possibility.

If you are confident that what I say is not true, you will not be angry. Your anger is a sign of some lack of true ownership of the knowledge you claim to represent.

ROSICRUCIAN: I'm not really angry. I just can't take you seriously.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Changing tactics? The ego is so cunning! You can ignore me, but that won't make Heindel's astrology work. No one will ever understand the true science of the stars unless they see the bankruptcy of other modern approaches to astrology. I really cannot help stepping on many toes in order to make this essential point clear.

I don't go out of my way to make people uncomfortable or say things they don't want to hear, but in a discussion like this, I must be candid. It's impossible for me to give an honest appraisal of most esoteric groups without alienating many people. Shall I continue?

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Please do.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Although Anthroposophists tend to be less dogmatic than many spiritual groups, they have hard-core elements that actually fear the kind of free and open discussions which Rudolph Steiner encouraged. I've seen them sit together to read Steiner, then try to corral innovative or divergent opinions by recanting Steiner, rather than addressing the validity of the different view on its on merits.

And God forbid if you bring some relevant Vedic principle of knowledge to an Anthroposphical discussion. Did not Steiner himself say that Vedic knowledge and techniques are no longer valuable for modern man?

My criticisms are not directed at Rudolph Steiner, who I hold as one of the greatest teachers ever. However, some of his followers forget that Steiner always endorsed freedom and self-reliance. They represent his theories better than his methodology.

Many Anthroposophists appear even more ridiculous when discussing astrosophy, which is their brand of astrology. The Anthroposophical underpinnings of astrosophy are on firm ground, but astrosophists have not been able to turn this theory into a useful astrological practice. Although Steiner founded several applied disciplines -- eurhythmy, bio-dynamic agriculture, anthroposophic medicine, and Waldorf education -- he never sought to do this in the field of astrology, but restricted himself to generalized discussions of planetary and zodiacal principles.

If I suggest that the true science of the stars has its roots in the Veda, they will scorn me, because they are programmed into believing that nothing useful can still come from the Veda.

This is my experience with Anthroposophists and astrosophists.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: I'm afraid much of what you are saying is only too true. No great teacher has ever been done justice by his followers, and our society is not immune to conservative forces that want to freeze Steiner's views as the complete and final word on everything.

We have much in common with you. First, the realization that much of what goes on in the name of Vedic knowledge is not really Vedic, that the real Vedic knowledge needs to be restored in many of the ways you are talking about; and secondly, that the old Vedic law must be complemented by, and even fulfilled through, the new law of Christ.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: I'm almost afraid of what you are going to say about us.

EDWARD TARABILDA: The relationship between quantum physics and esoteric spiritual knowledge is still an unknown. It may serve as a bridge between the spiritual and the material, or it may get bogged down in materialism, like so many other systems of knowledge. It is too early to tell.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: I have high hopes for its viability in serving as this bridge, but as you say, time will tell. Many of the scientific materialists are already fighting us tooth and nail on the metaphysical implications of each new discovery.

EDWARD TARABILDA: I would like to summarize my views, taken from the principles of the Art of Multi-Dimensional Living, about the nature and relevance of the eastern and western pathways to God. Much of the ancient eastern knowledge is useful to our present spiritual development in one way, and irrelevant in another. How so?

We certainly don't want to be deceived into thinking that all the ancient Indian practices for spiritual development are necessarily helpful now. In many cases they may be harmful. It would be equally wrong to conclude that there are no present day differences between knowledge now being developed in the name of eastern knowledge, and knowledge being developed in the West. In fact, I feel that the Art of Multi-Dimensional Living is a modern-day eastern contribution to knowledge.

Eastern knowledge is more subjective; western knowledge is more objective. It has been and always will be that way. However, we live in a time when there is meant to be a new, dynamic partnership between these two forms of knowledge. This was predicted by Nostradamus many centuries ago, but we don't have to believe Nostradamus. We just have to use our reason and intuition. The world cannot continue on its present course where cold, hard objective facts dominate all of life. It is bringing the world to ruin.

We hear of a golden age when all humankind lived in peace, abundance and harmony, and we speculate about how such a society could have been lost. How could India, for example, have become such a life-denying, life-escaping culture after its golden years of abundance and power? Someone in the TM organization, perhaps Maharishi himself, came up with a beautiful story to describe how this loss of knowledge came about.

