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ОглавлениеThree bhakti movements in the UK, and Christianity: 1. ISKCON1 (Hare Krishna movement)
We now turn to our main theme of Hindus and Christians in the West. There follow three chapters based upon the Teape lectures that I gave in Calcutta, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore in November 2011.2 The general theme of these lectures was Christian engagement with bhakti movements. This was mainly in the UK, but there will be clear links to what I write later about the USA. This applies to all three themes – ISKCON, South Indian bhakti, and South Asian conversions, including Jesu Bhakters. Readers in the USA are therefore encouraged to read these chapters.
For most Westerners, their image of Hinduism can be stereotyped around yoga, idol worship, festivals, caste and India – some key concepts. Like most generalizations, these associations are both true and not true. Actual contact with Hinduism may have begun with a journey to India, as a student backpacker or a searcher for spirituality, or on a luxury package tour of discovering the exotic. For those who have never made such a visit, their contact in the West may first have been to witness the chanting and preaching of a Hare Krishna group in a high street of their local city. The distinctive saffron clothes and the musical instruments mark them out. The devotion to Krishna is easy to pick out within their much-repeated and rhythmic mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. If onlookers have shown much interest and lingered, they may well have been given a copy of the Bhagavadgita, and perhaps they have glanced into this scripture, as they may have looked at the Bible on their shelves at home from time to time. They may have noticed that the devotees are a mixture of Western and Indian, and there will probably be some curiosity about why their fellow Europeans or Americans have got caught up in this. Have they been brainwashed? Are they free to come and go? Is this movement a cult? Is it to be feared, to be welcomed, or to be ignored?
There may be some other half-remembered connections in the mind of the onlooker – the involvement of George Harrison and other Beatles for a time; the song of Boy George, ‘Karma Chameleon’; stories from the USA about residential schools and cases of abuse, something also perhaps about cow worship being taken to excess, where cows can appear to become more important than people.
Overall, there may well be some admiration for the apparent commitment and evangelistic enthusiasm of these groups, a feeling that they are probably harmless, and genuine in their spiritual search. It is not difficult to see this as a bhakti movement, if we know the word – a charismatic, spirit-filled devotional movement. Let us then search further, into the history of the movement, its origins in India, its development in the West, its theology and praxis, and whether there has been or could be engagement with Christians in a positive direction. Could this movement be a way into understanding what is the third religion of the world, after Christianity and Islam? For whatever else it is, this movement comes deeply from within Hinduism, and remains so. It is not like, for example, the Brahma Kumaris, also attractive to Westerners, but assertively not Hindu, though from India. Nor Jainism or Sikhism or Buddhism, all stemming from a Hindu background, but again clearly other faiths, sometimes called Indic faiths. We should also clarify at the beginning that Hare Krishna is a popular name, derived from the beginning of their distinctive mantra, while the official name is ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Hare Krishna movement. Put simply, this is a Krishna-orientated bhakti movement.
As we may know, Hinduism as a concept, as a religion, was only named in the colonial period. But its traditions go back thousands of years, often estimated at 5,000 years. ISKCON’s origin is much clearer. It began in Bengal, where its centre remains, though Vrindavan, the birthplace of Krishna, has become equally important, and Puri in Orissa. It centres on Gaudiya Maths – ashrams, spiritual, missionary and educational in intent. And its founder was named Chaitanya. He was a highly charismatic devotee of Krishna, with what has been called a ‘theistic intimacy’ with God as the beloved. He is from the Vaishnavite tradition, a tradition where the Supreme has personal attributes, expressed in the avatars of that tradition, who include Krishna, always associated with his consort Radha, his Shakti, who is worshipped passionately and lovingly by devotees. He is seen as a divine child, divine lover, a charioteer who helps those in need who turn to him. He is both cowherd and divine lover. The Gita centres on him. The greatest intimacy with Krishna is called rasa lila, the dance of divine love, and the flute symbolizes God’s beauty. It calls the worshipper back to Krishna, who is the God of Love, who meets the eternal longing within the human heart. We can compare here the place of the reed, the Sufi flute, as found in Rumi’s poems. Here Krishna is both one of the incarnations of Vishnu, and also the intimate supreme deity, beyond Vishnu.
Chaitanya lived from 1486 to 1543. He personified the above bhakti so strongly, moved so closely with God, that he became seen as God in his lifetime, not just after his death. He began to chant the mantra, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, which means ‘O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in your ceaseless service.’ A Christian theologian, John Moffitt, has written, ‘If I were asked to choose one man in Indian religious history who best represents the spirit of devotional self-giving, I would choose . . . Chaitanya.’3 He attracted a strong personal following, and this became a movement, as he went round the above places preaching and teaching, and above all chanting and dancing. The movement was open to all, across castes, including women. It was known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya’s guidance for chanting was: ‘Be as humble as a blade of grass, and tolerant as a tree; demand no respect from others, and give respect to all.’ At first it was free and unorganized. As time went by, as usual in India, Brahminic hierarchical tendencies came in. But the founder, and his writings, remained the inspiration in the following centuries.
