Journal of religious culture = Journal für Religionskultur
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24 b
Castes still determine the social reality of India in many fields and affect politics more and more by functioning as vote banks which are decisive in elections. Thus it is small wonder that there is an ongoing discussion about this social phe-nomenon. The controversies in the course of this discussion not only relate to academic theories concerning the origin, the evolution and the mode of opera-tion of the caste system but also determine the discussion about reform models for the Indian society. Such models either strive for the complete abolition of the caste system or at least call for a comprehensive reform of it. Especially the Dalit movement blames the caste system for the oppression and discrimination of the Dalits in society and tries to withdraw them from this system.[1] Yet the Dalit movement does not develop any alternative social draft. The Hindutva movement makes a strong effort to establish a modern (Hindu) nation which is only possible by overcoming the caste system that totally divides the society. Thus Hindutva is against the caste system though the antagonists of this move-ment usually maintain the contrary.[2] Swami Vivekananda holds that the only way to overcome the caste system is the Brahmanization of the whole society. For this he gives a religious explanation as he announces the end of the Kali-Yuga.[3] The Hare Krishna movement wants to turn away from a hereditary caste system towards a system where every individual is classified according to his skills and performance. Such a system should be based on Vedic traditions and especially on the fourfold varna system which is described in the ancient Rigveda.[4] Gandhi’s social draft and above all its attitude towards the caste system are often part of the current discussion but the interpretations differ according to the inter-preter’s ideological direction. Thus some charge Gandhi with having defended the caste system unconditionally, while others consider him a sharp critic of the system. This large spectrum is hardly surprising, since Gandhi’s comments are very reserved and can only become understandable by a comparative analysis of different statements on the caste system made by him during his political career. This article intends to provide such an analysis without neglecting the historical context which is vital to make Gandhi’s ideas clear. ...
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0. Introduction and theses. 1. Bhaktivedanta Swami's view of Christianity. 1.1. The Bible; 1.2. Jesus; 1.3. History of the church. 2. Bhaktivedanta Swami's religious socialization. 2.1. Childhood; 2.2 College; 2.3. Vaishnava-teachers. 3. Final summary and appendix (with glossary) 0. The Bengal Vaishnava Swami Abhay Caranaravinda Bhaktivedanta, briefly called Bhaktivedanta Swami, lived from 1896 to 1977. Eleven years before his death he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York, abbreviated: ISKCON, for the most of you better known as the "Hare-Krishna movement". One may not consider Bhaktivedanta Swami as the founder of a sectarian group, today described as a "new religious movement"; his religion rather is based on a century old, genuine Hindu faith tradition. ...
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The word pada-yatra literally means to walk on foot. In early India people used to travel by chariot, horseback, elephant, bullock-cart, or palanquin. But saintly persons, having renounced such worldly comforts, would travel by foot. Their main concern was to teach the glories of God to the conditioned living entities and thereby deliver them from their miserable materialistic lives. Walking was the best means of contacting the common people and accomplishing that goal. When Lord Chaitanya took sannyas - the renounced order of life - He travelled throughout India on foot. First He went from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri in Orissa and then He toured South India on foot of course. At that South India was seriously influenced by impersonalism, and the people in general had deviated from the path of devotion to the Lord. Love of God is the source of real happiness, and when one abandons that loving relationship with God, he suffers. Lord Chaitanya wanted to deliver the conditioned souls plunged in the absolute misery of that impersonalism. In order to reinstate them as devotees of the Lord, Sri Chaitanya went personally to South India. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the Supreme Personality of God-head who appeared as a devotee to teach the science of devotion - the only means of deliverance from material bondage. When the Lord performs any ac-tion, its effects are wonderful; similarly, when He directs His devotees to do anything, their result will also be wonderful. Lord Chaitanya's deliverance of South India stands as a proof that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the guise of a devotee. ...
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The popularity of St. Francis (1182/3-1226) in our days is overwhelming. He has become a modern hero - not only of Catholics but also of Protestants, non-Christians and even atheists. Nevertheless, the question may be raised whether the modern portrayals of St. Francis do justice to the historical person. In order to get a more solid answer we will analyze various documents which were ap-proximately known to and approved by St. Francis himself, particularly his Tes-timony, his Song of Brother Sun, the Unapproved Rule, the Approved Rule, the Admonitions, and the Letter to the Faithful Ones I.[1] We will not even use the legendary reports of his disciples. From the very beginning the devotees of St. Francis made of him a typical convert. This biographic mutilation has remained en vogue until today.[2] - In his Testimony he tells his real story in a few brief words: "While I was in sins it appeared to me extremely bitter to look at the lep-ers. And the Lord himself brought me among them and I gave alms to them. When I was leaving them that what appeared bitter to me was to me exchanged for (converted into) sweetness of the soul and the body. And afterwards I stopped for a moment and then I left the world."[3] Therefore, his life can be divided into three periods: 1) the life in 'sin' or the 'world'; 2) the short period of the conversion, of a short stopping and of the leaving the 'world'; and 3) his exis-tence outside the 'world'. ...