Steven Rosen's new book: Sri Chaitanya's Life and Teachings

[Nitaidas]

So, I have agreed to do a review of Steven Rosen's new book: Sri Chaitanya's Life and Teachings: the Golden Avatara of Divine Love. The book was recently published (2017) by Lexington Books (ISBN: 978-1-4985-5833-4). It has 257 pages (xxvi, 231), ten chapters, an afterword, a bibliography, index, and a author page. It is part of a series called Explorations in Indic Traditions: Theological, Ethical, and Philosophical edited by Jeffery D. Long. It is the second book in the series.

I am about halfway through the book and thought I would record some of my impressions and thoughts about the book here in preparation for writing the review. The review itself is only to be between 400-1000 words and will not be published except on a website, somewhere. Anyway, it seemed useful for me and for anyone interested in the book and in how Caitanya Vaisnavism (I refuse to call it Gaudiya Vaisnavism because that limits it in my view to a phenomenon of Bengal or Gauda, when in fact it is a pan-Indian tradition and now a pan-World tradition) is being represented in the West at the present time.

To begin with let me say that Steven has done a good job given the limits of his perspective as a member of the ISKCON/Gaudiya Math community which I would describe as an offshoot or a schismatic sub-sect of the larger mainstream tradition of Caitanya Vaisnavism. It is a somewhat like asking a member of a Protestant Christian group to write a description of the history and teachings of Jesus. Naturally, there is quite a bit of overlap in terms of beliefs and practices and shared history, but it is natural to expect that the values and beliefs of the protesters will be featured and even championed. That is what happens with Steven's presentation of Caitanya and his tradition. If I were writing such a book, schismatic movements like IGM would certainly be included, but in a chapter towards the end. Other offshoots, like Bodo Baba's followers, Jagadbandhu Sundara's followers, and others would be given their own chapters separate from the mainstream tradition. Every religious tradition has been through periods of dissent in which groups have separated themselves from the main tradition and often for good reasons, but one should not portray the views, interpretations, institutions, and practices of the sect as if they were those of the main tradition. Everyone cited in Steven's book is from IGM, except when he cites a few scholars (Tony Stewart, Ed Dimock, et al) when they say something favorable or at least not critical or unfavorable about the tradition. More about the question of scholarship and scholars later.

[Nitaidas]

Just a quick note to keep this topic alive.

Steven has contacted me after seeing my previous statement and informs me that he has not just followed the IGM perspective, though that is the main perspective he operates from. He steps beyond the narrow confines of the IGM point of view in later chapters, he says, in chapters I have not read yet. I will certainly look for evidence of that. I have just finished Chapter 6 on the Siksastaka. So far in the book I have only seen the names of Pandit Anantadas Das Babaji Maharaj in the text and he has also briefly quoted Manindranath Guha, whose work on the holy name (Drop of Nectar of the Holy Name) I have translated and published. He did not quote that text, however. Manindranath Babu has also written on the Siksastaka, based in the teachings of his Gurudev Kanupriya Gosvamin. This is another book worthy of translation that I began at some point, but did not finish. Steven did not quote that either. Instead he used a citation from an article by Jagat in the JVS (12.1, Fall 2003).

I asked him why he didn't draw on Anantadas Babaji's commentary more. His reply was that he did draw on it. I don't see any evidence of that apart from the presence of his name in the chapter and a reference to his work in the footnote. I guess that is what drawing on someone's work means. Instead, he quotes something written by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati who in his eagerness to connect Caitanya's instruction verses with the Veda, notes that Agni has seven tongues in the Rg Veda and Sankirtana has seven effects in the first verse of the Siksastaka. But all of the effects described in the first verse are cooling and refreshing, not hot or tormenting. The only mention of fire in the verse is connected with the davagni of material existence. Clearly this is a flawed characterization of meaning of the verse. Who wants to be scorched by sankirtana? No doubt, Bhaktisiddhanta had the yajna metaphor found in the Bhagavata in mind, but in the process he missed the rasa of the verse. None of this will go into my review of Steven's book. I don't have enough space for it. I feel sad, though, to think that instead of relying more on and citing some of the insights into the text of a vastly learned scholar like Panditji Maharaj, Steven chose to quote someone like Tripurari, hardly a match for Babaji.

