mission statement2 mission statement vision statement to provide krishna conscious education of high...

2Viplavaḥ - September 2020

MISSION STATEMENT

Vision statement To provide Krishna conscious education of high quality to everyone through temples, educational institutions and various global initiatives.

Mission statement To develop comprehensive educational systems globally, that foster higher spiritual values, fulfil the needs of ISKCON members, and the larger society, bringing about excellence in all areas of human life. We aim to fulfil this mission by

1. Empowering and supporting educational initiatives and collaborations among educators, educational institutions and professionals

2. Establishing and monitoring high standards of Vaisnava education3. Supervising the development and execution of educational plans and ensuring they are

delivered to high standards and 4. Understanding and fulfilling the educational needs of the Krsna conscious families5. Making every temple as an educational centre and a centre of excellence.

MASTHEAD

Viplavah is a Journal of the Ministry of Education of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder Acharya His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Minister of Education: H. G. Sesa Das Executive Director: Tapana-misra Das Core Committee: Hanumatpresaka Swami, Sesa Das, Atul-krsna Das, Tapan-misra Das, Indira-sakhi Devi Dasi. Executive/Issue Editor: H. H. Hanumatpresaka Swami Editorial Board:

• H. G. Indira-sakhi Devi Dasi

• H. G. Rama-giridhari Das

The first issue of the Journal was published Janmastami 2017, publishing four issues each year. It is driven out of North American and the Western Hemisphere but is aimed at serving the educational needs of ISKCON globally.

Ministry Web Site: iskconeducation.org

For Correspondences: Secretary, [email protected]

3 Viplavaḥ - September 2020

CONTENTS

Srila Prabhupada Uvaca .............................................................................................................................. 4

Letters from the Editors ............................................................................................................................... 4

General Editor .......................................................................................................................................... 4

Managing Editor ...................................................................................................................................... 5

ARTICLES ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

Benford and the Bhagavata ..................................................................................................................... 6

Campus Engagement Through Hindu Chaplaincy ........................................................................... 10

“Your seed has borne fruit”: A Story from the Future ...................................................................... 13

Journal of Vaishnava Studies: A Spiritual Phenomenon in an Academic World ........................... 16

The Bhaktivedanta Research Centre: Safeguarding Vaishnavism’s Intellectual Tradition ........... 18

Indian philosophy of education: from the ancient gurukula and buddhist sangha to neo-vedanta ................................................... 24

REPORTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 29

Bhaktivedanta college Budapest: Yoga and wisdom at a higher level ............................................. 29

Report on Vedabase.io ......................................................................................................................... 32

Book Announcement .......................................................................................................................... 34

Selected bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 34

Calendar ........................................................................................................................................................ 36

Next Issue ...................................................................................................................................................... 36


Srila Prabhupada UvacaMy Dear Giriraja,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to enclose herewith one letter I have received from your father which will speak for itself. From this letter it appears that you are a good scholar and there is very good background

in your educational career. So if you wish to make progress further in your educational career, that will be a nice asset for our Krishna Consciousness Movement. You have a taste for psychology and divinity studies, and this is very nice. Of course, our Krishna Consciousness Movement is on the line of divinity, and we have got so many books about the science of divinity. Unfortunately these books are not yet on the university cur-riculum, but if you take your post-graduate studies in divinity by comparative study, then in the future we shall be able to present the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness in comparison to other theological presen-tations. Actually, we are teaching the science of God; we are teaching how to develop our dormant propensity to love God. Being parts and parcels of the Supreme, we have got an eternal affinity to love God. Unfortu-nately, by our contact with matter we have practically forgotten that we are eternally related with God. In our Krishna Consciousness philosophy there is no question of sectarian views. Krishna Consciousness is the post-graduate study of all religious conceptions of the world. I like the idea that you should make a thorough study of all theological schools, and in the future if you can explain our Krishna Consciousness Movement as the post-graduate presentation of all theological theses, then it will be a great accomplishment. You are a grown-up boy and intelligent also, so you make your position clear and do the needful.

I hope this will find you well. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. (Los Angeles, 10 July, 1969)

Letters from the Editors

Message from the General Editorby Hanumatpresaka Swami

Not wishing to join the greatest enemies of progressive spiritual culture in human society and realizing the members of the younger generation are

not as stupid as we old administrators1, we are retiring as General Editor of Viplavah with the next, and last, issue of 2020.Of course, the Ministry is looking for a new General Editor. Any candidates? If you have been reading and following the previous issues you know what is required.

Certainly we will stay available as Advisors.We have seen the Journal as the back-bone of the Ministry.This issue is shocking! The variety and intensity of content astonishing. Acting Editor Radhika-ramana Das (Prof. Ravi Gupta) and all the contributors have a done an astounding job.We especially like the article by our very respected friend Professor Albert Ferrer. It shows an excellent contrast and comparison to our ISKCON educational effort. See yourself in the eyes of those around you. See yourself in the eyes of Krsna.Radhika and the authors speak for themselves. We can’t add much more. It would be trying to hold a candle to the Sun.

1 Bhaktivedanta Swami, A. C., Light of the Bhagavata, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, https://vedabase.io/en/library/lob/37/#bb1582485 (Retrieved 2020 September 9)


Let us just include a letter we received from our Ministry Director, Sriman Sesa Das (Dr. Seth Spellman) about the previous Issue:

Hare Krishna I have a few days down time and have used the time to delve into the current issue of Viplavah. It is just wonderful!Thanks to all of you who have worked so diligently to make this resource available to ISKCON Educators and others.

Message from the Acting Editorby Radhika Ramana Dasa (Professor Ravi M. Gupta-Utah State University)

Welcome to Viplavah’s annual issue focused on higher education! As we were putting together the articles for this issue, we noticed that a special

theme emerged, entirely unplanned: the role of spiritual care in higher education. Gadadhara Pandit Dasa writes about his experience as a Hindu chaplain at Columbia University and New York University. Chaplaincy is a growing service opportunity for devotees in higher education, and there is an increasing number of

devotees who serve as formal chaplains for their local universities. Gadadhara Pandit Prabhu was one of the pioneers in that area, and his article gives an honest perspective on the benefits and challenges of that service—the ways in which it broadened his understanding of outreach, the kinds of activities he organized, and why the service was not very suitable for a brahmacari. Gadadhara Pandit Prabhu’s article thus provides valuable perspective for other devotees who are considering working in this area. As a further resource for prospective devotee chaplains, we have included a synopsis of a groundbreaking book on Hindu caregiving, co-edited by Vineet Chander (Venkata Bhatta Dasa), that includes several articles by Vaisnava scholars and caregivers.

Purnamasi Devi Dasi’s essay is a moving journey into the future, where a lifelong teacher remembers her caring relationships with her students and reflects upon the rewards of being a teacher. And H.H. Hanumatpresaka Maharaja describes a wonderful encounter between Prof. Gregory Benford, an award-winning science-fiction author, and His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The encounter is retold from two perspectives—that of H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Maharaja, who was present at the meeting, and that of Prof. Benford himself, who apparently wrote about the meeting in one of his famous short stories. But at the heart of the encounter we find, once again, the importance of spiritual care, with Srila Prabhupada affectionately cultivating a relationship with the astrophysicist through kind words, lively intellectual debate, and two large plates of prasada.

Steven Rosen’s article describes a different kind of care—for the priceless books and manuscripts of our acaryas, as preserved at the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre in Kolkata. In this issue, you will also find reports from the groundbreaking Bhaktivedanta College in Budapest, Hungary, as well as the essential website, www.vedabase.io. There is also a list of new scholarly books that will be of interest to ISKCON devotees. For example, Knut Jacobsen and Ferdinando Sardella’s massive, two-volume Handbook on Hinduism in Europe charts the history of ISKCON in many parts of Europe. And for the first time ever—we publish a history of the journal that has changed the academic field of Vaishnava studies.

We hope you will enjoy reading the wide variety of articles in this issue. I am deeply grateful to H.H. Hanumatpresaka Swami (Prof. Huber H. Robinson) for his significant guidance and encouragement during the editorial process, including commissioning articles. We wish to thank all the contributors to this issue for producing such interesting and useful articles, despite their busy schedules. Finally, we wish to thank you, our learned readers, and apologize for the shortcomings in this issue, which are my own responsibility. Nevertheless, we hope that you will find this issue thought-provoking and useful in your own work as an educator.


Benford and the Bhagavata

By Hanumatpresaka Swami (Prof. H. H. Robinson)

Gregory Benford

Astrophysicist, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Californi (Irvine Campus). Author of over twenty novels, including Jupiter Project, Artifact, Against Infinity, Eater and Timescape. A two-time winner of the most extremely prestigious, science-fiction, Nebula Award. Also winner of the John W. Campbell Award, the Australian Ditmar Award, the 1995 Lord Foundation Award for achievement in the sciences, and the 1990 United Nations Medal in Literature.

Thoudam Damodara Singh (B. S. Damodara Swami)

Native of the esoteric Himalayan State of Manipura, Doctorate in Physical Organic Chemistry from U. C., Irvine, Sannyasin, (Senior monastic disciple) of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Prabhupada. Co-founder and Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute which organized very successful programs in India, USA and around the world with participation from such renown scholars, theologians and scientists as H.H. Dalai Lama, Archbishop Paulos Mar Gregorios (President of the World Council of Churches), Nobel Laureates George Wald, Charles Townes, Maurice Wilkins et al.