The essence of the story was that people in a village -- representing relative existence -- were quite poor until they learned the art of boat-building (representing the art of transcending) and could go across the river to the other shore (representing the absolute), where all the good things of life grew in abundance. Bringing back to the village on a regular basis all that was harvested resulted in a life of abundance. This went on for centuries and centuries until the people forgot the art of boat building. Gradually the village declined until once again all the people fell back into poverty. Then someone re-introduced the art of boat-building, and prosperity was restored.

For Maharishi this story represents the importance of TM as the bridge or boat between the relative and the absolute. As long as one knows the art of transcending through TM one lives in abundance; otherwise one begins to decline into poverty on all levels of life.

This analogy sounds wonderful to the true believer, but it fails to hold up under close scrutiny. If one knows the art of transcending, one will become more clear and alert each day, and will not be lulled into complacency and thereby forget the transcendental basis of his happiness.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) suggests that India went from a life-affirming to a life-denying society because of the priests, the hypocrites and the moralists. But what made these people more attractive than the real gurus?

The real culprit is the nature of the manifest side of life. Manifest life is charming and exciting only so long as its differences are recognized, accepted and honored. With the loss of the true science of the stars, differences are no longer seen so clearly. Then our egoic tendency to try and make everyone think and act like we do takes over. The more successful we are at this strategy, the more boring life becomes. We start to think that manifest life is something to escape. Life is suffering because we have made it so! The priests, hypocrites and moralists convince us that they can take us out this suffering, but the religious leaders are themselves deluded, the blind leading the blind. The few realized souls capable of leading people out of this mess are seen either as inept and useless, or as crazy and dangerous; they are shunned by the masses. This is how India went from a life-affirming to a life-denying society in a short period of time.

AUROBINDO DISCIPLE: If the easterners are too life-denying, westerners are too caught up in the hustle and bustle of life.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: Rudolph Steiner teaches that the East is primarily under the influence of the Luciferic force. Lucifer tries to tempt man into believing that he needs to leave this world for higher, spiritual realms. The West is under the influence of the Ahrimanic force. Ahriman tries to tempt us into accepting the idea that we are only material creatures without soul or spirit. Ahriman tries to trap us in cold, objective "facts"; Lucifer in warm, subjective, mystical fantasy.

The Christ force stands in the middle between Lucifer and Ahriman and gives us the clarity and compassion to balance and use these two otherwise negative forces.

AUROBINDO DISCIPLE: Balance them how?

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: We must bring to our mystical, subjective aspirations clear, objective evaluation and judgment. And we must bring to our objective knowledge the warmth of interest and passion. In this way the forces of Lucifer and Ahriman counter-balance each other. But it takes great awareness to accomplish this in daily life, and without Christ's sacrifice on the cross, this awareness would not be possible.

EDWARD TARABILDA: My experience confirms what you suggest. It takes westerners, like myself and possibly others, to bring new life into eastern knowledge. Westerners have the gift of objectivity through keen discrimination and the methodology of empirical testing. This gift is a great boon to subjective disciplines of knowledge which have gotten off track over the course of time, and which no longer meet present needs.

It is with such an approach that I am able to bring alive a true and modern science of the stars which can not only serve as a subjective discipline for the coming times, but which can stand on an equal footing with our already highly developed western science. This, in turn, creates the possibility of a synergistic relationship between these two aspects of knowledge.

It is also possible that western quantum physicists were able to break the boundaries of Newtonian physics only because of their long and continued exposure to primarily subjective, eastern visions of reality. The artistic, poetic warmth of the East continually blows towards the West, melting the cold, hard, analytical approach of science and economics which are threatening our civilization. East continues to serve West and vice-versa, but only when the eastern knowledge is given a fresh life in the ways I am attempting to describe.

The full fruit of all the Vedic disciplines comes from a true practice of the science of the stars. As the Art of Multi-Dimensional Living once again enlivens the multi-dimensional nature all eight fields of living, all other disciplines of knowledge will begin pulsating with new life. They too will be re-enlivened.

SCIENTIFIC MATERIALIST: If I hear you say "true science of the stars" one more time, I'll scream! Quit being so pedantic!

