Journal of religious culture = Journal für Religionskultur
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16
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) and Vishvambhara Mishra (1486 - 1533), known as Shri Krishna Caitanya, have been the outstanding representatives of the great west-eastern religious revolution which shattered the hearts of their societies in the 16th century. They were the spiritual revolutionaries of the modern times. The question may very well be raised if and how these two religious reformers on the edge of modern age share theological commonness, even though they lived wide apart and certainly did not know of each other. We will see: Both Martin Luther and Shri Krishna Caitanya have taught the un-conditioned, Free Love viz. Bhakti. Even if they did it in the tradition of the theological context they were born in they produced a new common setting of religion: the destruction of meritoricly bound religion and its substitution by free religion. The worship of God or charity were no more a mean for but the final state of salvation. Their interpretation of this revolutionary religion has lost nothing of its existen-tial meaning, even though having been twisted often enough to indiscernibility or even to the complete opposite - up to the present day. ...
25
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. ...
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. ...
22
Die von Martin Luther ausgelöste und profilierte Geistesrevolution des 16. Jahrhunderts hat der Theologie einen neuen Gegenstand und eine neue Aufgabe erschlossen, die bis heute ihre Gültigkeit nicht verloren haben. Danach ist nicht Gott Gegenstand dieser Theologie, sondern Gesetz und Evangelium; und ihre Aufgabe besteht nicht im Entwurf von Gottesbildern, sondern im discrimen inter legem et evangelium, in der Unterscheidung von Gesetz und Evangelium. - In dieser theologischen Selbstbestimmung, die wegen ihrer einzigartigen Aufgabe dia-kritische, d.h. unterscheidende Theologie genannt werden soll, wird die geistige Erfahrung der abendländisch-christlichen Idee von Jesus Christus oder vom Filius Dei im Horizont neu aufkommenden Bewußtseins auf den protestantischen Begriff gebracht. - Martin Luther hat mit der ihm eigenen Radikalität und Klarheit seine religiöse Erfahrung, die ihn zum diakritischen Theologen werden ließ, prägnant und programmatisch formuliert: "Zuuor mangelt mir nichts, denn das ich kein discrimen inter legem et euangelium machet, hielt es alles vor eines et dicebam Christum a Mose non differre nisi tempore et perfectione. Aber do ich das discri-men fande, quod aliud esset lex, aliud euangelium, da riß ich her durch."[1] Das Gewaltige dieses Herdurchrisses liegt in der Erkenntnis, daß Gesetz und Evangelium sich radikal von einander unterscheiden: "Ein jglicher Gottseliger und der ein rechter Christ sein will, soll wol lernen, daß das Gesetz und Euangelium zwei ganz widerwärtige Ding sind, die sich mit oder neben einander nicht leiden noch vertragen können."[2] Daß die Unterscheidung von Gesetz und Evangelium die der Theologie eigentümliche Kunst ist, die sie überhaupt erst zu einer solchen werden läßt, daran läßt Martin Luther ebenfalls keinen Zweifel: "Darum sage ich, daß man das Gesetz und Euangelium lerne recht und eigentlich unterscheiden; denn wer das kann, der danke unserem Herrn Gott, und mag für ein Theologen wol bestehen."[3] ...
21
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. ...
18
Die indischen Neo-Buddhisten, die auch Ambedkariten genannt werden, haben seit den 50er Jahren eine Bewegung entfacht, die den Buddhismus ihrer Deutung und Praxis als Höchstform der indogenen Kultur, des Dharma, versteht. Wegen der Aktualität der Dalitfrage [1] spielen diese Neo-Buddhisten in der gegenwär-tigen Politik Indiens eine gewichtige Rolle; und für den indischen Buddhismus haben sie nicht nur wegen ihrer politischen Aktivitäten an Bedeutung gewonnen, sondern einfach auch deshalb, weil sie, überwiegend der Mahar-Jati [2] zugehö-rig, inzwischen die Mehrheit der indischen Buddhisten bilden. Die Neo-Buddhisten gehen auf den sog. 'Vater der Indischen Verfassung' Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Sakpal, gen. Ambedkar (1891-1956) [3] zurück. Dieser indische Politiker entstammte der Mahar Jati [4] Maharashtras, die zu den höherrangigen Kasten der Unberührbaren zählt. Im Gegensatz zur Masse seiner Jati-Genossen war es Sakpal mit Hilfe seines brahmanischen Schullehrers Ambedkar, der ihm auch seinen Namen lieh, gelungen, eine akademische Karriere zu beginnen. Auf Grund eines Stipendiums des Maharajas von Baroda konnte er 1912 in Bombay den Grad eines Bachelor of Arts erlangen. Ein Staatsstipendium des Fürstentums Baroda ermöglichte ihm ein Studium an der Columbia Universität in New York, wo er 1915 den Grad eines Masters of Arts erwarb. In London erlaubte ihm ein Stipendium des Maharajas von Kolhapur Jura zu studieren und als Barrister-at-Law abschließen. Außerdem erwarb er noch den Doktorgrad in Ökonomie. Am-bedkar hatte damit auf Grund brahmanischer und fürstlicher Protektion eine bei-spiellose Karriere begonnen, die ihn befähigte, sofern moralisch gefestigt, die Lage der Dalits zum öffentlichen Thema in Indien zu machen.