-0-0-0-

WE HAD the good fortune to be a member of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for about 10-years between 1984 and 1994. One time B. S. Damodar Swami related to us a very interesting

experience. It happened while he was finishing his doctorate at U. C. Irvine. He became very animated and jolly while describing the event. What has come across as an extremely interesting sequel is the apparent description of the event from the viewpoint of Professor Benford.

We happened upon what seems to be his description in his highly acclaimed short story, White Creatures1.

B.S. Damodara was accustomed to visit the Los Angeles Hare Krsna center each weekend for their opulent Sunday festival. It was regularly packed with people from one end of the block to the other, included elaborate Vedic rituals, intense musical participation and finally a multi-course feast of authentic Indian cuisine, cooked to spiritual pitch, by the boys and girls, men and women, in the monastic community. Out back of the Temple a little walled garden had been arranged for Srila Prabhupada (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami) and reception of guests.

1 Benford, Gregory , White Creatures, Collected in The Best of Gregory Benford, Nominated for the Nebula Award in 1976, Citations from Amazon Kindle edition 2020 August 23

ARTICLES


As he often did Damodara Swami brought guests from his academic community at U. C. Irvine and this time it was Prof. Benford. Of course, the Professor is an extremely cogent and metropolitan person, and certainly there was an extreme awareness from both sides of this encounter.

When Damodara Swami first brought Professor Benford in Srila Prabhupada was leisurely talking with several of his senior disciples about philosophy and this Bhagavata heritage. Prof. Benford was a welcome guest to all, and Srila Prabhupada began to explain such perspectives as reincarnation, monotheism, ecstasies of the Saints etc.

Damodara Swami described that, in no way impolite, Prof. Benford adopted and argued a more rational empirical perspective from modern science, and so for some time the dialog went on.

Then the devotees brought in a very large, round, platter with maybe seven different preparations from savories, to rice, to salad, to sweets for Srila Prabhupada. This was what had been offered on the altar to the Deities of Radha and Krsna, the first remnants of the Lord’s repast being traditionally presented to the Spiritual Master (Acharya).

B.S. Damodara said the Professor Benford had never seen anything like this before and was looking with very round eyes at the beautiful plate.

The Srila Prabhupada pushed it toward him and said, “This is for you!”.

Prof. Benford was thunderstruck and dumbfounded in his consternation, but began to nibble on the different preparations (all fried in Ghee).

As he dined, Srila Prabhupada stopped talking about the heavy ontological issues and began to make small talk about his experiences in coming to the USA, Western world, having met with so many contrast with his India in1960s.

He said that everything in America was bigger, “Even the squirrels were bigger”.

Prof. Benford seemed enchanted with the delightful and challenging journey between worlds.

Then, after finishing the plate, Srila Prabhupada told B. S. Damodara to take his friend to see the Deities, the Icons on the Altar.

Damodara Swami described that the Temple was packed with hundreds of guests. There were three priests in full Vedic regalia worshipping Radha and Krsna, and the public was singing and dancing with great alacrity. The ladies glowed, the gentlemen perspired and if there would have been any horses present, they would have sweated.

After some entrancing view of the Arati ceremony, Maharaja was escorting Professor back to the Secret Garden, when they saw a plate of Eggplant Balarama that some devotee had sequestered up on a shelf for possible later appreciation. Dr. Benford asked Damodara if he could take it and Damodara assured him that there were unlimited resources and the owner of the plate would be delighted that a guest took the plate.

Maharaja commented that he was amazed because Professor had already consumed a selectively robust feast in the Garden, but he took the plate back and continued to eat from it while Srila Prabhupada began to make the exact same points on cosmology that he had made earlier, but now he said that instead of debating the points, Professor was not only agreeing but coming up with scientific evidence to support the propositions!


Of course, we might suggest that Prof. Benford was quite aware that he had sold out his intellectual integrity for food and music meant for the gods, but in the epic fiction side of his character considered it the perfectly righteous thing that any of his heroes would also do.

(Damodara Swami says that to one side Swamiji winked at him and chuckled, also considering there are the right times for reason and the right time for common sense).

-0-0-0-

YOUR HONORS, comes now the defendant:

What follows is the extract for The White Creatures, that we found simply amazing. What is amazing in this incident is that we have a successful meeting of:

• East – West• Science – Religion• Science Fiction – Science

How can we not be enchanted and look for a formula for more of this dialog.

Gregory Benford“White Creatures”Nominated for the Nebula Award in 1976 Excerpt below quoted from The Best of Gregory Benford(edited by David G. Hartwell, Subterranean Press, 2015)

“The aliens strap him in. He cannot feel the bindings but he knows they must be there; he cannot move. Or perhaps it is the drug. They must have given him something because his world is blurred, spongy. The white creatures are flowing

shapes in watery light. He feels numb. The white creatures are moving about him, making high chittering noises. He tries to fix on them but they are vague formless shapes moving in and out of focus.

. . .

Some years later,(actually earlier in the story) seeking something, he visited the Krishna temple. There was a large room packed with saffron-robed figures being lectured on doctrine. Merrick could not quite tell them what he wanted. They nodded reassuringly and tried to draw him out but the words would not come.

Finally they led him through a beaded curtain to the outside. They entered a small garden through a bamboo gate, noisily slipping the wooden latch.

A small man sat in lotus position on a broad swath of green. As Merrick stood before him, the walnut-brown man studied him with quick, assessing yellow eyes. He gestured for Merrick to sit.

They exchanged pleasantries. Merrick explained his feelings, his rational skepticism about religion in any form. He was a scientist. But perhaps there was more to these matters than met the eye, he said hopefully.

The teacher picked up a leaf, smiling, and asked why anyone should spend his life studying the makeup of this leaf. What could be gained from it?


Any form of knowledge has a chance of resonating with other kinds, Merrick replied.

So? the man countered.

Suppose the universe is a parable, Merrick said haltingly. By studying part of it, or finding other intelligences in it and discovering their viewpoints, perhaps we could learn something of the design that was intended.

Surely the laws of science, the origin of life, were no accident. The teacher pondered for a moment. No, he said, they are not accidents. There may be other creatures in this universe, too.

But these laws, these beings, they are not important.

The physical laws are the bars of a cage. The central point is not to study the bars, but to get out of the cage. Merrick could not follow this. It seemed to him that the act of discovering things, of reaching out, was everything. There was something immortal about it.

The small man blinked and said, it is nothing. This world is an insane asylum for souls. Only the flawed remain here.

Merrick began to talk about his work with NASA and Erika. The small man waved away these points and shook his head. No, he said. It is nothing.

. . .

The aliens are upon him. They crowd around, gibbering. Blurred gestures in the liquid light. … They want him to do something, to write something, to sign a form. . . . A release form, he was found in the street on his way to check in. The operation is tomorrow—a search, merely a search, exploratory (here we realize they are not “aliens” but doctors in the ER)… But why do they say I am old? I am still here. I am thinking, feeling. It cannot be like this. I am, I am… Why do they say I am old?”

-0-0-0-

WE RETURN CONTROL his television screen to the author:

Let us finish with an essential citation from the Bhagavad-gita that has rocked nations.

BG 2.13

dehino ‘smin yathā dehekaumāram yauvanam jarā

tathā dehāntara-prāptirdhīras tatra na muhyati

As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.2

2 Shakespeare, William, As You Like It, (Act II Scene 7) JAQUES: All the world’s a stage, And the men and women therein mere players; They have their entrances and their exits; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages….


CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT THROUGH HINDU CHAPLAINCY

by Gadadhara Pandit Dasa

During my time in the brahmacari ashram (monk’s monastic place) at the Bhakti Center in New York, I served as the Hindu chaplain at

Columbia University, New York City. This was from 2002 to 2012. I was simultaneously serving in a similar capacity at New York University, which is the campus that surrounds Washington Square Park where the annual ISKCON New York, Ratha Yatra takes place. Most of my activity took place

on the Upper West Side at the Columbia campus. The campus had between 15 to 20 chaplains with each chaplain representing one particular faith group.

I was the first Hindu chaplain for both campuses. The Hindu community’s laser-pointed focus has been in the fields of engineering and medicine and not on unpaid volunteer positions. Since I was living as a monk and my basic necessities were met by the monastery, I happily volunteered for the position. Columbia did have three paid positions on campus but those were reserved for chaplains with the largest student body populations — Catholic, Muslim and Protestant. Everyone else received their remuneration from their particular religious institutions or churches. I was the only chaplain who wasn’t receiving any income, and this came as a surprise to the rest of the chaplains. Of course, I explained that as a monk, I did everything as a service and therefore, I was fine serving as a volunteer. Even though no income was being provided, we received official university identification and email addresses, which meant that we were officially part of the campus community.

All chaplains had to sign a covenant with several requirements, but the two prominent ones were:

1. No proselytizing2. We would be respectful of each other’s faith traditions

Being part of ISKCON, a tradition that has experienced rapid growth through very active and often aggressive preaching tactics, I had to make a quick mindset shift. I realized that I would need to be very open, broad and accepting of the chaplains and students of Eastern and Western traditions, as well as those who did not identify with any tradition. In general, this helped me grow tremendously as it taught me to be respectful to people of all backgrounds. This meant that I would not be running around campus telling everyone “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” I would talk about my tradition during the Bhagavad Gita discussions and more mildly during the meditation sessions. While meeting one-on-one with students, I would only bring up my tradition if they inquired about it. The role also required an openness to welcoming all students, regardless of religion, race, color, ethnicity, sexual identity and sexual preference. Since I was a brahmacari, and a rather new devotee, having been in the movement only for a few years, I was initially a little uncomfortable listening to students discussing their relationship problems, but gradually I was able to settle into that role and develop a greater level of comfort with the service. Chaplaincy is probably not the best service for a brahmacari or monk because it involves a lot of interaction with the opposite sex on matters not directly connected to Krishna Consciousness.


