The Meeting of Opposites?. Andrew Wingate
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Roman Catholic school premises, next to a Roman Catholic secondary school. It has a chapel room there, and this is being kept by the Hindu school undisturbed, as a place that Christians can use, from within the school or the community. The Bishop of Leicester has given support from the beginning, and the Archdeacon of Leicester was a trustee. It has been developed quite transparently, with cooperation from the city council and careful nurture of other faith leaders through the Faith Leaders Forum, talks and visits (see Chapter 7, on Leicester, for latest developments).
ISKCON’s record in interfaith dialogue, especially with Christians, has been long and fruitful. Its members are significant participants in councils of faiths throughout the country, and not just nominally. An example is in Hertsmere, the area around Bhaktivedanta Manor. The clergy chair of the Council spoke to me very highly of their participation. They put on a drama in Inter Faith Week, and visited schools then. They took part, along with Christians and Jews, in Mitzvah Day, and in joint service, seva. This has been about clearing up scrubland and cleaning areas of litter. They have taken part in the Armed Forces Day, when a flag is raised. They participate in the annual town festival in Borehamwood, taking a lead which used to include their bringing bullocks. At the same time, from the Christian side, the parish has given support to the Manor when there have been difficult incidents. An example is the famous cow incident, when the RSPCA wanted to take a sickly cow away to be slaughtered. The Christians joined in, writing to the minister Hilary Benn, and a new pregnant cow was presented instead. A recent problem relates to their erecting a large marquee for weddings, and the Letchmore Heath Council making objection and winning both initially and on appeal. The church gave support, as in the famous dispute about the construction of a new road to the Manor, a battle that ISKCON did win. It is these kinds of engagements that matter locally.
They have also played a significant role in the development of the Hindu–Christian Forum UK, which has been struggling to find its way since 2004.6 Most notable has been the participation of two individuals, Bimal Krishna Das, until he transferred to India, and Gauri Das in more recent years. They have been notable for the wish to reflect theologically and spiritually, and that this should be at the heart of the dialogue.
At this theological level, there has been much engagement at a semi-academic level, much of it recorded in the movement’s journal, ISKCON Communications Journal.7 Notable was the position booklet, reproduced there, a group production led by Shaunaka Rishi Das, entitled ISKCON and Inter Faith: ISKCON in Relation to People of God (2004). It was authorized by ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission and so has a high status. Significant scholars of other faiths were involved in its production. It is a remarkable booklet, unprecedented in any other faith, except Christianity, and even there it is difficult to find something so succinct. The document is just 13 pages long. It has a two-page opening statement, and then sections dedicated to mission, to dialogue and to theology. It ends with guidelines for approaching ‘people of faith in God’. There are then responses from around ten key voices from those in official positions across churches and the Jewish community.
There is no space to comment on the whole document here. Throughout, the emphasis is on the supreme personal God, and that no individual or organization has a monopoly on the Lord. By opening ourselves to dialogue with the other, we open ourselves more to that one God. Journeying with those who do not share this monotheist faith is also enjoined, as we work together for humanitarian, ethical and moral standards in society. Mutual respect is at the heart of the document. Affirmed too is the missionary nature of this kind of Hinduism – it will welcome converts with open arms, but does not have an exclusivist ideology. ‘We work not at conversion but at spiritual development.’ Theistic people are to encourage each other to be more true to their own spiritual practice, and to care for their neighbours.
The document begins with a most helpful statement defining ISKCON, which I reproduce in full:
ISKCON belongs to the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, a monotheistic tradition within Vedic or Hindu culture. Hindu culture is vast, and the term ‘Hinduism’ encompasses numerous theologies, philosophies, religious traditions and spiritual cultures. Thus, dialogue with Hindu traditions is often difficult. There are no official representatives of Hinduism, as the term Hinduism does not imply a single spiritual tradition. This statement is therefore representative of Hindu culture and religion as it is manifest in ISKCON, a Vedantic, monotheistic Vaisnava tradition.
I refer to two articles in the ISKCON journal, one by a Christian and one by an ex-Christian, now ISKCON devotee. The first is by Kenneth Cracknell (June 2000), entitled ‘ISKCON and Inter Faith Dialogue’. He points to the domination of dialogue with Advaita Vedanta, the monistic school of Sankara, reckoned to be, especially by Roman Catholic scholars and monks, ‘the essence or highest development of Hinduism’.8 This is something I would echo, as I think most teaching about Hinduism centres on this philosophy, as though it is the only one, when most encounters with Hinduism are at the bhakti level. Abhishiktananda and Bede Griffiths are seen as indicating that such bhakti movements prepare the way for higher forms. Protestants have indicated their horror of the ‘incurably idolatrous and sensuous’ Krishna worship, lacking a content of revelation. Yet others went in a different direction, such as Otto, who sees a real and saving God and his grace experienced in Bhakti Hinduism, and Stanley Jones, the great American missionary, who practised both ‘bhajana’ and ‘kirtana’, and felt God is very near, and Bishop Appaswamy, in the 1920s, writing of Bhaktars, who speak of God, adore his goodness, worship him with bowed heads and clasped hands as seeking in all possible ways to establish a relation with him which will grow into mystical Union. Cracknell rejoices in relating to ISKCON after unfruitful Hindu–Christian relations for so long.9 He feels deeply the willingness of the other party to join in, and their expertise in their own faith. Michael Barnes said that he felt, in dialogue with ISKCON, a rare experience of head and heart being united. We learn about the other, but also with the other, as friendly trust develops. When dealing with others who are dedicated to worship and spirituality, dialogue takes place for the sake of the wider world and deep friendships develop. These include the hardest theological questions, and he lists 16 such questions in the eschatological area coming out of a weekend in Wales: death, resurrection, reincarnation, suffering, the nature of time, pastoral approaches on the approach of death.
The second article is by Ranchor Dasa, and is entitled, ‘Looking for the Dearest Friend’ (1994). He is a former Roman Catholic, and he describes his conversion as building on the faith he already had as a Catholic: ‘A Christian church to me is still a holy place where I intuitively feel at home.’ A converting experience for him was to begin chanting, as he had seen on TV. He felt a personal relationship with God for the first time, as he chanted for two hours, using the names of Krishna, Rama and Hare (Hare represents the mercy of God, personified as Radha, the embodiment of pure love and mercy). He became a missionary, following his guru, a missionary to the Western world to teach Krishna consciousness. He was told by Prabhupada, ‘Somehow or other, preach.’ He teaches that God is our dearest Friend. We should preach about love, and not fear. When his father discovered he was about to move to a Krishna temple, he sent him to Worth Abbey, and his friends held a vigil to win him back to Christ. But the wise abbot at Worth said, ‘If I were your age, I would do exactly as you’, when he explained his story. ‘May God bless you’, he added, and Ranchor Dasa ends his article, ‘I began my life as a devotee of Krishna with his blessings, and I felt in my heart, the blessings of Jesus Christ.’
I now give the substance of three interviews with devotees whom I felt very privileged to have talked to, and received their trust.
Like many in the movement, my first respondent, Ferdinando, was a Roman Catholic. Italian, he was a faithful mass attender in Italy and a kind of bhakti devotee of Mother Mary, and was very close to his Catholic family. He was active in the boy scouts, and got on well with both priests and nuns. There was no negative push factor. He also felt close to Jesus, but had little understanding of the nature and character of God. He discovered in the Vaishnavite tradition the experience of joy in worship, and of the love of God. What he found new was warmth and joy, and this was the pull factor