Method

The spiritual movement using the title above is the Gaudiya Vaishnava movement. The Gaudiya Vaishnavism society believes that religion connects us with God. If any practice is incapable of connecting us with God, then it is not considered to be religion. Religion, according to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, involves searching for, understanding, and establishing a relationship with God. This will be one of the religious frameworks used in this thesis, discussed in conjunction with Buddhism.

Hinduism is undoubtedly a way of life; however it has many varieties. The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition is part of the larger branch of Hinduism known as Vaishnavism, and is the type of yoga practice that is referred to as ‘Bhakti-Yoga’.

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The Gaudiya Vaishnava movement, which is more commonly known today as the Hare Krishna movement, was originally founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) in India. Mahaprabhu began the revitalization of this movement in West Bengal, where it originally began. ‘Gaudiya’ in fact refers to the Indian region of West Bengal, and ‘Vaishnavism’ refers to the worship of Krishna. The scriptural foundations of this movement are the four Vedas, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavad-Gita². Their main focus is on devotional service or the worship of Radha and Krishna, or what is known as Bhakti Yoga (Prabhupada, 2011: 3).

Bhakti Yoga is the practical process of devotional life. The two main elements are devotional service through the practice of rules and regulations, and worship of the deity. Both processes, however, are simply to teach people the process of bhakti, or how to attain perfection of life by living one’s life in loving devotion to God. The Gaudiya Vaishnavism movement was later reinstituted as the movement that is more commonly known today as the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), or the Hare Krishna, by his Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada, who ensured that all the rules and regulations, practices and principles and teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were adopted. The Hare Krishna movement was established in 1966 when Srila Prabhupada left India to spread the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. According to Prabhupada, this Gaudiya Vaishnava movement is not a blind religious organization, but rather an authorised, scientific approach to the matter of our eternal necessity in relation to God (1998:2). As with the Gaudiya Vaishnava movement, Srila Prabhupada based the teaching and traditions on the Bhagavad-Gita, but on only one Veda, the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada developed seven purposes for the Hare Krishna or Gaudiya Vaishnava movement.

These seven purposes are:

1. “To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.”

Srila Prabhupada’s fundamental desire was to impart spiritual knowledge and techniques “in order to correct the imbalance of values in life and achieve real unity and peace in the world”. He taught that, when we realise a higher sense of ourselves as individuals, and our uniqueness beyond the bodily concept, a platform of equality can be achieved. This then breeds a culture of respect – the cornerstone of peace and unity.

2 These four Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita are bodies of spiritual knowledge, philosophies and rituals. The contents of these scriptures are considered to be words of God.

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2. “To propagate a consciousness of Krishna (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of India, Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

3. “To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).”

4. “To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu”.

5. “To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna.”

6. “To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.”

The foundation of this purpose was to bring the supporters together to live a “simpler and more natural way of life”. The context of our lives is the earth and its elements – earth, water, fire, air, and ether. We share that with other humans, plants, and animals. This involves a call to move away from manufacturing and consuming artificial, unnatural and unnecessary things, and to move towards simpler and more sustainable lifestyles.

7. “With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.”

The philosophy of this movement is based on the Vedas (which, literally translated, means

‘knowledge’). The Vedas are not compilations of human knowledge, but according to those who subscribe to them, emanate from the spiritual world. In the Vedic literature, devotional service is recommended.

Prabhupada taught that “[t]he basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone” (2011: 5). However, our ‘loving propensity’ has become obscured, and has turned towards self-love and self-centeredness. Gaudiya Vaishnavism believes that, by the practice of bhakti yoga, we learn to develop pure love – that is, love for all living entities. This in turn creates a peaceful and harmonious society.

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An analogy is used to explain this. When the roots of a tree are watered, the entire tree, including every leaf, is nourished, and energy is created. It is not possible to water a leaf and expect the entire tree to be nourished. The Hare Krishna or Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy believes that through understanding one’s constitutional position, and one’s purpose, a peaceful and harmonious environment can be achieved. When one understands what one’s true purpose is on earth, one will live by the regulative principles stipulated in the scriptures (no harm, regarding all living entities and beings as part and parcel of the Supreme, no meat eating and living a life of service).