The Future of CV

[meeno8]

In order to make any projections into the near future, it would be helpful to assess the current state of CV.  I personally am fairly clueless about that, especially after nearly 40 years of not being directly involved in the CV community in India.  The last encounter I had with anyone from that community was when Srivatsa Goswami of the Chaitanya Prem Sansthan came to the US in 1983 and showed a slide show at a friend's apartment.  I can glean some things from what has been posted online, and in particular here on the symposium.  We know CV is what the Bengalis are brought up with in India and in the various Bengali diasporas around the world, and we know in general that they are also devoted shaktas, Durga Puja being a very big deal for them.

Sure, disinformation is spread by IGM, yet that is the institution that is out there doing the proselytizing.  And we are not supposed to be preachers, rather bhajananandis.  That means there is likely no resolution to the situation anytime soon.  I know there is a lot of time and energy devoted to building our online community and translation of texts into English, which is definitely a good thing.  On the flip side BBT is still actively publishing (as far as I know, not really sure to what extent) and people are distributing those books.

Maybe we should think of it using the metaphor of the Phoenix, the mythical bird that burns up and comes back to life from its own ashes.  As our society evolves and maybe leaves behind all the religious sects destined to crumble under their own weight as they eventually are rejected, and that IMO would also be a good thing, something new and different might emerge.  Only time will tell, and some of the younger people here may actually live to see that.  Or, that never happens, and CV and all other traditions become relics of the past and just a curiosity for future historians.

[Nityānanda dāsa]

Jun 4, 2022 7:49:35 GMT -6 meeno8 said:

In order to make any projections into the near future, it would be helpful to assess the current state of CV.  I personally am fairly clueless about that, especially after nearly 40 years of not being directly involved in the CV community in India.  The last encounter I had with anyone from that community was when Srivatsa Goswami of the Chaitanya Prem Sansthan came to the US in 1983 and showed a slide show at a friend's apartment.  I can glean some things from what has been posted online, and in particular here on the symposium.  We know CV is what the Bengalis are brought up with in India and in the various Bengali diasporas around the world, and we know in general that they are also devoted shaktas, Durga Puja being a very big deal for them.

Sure, disinformation is spread by IGM, yet that is the institution that is out there doing the proselytizing.  And we are not supposed to be preachers, rather bhajananandis.  That means there is likely no resolution to the situation anytime soon.  I know there is a lot of time and energy devoted to building our online community and translation of texts into English, which is definitely a good thing.  On the flip side BBT is still actively publishing (as far as I know, not really sure to what extent) and people are distributing those books.

Maybe we should think of it using the metaphor of the Phoenix, the mythical bird that burns up and comes back to life from its own ashes.  As our society evolves and maybe leaves behind all the religious sects destined to crumble under their own weight as they eventually are rejected, and that IMO would also be a good thing, something new and different might emerge.  Only time will tell, and some of the younger people here may actually live to see that.  Or, that never happens, and CV and all other traditions become relics of the past and just a curiosity for future historians.

I really enjoyed reading this post! Thank you for this Meeno8-ji! You bring up a great point by saying that the IGM folks are preachers and we're bhajananandis. It's not that CV folks don't preach, but more that it's not so brazen and arrogant. We know that many prominent vaishnavas (such as Prangopal Goswami, Anandagopal Goswami, Kanupriya Goswami, and Anantadas Babaji) were all known for giving public talks on various Bhakti topics or texts. Some of them published texts from the scriptural cannon and some composed their own original works based on the core texts and teachings. I suppose this is the preaching we (CV people) do. 

I think the challenge or rather, what's been missing is who among us in the west is really providing these talks? No one. Really this symposium is maybe the closest thing? While I enjoy the study and exploration of texts and topics, I would be very arrogant to start giving regular talks or any talks at all to be frank. 

And yet here I am blabbing away...

[meeno8]

Yes, (just in case it was not obvious) but I was making a distinction between proselytizing, as in missionary activities, and education within the CV community. Premananda Bharati did travel to the US on his mission to take CV offshore, yet the six Goswamis did not pursue that type of approach. Rather they wrote texts, and fostered the erection of some mandirs in Vrindavan. But at the same time they did not recommend collecting lots of money to build the types of huge mandirs one finds in South India. There was no access to the European printing presses, so their writings were on palm leaf, and could only be copied manually. There was no Gita Press or Motilal Banarsidas booksellers.