BBC: Hare Krsnas the Western Face of Hinduism

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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.