The movement came to the West from 1965, when it came to the USA through the missionary leadership and spiritual guidance of the founder of ISKCON, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He came for the first time to London in 1969. Interviewed on TV then, he said, ‘My mission is to teach how to love God. People have forgotten God, and I am come to remind them.’ And ‘I am speaking of the same God as the Christian God. There is one God whom we all worship, Christians and Hindus alike, and he has many names. One of his names is Krishna.’ ‘I have come to teach anyone how to see God. It is possible to talk with God. Just as we are talking to each other now, you can talk with God.’ He went on to initiate, called ‘taking diksha’, 300 men and women in the UK. The story of the early years of the movement in the UK is found in a major book, When the Sun Shines: The Dawn of Hare Krishna in Britain, by Ranchor Prime.4 In a very readable way, the author takes the account through to Prabhupada’s death in 1977. Martin Palmer writes of the book, on the back cover:
I can’t remember when I saw my first chanting, dancing Hare Krishnas. They were simply there in the late ’60s and early ’70s, like the pied pipers of the alternative worlds, drawing us away from what we thought we knew. Ranchor Prime tells how those who danced and thought and developed made this country a different and better place.
The book tells the story of Prabhupada’s meeting with a nun, Sister Mary, who asked him, ‘How do we know who is a lover of God?’ He quoted Chaitanya describing his love for Krishna: ‘Every moment is like 12 years. I am crying torrents of rain. I find everything vacant without God.’ Prabhupada went on to the sister, ‘Like Jesus Christ, Sri Chaitanya sacrificed everything. That is the love of God. You may follow any religious path – it does not matter. The method is simple: chant the holy name of God. We don’t say you chant Krishna. If you have any name, God’s name, then chant that. I chant, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.’ Prabhupada asked her about her prayer. She replied, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us.’ He commented, ‘That’s nice, very good’, particularly when she explained that the mercy of God is the love of God. To another Christian he said, ‘Jesus said, “Hallowed be thy name, my Father.” We are hallowing the name of the Lord. We don’t even ask you to say Krishna. You can say Jehovah or Yahweh. Just chant the names of God, purify your heart, and develop love of God. Then you will stop killing and slaughtering each other.’5 Here we see the centrality of non-violence – both between human beings, and also of animals. Vegetarianism is a central tenet of ISKCON. It is there to varying degrees in Hinduism, but absolute in ISKCON.
In the USA, in the meantime, there was a rapid expansion of the movement, and at the same time acute problems of leadership, and major issues in residential schools, which gave the movement a bad name. There was a real fear of a family member getting involved with what was seen as a potentially dangerous cult. Selling of products, books, CDs and so on had been the main way of financing the movement, but profits dropped greatly as devotees were no longer welcome to chant publicly in city centres, and they were largely confined to marketing in airports. The crisis of leadership came with the death of Prabhupada. He had established a Governing Board Commission (GBC), but few on it were reliable. There were also splits in the movement. A major question was the authority of Prabhupada after his death. There has now been a recovery, and essentially, ISKCON has become a congregational movement, rather than one based on the monks living in temples and seen on the streets. It has settled down to become a denomination (see the case study on the USA (Chapter 8) and the section on ISKCON in the USA today; see also Chapter 9, on Sweden).
In the UK, the history has been much less stormy. The undisputed centre since Prabhupada’s time is Bhaktivedanta Manor, near Watford. This is residential, and registered as a kind of theological college. There are then centres around the country, including one in Leicester. The majority of members are now married. Many have been celibate monks for some time, and then moved out of community. Some remain in the community and are married there. There is a relaxed feel about this. Sex is expected to be primarily for the procreation of children, necessary for the future of the movement, and indeed of the human race!
Study is important in ISKCON and in particular the study of the Gita and of the writings of Chaitanya – the Chaitanya Bhagavata – and those of Prabhupada and others. Chanting is compulsory, whether privately or in congregation (kirtana). This should be done using beads, a 108-bead rosary given at initiation (diksha). Sixteen rounds should be chanted each day. The small book describing its use says: ‘Chant and be happy.’ It is done to evoke transcendental consciousness and ecstasy, in love of God. It is to anticipate not only release from the material suffering of rebirth, but also an eternal life of bliss and devotion to Krishna.
