Casteless

I think way too much emphasis is placed on brahminical culture and lifestyle in Chaitanya Vaishnavism. When I was a young sannyasi in India, adopting brahminical standards made sense. Later, when I returned to the West and no longer had a support system for that, I gave it up with no regrets. It goes against my nature and the life I live. One is to follow one's sva-dharma, not that of another. When we follow another's way and repress our own nature, it developes a large shadow which often expresses itself in unhealthy ways. Therefore, I consider myself to be casteless, or of mixed caste, and do whatever I have to do. These are all material things and have nothing to do with devotion.

Faith and Action

Regarding faith, I want to make it abundantly clear that I separate faith from belief, as Bhaktivinode and Paul Tillich among others have done. I may change my beliefs or have no beliefs, but I still have faith as we all do. We all have faith in something, whether it is the nation, our shastras and gurus, our mattress or our sadhana. Something is our ultimate concern. The problem comes when we place our faith in things that are not truly ultimate, like the nation, the cult, the symbols we use for the ultimate mystery, rather than the mystery itself. There will always be some existential doubt that remains so long as we are embodied. Our sadhana is an act that entails our entire being and is an act of faith.

I was part of one religion, the United Church of Christ, that is non-hierarchical and has no creed or dogma. In it's practical application, it is far from perfect, or I would still be with them. Yet, they do provide a model for me as I pursue Chaitanya Vaishnavism. I see organized religion as a real problem, but the fact is also, how does one even spread one's teachings without some organization? I firmly believe in the separation of church and state, but can religion simply ignore the attrocities of government and remain silent? Can politicians not have a religious, ethical grounding that is not repressive? Where is this all leading, hopefully to a time when we are all enlightened enough to live without governments, corporations or religions.

Why we need faith.

No matter how sophisticated your idea of God, it is still trying to put God in a box and say, "Ah ha. Now I've got it." As soon as you say, this is it, and worship your limited conception (whether it is more or less limited than others conceptions) and take the words of your books and teachers as final and complete, that is the beginning of idolatry, when we worship the symbol as God and do not see it as symbol, for all we know about God is symbolic. God must remain the utimate, unknowable other who is the great mystery behind everythilng so long as we are in this embodied material state of existence. Especially in unsettled, troubled times such as we live in, many persons want final, black and white, conclusive anwers, but they're just not real whether they come from the Christians, Moslems, Hindus or who ever. I'm afraid we must always live with uncertainty, ambiguity and paradox. That is why we need faith.