Friday, July 25, 2003

Hare Krishna: 'The Southern Baptist fundamentalists of Hinduism'

By George W. Braswell Jr.

For 25 years I have taken classes of seminarians to Hare Krishna temples for conversations and cross-cultural experiences.

The Hare Krishna are an offshoot of Hinduism, established in the United States in 1965.

Once, a swami who is the leader of the temple community said to my class of 60 students, "We are the Southern Baptist fundamentalists of Hinduism."

How so, I asked?

The swami, an American and former Roman Catholic with a master's degree in engineering, said, "We, Hare Krishna, believe that our scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, is the inerrant and infallible word about Lord Krishna just like the Southern Baptists believe about the Bible."

He continued, "As the swami, I am the authority in this temple community of interpretation of our scripture. I have the responsibility to make decisions for the spiritual life of our devotees. They are under my authority. I believe the Southern Baptist pastor is the authority of the Baptist church."

Behind the swami, seated on his small elevated seat, were male and female devotees, more females than males. One was a Vietnam veteran dressed in his white dhoti with a pigtail emerging from the back of his nearly bald head. One female dressed in her sari was an African-American medical student from a near-by university. Another female was a 17 year old who recently left her home to sit under the authority of the swami.

The swami said that he selects the mates for marriage among the devotees. Married couples only have intimacy to procreate children. The children are schooled by the community. Women are submissive to male authority.

I asked the swami if women could be ordained a swami. He answered that women are the backbone of the Hare Krishna community, but it is for a male to be ordained a swami. He said, "It is like Southern Baptists. A woman cannot be a pastor of a church."

Again he said, "We are the fundamentalists of Hinduism just like Southern Baptists are the fundamentalists of Christianity in the inerrant scripture, in the authority of the male leader, and in the submission of women to men. But the Hare Krishna are more devoted to Krishna and purer in our living than many Southern Baptists are devoted to Jesus and live pure lives."

How so, again I asked Him?

The swami replied that Hare Krishna do not have illicit sex, don't gamble, don't eat meat, and absolutely refrain from alcohol and illicit drugs. Then he said, "I think some Southern Baptists, including pastors, might learn a lesson from us."

I said to the swami, "You must have learned about Southern Baptists from many sources. Have we not talked about what are the deepest beliefs of Christians about Jesus as Lord and Savior, about Jesus' parable of the prodigal son depicting the very nature of God's relationship to His children, and about Jesus' death on the cross for the forgiveness and reconciliation of all humankind? These are the fundamentals for living and for the truth."

The swami answered, "All that may be true and commendable for Christians. But all that may be threatened if it is not founded on the fundamentals of the authority of the scripture, the authority of proper leadership, and the authority in the family."

The swami believed what he said, and said what he believed. He is a fundamentalist and practices the fundamentals of his religion as he said. In his view there are many similarities of his beliefs with those of Southern Baptists. It is interesting what he emphasized and what he de-emphasized in his comparisons. In some ways, it just may be tragic.

(EDITOR'S NOTE - Braswell is distinguished professor of missions and world religions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.)

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