Victoria Okampo
After the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh, there has been a lot of discussion about the Hindu religious organization that was associated with him, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or International Society for Krishna Consciousness – ISKCON.
Many people are also accusing ISKCON of preaching extremist religious doctrines. Again, ISKCON was banned in the countries where it was banned earlier, demanding that the organization be banned in Bangladesh as well. However, on Thursday, the Bangladesh High Court did not take into account the petition to ban ISKCON.
Again, the debate about whether ISKCON really preaches Hinduism is also noticed on the Internet.
This report will try to shed light on what ISKCON actually does.
Birth of ISKCON
Born in the Tollygunge area of South Kolkata, Abhayacharan Dey later in life was the founder of Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami ‘Prabhupada’ or AC Bhaktivedanta ISKCON. Millions of ISKCON devotees spread all over the world believe that he is a religious leader.
Radharaman Das, vice-president and spokesperson of ISKCON in Kolkata, told BBC Bangla, “He studied at Scottish Church College in Kolkata. He also participated in the freedom struggle. At a much older age, he met his Guru Maharaj in Calcutta. It was he who ordered AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to go to western countries and preach Hinduism. When he was about 70 years old, he reached New York in the United States from Kolkata by a cargo ship. That was on July 16, 1965. ”
According to the ISKCON website, AC Bhaktivedanta Swamy had only a few trunks full of books and only seven US dollars with him when he left for the US.
ISKCON was founded in 1966 and AC Bhaktivedanta died in 1977.
In this short time, he went to many countries of the world and wrote more than 40 books.
At present, ISKCON runs more than 500 large centers, many temples, schools, thousands of local groups, about one hundred vegetarian restaurants. They also do various social welfare work, distributing relief in natural disasters.
The main center of this organization is Mayapur in Nadia, West Bengal.
The Sangh claims that Chaitanyadeva, a Vaishnava monk, was born in Mayapur.
Propagation of Gaudiya Vaishnava doctrine
ISKCON claims that their spiritual ideology is based on the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana written in Sanskrit.
Radharaman Das said, “We are the Gaudiya Brahma Madhava sect. The ideology of ISKCON is the Vaishnava doctrine of this Bengal, that is, the Vaishnava stream of the Gaur region, that we spread to the world. ”
ISKCON members spread their ideology in various ways beyond worshiping in their own temples. They preach the doctrine of ISKCON in various ways, including dancing or seminars, reciting the mantra ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama’ with shells and cymbals on the streets.
‘ISKCON is part of Hinduism’
Many people question whether the Gaudiya Vaishnavism preached by ISKCON is Hindu religion at all.
Naba Kumar Bhattacharya, head of the West Bengal Vedic Academy, explained that Vaishnavism is one of the five sects in Hinduism. The other sects are Shaiva, Shakta, Saura, and Ganapatya.
“Hinduism is a tradition of philosophies. Each community has a philosophy. The Vaishnava sect is in stark contrast to the Shakta sect. Again, not everyone is in favor of the Vedas. This philosophy has accepted philosophies such as the Cārvāka, which speaks of atheism. ”
“The key is the thought of Brahman. Some are involved in the thought of Brahman formlessly, some formlessly. The ideology that ISKCON adheres to is the philosophy of the Vaishnava community, with which some new ideas have been added to it. Therefore, the ideology of ISKCON is definitely a part of Hinduism. They are always recognized. Those who are against Hinduism raise these questions,” said Naba Kumar Bhattacharya, a scholar of Hindu religion.
Controversy over ISKCON
Millions of ISKCON devotees are spread in different countries of the world, including Western countries. In addition to their original name, a separate name is given as a devotee of ISKCON.
Many of the famous devotees of ISKCON have given up the luxurious life and chosen the life of Brahmachari. ISKCON’s famous and ‘millionaire’ members include Alfred Ford, the great-grandson of Ford Motors owner Henry Ford, George Harrison, one of the faces of The Beatles, poet Allen Ginsberg and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
As the gathering of famous people has been held in ISKCON, ISKCON has also been involved in controversy at various times.
For example, ISKCON has been banned in Singapore for a long time since the beginning of the Sangh’s establishment. The registration of the association was withheld. But later ISKCON activities started in that country with another name, now there is a temple there and ISKCON devotees work openly.
Also, ISKCON still cannot conduct its activities in many countries of the Middle East. In China, they also have to work secretly, according to an old article on the ISKCON website. However, the organization claims that ISKCON has at least 12 temples in Pakistan. In many countries, including Russia, cases have been filed over ISKCON’s method of religious propaganda at various times.
Asked about these controversial issues, Radharaman Das, spokesperson of the ISKCON center in Kolkata, said that he would speak at another time, citing his busy schedule.
However, Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, a researcher of Hindutva, says, “ISKCON has been controversial in different countries, but the reasons for these are different in different countries. There have been allegations against various monks of ISKCON that they believe in Aryanism, are racists, etc. There have been allegations of child abuse.
“Regarding the activities of ISKCON in Bangladesh, it is being said that they are extremist and militant religious organizations. It should not be said at all. They may be religious conservative organisations, but conservatism is propagated by many organisations of different religions,” says Snigdhendu Bhattacharya.
He said, “The main allegation that has been raised against ISKCON in Bangladesh at different times is that they have a huge number of fans in India and the United States, so they have taken various issues of Bangladesh to the international level at different times. They asked for India’s intervention. ”
“Recently, some monks associated with ISKCON in Bangladesh have heard the slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in India, mainly among BJP leaders and activists. Here the issue of India’s relationship with ISKCON has become central due to the influence of recent anti-India trends in Bangladesh politics,” says Mr. Bhattacharya.
What does ISKCON do in Bangladesh?
Recently, there have been many discussions in Bangladesh about some of the activities of ISKCON.
They have also been described as religious fundamentalist organizations.
At an event in Sylhet on Tuesday, Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that there is domestic and foreign fuel in the ISKCON movement.
In a statement that night, ISKCON Bangladesh said that as a traditional organization, it works to protect the religious freedom and rights of minority communities in Bangladesh, such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and others.
Bimla Prasad Das, a member of the central committee of ISKCON Bangladesh, told BBC Bangla, “We do service work in Bangladesh like the rest of the world.”
In response to the question that ISKCON is being called a religious fundamentalist organization. “The government’s various intelligence agencies will look into it,” Das said. They have all the information and they’ll look into it.
At the end of last month, members of the Hindu community held a rally at Laldighi Maidan in Chittagong to press for an eight-point demand.
There they demanded the trial of attacks and oppression on minorities, punishment of those involved, compensation, minority protection law.
ISKCON Bangladesh General Secretary Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari said in a statement on Tuesday, “ISKCON is an international organization, which conducts religious practices and human welfare activities peacefully by upholding Gaudiya Vaishnava religious ideals and traditional values. We have always worked for peace, harmony and harmony. We are committed to working with the same ideals in the future.