Maybe in a future post I will cite Tripurari's statement because it points to what I think is an obvious misunderstanding of the last verse of the text? It is almost as if the IGMers Steven cites are a group of aliens from a distant world who have come to Earth and are trying to figure out Shakespeare.

Anyway, I get the sense that Steven is afraid of sharp criticisms he may get from the IGM mafia if he cites too many non-IGM sources of insight into the Caitanya Vaisnava tradition.

[Nitaidas]

Would someone please send me a passage from Pandit Anantadas Baba's commentary on the Siksastaka, say on the first verse, or even better, on the eighth verse? I can't seem to find the copy I put aside when I was selling them through Nitai's Bookstore. I have sold all the others. I would like to compare what he says with the quotations Steven has included in his discussion. I will post it here.

Thanks.

[Ed]

Hi, Nitai, i have the file that's on Tarun Govinda's blog, you can read it and download it here: flowingnectarstream.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/siksastakam_master.pdf

Tarun Govinda's blog is: flowingnectarstream.wordpress.com/pandit-sri-ananta-das-babaji-maharaja/ If you scroll down, on your right, you'll see other files you can download from that blog as well

I hope this can help, but If you have any issues with the first link i can post screen captures here, just let me know.

[Nitaidas]

Thanks, Ed. I appreciate this. The discussion of verse 8 is far more detailed and authentic than Steven presents on the verse. He associates it with sambhoga as does Tripurari in a quotation included at the end of Steven's chapter. This is clearly wrong. Instead, it is an expression of the desire to please Krsna at all costs, even if that means that Krsna does not show himself again and goes off with someone else. It is a desire for union (sambhogeccha) that is completely free of the desire for self-gratification.

Anyway, thanks for the link. I hope others who come to this symposium will read Baba's superior commentary on the Siksastaka.

By the way, I think guests can comment on this part of the symposium, in case anyone has something to say.

[Ed]

I hope so too, I also read the Siksastaka thread here on the pre-modern literature section where you translated parts of Sri Mani Babu’s commentary on the first verse, that discussion was very interesting, and some differences between the IGM and traditional interpretations of the verses were briefly mentioned back then.

So far I get the general impression that perhaps the author also considers IGM as a kind of improvement on the tradition, or its natural next step, but maybe i’m wrong. I’d like to read your full review and more of your extended comments on it here, but it seems like the book would be especially valuable for people interested in IGM’s form of CV.

[Nitaidas]

Thanks, Ed. I had totally forgotten about that thread. Thanks for reminding me. There are things in this site that i have totally forgotten about. It is like a labyrinth. Maybe I will add a link there to Pandit Anantadas Babaji's commentary. Another perspective on those eight verses.

[Nitaidas]

Greetings All,

The review I wrote of Steven Rosen's book, Sri Caitanya's Life and Teachings, is up at Reading Religion. You can find it here. Let me know what you think. I actually wrote two reviews. I will post the other here in a few days.

By the way, I recommend this book as long as one reads it with a critical eye. Rosen lapses into hyperbole in many places, as he often does in his books. One has to take it all with a sizeable pinch of salt. No one has ever claimed, for instance, Caitanya's Siksastaka is great Sanskrit poetry, at least not anyone who has ever read any great Sanskrit poetry. It's good, but not great.

The only major drawback for the book is the price of the book: $100. It is a book that should be selling for $30-40. If I were to produce a book the same size, same number of pages, and same case laminate cover, I would price it in that range ($30-40). It costs less than $9.00 to print and bind. Of course, the publisher had to pay editors and typesetters who weren't freaked out by diacritics. Still, I think the book is priced too high.

Nd

[Nitaidas]

Here is my unedited review of Steven Rosen's book, Sri Chaitanya's Life and Teachings.

[Nitaidas]

Here is my second review of Steven Rosen's book on a different point.

[Manjari 108]

Could not have said all that better myself, Nitai