Universalist Radha Krishnaism


Universalist Radha Krishnaism is my latest and most developed synthesis of process theology and Radha Krishna devotion.	Universalist Radha Krishnaism This essay is derived from Process Theology: an Introductory Exposition, by John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffin, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1976. Universalist Radha Krishnaism is an eclectic blend influenced by the philosophy of Krishna Chaitanya along with the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne known as process philosophy as well as by process theology, developed by John Cobb and David Griffin among others. It coalesced over the years as I put together pieces of truth gathered on my spiritual journey. Universalist Radha Krishnaism speaks about God, but in a way that is philosophically and religiously opposed to the way the term is generally understood. Therefore, I prefer to use the term God-dess. God-dess is not the “Cosmic Moralist” who gives us a long list of unchanging, absolute laws, codes, rules and regulations we must follow under threat of punishment either in this life or the next. Rather, God-dess wants us to enjoy life fully, yet responsibly in relationship with him-her, others and indeed all creation. God-dess is a giver of grace and may ask us at the time of death why we did not enjoy life more. God-dess is not an unchangeable, passionless absolute who remains aloof from and unaffected by the world. God-dess is intimately related to the world, enjoying and responding to and through all beings. God-dess is dynamic, changing and adapting to creation. God-dess is not limited by 5,000, 2,000 or even one year old descriptions. God-dess is ever-fresh like youth or spring. God-dess is not the “Controlling Power” who micromanages the world deciding who lives and who dies along with all the other details of what happens and what does not. God-dess set the processes of creation in motion. Those processes work according to their own natural laws and God-dess does not suspend them to perform miracles. God-dess’ power is one of persuasion rather than coercion. God-dess does not sanction the status quo or will it to be as it is. The status quo is a passing stage in a grand evolutionary process developing higher states of consciousness capable of greater enjoyment of experience. The status quo needs to give way to new, novel ways of harmonious conscious being. God-dess is not male but both male and female with an emphasis on the more feminine side. God-dess is Radha Krishna, the Divine Couple engaged in an eternal love affair with each other and all beings. Chaitanya is considered to be Radha Krishna in one body, the perfection of androgyny. The past is past and cannot be repeated. The future is open and not predetermined. The present is happening now. The past influences the present and the future. Many options for possible futures exist. We have a certain amount of free choice regarding which future we choose. Each instant is new and unrepeatable. All we really have is the “eternal now.” Therefore, we can live eternal life in relationship with God-dess now. Radha Krishna relate with one another and all beings. We relate with them and all beings also. We are all interrelated and connected to all things. Yet we maintain our individual existence. We are in the process of developing conscious relationships based on love and respect for all things. Everything is a manifestation of God-dess. Nurture your interdependence more than your independence. The richer your relatedness, the greater your enjoyment of experience. Our present experience includes a select, limited portion of the past. Our past experiences led us to this particular present. Similarly, this present will become past and lead us to a particular future. We can influence what the future will be by how we live in the present, the consciousness we develop and most importantly, the loving relationship we develop with Radha Krishna. We envision the desired future and enlist the aid of God-dess to get us there. We do this by becoming surrendered souls living in the presence of God-dess constantly. In this way, we can see the interrelatedness of all things as finite parts or emanations from God-dess. We can relate to creation as part of God-dess and care for it as we care for ourselves for we are dependent on it and it upon us. Creation is alive, and God-dess is its Soul. God-dess expanded through the original big bang to become all things. In spite of becoming many, God-dess remains one. While many past influences determine our available present choices, we do have choices. Radha Krishnaism teaches one to surrender one’s will to God-dess and act on God-dess’ behalf as an agent rather than an actor. Thus, one becomes free of bondage to the past through a natural sense of detachment and renunciation of the outcomes of one’s work. What is God-dess’ aim or purpose in all this? As the transcendental cupid, to urge the world to new heights of enjoyment. Creation is divine sport or play for enjoyment of all kinds of experience. We cannot maximize our enjoyment without considering the enjoyment of others and the environment as well. We are co-creators, with God-dess, creating ourselves and our environment. Experiencing ever new, fresh possibilities enhances God-dess’ enjoyment as well as our own. God-dess is an essential part of all experience. God-dess uses persuasive power, rather than control, to entice us into conscious relationship. By our conscious entry into God-dess’ play, we can engage in ever new, enjoyable pastimes together. It is not just the same old pastimes repeatedly for eternity. We have a unique role to play with God-dess. The faith we need to enter into the pastimes of Radha Krishna is a way of life in which we cultivate basic emotions, attitudes and commitments favorable to Radha Krishna. Beliefs, doctrines and dogmas are secondary. We learn to live as the paradigmatic individuals of Vrindaban live. By following their examples, we become in tune with our innate, prereflective knowing and God-dess’ promptings to conscious awakening. Our conscious beliefs and doctrines are subordinate to what is. There is an actual, objective reality that imposes itself on us regardless of our conscious beliefs. Our beliefs cannot change