I would attend the weekly bhajan sessions on Friday evenings that were organized by the Hindu student group where devotional songs were sung to the prominent gods within Hinduism. Students would take turns leading and I would play a traditional drum, the mridanga. The session would conclude with a short, traditional, Hindu ritual, offering incense, lamps and flowers, arati, performed to the multiple deities on the makeshift altar, which would then be removed from the chapel to make room for the next worship group that had booked the space.

Some devotees who had been studying at Columbia since 2000 formed the Bhakti Club to introduce Vedic philosophy and culture to the campus community. I was invited by them to create programming that would attract students and engage them in a positive manner where they would not feel like they were joining a “religion.” Inspired by the vegetarian cooking classes that Radhanath Swami did in West Virginia, Ohio and surrounding areas, during his time at New Vrindavana, we decided to follow in his footsteps. The response was nothing short of amazing! Within a matter of two years, the attendance at our cooking classes went from 5 students to 30 students. Within five years, between 50-100 students were coming each week to learn how to cook a vegetarian meal and partake of a tasty, sanctified meal. Many students would personally tell me that the program was the highlight of their week and one student even said that these Bhakti Club programs were his favorite part of being at Columbia. We also did a weekly Bhagavad Gita discussion group and a meditation session which including some, respiration exercises, pranayama, the Om mantra and the Hare Krishna maha mantra.

One of the main duties of a chaplain is to be available to meet with students and help them navigate the challenges of being away from home, living in a dorm with a stranger, and managing a rigorous academic schedule, while dealing with the madness that comes with the hustle and bustle of New York City. During my time on campus, I must have had a couple of hundred conversations with students to help them deal with stress and anxiety from the workload, relationship breakups and troubles at home. My meetings did not include quoting verses from the scriptures. It was more about being there for them and learning to listen deeply to their concerns and letting them know that this was a safe space where they can talk about


anything that was on their mind. Many students struggle hard to discover what they want to do in life and that can be stressful. I personally found it very satisfying making myself available so students could confide in me. Most of these students were not of Hindu or Indian background. A majority of them were were either agnostic, atheist, or “spiritual but not religious” persons who were disenchanted by their Western tradition and were now looking towards Eastern traditions, especially Buddhism.

My time at Columbia University provided me with many wonderful experiences and helped me grow in ways I was not planning. It helped me to listen to the problems of others with empathy. I learned to value and respect the other religious traditions and their belief systems and not think of my tradition as better than theirs. This is the broad-minded approach of our acaryas, great predecessor masters. I also learned to speak publicly and present on a variety of topics related to health, wellness, relationships, stress management and meditation, all of which came in handy when I transitioned to my next line of work, namely, delivering motivational keynote speeches at corporations and Human Resources conferences. In my post-monk life as a motivational speaker and corporate trainer, my talks are secular, but the foundation of everything was established during my time in the brahmacari ashram and through my work on college campuses.

I think college chaplaincy is a great service for devotees, keeping in mind that there may not be any remuneration by the university. Chaplaincy demonstrates that we are on campus to genuinely care, not just for students of our faith or for people we think are good candidates for becoming devotees, but for anyone struggling and needing some guidance, direction and inspiration in their life. I personally had not received any prior training for this service and had to learn on the job. However, some ministerial training involving empathy, listening skills and communication would be important if one is thinking of taking up this service. Being a chaplain is really about listening, being present and supporting the student community, either in a general manner or through inspirational messages from spiritual texts. College is a delicate and formative time in a person’s life and to help them through that time can leave a lasting impression. Some students continue to stay in touch with me years after their graduation because they know they can talk to me when things get difficult. If you like being there for people, then this service will be very satisfying. I do hope that at some point, ISKCON, like many other religious institutions, will consider creating paid positions and sending qualified individuals onto college campuses to represent the Hindu tradition as chaplains.

Author BioPandit Dasa is a Mindful Leadership Expert, author and motivational keynote speaker. His inspirational speeches aim to create a more mindful workplace culture which increases productivity and improves retention. He encourages leadership and co-workers to appreciate and celebrate the success and contributions of others. This attitude fosters trust, enhances teamwork and greatly impacts employee performance. Pandit Dasa has spoken to many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 Companies. Some of the organizations he has spoken to include:Google, Citibank, IBM, State Farm, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Kellogg’s, Nationwide Insurance, SAP, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, AMC Theatres, Intel, WeWork, Royal Bank of Canada, AMC Networks, Novartis, Comcast, TD Ameritrade, JPMorgan Chase, The World Bank, World Government Summit, SHRM National Convention, Oracle HCM Convention and many others.More information is available on his website: panditdasa.com.


“Your seed has borne fruit”: A Story from the Future

by Purnamasi devi dasi

November 12, 2040. The sun is shining outside my window. It reminds me that Spring is arriving. Time to plant canónigos (Valerianella

locusta) indoors so they will be sprouted for transplanting when the real warm weather comes, and then serve as volunteers in the salad. At 73-years I can still stay active, but my legs get tired easily. I can’t stay standing for long periods of time. I sit down to rest. Reading enlivens me.

A few days ago, I received an email from an old classmate. She had been a teacher like me at a school in Madrid. She included a link, “Your seed has borne fruit.”

With a little trepidation about what those fruits might look like I click on the link. It was an interview, published in the most prestigious cultural magazine in Spain, Teatralia, with Miguel Suárez. He’s a renowned Spanish actor, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Actor.

I have been away from contemporary news for several years, trying to focus my body and mind on some more lasting knowledge of my self, so I don’t really know who this young man is and why he may be of interest to me.

With curiosity, I install my glasses and focus all my resources on the pages. The first thing that catches my attention is the photo of the young man, about 30 years old, with a very mature expression of happiness. He looks familiar to me, I don’t know why.

I start to read the text, but before the journalist’s questions there is a brief biography of the actor: “Miguel, born in Madrid, graduated in Dramatic Art from Complutense University of Madrid. His early studies were at the Polos International School. ”

Ah, hah! The same school where I was a teacher for over 30 years. I begin to think that, perhaps, he was once one of my primary students. My brain tries to shuffle back down 25-years, but I’m an “esteemed senior citizen” and my memory doesn’t help that much.

Miguel Suárez ... I go to my room, where I still keep a book with some mementos of my years as a teacher. Among them I find an envelope with photos of the different children and classes over the years. The names of the students appear in the photos. Considering Miguel’s age, I calculate that he had to have been a student of mine during the academic year 2019-2020.

Bulls-eye! There he is! He has the same look and the same smile! He was mentally very astute, learning to read very early, and always playful and cheerful.

I continue reading. Now that I know who he is, remembering him with so much affection, seeing the man he has become, I am very curious to know more about him, happy to see the success he has achieved in something he always loved, theater.


The journalist refers to him as an animal lover, promoting vegetarianism, very much reflected in the character to whom he gave life in the film for which he was awarded the Oscar. When asked why and when he decided to become a vegetarian, Miguel, to my surprise, replies that, when he was 6-years old, in 1st grade, he had a teacher who was vegetarian, and that one day, while they were talking about the food pyramid, she explained that human beings could live without the step where meat, fish, and eggs were found. Miguel explained: “She (referring to me) told us that she had not eaten animals or eggs since she was 15 years old, and, to be honest, she always looked very healthy and above all the most cheerful teacher I have ever had. She used run around the school with great determination during her lunch break, and I don’t remember her ever missing a single day because of any infirmity”. According to him, it was then that the idea entered his head and, although while living with his parents it was not easy for him to become a vegetarian, as soon as he could, he stopped eating meat, fish, and eggs. “After all, as she showed me, it is not necessary to practice violence and provoke pain in animals for human beings to grow-up healthy, strong or in any way happy.»

Reading that was overwhelming enough but what struck me most was the phrase that Miguel then uttered: “’Simple living and high thinking’. This was a phrase of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, one of the greatest Indian thinkers of the 20th century”. Miguel hinted that happiness is not found in winning an Oscar or in obtaining any other type of material success.

Miguel knows Srila Prabhupada! And it seems clear that he has read some of his books. His words make me reflect on how I would like the children to remember me or what I would like them to have learned from my simple and humble presence in their lives.

Our day-to-day life at school consisted of a very simple routine. I tried to inject, as much as possible, a tinge of Krishna Consciousness. After greeting each other, we talked about the weather in our city (Madrid) and in other parts of the world. One of these cities was Vrindavan, with an image of Krishna in the background. In this way, for them, some days it was sunny and other days it was cloudy “where Krishna was”. Then, we started the class. If it was morning time, we would start by reciting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra five times to get focus. If, however, it was the last class in the afternoon we ended up chanting Hare Krishna for a little while. One child said the Maha Mantra and the rest of us repeated it, helping each other with improvised instruments such as pencils or hand-clapping or table-banging.

