ISKCON and Hinduism

 

(Concerning the Madhva Position Paper)

 

 

 

 

Question:

On Wed, 2 Jun 2004, Yvonne (krishnaplaza[at]yahoo.de) wrote:

 

Dear sirs or madams,

… I'm intrigued by the notion on your website that the ISKCON teachings are not coherent with Hinduism. Intuitively, I feel that this is right but I don't know how to explain it to others. I checked out your website but as I was not raised in the Hindu faith I really have a hard time understanding this. I would appreciate if you explained to me your theses in a way that "Christians" can understand.

 

Your sincerely, Yvonne

 

 

 

 

 

Reply:

On Thu, 3 Jun 2004, Shrisha Rao (support[at]dvaita.net) wrote:

 

Hello,

Thanks for your message. I don't think we have said that ISKCON is not coherent with Hinduism. Hinduism itself is rather loosely defined, includes many things in its ambit, and means different things to different people, so it is not unreasonable that Hinduism includes ISKCON-type philosophies and traditions.

 

Rather, our quarrel is with the claim that ISKCON is derived from or in consonance with the tradition or teachings of Madhva. While some lip-service is paid to Madhva (mostly as a matter of claiming traditional imprimatur), there is in fact a great separation between Madhva's doctrine and ISKCON teachings.

 

I don't think this is a matter of difficulty for a Christian or anyone else. If I were to start a new order, pay some lip service to Catholicism while preaching tenets opposed to fundamental teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and its founders, and then claim that I and my order were Catholics, people would take umbrage. While no one questions a man's fundamental right to choose whatever spiritual path appeals to him, it is not correct to oppose some tradition on numerous fundamental points and yet claim adherence to it. For example, orders like the Jesuits and Fransiscans [Franciscans], which are within the Catholic tradition, do not behave in such heretical ways.

 

Regards,

 

Shrisha Rao (support[at]dvaita.net)

 

 

 

 

 

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The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)