Two important developments for our purposes are involvement in schools, and interfaith dialogue. There has been a fee-paying school at Bhaktivedanta Manor. But now there are two state-aided schools. One, in Harrow, was established some years ago and has had a very good early record. The aim is to have a Hindu ethos, and food served is always vegetarian. But it has an open atmosphere, and others are welcome. There is now opened in Leicester, since September 2011, a Free School, one of the first of such schools in the UK, and I record here some dialogue I have had there with its founding inspiration, Pradip Gajjar. The aim here is eventually to have 50 per cent of children from non-Hindu families. It is being developed in a former 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 to the Vaishnavite faith. He feels he is a devotee of God first, and then of ISKCON. He does not like to be too restricted. He discovered this wider tradition when visiting Vrindavan on a spiritual search in India. He was attracted too to Gandhism. ISKCON came into his life when he met a group casually in west London. He visited ashrams, and decided to become a monk, which took him around Europe. Then, like he estimates 90 per cent of monks, he got married, as in Buddhism, his monk period over. Since then he has done a doctorate in the field of Vaishnava research, and become an academic. Where does he see the links between Christianity and what he prefers to call Vaishnavism? The strength of the theist tradition in both, with God both infinite and highly personal, has led him to study Catholic personalist philosophy, as well as finding this in Vaishnavism. ‘Krishna’ is another name for God, and the manifestation of God in Jesus is no problem. He can see also strong links between bhakti worship in his tradition with that of Catholicism (see Chapter 9, on Sweden, for further encounter with Ferdinando).
My second interviewee is Pradip. Like the majority of devotees and initiates now – a big change in the last 20 years – he is British Indian Hindu, and was born in Birmingham. He was brought up to attend pujas and festivals in the Handsworth Temple, and his father was president of their caste association, which provides security, culture and order for its members. Learned visitors used to come from Gujarat, but he could not understand their religious teaching. As a secondary school student, he began to discover the Gita in English, and also to read the Gideon Bible. The change in his life came when John Lennon died. He went into the history of the Beatles and their connections with India. The song ‘Goddess of Fortune’ on an old record affected him, as did Hare Krishna chanting, produced by George Harrison. He found the sound ‘awesome’. He discussed all this with a school friend, who introduced him to ISKCON, and he used to attend the Hare Krishna gathering every Saturday in a rented hall in the city centre. They also read Prabhupada, and his theological reflection that every person can have a personal relationship with God. He was impressed with his selfless character, his devotion and commitment to service. He valued the teaching that we are spiritual beings, beyond any designation of religion, label or caste.
His parents accepted his becoming a strict vegetarian and his taking up chanting. But they were wary of an organization they felt was being led by white people converting to Hindu practice. He was taken by his uncle to the Manor, in the hope that he would be put off. This failed, as he was impressed with the discipline and clarity of the movement, and the feeling of access to God. Even the Gandhian uncle was impressed, and only said that he should not bow to a white person, a seemingly racist remark.
At 18, he went to London, and after graduation moved to the Manor, and spent ten years as a monk. His goal was not status but life in the spirit, serving and educating others. He eventually left there to get married, and to do an MBA, from which he became a manager within the movement, working alongside the Governing Body Commissioner for the UK. It was a vital area of service where there had been a deficiency, supporting ten temples and many small groups throughout the country. Meanwhile, his father became reconciled to his involvement and even proud of him. After a visit to the Manor, his father heard someone say, ‘There is a young man there from our community here, and he speaks well.’ His father replied, ‘Yes, he is my son.’
He became a temporary leader of a struggling and divided community in Leicester in 2004, and moved with his wife to that city in 2006. He became one of the key persons in establishing the I Foundation, which opened the first state-supported school in Harrow, and since coming to Leicester he has worked towards such a school there, opened in September 2011 (see above, and in Chapter 7 on Leicester). He also is very ready to offer teaching to Christian groups, including future clergy, and has a real gift in explaining the basic parameters of Hinduism, and his own movement, in a way that is clear and engaging.
The third interviewee is Gauri Das, a leading person at the Manor, Scottish, and again a former Roman Catholic. He told me how his father had died shortly before the interview, a very devout person, as is his sister. She relates how her father had told her, when near to death, ‘Don’t worry about the boys; they know God.’ This represented, he feels, his father’s endorsement. He has had a visionary encounter with his father after his death, which meant a great deal to him. He is convinced that the two faiths use different languages but represent the same spiritual experience.