After all, education is a very broad term. Along with the academic objectives and promoting their acquisition through different techniques, we can also apply values and broader knowledge. This is how I have always liked working with my students. Although I had to teach them subjects such as Language, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, etc., I have always tried to include, whenever possible, Krishna in their lives. For example, on Lord Nrisimha’s advent day, we focused our attention on lion stories, of course on Nrisimha and Prahlad’s pastime, drawing a lion, learning how lions live, and Nrisimha’s song. If it was the advent of Lord Ramacandra, we relished talking about the superhero, Rama, who defeated Ravana; about Princess Sita and her sweetness, the practice of archery, life in a forest and its biodiversity, etc.

This way, the children learned many different Krishna’s pastimes. Sometimes, even in the playground they played at killing demons. One thing that always caught my attention was how, in general, everyone liked the song “Govindam Adi Purusam”. They learned it very easily and it was natural for them to sing while they were working or sporting in the play-ground.

With these thoughts on my mind, I could not avoid a wave of emotions while reading the interview. On one hand, I felt great joy in seeing again a former student of mine, who had been helped in such a positive way by my words and attitude towards life. Above all, I felt joy knowing that one way or another he had gotten on Srila Prabhupada’s train. This pleased me so much.


On the other hand, these thoughts took me back in time by several years, until I reached one of the most confused and turbulent moments the entire world has experienced: the Covid-19 pandemic.

In early 2020 a new, unknown, virus convulsed the world, first China and later every country. Spain was one of the hardest hit with very high levels of infected and above all, deaths. For this reason, in March, the country’s leaders decided to close schools and universities, and both children and teachers had to suddenly move away from each other. To continue with the curriculum, classes were resumed, but now online. Miguel, like all his classmates, had to connect with me through an online platform. From 9 AM to 4:30 PM, we held classes as if we were at school including the breaks for recess and lunchtime. The goal was to keep active the routine that is so important at these ages.

Although at first it was a difficult challenge for everyone, the response of the children, including Miguel, was admirable. The teacher-student relationship, at a Primary level, requires personal presence, direct and without filters. Virtual communication limited our interaction as well as the human warmth, which is so important and gives so much color to this primary school profession.

We didn’t return to school that year and it was thanks to the ability of the children to adapt that we, together, took the course forward. The bonds that united us became even stronger: teachers with students, and students among themselves. After all, it was the first time that something like this had happened to any of us, worldwide, and we all had to help each other.

I remember the celebration of the advent of Sri Ramacandra that year. We were in full quarantine with online classes. So I told them briefly the history of the Ramayana with pictures, and later we made an origami flower for Lord Rama. It was an offering for His courage and His gentle love for Sita. It was simple, but I didn’t want them to miss the great opportunity to offer something to Sri Ramacandra on that auspicious day.

Definitely everything is worthwhile if, when you get older, you realize that scattered around the world are men and women who, when they were only 6 or 7 years old, were sitting in your classroom. Sometimes, they might think that you were a bit mean. At other times, they might make a drawing of you, inscribed with the words “I love you”, accompanied by a smile. But above all, when you realize that during the brief time you shared your life with them, and they with you, that the seed you planted, sometimes even unconsciously, fell on fertile ground and finally germinated, bearing the invaluable fruit of developing real character—character that leads a person to live for more than the selfish enjoyment of mundane opportunities that parade past us.

Author Bio

Purnamasi devi dasi was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1976. She graduated in Journalism and then lived in several countries of the Americas while collaborating with different media outlets. A few years later, she earned a degree in teaching and began her career as a teacher. She joined ISKCON in 2001, after meeting devotees at the Potomac Temple. She has performed service in the area of communication and, at present, she is the Director of Child Protection for ISKCON Spain, Secretary of ISKCON Navalakunda, and in charge of carrying out activities for children and youth in her local area (the northwestern Sierra of Madrid).


Journal of Vaishnava Studies: A Spiritual Phenomenon in an Academic World

By Graham M. Schweig

The academic world had long needed a scholarly journal on the subject of Vaishnavism, documenting the history, theology, philosophy, and

hagiography of India’s pan-Vaishnava tradition, including not only the Gauḍīya Sampradāya but all others strains of Vishnu-bhakti. Long ago, in the early 1990’s, after the Institute for Vaishnava Studies at American University co-published with the Center for the Study of World Religions

at Harvard University a book by Professor Vasudha Narayanan, I had conferred with my doctoral mentor Professor John B. Carman, the Director of the Center, that I could perhaps start such a journal focusing on Vaishnava studies. But, for various reasons, it never materialized.

Enter Steven J. Rosen (Satyarāja Dāsa), a Prabhupāda disciple well known throughout ISKCON and the academy as a devotee and self-made scholar, with numerous books to his credit (published both within the movement and with academic publishers). In addition, he has had, and still has, a solid reputation for writing articles in the movement’s Back to Godhead magazine, yoga journals, and encyclopedia entries on Vaishnavism. He would be the perfect man for the job.

In the summer of 1992, after a discussion with Paul Sherbow (Pradyumna Das or Prabhupāda’s “Panditajī”) on the growing interest in the scholarly study of Vaishnavism—both among devotees and academics—he conceived of a Vaishnava academic journal, convinced of its importance and that it would have a considerable audience. He had no idea of my earlier conversations with Professor Carman. He simply reacted to the need, and that with a passion and determination—and a considerable skillset — that defines all successful projects.

He had just completed his book Vaiṣṇavism: Contemporary Scholars Discuss the Gauḍīya Tradition (self-published in 1992 and reprinted by Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi, in 1995), which consists of a series of conversations with some of the most prominent names in the fields of Hinduism and South Asian Studies; and it was clear from both the number of scholars taking part in this work and its reception after it was published, that this was an avenue well worth pursuing.

It was this book, in fact, with its Foreword by Professor Edward C. Dimock, Jr., who praised the volume as a breakthrough work, that gave Satyarājajī his earliest contacts with the scholarly community. When the scholars who contributed to this book heard from Satyarājajī about the possibility of a journal dedicated


to this same subject, they immediately responded with letters of support and essays for publication. Intellectual practitioners and scholars began sending in papers from as diverse regions as India, Australia, Japan, and Scandinavia. Thus, in late 1992, Satyarājajī inaugurated the Journal of Vaiṣṇava Studies (later I changed the wording slightly to Journal of Vaishnava Studies––recognizing that the word “Vaishnava” was now a part of the English lexicon and thus Western culture).

Essays in “JVS” (the Journal’s abbreviation as it became known in the academic community), more and more, were referenced and quoted in major scholarly works and used by graduate students for their theses. The Southern Asian Institute Newsletter at Columbia University (Vol. 19, No. 2, Spring 1995) ran a full-length article about the Journal. Furthermore, in the most gratifying coverage received thus far, Professor Klaus Klostermaier, in his widely used textbook on Hinduism, i.e., A Survey of Hinduism (Second Edition, SUNY Press, 1994), notes the following:

In late 1992, the first issue of a quarterly [now bi-annually] Journal of Vaishnava Studies under the general editorship of S. J. Rosen began to appear from Brooklyn, New York. Its book-length issues carry important scholarly as well as devotional articles and the journal is likely to stimulate research and disseminate knowledge on this major religion associated with the name of Vishnu.

And indeed it did. Since Klostermaier’s prediction, which he made well over twenty-five years ago, the Journal has led to numerous scholars focusing on Vaishnava studies and is lauded by virtually everyone in the field.

Speaking frankly, Satyarājajī’s success is a testimony to his extraordinary dedication to his Guru, as well as evidence of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s ability to empower his disciples. Here is a devotee with perhaps only one year of college education behind him, and yet he has become the editor of the longest running academic journal on any dimension of Hindu traditions. Additionally, what is truly remarkable, is Satyarājajī’s ability to put together, for nearly thirty years now, journal issues that are strictly thematic in content, skillfully and thoughtfully bringing together expertise from all over the field of the best scholars as well as upcoming scholars––indeed, Satyarājajī’s ability to regularly produce original, thematic issues of superlative scholarship is unequalled anywhere. Clearly, the Journal of Vaishnava Studies is a truly a miraculous achievement that could only have come about by Lord Krishna’s grace.

Author Bio

Graham Schweig is Professor and Director of Religious Studies at Christopher Newport University. Prior to coming to CNU, he was a teaching fellow at Harvard University, lecturer at University of North Carolina and Duke University, and while teaching at CNU, he was for two years, Visiting Associate Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Virginia. He has been recognized several times for excellence in teaching, including the annual Alumni Faculty Award for Teaching and Mentoring (2013), and has been a regularly invited lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC for over ten years. He has given lectures widely in the US and in Europe and has over 100 published journal and encyclopedia articles, chapters of books and reviews of books, and several books, the most well-know of which is Bhagavad Gītā: The Beloved Lord’s Secret Love Song (Harper One / Harper Collins Publishers, 2010). Along with his teaching at CNU, Schweig is also currently Distinguished Teaching and Research Fellow at The Mira & Ajay Shingal Center for Dharma Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley.


The Bhaktivedanta Research Centre:Safeguarding Vaishnavism’s Intellectual Tradition*

By Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa)

My journey to India last year was punctuated by unexpected discoveries. Usually, when I make the pilgrimage, I focus on the holiest of

holies: I visit Vrindavan, the land of Lord Krishna, in Uttar Pradesh, and Mayapur, the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya, in West Bengal. In fact, I often underestimate or even neglect the cities that get me there — Delhi and Kolkata, respectively. This time, however, Krishna had a different plan.

