BBC: Hare Krsnas the Western Face of Hinduism

10-06-2005, 11:18 AM

International Society for Krishna Consciousness
More often known as the Hare Krishnas, the movement is often
recognised as the western face of Hinduism.

Its origins can be traced back to Chaitanya, a fifteenth century
devotee of Krishna, who chanted devotional songs to Krishna.

His teachings were promoted in the 20th century by Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati, who had a vision of taking the message of Chaitanya to
the west shortly before his death in 1936.

This work was taken up by Prabhupada who took that message to the
United States and eventually established bases around the world to
promote those teachings.

Western Influence
Hinduism as it is known and recognised today has been greatly
affected by the influence of western thought and practices.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, missionaries from Europe attempted
to convert Hindus to Christianity with varying degrees of success.

This challenged Hindu leaders to reform many practices and in some
cases, revive old practices.

This period has been recognised as a period of Hindu revivalism.

Rammohan Roy
An early leader in this field was Rammohan Roy (1772-1833), a
scholar who spoke Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit
alongside his native Bengali.

He read most of the religious scriptures from around the world and
discovered that there was little difference between them.

In 1828, he founded the Brahmo Samaj, based on the teachings of the
Upanishads.

Whilst he based much of his work on the teachings of the Upanishads,
his social outlook was progressive and he was keen to develop
education and particularly the establishment of western sciences
into Indian culture.

Rammohan Roy died in Bristol of meningitis while on a visit to
Europe. There is a statue of him at College Green in Bristol.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Another school of Hinduism developed under the influence of
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-86) who put much greater emphasis on
devotion to God.

He combined the trend of popular Hinduism with its many images with
a belief in a loveable Almighty God, for he could see God in many
forms.

He preached without a complicated theology and without an over-
reliance on the scriptures.

It was a pluralist approach to Hinduism which helped it to find its
feet in the modern world.

Swami Vivekananda

The work of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was continued and extended by
Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) who, after 12 years of ascetic study
and discipline, was responsible for promoting the Hindu tradition
and thought in the west.

He taught that the divine is in everything and promoted the
Ramakrishna Mission which is well known for its social work as well
as being a focus for Hindu religious thought.