A Nation of Yogis The Great India-to-America Transmission and its Karmic Implications
A Live-Streamed Talk with Philip Goldberg
Sunday, January 25th from 2:00 to 3:30 (MST)
$25, no cost for Sol Center Community Members
*Please register by Saturday, January 24th to receive the virtual link details.
Places like Sol Center appeared only recently on the American scene, but they are just one tributary in a mighty river running from the ancient East to the modern West for well over 200 years. This transmission of profound ideas and transformative practices has radically altered the spiritual landscape of America, and everyone engaged in yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and related methods can benefit from understanding this fascinating history.
In this presentation, Philip Goldberg, author of the award-winning American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West, will reveal the diverse and subtle ways this game-changing development took shape. Those forces include not only the gurus and yoga masters who came from India, but also philosophers, scientists, authors, artists, pop stars (the Beatles!), and others who adapted the teachings and disseminated them to vast numbers of people.
We’ll also explore the larger implications of this transmission: the growing shift from belief-centered religion to experience-centered, inclusive spirituality; the mainstreaming of mysticism and validation of what scholars call the Perennial Philosophy; why spiritual practices once considered bizarre are now doctor-recommended; why there are yogis everywhere who never set foot on a yoga mat. We’ll also draw from Phil’s research on karma to discuss our shared responsibility to preserve and protect yogic wisdom in its fullness as we continue to adapt it to modern culture.
Philip Goldberg has been studying India’s spiritual traditions for more than 50 years, as a practitioner, teacher, and author. He is a public speaker, spiritual counselor, and prolific author who has presented at major venues in the US and India, taught classes for Hindu University of America, Spirituality & Practice, and other platforms, and contributed essays and articles to various publications. His numerous books include the definitive history, American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West; the biography The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi Who Became the First Modern Guru; and his latest, Karmic Relief: Harnessing the Laws of Cause and Effect for a Joyful, Meaningful Life. Phil hosts the Spirit Matters podcast, posts frequently on his Substack, Practical Spirituality with Philip Goldberg, and serves on the board of the Association for Spiritual Integrity and the advisory board of the National Museum of Religion.
