A Living Theology of Krishna Bhakti: Essential Teachings of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

297 Pages·2012·1.964 MB·English

by  Tamal Krishna Goswami, Graham M. Schweig

A Living Theology of Krishna Bhakti
00_Goswami_FM.indd i 5/10/2012 2:19:45 PM
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
A Living Theology
of Krishna Bhakti
Essential Teachings of
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupaˉda
z
TAMAL KRISHNA GOSWAMI
Edited with Introduction
and Conclusion by
GRAHAM M. SCHWEIG
1
00_Goswami_FM.indd iii 5/10/2012 2:19:46 PM
1
Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further
Oxford University’s objective of excellence
in research, scholarship, and education.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offi ces in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright © 2012 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
www.oup.com
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A living theology of Krishna Bhakti : essential teachings of
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Tamal Krishna Goswami /
edited with introduction and conclusion by Graham M. Schweig.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–19–979663–2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 1896–1977.
2. International Society for Krishna Consciousness—Doctrines.
I. Schweig, Graham M., 1953–
BL1285.892.A28L58 2012
294.5′512092—dc23
2011050785
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
00_Goswami_FM.indd iv 5/10/2012 2:19:46 PM
Contents
List of Abbreviations vii
Introduction: Moving between Worlds—graham m. schweig 1
General Remarks 1
The Focus of Goswami’s Work 3
A Sketch of Goswami’s Life 9
On the Preparation of this Book 16
1. In Quest of the “Theological” Prabhupāda 21
The Need and Aim of This Study 23
The Approach of This Study 27
Background of the Pre-ISKCON Prabhupāda 32
2. The Travails of Illegitimacy: Historical Setting 38
Counterculture Discourse: The Mid-1960s to Mid-1970s 38
Cult-Controversy Discourse: The Mid-1970s to Mid-1980s 51
A Discourse of Indiff erence: The Mid-1980s to the Present 71
Summary and Refl ections 82
3. Sources of Knowledge: Pramāṇa 87
The Infl uence of Parents and Teachers 89
The College Setting and Christian Infl uences 92
Earlier Vaishnava Teachers in Bengal 102
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī as Prabhupāda’s Guru 108
Prabhupāda as Authoritative Commentator 112
Summary and Refl ections 119
00_Goswami_FM.indd v 5/10/2012 2:19:46 PM
vi Contents
4. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: Sambandha 120
The Relationship with Krishna as Sambandha 123
Prabhupāda’s English Mahāvākya Phrase 127
The Three Ultimate Spiritual Energies 132
Deeper Theological Implications 138
The Question of Translation 146
Prabhupāda’s Root Metaphor 149
Protecting Krishna’s Intimate Līlās 151
Summary and Refl ections 157
5. Bhakti, Devotional Service: Abhidheya 158
Infl uence of Pan-Indic Conceptions of Bhakti 159
Rūpa Gosvāmin’s Conception of Bhakti 165
The Relationship of Service to Bhakti 167
Rūpa Goswāmin’s Five Principal Practices of Bhakti 172
(1) Association with Devotees: Sādhu Saṅga 173
.
(2) Collectively Praising the Divine Names: Nāma-Samkīrtana 177
(3) Hearing the Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Bhāgavata Śravaṇa 183
(4) Residing in a Holy Place: Mathurā-Vāsa 187
(5) Serving the Sacred Image: Śrī-Mūrti Sevana 191
Concluding Refl ections 198
Conclusion: Prema, Purest Love: Prayojana—graham m. schweig 200
The Uncontainable Nature of Prema 200
Is There a “Theology” of the Chaitanya School? 205
Three Foundational Sacred Texts 209
Three Manifestations of the Loving Divinity 213
The Ultimate Theological Focal Point 217
The Divine Love Call 223
A Theology of Divine Secrecy 226
The Gifts of Theology 230
Works Cited 233
Index 259
00_Goswami_FM.indd vi 5/10/2012 2:19:46 PM
List of Abbreviations
BG Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, 1989 ed. unless otherwise noted,
translation and commentary
BRS Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Rūpa Gosvāmin
BTG Back to Godhead Magazine
CB Caitanya Bhāgavata by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura
CC Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāja, 9 vols., translation
and commentary
KB Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, 3 vols.
MMW M. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary
NOD The Nectar of Devotion
OED Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.
SSR Science of Self Realization
SPL Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, 6 vols., by Satsvarūpa dāsa Goswami
SB Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 12 cantos (Bhāgavata Purāṇa), translation
and commentary
TLC Teachings of Lord Caitanya
The above abbreviations are followed either by a page reference, a volume
and page reference, a chapter and verse reference, or a canto, chapter, and verse
reference. The letter “P” following a verse number indicates a citation from
Prabhupāda’s Purport: his commentary upon that verse.
Prabhupāda’s personal letters and conversations have been coded to their elec-
tronic version, available through the Folio database Bhaktivedanta VedaBase # 1.1
Personal letters are coded according to their date (year, month, day), preceded
by the name of the recipient. Thus, Mandali Bhadra 720120 indicates a letter to
1. They have also been printed. The fi ve-volume Letters edition is now out of print.
According to the director of the Bhaktivedanta Archives responsible for the thirty- seven-
volume printed edition of Conversations with Śrīla Prabhupāda, only a dozen sets remain
in stock and there is no plan to reprint owing to the exclusive demand for the electronic
version.
00_Goswami_FM.indd vii 5/10/2012 2:19:46 PM
viii List of Abbreviations
Mandali Bhadra dated January 20, 1972. Room conversations (rc), lectures (le),
interviews (iv), morning walks (mw), meetings (me), evening darśan (ed), Śrīmad
Bhāgavatam classes (sb), press conversations (pc), and so on are indicated by the
date, followed by one of these or other abbreviations, as well as a three-letter exten-
sion indicating the place. Thus, 690511rc.col. indicates a room conversation in
Columbus on May 11, 1969.
Note on the Spelling of Personal Names
While the standard English transliteration for Sanskrit has been used (with some
modifi cation for Bengali quotations), personal names have been spelled accord-
ing to an individual’s or a publisher’s preference; thus, Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda rather than Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda, and Satsvarūpa dāsa
Goswami rather than Satsvarūpa dāsa Gosvāmī.
00_Goswami_FM.indd viii 5/10/2012 2:19:46 PM
A Living Theology of
Krishna Bhakti
00_Goswami_FM.indd ix 5/10/2012 2:19:47 PM