Oberoende akademiska och övriga utlåtanden, brev etc
om Krishnarörelsen
(ISKCON - Det Internationella Sällskapet för Krishnamedvetande)

KAREL WERNER

Memorandum on Hinduism in its historical and contemporary perspective with special reference to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Hare Krishna Movement).

Hinduism can be seen as a comprehensive religious tradition with some 2000 years of historical development in India and a pre-history going back to around 3000 BC. Some features of Hindu worship, symbolism and iconography have been shown as related to the Harrapan civilisation of pre-Aryan times (circa 2900-1900 BC..) which archaeologists uncovered in the Indus valley. The direct precursor of Hinduism was the Vedic religion (akin to the Greco-Roman and other ancient European religious systems) brought to India by the Aryans in the 2nd millennium BC. and developed by their priests (Brahmans) into an elaborate system of worship often called Brahmanism. Their sacred scriptures called the Vedas comprise hymns, ritual texts and mystical writings with philosophical treatises known as Upanishads.

Around 500 BC. the religious monopoly of the Vedic-brahmanic system was breached by unorthodox ascetic and spiritual movements such as Buddhism, Jainism and various yogic and philosophical schools, which gained large followings. In the subsequent centuries the old religion absorbed much of their teachings and also became open to popular religious trends previously suppressed or ignored by the brahmanic orthodoxy. Thus Hinduism came into being and produced new theological and philosophical writings, codification of social and judicial regulations, religious epics and mythological narratives,

This religious creativity continued throughout the first millennium AD. during which Hinduism acquired a remarkable tolerance of diverse approaches to and expressions of religious belief and practice. There was, however, a distinct growth of a preference for the worship of one personal God, albeit under different names. This last feature led to the emergence of different sects each of which was and still is a part of mainstream Hinduism. The three most important sectarian movements are centred around the worship of either the god Shiva or the God Vishnu or the great Goddess (Devi) known under a number of names.

Of the three the worship of Vishnu has become the biggest influence throughout the whole of Hinduism on account of the teaching of incarnation. In times of need the God Vishnu incarnates in the world to assist man on his way to salvation. The most popular incarnation of Vishnu is the one as Krishna, best known from the Bhagavad Gita which is probably the most famous religious work in the world. It may be dated in the 3rd century BC. or soon after and it popularises the spiritual philosophy of the Vedas particularly as expounded in the Upanishads, and incorporates also various non-brahmanic ways of individual spiritual practice which by then had become known as yoga. it further advocates, for the first time in clear words, salvation through the path of devotion to God and names it bhakti yoga.

It the wider context of religious worship, devotion to Krishna as the Lord and universal saviour centred round the stories about Krishna's childhood and adolescence placed in and around Vrindavan which are related in some of the mediaeval Hindu writings known as Puranas. Events in Krishna's life are understood as symbolical of the mystic states the soul of the devotee passes through on the way to salvation.

In the 11th century AD. India came under the onslaught of Islamic invasions and eventually under Islamic rule which was oppressive of Hinduism and Krishna worship then provided a powerful rallying base for Hindus to withstand the pressure and preserve their religion. One of the greatest revivalists of mass devotion to Krishna was the Bengali religious leader Chaitanya (1485-1533) in whose wake the movement flourished for some three centuries to be again rejuvenated in the last century and early this century. Out of this latest revivalist trend came Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) who, having received an English education, first dedicated many years to translating, Vaishnava scriptures from Sanskrit into English and eventually turned to spreading to the Western world. the message of salvation through devotion to Krishna. In that he followed previous Hindu missionary tendencies which started in the last century, possibly in imitation of Christian missionary activities, and became prominent in the last two or three decades.

But while other Hindu missionary movements have propagated mainly the philosophical aspects of Hinduism and same of its individual methods of spiritual practice, such as yoga and mantric meditation, the Hare Krishna movement has brought a whole living system of Hindu religious commitment to its Western converts and this includes also devotion to a specific Hindu manifestation of the deity with a specific form of worship and a well-defined way of life dictated by a precise set of religious and moral values.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness therefore appears to a carrier of a bona fide religious tradition of ancient origin and resembles in that respect any sectarian group or religious society such as exist within all other religious movements (Buddhist, Christian etc.) and is entitled to share the freedom of activities within the law and other privileges which civilised countries with constitutional guarantees of religious freedom grant to religious organisations.

Dr. Karel Werner,

Spalding Lecturer in Indian Religion and Philosophy,
University of Durham