The Hare Krishna Movement
The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant
Published on 23. June 2004
Book
Hardback
496 pages
978-0-231-12256-6 (ISBN)
Description
Dancing and chanting with their shaven heads and saffron robes, Hare Krishnas presented the most visible face of any of the eastern religions transplanted to the West during the sixties and seventies. Yet few people know much about them. This comprehensive study includes more than twenty contributions from members, ex-members, and academics who have followed the Hare Krishna movement for years. Since the death of its founder, the movement, also known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), has experienced debates over the roles of authority, heresy, and dissent, which have led to the development of several splinter movements. There is a growing women's rights movement and a highly publicized child abuse scandal. Providing a privileged look at the people and issues shaping ISKCON, this volume also offers insight into the complex factors surrounding the emergence of religious traditions, including early Christianity, as well as a glimpse of the original seeds and the germinating stages of a religious tradition putting down roots in foreign soil.
Reviews / Votes
The great strength of this very useful and important resource comes from its reliance on both the work of scholars in the field of Indian religions and the evaluations of those who have personally experienced this movement over years of change...Highly recommended -- E. Findly Choice This is a poignant book. -- David E. Settje, Concordia University, River Forest Religious Studies ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
none
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
737 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-12256-6 (9780231122566)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edwin F. Bryant is assistant professor of Hinduism at Rutgers University. His publications include The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Cultureand Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God, Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book Ten. Maria L. Ekstrand is a psychologist on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco who was involved in the development of ISKCON's child abuse investigation guidelines.
Content
Foreword, by Larry D. Shinn Introduction, by Edwin F. Bryant and Maria L. Ekstrand Part 1. Krishna Consciousness in the Context of Hindu Theology 1. Krishna, the Intimate Deity, by Graham M. Schweig 2. The History of Indic Monotheism and Modern Chaitanya Vaishnavism: Some Reflections, by Neal Delmonico 3. Hare Krishna Mahamantra: Gaudiya Vaishnava Practice and the Hindu Tradition of Sacred Sound, by Guy L. Beck 4. Krishna in Mleccha desh: ISKCON Temple Worship in Historical Perspective, by Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Das) Part 2. Bhaktivedanta Swami and His Predecessors 5. Who Is Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?, by Steven J. Rosen (Satyaraja Das) 6. Charismatic Renewal and Institutionalization in the History of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and the Gaudiya Math, by Jan Brzezinski 7. Bhaktivinoda and Scriptural Literalism, by Shukavak N. Das 8. The Guru, Mayavadins, and Women: Tracing the Origins of Selected Polemical Statements in the Work of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, by Ekkehard Lorenz 9. Bhaktivedanta Swami's Preaching in the Context of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, by Paul H. Sherbow Part 3. Post-Bhaktivedanta Controversies of Lineage 10. Cleaning House and Cleaning Hearts: Reform and Renewal in ISKCON, by William H. Deadwyler (Ravindra Svarupa Das) 11. The Guardian of Devotion: Disappearance and Rejection of the Spiritual Master in ISKCON After 1977, by Swami Bhakti Bhavana Vishnu 12. The No Change in ISKCON Paradigm, by Krishnakant Desai, Sunil Awatramani (Adridharan Das), and Madhu Pandit Das 13. The "Routinization of Charisma" and the Charismatic: The Confrontation Between ISKCON and Narayana Maharaja, by Irvin H. Collins Part 4. Heresies 14. Doctrinal Controversy and the Group Dynamic, by Conrad Joseph (Kundali Das) 15. Heresy and the Jiva Debate, by Howard Resnick (Hridayananda Das Goswami) Part 5. Social Issues 16. Airports, Conflict, and Change in the Hare Krishna Movement, by E. Burke Rochford Jr. 17. Healing the Heart of ISKCON: The Place of Women, by Kim Knott 18. Life as a Woman on Watseka Avenue: Personal Story I, by Nori J. Muster 19. Child Abuse and the Hare Krishnas: History and Response, by David Wolf 20. Fifteen Years Later: A Critique of Gurukula: Personal Story II, by Gabriel Deadwyler (Yudhishthira Das) 21. Race, Monarchy, and Gender: Bhaktivedanta Swami's Social Experiment, by Ekkehard Lorenz Part 6. Reevaluations 22. On Leaving ISKCON: Personal Story III, by Steven J. Gelberg 23. On Staying in ISKCON: Personal Story IV, by Michael Grant (Mukunda Goswami) and Anuttama Das Adhikari 24. Re-Visioning ISKCON: Constructive Theologizing for Reform and Renewal, by Thomas Herzig (Tamal Krishna Goswami) and Kenneth Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Das) Concluding Reflections, by Edwin F. Bryant and Maria L. Ekstrand