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Re: Shri H. K. Susarla's Recent Postings
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To: alt-hindu@cis.ohio-state.edu
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Subject: Re: Shri H. K. Susarla's Recent Postings
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From: vivek@cs.rice.edu (Vivek Sadananda Pai)
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Date: 30 Jan 1995 20:07:32 GMT
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Distribution: world
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From news@larry.rice.edu Mon Jan 30 14: 55:07 1995
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: Rice University, Houston, Texas
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References: <3g9b33$7jn@ucunix.san.uc.edu>
In article <3g9b33$7jn@ucunix.san.uc.edu>, griffin@gate.net (Kris Gilbert) writes:
[...]
|> I have recently been looking into ISKCON and trying to learn about
|> Hinduism.
May I suggest that what you have said is somewhat a contradiction in
terms. I say so because of the following: Hinduism is a blanket term
that includes the Vaishnavas (ISKCON as well as other groups). The
Vaishnavas are essentially monotheists who believe only in Vishnu in
His various forms. So while a Hindu may say that (for example) Kali
is the supreme goddess, etc, a Vaishnav will not.
So if you are trying to learn of the plurality of Hinduism, you are
indeed going to have a hard time. For example, many Hindus believe
that Ramakrishna was a great leader, etc. But the followers of
Ramakrishna assert that he was God, something I'm sure that many
Hindus would not believe. It's the same way in a lot of areas -
there's always going to be a group of "traditional Hindus" who will
not believe what some smaller subset of Hindus believes.
[...]
|> Other times the answers i get from ISKCON are very thoughtful and
|> tolerant of other faiths, looking to what is good and true in other
|> religions as well as their own. From reading some things that Swami
|> Prabhupada has written, though, i'm not convinced that he would be part
|> of that group.
I'd like to paraphrase a little since I don't have exact quotations
handy. I hope you'll forgive me for being vague. Swami Prabhupada was
always accomodating regarding the nature of other prophets. For example,
he has said that Jesus was a pure devotee of the Lord, and he has been
equally favorable to all of the other major prophets. I believe he made
a statement to the effect of "we want people of other religions to follow
what their prophets have preached". All of these prophets were sent by
God to different people at different times to tell them what they were
capable of understanding. Hence, you have different faiths for different
people. Prabhupada basically said if you follow a certain prophet, follow
his message completely, not just the parts of it that you want to hear.
I hope that I've accurately paraphrase what Prabhupada said. If not,
the mistake is my own, and unintentional.
|> Since he founded ISKCON here in the U.S., i feel wary of
|> the organization as a whole, especially in light of some of the other
|> reputations that ISKCON has picked up over the years. (I'm still
ISKCON is nothing more than the extension of Gaudiya Vaishnavism into
the west. Gaudiya Vaishnavism started with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in
Bengal about 500 years ago, so perhaps this will ease your fear of "newness".
Plus, if you go to India, you will find that ISKCON is fairly well
respected there, and Indian people attend the temples there in large numbers.
|> inquiring into those "reputations" and have in fact found some of them to
|> be false, at least from what i've seen.)
|> In any case, I will probably continue to look into Hinduism, although
|> since i've discovered this newsgroup, i may not look to ISKCON as much
|> for answers.
The nature of the answers you get from ISKCON and this group will be
vastly different, based on the philosophies represented. If you're
looking for the Vaishnav point of view, ISKCON is the best place to
go and alt.religion.vaishnav is a newgroup where Vaishnavs hang out.
If you're looking for the opinions of a (unrepresentative) sample of
Hindus, this group is a decent choice, but be forewarned that much of
what you will hear will be contradictory. If you're looking for a
truly representative group of "Hindus", take a trip to India. You will
find that the average Hindu is quickly becoming as spiritually connected
as the average American - most people now worship the almighty rupee.
-Vivek