In Delhi, I visited Gopal Krishna Maharaja’s many ISKCON temples, opened at the request of Srila Prabhupada himself, as well as the Chippiwada temple, from which Prabhupada published his first translations of Srimad Bhagavatam and virtually formulated his mission West. In Kolkata, I visited Prabhupada’s birthplace in a suburb known as Tollygunge and the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre (BRC), a deeply inspiring ISKCON project that has the potential to make Gaudiya Vaishnavism’s literary tradition appreciated worldwide. This latter facility, in fact, became the highlight of my entire trip to India.

The unassuming South Kolkata building, tucked away in a residential neighborhood, was donated by two ISKCON well wishers, Madanchand Shamsukha and Geeta Mukherjee Shamsukha, in the year 2000. This structure was specifically earmarked for the purpose of creating an extensive Vaishnava library and academic research center. The project was initiated relatively quickly, and with the hard work of BRC founders, Hari Sauri Dasa and Pranava Dasa, along with the help of others, including Acyuta dasa, the then head librarian, it soon morphed into a major book and manuscript preservation facility as well.

On December 31, 2008 the BRC was officially approved as an ISKCON-Mayapur-affiliated project, and the required space was allocated in the Kolkata building for library and research purposes. Further, on June 30, 2009, ISKCON spiritual masters Jayapataka Swami and Bhakti Charu Swami spearheaded a formal inauguration for the BRC – an elaborate celebration recognizing its potential and blessing its vision as integral to ISKCON’s future.

BRC Origins

The birth of the project, although not in its present incarnation, can be traced to 1972. It was then that Srila Prabhupada instructed his followers to preserve — with microfiche and other state of the art equipment — the work of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, which, at the time, could be found at the Thakur’s birthplace in Ula Birnagar, Nadia District, West Bengal. Prabhupada sent his disciple-photographer, Yadubara Prabhu, to preserve the holdings of the Birnagar library, underlining its importance in a letter to one of his leading devotees in India:


I have asked Yadubara to come there to Birnagar from Bombay for photographing all of the manuscripts in the possession of Lalita Prashad Thakura page by page very

completely before it is too late. The pages are in very decrepit condition, so best thing is to request Lalita Prashad if we may take care of them by treating them against insects and storing them in a tight, dry storage place where they may be preserved for future generations of Vaishnavas to see the actual handwriting and words of such great saintly persons. Treat this matter very seriously and thoroughly, and take all precautions to protect this wonderful boon of literatures forever. Yadubara may photograph every page, never mind Bengali or English or any other language, and later we shall see where to send the copies to different places. You also write to Yadubara at Bombay in this connection and request him to join you in Birnagar immediately. I have also written him. These items are very, very priceless and are a great treasure house of Vaishnava lore, so be very careful in the matter and take all precautions to guard them.

(letter to Acyutananda Swami, June 12 1972)

Thus, Prabhupada expressed a strong desire to preserve these and other ancient manuscripts and texts written by previous acaryas, describing these works as a “treasure house of Vaishnava lore.” In fact, he allocated a portion of funds from his book trust (the BBT) for this purpose, indicating how important it was to him — for rarely would he divert money that could go back into printing his books. In lieu of this, several scholarly disciples began to travel the subcontinent to unearth and photograph ancient manuscripts of the Vaishnava tradition.

In 1975, Prabhupada had revisited this subject with several of his early followers, particularly Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu (Dr. William Deadwyler). In that meeting, they discussed the possibility of opening a “Vedic University” in Sridhama Mayapur, which would of necessity, Prabhupada said, include a “first-class library.” In August 1976, Srila Prabhupada similarly told his Bombay Juhu managers to create a Vedic library for the temple there. He said it should contain all his own books, those of all the Acaryas, including those of other Vaishnava lineages, as well as the Upanisads, Puranas and other bona fide spiritual texts. Srila Prabhupada also mentioned an extensive library and research facility in the context his proposed Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) project, now fully underway. Clearly, the library/research center was close to his heart, and he repeatedly spoke about it when addressing the potential of his major projects. It would finally see the light of day in Kolkata.

The BRC Today

“The systematic study of Vaishnava history, philosophy and cultural heritage has been neglected in India in the past two centuries,” says Pranava dasa, “and there is a great need to revive and recover some of the great achievements of this ancient tradition.

“The study of religion in India,” he continues, “is now being introduced in colleges and universities on a greater scale than ever before, and there is now scope for emphasizing the study of Vaishnavism.” This is where the BRC comes in.


International scholars and devotees alike are eager to better understand the movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and the BRC works to provide key resources toward that end. Gaudiya Vaishnavism has a strong literary heritage in Sanskrit, but also in Bengali – especially in Bengali, since Bengal is the land of Sri Chaitanya. Placing the BRC in Kolkata was thus a strategic move to fully benefit from centuries of scholarship in the Bengal region, scholarship that has been minutely preserved in rare manuscripts and books still largely available in Eastern India and nearby provinces.

By frequenting book fairs, libraries and antiquarian collections, the library staff at the BRC has been gathering hard-to-find books and journals for posterity. A recent focus has been traditional commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita in various Indic languages, especially those written by Vaishnava lineage holders. Additionally, early translations and editions by Western scholars, such as Charles Wilkins’ first English version (The Bhagavat Geeta – Dialogues between Kreeshna and Arjoon), originally published in 1785, are preserved at the facility. The BRC is also a repository of more recent Gaudiya Vaishnava literature, such as Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita as It Is in fifty-three languages from around the world.

The BRC deems ancient manuscripts as most important, however, and their “manuscript mission” is consequently a prime objective. BRC representatives travel all over Eastern India, Vrindavan, and other areas central to Vaishnava practice to digitize and preserve rare Vaishnava manuscripts. Over 1,000 manuscripts have been digitized thus far, with over 3,000 more carefully catalogued by Bharati Roy, head of the BRC’s manuscript division. She is assisted by associate librarian Ashis Chakraborty, and together they are relentless in preserving these priceless literary gems for the BRC. They are particularly fond of ancient tomes on tree bark (balkal); pulp of cotton (tulat); betel nut (khal); and both palm and taal leaf.

For these older materials there is a step by step process for preserving them: fumigation (applicable to books and manuscripts both); a sophisticated process of cleaning, using acid free paper; wrapping them in cardboard; covering in red cloth (which keeps worms away); use of almira and napthaline and other preservation chemicals, and finally application of Peep Oil to the wooden shelf on which the manuscripts are kept.

The core holdings of the library constitute over 17,000 books and 3,000 journals thus far. As but one example: The BRC secured permanent custody through a signed agreement with the Gopinath Gaudiya Math of over 3,500 items from the private, early 20th-century library of Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda, one of the main secretaries of Prabhupāda’s guru, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura (1874–1937). Pranava dasa had located and pursued this library for several years during his doctoral research on Sarasvatī Ṭhākura – specifically to acquire it for the BRC. This collection alone includes many rare and valuable books, such as the complete, original works of Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī.

Some specific examples: Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s personal, handwritten song book, containing 26 songs and poems, including the original Gaura Arati, and complete original collections of all Gaudiya Matha periodicals, such as the daily Nadia Prakash (over 40,000 pages), the weekly Gaudiya, the Sajjana-tosani, and the Harmonist; the Last Will and Testament of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura (witnessed and signed by four disciples 16 hrs. before he left the planet) is also now owned by the BRC, as is Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s personal diary from the years 1904-1936 — the only known copy in existence.

But the Centre’s holdings go back to earlier centuries as well, often to the very beginnings of the Gauḍīya Vaishnava tradition. One special item among many: Gadādhara Paṇḍita’s Srimad Bhagavatam, allegedly containing Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s original handwritten comments in the folios. This


singular, precious item is now on display as a metal plate (using zinc as a medium for preservation), though the original is on tree bark. Unfortunately, the dedicated individual who created the zinc plate copy passed away without completing his effort, but the actual handwriting of Sri Gadadhara and Sri Chaitanya are still a treasure for the eye.

The current BRC staff, led by assistant librarian Sundar Gopal Dasa and library assistant Sushanto Chakraborty, is now engaged in the painstaking process of scanning every page of every book, document and handwritten item in its extensive library, ensuring an electronic record of everything in its care.

In the interests of digitalization and preservation, the BRC purchased a specialized library scanner (a Bookeye 4), which is designed so as not to damage sensitive, tender documents that otherwise easily fall apart.

You get a real sense of history at the BRC, ancient manuscripts, both palm leaf and printed works, and handwritten documents by stalwarts of the tradition. And due to the hard work of Sooraj Singh, the general administrative manager, the BRC premises now include seven rooms that have been renovated into comfortable guest quarters, where scholars, students and visitors can stay while researching various subjects related to Vaishnava dharma, taking advantage of the BRC’s many assets.

Conclusion

I had visited the BRC that year with my nephew, Mitch, who has no real connection to the Vaishnava tradition, other than his relation with me; he was just my co-traveler throughout the subcontinent, and that was his introduction to Bhakti. The BRC had special meaning for me as a scholar and a practitioner of the Vaishnava tradition — here I saw my tradition come to life, with visceral evidence of a living past, concrete remnants of an undeniably glorious heritage. But it also had meaning for Mitch, even though his emotional involvement was minimal. “For the first time,” he said to me, “I can see what you’re into, tangible proof, artifacts showing me that this is something real and substantial.”

He also enjoyed seeing that the BRC included two entire shelves devoted to my books. He pointed to them with deep satisfaction, smiling. He was proud of my work, and me of him, that he was finally seeing the depth of my chosen religious tradition.

