Progressive and Liberal Ideas and Krishna bhakti

One thing I have noticed about the Western Krishna conscious movement is that most devotees (older ones at least) are progressive politically, due to their radical stance as youthful hippies against the "establishment culture."

This is unusual, on one sense, because Srila Prabhupada was VERY conservative, politically as well as socially. At one time or another, he said things that showed racist, fascist, anti-feminist, libertarian, anti-taxation and corporatist leanings. His preaching in India was geared towards business elites.

How hippies came to adopt leadership from this quarter is a curious matter in itself and worthy of investigation. Let us say that they were in search of a radical alternative to the established dominant culture in Western society, and the hedonistic and libertine counterculture of the time had proved an abject failure experimentally.

Prabhupada also fed conspiracist and apocalyptic tendencies amongst devotees--the coming of WWIII, the moon landing hoax, anti-science and what have you. These ideas would place you even on the fringes of the American survivalists, as was shown around the Y2K frenzy, when these elements in the KCM became a little more visible for a while.

But over time most of the old devotees have either tacitly returned to their progressive roots or have quit Iskcon when the cognitive dissonance between what Prabhupada stated on all these issues and the spiritual nourishment on offer became too great.

This is a very uncomfortable situation, because the most conservative elements still have the official upper hand. They are the ones who can appeal to loyalty and traditional authority. (“Prabhupada said” still rules.) The dissonance is worsened because one has what is often a rather hypocritical leadership--giving public voice to conservative ideals on the one hand, and turning a blind eye to the most egregious manifestations of liberal attitudes. A good example is, for instance, Bir Krishna's ritually sanctioning a gay relationships while publicly opposing Hridayananda Maharaj who at least had the courage to publicly defend his doing the same thing.

In practical terms, this means the de facto marginalization of the most conservative elements like those promoting a return to Varnashram or keeping women in their place, or polygamists, what to speak of other issues. On the other hand, groups like GALVA are given a voice, even though they are fairly radically opposed to the most conservative values.

But this leaves us with a serious hiatus between official doctrine (Sadhu, shastra and guru) and what is being lived and experienced by devotees. The KCM in the West is NEVER going to be a Hindu version of the Amish or Mennonites--socially conservative separatists leading an anti-modern agrarian lifestyle in the name of simple living and high thinking.

For socially liberal and politically progressive devotees to lead intellectually in a way that will bridge this disconnect will require a great deal of effort because such a stance requires reinterpretation of traditional knowledge and authority. And all KCM groups without exception say this is fundamentally wrong.

Since these philosophical battles have been fought in the West since the Enlightenment, we have a lot of catching up to do in understanding the philosophical value of progressive and liberal ideas and defending them in terms of our spiritual tradition. Philosophical atheists have been attacking organized religion since the time of Voltaire. And the heirs of the Enlightenment were not fools who can be dismissed with a wave of the hand. Their ideas must be encountered, and where they are right in their criticisms of religion, believers must be able to recognize it, in the humility of their faith, and take corrective measures.

The rejection of the "Establishment values" of the 1960's in America is the fertile soil in which the seeds of Krishna consciousness were planted. A plant's growth reflects not only its seed, but its soil also. Conservative Christianity today, in its most virulent forms, whatever its positive offerings may be, seems to me to be totally regressive and inimical to true spiritual progress.

For Krishna consciousness to become a mirror reflection of the Southern Baptist Convention does not seem like a desirable option. But if you have a gut reaction that matches my own, then you have to recognize that being intellectually lazy or dishonest is not going to cut it if we want Krishna consciousness to become something more than an odd footnote in the religious history of 20th century America.

Anyway, today is Janmastami and I realize that this is not a very devotional post. But let me claim that it is a devotional offering. Krishna says in the Gita that a person who studies theology worships him with his intellect. We are bound to serve and worship with the gifts that Krishna himself has given us. The evolution of the Vaishnava tradition is a service that is as real and important as every other aspect of this lovely religion.

Jayati Jananivaso Devaki-janma-vado!