EDWARD TARABILDA: I've learned from hard experience that it can't be said often enough. Adherents of astrology constantly lapse back into the idea that whatever is wrong with the science of the stars, it can't be too serious. "After all, people have been practicing astrology for thousands of years with many satisfied customers, so Ed must be just trying to carve out a place for his own unique approach. The whole thing can't be wrong!" This is how people interested in astrology tend to view this subject. They must be constantly reminded just how corrupt and false the whole field of astrology actually is. At least that's the role this body-mind mechanism is playing on this particular stage of life.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: And many of us are glad you are playing this role. I'm so anxious to hear about each field of living in more detail, and how your multi-dimensional framework plays out in each field.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Then it is time to move on to the next chapter where we will discuss the most important of the eight fields, the field of spiritual life.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: We can do that, but you need to know that there are a few disgruntled panel members at the moment, especially after you gave a summary of the shortcomings of some of the major traditions and esoteric groups.

EDWARD TARABILDA: That is to be expected. Maybe I was a little hard on the Rosicrucian Fellowship in exposing Max Heindel's paucity of genuine astrological insight. It may be that Max Heindel was a genuine spiritual leader despite his lack of astrological insight.

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: Excuse me -- I would like to clarify that Rudolf Steiner spoke reverently of the medieval sage Christian Rosenkreutz. However, he suggested that Max Heindel had plagiarized Steiner's work and presented it in a very incomplete way.

EDWARD TARABILDA: I was not aware of that. Do you know that Steiner in fact said this?

ANTHROPOSOPHIST: It was his biographer, Guenther Wachsmuth.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Steiner's biographer can think what he wishes in this regard. I have no opinion on the matter.

ROSICRUCIAN: That makes me feel a little bit better about continuing this dialogue with you. I'm beginning to see that asking you to comment on all these various groups was placing you at a disadvantage. I have no hard feelings.

EDWARD TARABILDA: Thank you. Does anyone else have hard feelings?

CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST: I've decided to withdraw from further participation with you and this group. I can see now that you are all engaging in the work of the devil.

ANOTHER CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST: Then I will take your place. These people don't scare me and I am glad to parry with them. I also feel that my Christian brother is a little too rigid towards the beliefs of other people. I'm not so easily threatened.

FIRST CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST: With such an attitude you too may suffer the loss of your soul. Beware! I may also have to report you to the Christian Coalition League.

THE OTHER CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST: Do what you have to do.

HINDU MONK: Westerners have always tried to conquer India in one way or another. Your idea that you, as a westerner, are creating a new Vedic knowledge capable of replacing the old Vedic knowledge, is an idea I find outlandish! But I am still open to hearing your expansion of these ideas.

TM MEDITATOR: Maharishi is the one who is reviving Vedic knowledge, not you. I also am going to withdraw from this group.

ANOTHER TM MEDITATOR: Then I will replace you also. Although I'm very respectful of Maharishi and what he is doing to revive Vedic knowledge in both the East and West, I also realize that Maharishi Ayurveda, Maharishi Jyotish, Maharishi Sthapatya Veda, Maharishi Gandharva Veda, and other applied disciplines don't live up to their advance billing.

I also realize after meditating for twenty years that TM is not the best path for everyone. Your idea of eight major paths is very interesting and explains what otherwise is one big puzzle: why everyone is not drawn to TM, if, as Maharishi suggests, it is the highest and easiest path to finding God?

FIRST TM MEDITATOR: It is apparent that you are no longer a strict follower of Maharishi's program.

THE OTHER TM MEDITATOR: That is another thing I have learned to question: this mini-police state you try and set up to control all the followers within the TM movement. You have blacklisted so many people that I am surprised there is anyone left in the organization.

TM MEDITATOR: Now you are just being negative. I am leaving this group. Goodbye.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: I see that there are eastern fundamentalists as well as western ones. It is an all pervasive influence isn't it?

EDWARD TARABILDA: I'm afraid so. Fortunately, we still have many of the major religious and spiritual groups still represented, with more who may sign on at some point. Let us move on to the next chapter.

QUANTUM PHYSICIST: Before doing so, could I ask one last question: Who do you think best understood the value of both of eastern and western pathways?

EDWARD TARABILDA: There have been many such people, but it is my feeling that Sri Aurobindo (See Appendix B) best understood just how different the two pathways are even though he didn't speak of it in these terms. He brilliantly re-interpreted Vedic knowledge for modern times, while upholding the empirical western approach to knowledge. He demonstrated deep appreciation for the best of both eastern and western civilization.