The BRC’s work is now recognized throughout the subcontinent. For example, on March 15, 2017 Bhale Bharath, a non-religious socio-cultural mission based in Bangalore, conferred on the Centre the Bhale Bharath Award of Excellence. The BRC was thus honored for its outstanding contribution in the preservation and dissemination of ancient Indian cosmology, Vedic Wisdom and Vaishnavism. Sriman Gangadas Prabhu received the award on behalf of the BRC Library.

The Centre’s alliance with other academic institutions is underscored by its working in tandem with the academic community in general, and it has plans to continue along these lines. Its closest connection at this point is with its sister institute, the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapith Research Centre (BVRC) at the Govardhana Eco Village in Maharashtra, which has recently affiliated with Mumbai University. Both institutes share the same purpose and long-term vision.

Gauranga dasa, the chairman of the BVRC, is now administrative director of the BRC as well, working closely with the academic director Pranava dasa. (Co-Founder Hari Sauri Das continues to be on the Board of Directors along with Dayaram Das, local ISKCON Kolkata temple President who is actively supporting the project. Other key staff members who recently joined the team include Balarama Lila dasa, who is dean of administration, and Venu Gopaldev dasa, dean of finance.)


Another close partnership is that of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS) under the auspices of Saunaka Rsi dasa. The OCHS contributed in the initial stages of the BRC and continues to do so in the present day. In fact, an OCHS project has now been launched in which scholars will research Vaishnava periodicals at the BRC, such as the weekly Gaudiya and the daily Nadiya Prakash. A conglomerate of academics from India, Finland and the UK are currently working together on this ambitious project.

Along similar lines, Pranava dasa and the BRC’s dean of academics, Sumanta Rudra, in cooperation with more experienced researchers at Calcutta University, have begun another important project -- a Vaishnava Encyclopedia in English culled from large numbers of sources in Bengali. Additionally, in the winter of 2018, the BRC co-organized (with Calcutta University) a major conference about the context of Caitanya Vaishnavism in India. Similar projects are planned for the near future as well.

Funding, of course, is always welcome. Over the past decade, the BRC has been financially supported by many generous patrons, such as Jayapataka Swami, Bhakti Charu Swami, Smita Krishna Swami, Niranjana Swami, Devamrita Swami, Gopal Bhatta Prabhu, Ambarisa Prabhu, Nareshwar Prabhu, and many others, including institutions such as the Mayapur Vrindavan Trust (MVT), the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) and, most recently, the well known devotee-philanthropist, Hrishikesh Mafatlal (Krishnachandra Prabhu, Chowpatty). There are many opportunities for patrons who have a deep feeling for Vaishnava philosophy and history to serve Srila Prabhupada’s academic research centre both with their hearts and their financial contribution.

Clearly, BRC is a project whose time has come.--

*Adapted from Satyarāja Dāsa, “The Bhaktivedanta Research Centre: Preserving GauṬīya Vaishnavism’s Literary Tradition,” Back to Godhead, September/October 2019, pp. 32-38.—

Sidebar: Aims and Objectives of the BRC:

• To perform extensive research on the history of Vaishnavism and in Sanskrit and Bengali literature of key texts of Vaishnavism, such as Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhakti Rasamrita Sindu, etc., and to distribute this research throughout educational institutions all over the world;

• To develop a comprehensive library of books on Indian astronomy from the classical to the modern period. The purpose is to explore the development of Indian astronomy and the perspective of Vedic, Puranic, and Siddhantic cosmology, particularly of the Srimad Bhagavatam, based on original sources in various Indian languages.

• To develop a Bhagavad Gita library, consisting of translations and commentaries by Vaishnava acaryas from all over India and the world, both in English, Sanskrit and vernacular languages such as Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, and Gujarati. The collection will also include all translations of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is in all available languages of the world.

• To collect, preserve and disseminate the literature of Gaudiya Vaishnavism from the period of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to the present through a manuscript mission. This effort includes location of old manuscripts in libraries, homes and mathas of Bengal, Bangladesh, Orissa, and other centers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism such as Vrindavana, Jaipur etc.

• To collect, preserve and disseminate literature from various Vaishnava traditions such as the Ramanuja, Madhva and other sampradayas.


• To facilitate research according to the following purposes:o To encourage and carry out research, study, and translation on the above texts, and to

publish literature of high academic and devotional standard, both physically and by electronic means.

o To encourage open access to these sources by digital media.

o To create good facilities for scholars, researchers, and its members to stay at the Centre and study at the library.

o To hold seminars, courses and lectures by whatever means available on the content of the library, thus publicizing the value of the knowledge collected.

The BRC’s “Aims and Objectives” is inspired by the aims of the Vishva Vaishnava Raja Sabha, originally conceived by Srila Jiva Goswami and carried on by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and later revived and incorporated into the structure of the Gaudiya Matha by its Founder-acarya, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Author Bio:

Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa) is a disciple of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, as well as a biographer, scholar and author in the fields of philosophy, Indic religion, and comparative spirituality. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies and associate editor of Back to Godhead magazine. His thirty-plus books include Essential Hinduism (Rowman & Littlefield); Yoga of Kirtan: Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting (FOLK Books); Krishna’s Other Song: A New Look at the Uddhava Gita (Praeger-Greenwood); and Sri Chaitanya’s Life and Teachings: The Golden Avatara of Divine Love(Lexington Books).


Indian philosophy of education: From the ancient Gurukula And Buddhist

sangha to Neo-vedanta

Dr. Albert Ferrer

Introduction. Indian educational philosophy through history.

It is well known that an integral philosophy of education was already developed in India by the Gurukulas—communities of masters and

pupils—of the Vedas, the most ancient holy books, which constituted originally an oral tradition from teacher to student. The Vedic tradition was

continued by the enlightening contribution of the Upanishads and Vedanta. As the renowned scholar R. Panikkar stressed, the whole Vedic culture continuously emphasized that philosophy must be based on experience; not the empirical experience of the senses but the inner mystical experience or the third eye of knowledge. The Vedic sage did not play with ideas or words like so many Western thinkers or scholars; his knowledge was not merely intellectual or bookish –as in modern mainstream schooling-. The Vedic sage investigated something that became of the greatest interest for quantum physicists such as M. Planck or R. Goswami: he explored and described fields of energy and consciousness, and hence layers of reality beyond the empirical spectrum of the senses. That is why so many quantum physicists have been fascinated by the Vedas of India. This philosophical experience of Ancient India has nothing to do with the merely intellectual bookish “philosophy” of modern Europe; Greece, and in particular Greek philosophy from Orphism to Neoplatonism, was closer to Vedic India than to modern Europe.

In this Vedic context, education could not be the merely intellectual bookish training of modern mainstream schooling; Vedic education was essentially—to put it in modern terms—experiential towards self-learning; it was also child-centred. Quite obviously, it would have been highly appreciated by the modern precursors of integral or progressive education, such as Rousseau, Steiner, Montessori or Dewey, who unfortunately did not know anything about it or very little. According to Vimala Thakar, reputed translator of the ancient scriptures and herself a genuine seeker, the time of the Vedas was a time of geniuses, lovers of nature, lovers of life, lovers of all things and all that exists, from the cosmos entire to the smallest reality vibrating in the depth of every atom. The Vedic sages were true seekers and seers, who tried to apprehend the manifest and the non-manifest, and who understood –thousands of years before quantum physics and relational theory- that the key lies in the relation and in interdependence.

After the Vedas, the Upanishads underline the unity of Man and Cosmos, and constitute a profound and sincere research into the nature of Reality. Quite often, this research is unveiled through the beautiful dialogue between master and pupil, imbibed with mutual love and respect, and total freedom of inquiry. Ultimately, Upanishadic education is the search for the meaning of Life, and the realization of it in each one of us. In this genuine pedagogy, self-experience could never be replaced by any teaching coming from outside. The Upanishadic/ Vedantic Gurukula constitutes one of the summits of human culture and one of the peaks of education in human history. In the words of J.


Mascaro, the Upanishads are the Himalaya of the human soul. The Catalan scholar from Majorca was always amazed by the grandeur of the questions and the simplicity of the answers. The Upanishads are basically dialogues between master and disciple –like Plato’s Dialogues-; this dialogical character already points at the very nature of the cosmos –which seems to be basically relational-, as quantum physics and relational theory have comprehended in the 20th century. Through these fascinating and beautiful dialogues, through this genuine Socratic pedagogy, the Upanishads unveil the most important things of life: the depth of our consciousness and the breath of our life, through a passionate exploration of reality and ourselves, finding the Light of the Pure Consciousness inside. According to Mascaro, the Upanishads sing the glory of light and love, and beyond the darkness of sorrow and death, they proclaim the victory of life, the plenitude of life and our participation in this plenitude. For the philosopher and sage of Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo, the Upanishads are the unifying spirit blending science, spirituality, philosophy and poetry. The Upanishadic philosophy is not a mere intellectual speculation, but all the depth and breath of the living word and the living truth, grasped by the inner sight in the joy of the pure word. The Upanishads do not repeat what others say.