He is quite a free thinker, and feels the use of Prabhupada in an absolute way is very recent. He feels that a fundamentalist approach to scripture is dangerous. He finds the way the ISKCON leadership went was worrying, as the Governing Body Commissioners just chose themselves. He spent ten years in Vrindavan, and had an arranged marriage with an Indian South African. As he reflects on the movement now, he feels it is brilliant for the Indian diaspora, working out how to be Hindus in the West. But he wonders whether it has the language any more to talk to Westerners, and talking of karma, reincarnation etc. is no longer enough. We are in a post-colonial religious time, when spirituality is more important than church attendance. The movement should spend less time trying to convert, and more in affirming people where they are and building on this. The five principles of ISKCON are no longer enough: ‘Dream on, if you think Western people will accept all this.’ It will just lead them to neuroses. We need to be less judgemental. It is not surprising that he joined the School of Oriental and African Studies in London (SOAS), and studied religion for three years, the last year without wearing his ISKCON clothes. He is devoted to the garden in the Manor, and showed me with reverence that which had been designed by John Lennon’s widow, a meditation garden.
Gauri introduced me to Sruti, the current president of the Manor, and a Ugandan Asian. He was another who was influenced by hearing George Harrison on Top of the Pops and then saw a Hare Krishna group outside in London. He found them very attractive, and visited the Manor when Prabhupada came in 1977 for the opening. Sruti was 18, and was deeply impressed by his charisma and purity, and determined, after he finished his master’s degree, to join the Manor. He did not receive enthusiastic support from his family, thinking it was like Swaminarayan, and also because most residents at that time were foreigners; ten only from India out of 100 in the late 1970s. Now there are 50 residents, 60 per cent of Indian origin. Congregation figures for today are that there are around 10,000 members, 80 per cent from London, and 80 per cent being Indians. Half are committed; the rest are eclectic searchers. He remained a celibate monk for 20 years, and then married through the ISKCON marriage board.
As leader, he has been very committed to interfaith relations, and is very proud of having recited Sanskrit prayers in the church in Harrow when he became a chaplain to the Hindu mayor. He prayed for ‘wisdom, strength and love’. The local church support to the Manor has been very important and helped to remove the stigma that ISKCON is a cult.
He appreciates that there are no philosophical blocks between some aspects of Christianity, and Hinduism. He sees Chaitanya as being of the personalist school, and opening up the faith across caste, creed and colour. Chaitanya, he believes, was predicted to come in the Vedas. But he quotes Prabhupada, who said that anyone who claims to be God is God spelt backwards! There were 108 centres in the world when Prabhu died, and now there are 690, 200 in the south and 10,000 devotees in Russia, with groups also in Ukraine and the Czech Republic.
A final document of special interest is the doctoral thesis written by Daphne Green in the year 2000. It is entitled, ‘A Comparative Study of Krishna Consciousness in ISKCON, and the Practice of the Presence of God in CSMV (the Community of St Mary the Virgin, with Headquarters in Wantage, Oxfordshire)’. She spent a considerable amount of time with members of both communities. She wanted to study how Brother Lawrence’s concept of the practice of the presence of God could aid in learning to encounter God in all things and all situations. She found many similarities but also differences. The place of the guru was much higher in ISKCON, and the role of chanting. The place of silence was much stronger in CSMV, and also their lifelong commitment to celibacy. The ISKCON devotees saw Krishna as eternally youthful, joyful and playful, expressing this in the fullness of Creation. The task is to go beyond the illusions of this world, in order to serve Krishna through seeing him in all living beings. The sisters were focused on the Trinity, and on a suffering Christ, and sharing in his sufferings for the sake of the world. One of her surprising conclusions is as follows, summarizing from her challenging concluding chapter:
Members of ISKCON perceived Krishna consciousness as expressing their awareness and encounter with Krishna in the world, whereas CSMV members increasingly perceived the practice of the presence of God as the religious life faithfully lived out in the convent with an accompanying withdrawal from social and community involvement.10
As a member of the clergy, what did Daphne herself learn from ISKCON? She is now Chaplain to the Archbishop of York. She learned of the need for clear structure and discipline in the search to encounter God, and that she has a responsibility for this search herself. She learned of the importance of the senses in that quest, including the richness of the devotees’ worship of the deity, and ‘the ecstatic, exuberant forms of devotion’, shown, for example, in kirtan and sankirtan, the former personal, and the latter congregational chanting to glorify God. This helps them to have confidence in their evangelism, and assured engagement with the world. They practise Krishna consciousness, whether in an ashram or outside in the world. She appreciates their devotion focused on the deity, in a way that could also be offered in her tradition around ikons, candles, the cross, statues. She is impressed with the concept of lila,11 not found much in Christianity, the transcendental playfulness of Krishna and the sheer delight found in worship. Clearly Pentecostal, charismatic Christian traditions come closest here.
