{"id":1033,"date":"2013-06-08T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2013-06-08T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vnn.org\/vaisnava-news\/?p=1033"},"modified":"2013-06-07T20:05:53","modified_gmt":"2013-06-08T00:05:53","slug":"review-from-all-angles-of-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vaishnava-news-network.org\/vaisnava-news\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: From All Angles of Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kkdas\"<\/a>June 07, 2013 (VNN)\u00a0Krishna Kshetra Das (Kenneth R. Valpey),\u00a0From All Angles of Vision: Selected Essays 1996\u20132004<\/em>: Lotos, 2012.<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Bhrigupada Dasa<\/p>\n

Krishna Kshetra Das is an initiating spiritual master in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon). Perhaps best known for his work on Vaishnava ritual (he was for example instrumental in compiling the important\u00a0Pancaratra Pradipa<\/i>, describing the normative Iskcon standard of image worship). However, as Dr. Kenneth Valpey, he is also an accomplished academic scholar affiliated with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, and has taught at several universities around the globe. His recent publications include (with Radhika Ramana Das) an edited volume of articles on the\u00a0Bhagavata<\/i>. This present book, however, does not fit easily into either of these two roles. Rather, it is a compilation of essays that Krishna Kshetra Das wrote during his studies for a variety of courses, generally on topics not directly connected to Krishna\u00a0bhakti<\/i>, but where he as abhakta<\/i>\u00a0naturally infuses his assignments with links to\u00a0bhakti<\/i>\u00a0and the Vaishnava tradition. These texts, then, become meeting places for various \u201cangles of vision,\u201d leading the reader to explore new vistas and reassess old.<\/p>\n

In doing this, Krishna Kshetra Das follows his late friend and colleague, Tamal Krishna Goswami, who brought out not one but two collections of college papers several years ago (Reason and Belief: Problem Solving in the Philosophy of Religion<\/i>, Pundits Press 1997;\u00a0A Hare Krishna at Southern Methodist University<\/i>, Pundits Press 1998). However, while Tamal Krishna Goswami\u2019s essays always explicitly commented on or explored themes directly related to Vaishnavism and the Hare Krishna movement, Krishna Kshetra Das\u2019 essays are often more indirect. For instance, in one essay the author compares Thomas Aquinas\u2019 and contemporary Catholic theologian Edward Schillebeeckx\u2019s views on the \u201ctransubstantiation\u201d or \u201ctransignification\u201d of the Eucharist, mentioning the connection with the transformation of food or other offerings in Vaishnava offerings only in an introductory footnote.<\/p>\n

As in the case of Goswami Maharaja, Krishna Kshetra Das decided to keep these student essays unchanged, as \u201c[his] record of these years of academic catching-up\u201d (p. xv). These are of course no ordinary undergraduate papers. As someone who reads such texts on a daily basis, I am struck by the consistently high quality of Krishna Kshetra Das\u2019 writing, both in terms of style and intellectual content. Similarly impressive is the range of topics covered, from details of Vedanta philosophy to animal rights, civil religion, and perspectives on the abortion issue. The downside with this, of course, is that the volume as a whole is rather uneven. Some essays are rather technical (such as \u201cCanons in Conflict: Unzipping Brahma-sutra 2.2.42\u201345\u201d), others of rather tangential interest (such as the entry on the Hare Krishna Movement for the Concise Encyclopedia on Religion and Language). Many deal with different aspects of Christianity, reflecting the theological emphasis of the author\u2019s studies.<\/p>\n

As academic papers, and in keeping with the general tenor of the author, the essays are all subdued in tone, at times bordering on the lukewarm or downright boring. For persons that have grown up on a more forcefully \u201cpreachy\u201d style of devotee writing, this may be frustrating (\u201cbut what do the authorized scriptures say?\u201d) but nevertheless most useful reading. However, there are instances where the author becomes more personal, such as in \u201cA Tremendous Connection \u2013 Reflections on Tamal Krishna Goswami\u2019s Final Visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor\u201d. Had I been one of the author\u2019s supervisors, I would have suggested more such personal input.<\/p>\n

The primary audience of this book, as the author indicates in the preface, is his own circle of friends and students, \u201cwith the hopes that its contents will be met with good will and may even serve to inspire their own writing\u201d (p. xvii). Nevertheless, I believe that this volume is useful for a larger audience than this. Serious Vaishnava practitioners going back into the academia they left in order to pursue spiritual life years or even decades ago is a tendency inaugurated by Goswami Maharaja and the present author. It is a project that has been criticized from some quarters, both by bewildered students (\u201cWhy is Guru Maharaja doing this?\u201d) and by senior Gaudiya Vaishnava authorities (\u201cWe are interested only in the University of Haridasa Thakura!\u201d). A careless reading of the present work would perhaps only strengthen such doubts. Why so much dry Christian theology? Where is the straight\u00a0Rupanuga Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta<\/i>? Where is the\u00a0bhava<\/i>, Prabhu; where is the nectar?<\/p>\n

It is all over \u2013 but it is the nectar of intellectual and scholarly curiosity, the joy of finding new continents and beholding new horizons, of seeing the world come alive with ever-unfolding varieties of thoughts and experiences, of coming into age as an intellectually oriented Gaudiya Vaishnava within the milieu of academia. No, not every devotee of Krishna needs to enter this world, but in order to be able to interact with larger society, each Gaudiya Vaishnava movement must have some members who find their home here as well. This book will no doubt serve to whet the appetite of persons curious about this kind of work, and for this the author is to be earnestly congratulated: in a day when universities all over are under increasing pressure to conform to corporate models of productivity and efficiency, this books brings a whiff of fresh air from Oxbridge. Not all hope is lost. The university can still be a garden for personal growth of \u201cspirituality\u201d, in the mediaeval sense of the mental side of life. And when such spirituality, teamed with humility, as in this book, is applied on the path of devotion, what possibly could hold the practitioner back?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 07, 2013 (VNN)\u00a0Krishna Kshetra Das (Kenneth R. Valpey),\u00a0From All Angles of Vision: Selected Essays 1996\u20132004: Lotos, 2012. Reviewed by Bhrigupada Dasa Krishna Kshetra Das is an initiating spiritual master … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[419,416,417,418],"class_list":["post-1033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-philosophy-commentary","tag-philosophy-of-religion","tag-vaishnava-ritual","tag-vaishnava-tradition","tag-worship","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: From All Angles of Vision - VNN - Vaishnava News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vaishnava-news-network.org\/vaisnava-news\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"VNN Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"VNN Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/697219dd9c21dd216a0ea9f7de1cc9c9\"},\"headline\":\"Review: From All Angles of Vision\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-08T12:00:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":945,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/06\\\/kkdas-f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Philosophy of Religion\",\"Vaishnava ritual\",\"Vaishnava tradition\",\"worship\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Featured\",\"PHILOSOPHY & COMMENTARY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/review-from-all-angles-of-vision\\\/\",\"name\":\"Review: From All Angles of Vision - 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