Vimala Thakar captured with touching words all the depth of the Vedic and Upanishadic Gurukula. In her “Glimpses of Ishavasya”, she proclaims that the era of Vedas and Upanishads was an era of total and unconditional freedom of thought; Westerners who reduce the striving for freedom of thought to Western history should take it into account. In simple and poetic terms, she explains that Vedas and Upanishads was the era of the living word: the profound communion between master and pupil. This pure kind of relationship was not institutionalized; it was not organized. Contrary to what many Westerners wrongly assume about India and other ancient traditions, there was no authority from the side of the master, but an unconditional love at the service of the education of the pupil. In Vimala Thakar’s own words, Vedas and Upanishads was the era of absolute freedom between master and pupil, with such a cordiality and warmth, respect, affection and love between them. Few times in history has education reached such a height and purity, and has cast such a pristine light over this world. Unfortunately, Western culture still ignores these treasures from the Ancient civilization of India. But even more deplorable, contemporary India also ignores to a great extent its own treasures from its deepest tradition.

The Vedic/ Upanishadic heritage would be refined by the major school of mystical philosophy of India, Vedanta. Nevertheless, the same kind of Gurukula-based education and the same spirit of philosophical inquiry through Sadhana –inner work- were cultivated by other traditions and schools, like Samkhya, Tantras, and the different sects within Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism. Unfortunately, this profound Indian heritage is still largely ignored in the West, and virtually forgotten in India today. Still, several spiritual and educational organizations are striving through their daily work to revive it. The Indian Renaissance already started with Swaminarayan and Sri Ramakrishna; it was further expanded by Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, etc, and has been enhanced in the last years by the vast mission of Sri Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada and Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Both in South and North Asia, through the Theravada or Mahayana schools, the Buddhist community –Sangha- would also evolve profound and beautiful expressions of this kind of holistic education on spiritual grounds. Among the Buddhist universities, Nalanda stands as the brightest gem. This kind of Buddhist university—like the Hindu—would be in modern terms both higher secondary school and college. Above all, it developed an integral and interdisciplinary curriculum and a spirit of inquiry and freedom of thought that could inspire many in Asian countries like India today in order to transform the present scenario dominated by rote memorizing and robotic education.


The Vedic pedagogy was supported by the double method of “upadesha” and “svadhyaya”:

• the first meaning the instruction given by the teacher;• and the second the personal study undergone by the student.

The Vedic syllabus was truly integral, incorporating the learning of the hymns and rituals, the correct pronunciation of the Sanskrit “mantras”, grammar in a broader sense, etymology, logic, astronomy and cosmology. There was a scientific and mathematical content in the Vedic syllabus—obviously not in the mechanistic frame of mind of the modern age, but rather inseparable from the spiritual quest, a unity of science and spirituality that we also find in Pythagoras and Plato in Ancient Greece. This profound kind of education was provided through three successive steps:

• “Akshara-prapti” or “shravana”, listening to the master and learning the hymns by heart.

• “Artha-bodha”/ “arthavada” or “manana”, when the master explained to the disciple the meaning of the hymns in depth, in metaphysical terms. This means that Vedic education had nothing to do with the robotic system predominating today in India, where there is only rote memorizing without even understanding. Vedic education was truly conceptual and also integral. Indian education was also Socratic, which means that the dialogue was essential to the educational process.

• “Nididhyasana”/ “Dhyana” –meditation and “tapas” –wrongly translated as penance, when it would be closer to our notion of contemplation. In the third stage, the student shifts from intellectual understanding to the inner experience; the Vedic teaching is a living experience from inside. That is why Prof. R. Panikkar insisted on the notion of the Vedic Experience. With the third stage, Vedic education reaches its depth and truly integral nature. It is not a mere intellectual training, even less rote memorizing for future priests. Rather, it brings the student towards an ontological transformation, the unfolding of the metaphysical truth from inside.

The Ancient Gurukula of India

As we have seen above, the Gurukula is the community of the master and his disciples. This educational institution of Ancient India, through which the highest culture of the subcontinent has been formed, presents a set of characteristics.

• The master had a small number of disciples around him, around a dozen to a maximum of twenty.

• The boys would be above the age of reason (8/11) till adulthood (21).

• The Gurukula was residential, hence master and disciples were living together.

• The relationship between master and disciples was imbued with pure love, respect and communion.

• The master was a guru, guide and friend, father and mother—the ideal teacher according to modern educationists such as Steiner, Montessori or Dewey.

• He was naturally and sincerely respected and venerated by the students.

• The boys saw each other as brothers in a spirit of community life.

• The master deeply respected the freedom of thought of his pupils;


• Which means that the main pedagogic methods were the Socratic dialogue and free self-inquiry towards self-realization.

• The teaching was basically oral.

• The master combined collective classes and personalized tuitions, though the pedagogy was basically individualized and child-centred.

• Elder students were taking care of the younger at the same time. (This pedagogic practice was discovered by the British in India and then incorporated into the British Public School system, although the original spirit was deeply altered.)

• The educational process usually evolved in natural surroundings, arising a sense of beauty and communion with Nature and the Cosmos.

• The whole life of the Gurukula was imbued with a certain ethos or atmosphere, which was value-based and essentially spiritual.

• The syllabus was truly integral—in the context of that epoch—although its foundation was inherently spiritual and mystical, that is, realizing by oneself the highest truth.

• Together with the proper educational process, the boys were also invited to perform some manual work and have some responsibility in the community life.

• The educational process was inseparable from an initiation, Upanayana.

• In a few words, the Gurukula combined a simple life with the highest or deepest thinking.

• However, the profound integral nature of this kind of education was not satisfied with the second eye of knowledge, the intellect, but linked it to a deeper more experiential form of inner realization.

• Therefore, the education of the Gurukula was essentially transformative rather than informative.

• The Indian Gurukula complied with the most salient features of Platonic philosophy: beauty and love, together with the highest truth and a higher good, all that the history of conflict and violence upon Earth has devastated, all that modernity has buried in the name of “progress” to exalt a purely technocratic civilization.

Buddhist universities. The example of Nalanda.

• The most important facet of this famous Buddhist university would be its pedagogic spirit, totally akin to modern holistic education—and today, a source of inspiration in India itself in order to transform the predominant robotic system towards conceptual and integral education. For the vast majority of children, the present educational system of India consists of blind rote memorizing without proper understanding. This mass of undigested and excessive information is just poured down into mechanical tests that do not leave any space for real education. Both teachers and students only have time to prepare the tests, and both the educational institutes and the parents only take into account the number of marks, even if the student does not remember anything after coming out of the exam hall. The example of the Buddhist university of Nalanda, which was a product of the Indian genius, can help many people in India today realize the aberration of the present robotic system and radically change it for better.


The example of Nalanda can also remind many Westerners that other civilizations such as India have made highly valuable contributions to the history of education. Nalanda can still echo with all the fundamental principles of humanistic and integral education. It stands as a brilliant achievement showing how the deepest philosophy of education can become a living reality in this world.

• The major teaching method was oral, like in the Hindu/ Brahmanic Gurukula, although Nalanda had one of the best libraries of India at that time. The educational practice certainly incorporated the memorization of scriptures, but this was totally different from the present robotic system, since Buddhist universities like Gurukulas encouraged conceptual understanding, discussion and freedom of thought.

• Needless to say, this Buddhist university included the practice of meditation and inner work; the student was brought from the second to the third eye of knowledge, from understanding to experience, from the outer to the inner world, from the surface to deeper layers of consciousness and reality. It is well-known that the Buddhist tradition offers a very rich spectrum of meditative techniques and instruments of inner work.

• In Nalanda and other Buddhist universities, the educational process was two-fold, comprising both lectures and tuitions/ tutorials, which means that individualized attention was given to students through some kind of child-centred pedagogy. In fact, the core of Nalanda’s pedagogy was not the lecture in the auditorium but the personalized human relationship between master and disciple in the line of the Vedantic Gurukula.

• For all these reasons, Nalanda became a major open forum of India, a genuine “vivarium” in a spirit of dialogue, freedom of thought and unity through diversity. Few times in history the world has had such a cultural and educational jewel, still a lighthouse for the present educational scenario, darkened by the robotic system, over-discipline and competition in India and Asia, and by an academic/ rationalistic reductionism in the West that overlooks other dimensions of humanity and reality.

Author Bio

Prof. Dr. Albert Ferrer (Ph.D.) was educated at the French School of Barcelona and later in some of the oldest universities of Europe: Barcelona, Paris-Sorbonne and Cambridge. After this European education, he visited schools of integral education of India, and pursued post-doctoral research in Vedantic ashrams of India and in Buddhist monasteries of Myanmar under the guidance of Prof. Raimon Panikkar.

After being a Lecturer at the University of Barcelona, Asia House (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/ Government of Spain) and several Departments of the Government of Catalonia (Religious Affairs, etc), he became Visiting Professor in Sri Sathya Sai University (South India), where he elaborated a project for integral value-based education from an international perspective, blending the best from the West and the East towards the unity of mankind and a paradigm shift. In his home town, he has been appointed as Consultant for Education to the Government of Catalonia.


BHAKTIVEDANTA COLLEGE BUDAPEST:YOGA AND WISDOM AT A HIGHER LEVEL

By Maharani Devi Dasi

Bhaktivedanta College Budapest is a unique, independent, state-accredited and partially

state-financed institution of higher education in Vaishnava theology and yoga in Europe.

The curriculum serves a double purpose: on the one hand, it ensures the academic training of theologians for the founding organization, the Hungarian Society for Krishna Consciousness (HSKCON). On the other hand, it gives an opportunity for learning in depth about the history and contemporary application of Vedic culture and yoga for all those interested, regardless of their denominational background.