12b
That God has to become man in order to reveal the being of God to mankind is a belief not only held by Christianity. In Bhagavata Purana, one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism, God Vishnu speaks the sentence quoted above when he is incarnated as Krishna. In a world getting ever smaller, awareness of other religions gains more and more importance. It is my purpose to show what contribution the theological field I represent, ecclesiastical history or historical theology,1 may make towards getting to know other religions and seeking dialogue with them. I will use the worship of Krishna in the following text to exemplify my propositions. My explanations are set out in five parts: (I) two traditions of how God became man; (II) the problem and purpose of inter-religious encounter; (III) historical theology as history; (IV) historical theology as theology; (V) thoughts about dialogue with other religions as an encounter between two things of comparable significance.
20
Weekly "VIVEK" recently conducted a survey of the opinions of its readers. One of the readers wrote, 'I am a devotee of Shri Ram; I belong to a certain caste; the concept of Hindutva may be all right for you; but how is this Hindutva beneficial to my caste?" This question may be regarded as either very basic or childish. It is basic because its answer devolves on the proper concept of Hin-dutva and it is childish because it displays the ignorance of the reader of the fact that Hindutva encompasses the well-being of all the different section of people. A person like me, having imbibed the concept of Hindutva in its totality, would be quick to answer that different casts cannot have any special consideration for them. Hindutva is a casteless concept. In fact the removal of caste consciousness and caste identities is the raison d'etre of Hindutva. Since Hindutva incorporates the well-being of every single Hindu the question of any special consideration of any particular caste does not arise. Of course this is simple for a person like me who is steeped in the Hindutva concept. It may not be so simple for someone who has come up in the present political environment. Serious consideration must be given to Hindutva against the background of pre-sent atmosphere of caste consciousness. This would narrow and finally eliminate the chasm between ideals and practice. Such a chasm would be a great impedi-ment to the general acceptance of true nationalism.
29
Vielen Religionen ist es selbstverständlich, daß Gottheiten und heilige Wesen Mensch werden und eine Kindheit haben. Den christlichen Religionen orthodoxen Zuschnitts ist die Inkarnation Gottes sogar das Herzstück von Lehre, Ritual und Frömmigkeit. Die Gründe für die Menschwerdung Gottes sind dabei vielfältig: Gott wurde Fleisch, um die Menschheit aus der Gefangenschaft der Sünde loszukaufen oder aber um die Freuden der irdischen Armut zu genießen. Dabei wurde und wird stets davon ausgegangen, daß Gott als Kind geboren wurde, von einer irdischen Mutter, wenn auch nicht von einem irdischen Vater gezeugt. Es wird vorausgesetzt, daß Jesus als Sohn Gottes auf Erden eine Kindheit verlebte.
18 b
The Indian Neo Buddhism has aroused a movement since the 50s, which propa-gates Buddhism as the top form of the Indo-genous dharma. - The vast majority of that new religious movement belongs to the Dalits [1], people whose en-dogamous communities have been excluded from the varna system [2a] since centuries. The varna system is the traditional hierarchic structure of the relation-ships of those Indian communities who mutually acknowledge themselves as constituent members of their society. These varna jatis established a social class of people devoid of any basic social right. Declared as 'Untouchables' these peo-ple lost all human substance in the eyes of the varna jatis. Yet, that social degra-dation didn't primarily spring from racial, religious or even cultural reasons but from economic ones. When the old Indian agrarian production became a little more productive the division of labour was established as basic structure of the society; but in India the productivity remained on a low level during centuries so that the new non-productive jatis had to keep down the costs of the material pro-duction and the necessary services; they needed cheapest labour.