The Mission Statement of the College

The purpose of Bhaktivedanta College is to instil in its students faith in pure devotional service and Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is achieved by directly teaching the limbs of pure devotional service, and by also teaching knowledge, though not directly related to pure bhakti, like Vedic or contemporary sciences and arts, in a way that ultimately concludes in pure devotion.

Brief history of the College

September 1998: Establishment of Bhaktivedanta College, the institute of higher education of ISKCON.

September 2001: State accreditation of the College officially commences.August 2004: The process of the state accreditation is sealed by a law passed by the Hungarian

Parliament.June 2005: The first six diplomas in Vaishnava Theology are awarded at the College.September 2008: The College joins the Common European Space in Higher Education by

implementing a Bologna Process Curriculum, and offers a three-year BA in Vaishnava Theology.September 2009: Yoga Master BA starts, which is the first accredited degree in Yoga studies in

Europe.

REPORTS


September 2009: Vaishnava theology BA starts in Helsinki. (It closed in 2014.)February 2011: The College moves to a new building of its own in the neighborhood of the

Budapest ISKCON Temple.September 2014: The College starts a two-year MA in Vaishnava Theology.

At the current moment, there are 251 registered students (206 active and 45 passive), 24% in Theology and 76% in Yoga.

Most of the students are not ISKCON members, especially in the Yoga BA, but during their studies most of them become devotees or genuinely sympathetic to ISKCON. We surveyed our active students to measure their attitude towards Krishna-consciousness. 33% of them were Krishna-conscious devotees on some level when they started their studies. 35% of them were not devotees at all when they started, but now they consider themselves to be devotees on some level. And 32% of them began as non-devotees and remain so.

The College has 16 full-time teachers. All full-time teachers are required to have a PhD degree. At the moment, 8 full- time teachers already have PhD degree, another 2 are pursuing their PhD studies and 3 are writing their dissertations.

Curriculums

Common subjects (Vaishnava Theology BA and Yoga Master BA)

Basics of Religious Studies and Methodology

• Itihasas: Ramayana, Mahabharata• Bhagavad-gita• Isopanisad• Nectar of Devotion• Manu-samhita• History of India, Hinduism, and Vaishnavism• The philosophical basics of Vaishnavism• Varnasrama-dharma• Cosmology• Rhetoric• Library and internet usage skills• Methods of academic research and writing

Basic SanskritVaishnava dogmatics: Nama-tattva, Bhagavat-tattva, Dhama-tattva, Guru-tattvaVedic culture: Ayurveda, Music, Vedic Astrology, Art, Psychology, CookingStudies of world religions

Vaishnava Theology BA only

History of modern VaishnavismVaishnava literatureMadhurya-kadambiniSrimad-Bhagavatam Cantos 1-3.


AcaryasApasamapradayasArcanaAdvanced Nama-tattvaAdvanced Sanskrit

Yoga Master BA only

Yoga-sutraIntroduction to Anatomy, Physiology and HygienicsYoga practices: Asanas and PranayamasCakra-, Japa-, Mantra- and Bhajana-meditationsRelaxationsPsychology

Vaishnava Theology MA

Srimad-Bhagavatam Cantos 4-12.Brihad-BhagavatamrtaNectar of DevotionAdvanced sanskritMethods of academic research and writing

The College established the Bhaktivedanta Library in 1999 with the aim of making it a specialized library of printed and digitized publications on Vaishnavism, Hinduism, and Indian and South Asian cultures. It has about 18,000 documents at present, and its stock is steadily growing, thanks to private donations and the regular help of the Indian Embassy. The College has a unique Indological Library Collection from Ildikó Puskás who was one of the most famous Hungarian Indologists. The collection consists of about 3,600 titles.

Future Plans

The college must be accredited again in 2020.An English language curriculum of Yoga BA will commence in 2021.State accreditation of Yoga Master MA major in 2021.All full-time teachers have to get a PhD degree.

More information can be found at https://www.bhf.hu/en/home.

Author Bio

Maharani Devi Dasi (Dr. Banyár Magdolna), a disciple of Sivarama Swami Maharaja, graduated in economics and sociology. She earned her PhD degree in social history from the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. She is the rector and professor at Bhaktivedanta College Budapest.


Report on Vedabase.io

by Prahlada-Nrsimha dasa

Hare Krishna, esteemed Reader,

The online Vedabase project (https://vedabase.io/en/) was launched on Vyasa-purnima 2011.

At the time of launch, there were only English and Spanish books available on the website. Gradually, the library grew and now we have books in 20

languages. (There were 6 more, but unfortunately we had to remove them due to desire of the Indian BBT to not include any Indian national languages on the website).

The website has become a place to go when you want to research Srila Prabhupada’s books. Over 140,000 people read Srila Prabhupada’s books there every month. And if we put together all the time that visitors spent on the site in the last 12 months, it would be as if one person read Srila Prabhupada’s books 24 hours a day for more than 880 years.

So far we have had two major versions of the website. The most significant difference between them is that in the first version, the smallest unit was on the level of verses, whereas in the second version (the current version), we have each paragraph as a separate unit. This allows us to have some nice features like:

• Dual language view, where users can see content in two different languages side by side. The same paragraphs always start on the same line, regardless of the length of the paragraphs in each of the languages. It is very useful for people who want to learn new languages using Srila Prabhupada’s books.

• Possibility to link to an exact paragraph

• Multilingual topical categorization: In my opinion this feature will be a game changer in studying and researching Srila Prabhupada’s books.

The current version also has quite a powerful search capacity (https://vedabase.io/en/search/), there is more content like letters and conversations (together with audio recordings), and user accounts have been added.


Plans for the future

• Add more content, and add all first editions of Srila Prabhupada’s books

• Version 3 of the website is currently in progress, which will offer an even better user experience and features that will help you research books more efficiently.

• Launch categorization

• and more...

Looking for help

The technical side of the categorization feature is ready, but we need help to create a good tree of the topics/categories. Once we have a usable topics tree we can enable categorization and every user of the website will be able to propose categorization on the paragraph level. All categorization will be moderated to assure good quality and will be automatically applied through all languages and be searchable.

If you have any capacity and inspiration to help with this (or with anything else) please write to me at [email protected] and we can try to please Srila Prabhupada and the Vaisnavas together.

Your servant. Prahlad Nrsimha das (HpS)Online Vedabase – https://vedabase.io


Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care: Chaplaincy in Theory and Practice. Edited by Vineet Chander and Lucinda Mosher. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019.

“Showing how spiritual care is practiced in a variety of different contexts such as higher education, healthcare, and prisons, as well as settings that may not have formal chaplaincy arrangements, this groundbreaking book offers an original and unique resource for Hindu chaplains to understand and practice spiritual care in a way that is authentic to their own tradition and that meets the needs of Hindus. It offers a Hindu perspective for all chaplains to inform their spiritual caregiving.

The book explores the theological and metaphysical roots of Hindu chaplaincy and puts forward the case for Hindu chaplaincy as a valuable spiritual practice. It covers the issues that arise in specific locations, such as college, healthcare, prison, military and the corporate sector.

Chapters also examine Hindu pastoral care offered in other, ‘non-chaplaincy’ settings, such as LGBT centres, social justice work and environmental activism.

Made up of some 30 essays by chaplains, scholars and other important voices in the field, Hindu Approaches to Spiritual Care provides spiritual caregivers with a comprehensive theoretical and practical approach to the relationship of Hinduism and chaplaincy.” https://www.hinduspiritualcare.com/. . .Much of the book is relevant to Vaishnava caregivers, and several chapters offer Vaishnava perspectives on care and chaplaincy, including:

• “A Theology of Spiritual Care from a Bhakti Tradition,” by Shaunaka Rishi Dasa• “Does God Really Care? A Hindu Response to the Problem of Suffering,” by Gopal K. Gupta• “Hinduism and Coaching in the Corporate Realm,” by Rasanath Das• “Hindu Approaches to Climate Trauma,” by Gopal D. Patel

Selected Bibliography

Recent books on Caitanya Vaisnava Themes Released by Academic Publishers

Book Announcement

Clooney, Francis X. Learning Interreligiously: In the Text, in the

World. Fortress Press, 2018.


Gupta, Gopal K. Maya in the Bhagavata Purana: Human Suffering and Divine Play. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Haberman, David L. Loving Stones: Making the Impossible Possible in the Worship of Mount Govardhan. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Hawley, John Stratton. Krishna’s Playground: Vrindavan in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Jacobsen, Knut A. and Ferdinando Sardella, eds. Handbook of Hinduism in Europe. 2 vols. Brill, 2020.

Sardella, Ferdinando and Lucian Wong, eds. The Legacy of Vaisnavism in Colonial Bengal. Routledge, 2019.


NEXT ISSUE

The next issue of Viplavah will be published mid-December. Of course, this is a very special Sankirtan season in ISKCON. A time when there is much focus on book dis-

tribution, so we will focus on that.

However, there are unlimited way so distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books during this time. Traditionally it started with taking advantage of the Christmas spirit through-out the world, but now there are opportunities from the spirit of Gita-jayanti, interfaith dialog because of the similtaneous Christians, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu festivals at this time.

So, inspire us in book distribution according to time, place and circumstance, and outside of these also.

Write to the Journal address at the beginning of this issue, or personally contatact:

Hanumatpresaka Swami, General Editor ([email protected]).Aja-govinda Das, Managing Editor ([email protected]).

Thank you.

Chant

and be happy

mission statement2 mission statement vision statement to provide krishna conscious education of high...

Documents