what is. Life places demands on us and we must respond. We are often more able to discern the truth of things intuitively than rationally. Intuitive knowing comes from innate prereflective, prethematized, unconscious promptings from God-dess within. It behooves us to bring our beliefs in line with our deepest knowing as well as external realities rather than living in denial, thinking our beliefs will change what is simply by believing it to be so. The aim is to attain psychic wholeness and consistency of action. Beliefs do matter. They greatly influence our emotions, attitudes and actions. As beliefs spread, they can have tremendous effects on life in the world. Beliefs can be positive or negative. We should embrace beliefs that are life affirming, empowering and increase love while rejecting beliefs that are opposite. Beliefs come and go. Do not try to hang on to them. Faith is not dependent upon belief. Beliefs are like the furniture of faith. They can be reorganized, replaced or set aside. Some beliefs are more conducive to development of faith than others. We should not be expected to believe the unbelievable. Nor should we cling to outmoded beliefs of the past. Development of religious thought is evolutionary and progressive. Since beliefs shape character, purpose, emotions, attitudes and behavior, we benefit by examining our beliefs’ appropriateness and adjusting them accordingly. Our current state is largely the outcome of previous beliefs, values, purposes, emotions and actions. We want to insure the present leads to a future of maximum enjoyment. Beliefs are also important because they help us decide which experiences to select and emphasize out of various potential experiences. By selecting and focusing attention on certain elements of experience, we heighten conscious awareness of them and increase their effectiveness. For example, when we are conscious of and open to divine grace, an aspect of the universal experience of deity, we increase benefits from it individually and collectively. Most religious beliefs cannot be proven but must be accepted as self-evidently true. We can intuitively accept and understand far more than we can put into words. We are not all equal in this regard, however. We accept a verbal expression of universal truth because it strikes a sympathetic chord and rings true in us. Reason and argument may help us accept, but there must be that basic “Aha!” Most religious doctrine describes prethematized universal experience, while emphasizing selected features which differ from religion to religion. By studying the perspectives of various religions, we get a fuller picture of the universal religion. Radha Krishnaism comes out of a particular historical context which gives its particular flavor, form and emphasis. As it meets new contexts, it must adapt. The language, images and practices that work in a traditions native context may not produce the same effects in a new foreign context. Therefore, my emphasis is on adapting Radha Krishnaism to the current Western context. Before certain possibilities may be actualized, other possibilities must be actualized first. Considering a person’s history, they may or may not be able to actualize certain aspects of a belief system. We must all work out our spirituality from where we stand and what is possible. While traditional Radha Krishnaism contains universal truth, it also contains practices and beliefs particularly derived from and relevant to medieval Indian culture. Some are transferable and others not. By de-emphasizing secondary cultural externals, the lives and universal teachings of Radha Krishna, Chaitanya and their associates become more accessible to Westerners today. Philosophy and religion are generally considered separate fields, with philosophy questioning the ontological existence of God and religious devotees unquestioningly serving a particular manifestation of God. Universalist Radha Krishnaism is a philosophical religious tradition with a well thought out theology developed over more than 2,000 years. It falls under the headings of theism, monotheism and dipolar monotheism (due to its balanced male and female aspects of God-dess). God-dess manifests personally, impersonally and as an immanent all-pervading presence. Panentheism is perhaps a better heading to put it under. The more limiting and constraining our definition of God, the easier it is to disprove. God-dess is certainly unlimited and undefinable. We do not want to worship a God that is too small and cannot stand up to intellectual scrutiny. Our theology illumines contemporary human experience and coheres with the world as we understand it. We study the nature of God-dess to harmonize our nature with God-dess’ nature, thus attaining spiritual consciousness. We enter into God-dess’ personal realm of enjoyment which is free of the limiting time-space continuum. God-dess is love. The extreme love shared between Radha, Krishna and their devotees is especially sweet and attractive. We are invited to join an intimate community of lovers. God-dess sympathetically experiences our happiness and pain out of pure love for us. As we develop love of God-dess, we develop the ability to sympathetically experience his-her bliss. This is much more intense than we can experience on our own. God-dess created us to be in relationship. God-dess is able to hide his-her awesome majestic nature and emphasize the loving, beautiful nature so we can relate as equals. God-dess responds to a devotee’s love according to how the devotee approaches. The relationship is give and take in both directions. It is like having a wealthy, powerful friend who is totally unpretentious and makes us feel right at home. Radha Krishna along with their eternal associates are paradigmatic individuals. Five hundred years ago, they incarnated in Krishna Chaitanya and his associates to give us a updated paradigm. Buddha and Jesus are other paradigmatic individuals who incarnated in different times and places. Since our whole existence changed so drastically in the past hundred years, these paradigms need constant updating to make them relevant to current reality. Chaitanya Radha Krishnaism teaches its adherents to model their lives on the lives of Chaitanya and his followers. They also envision a spiritual body that will be their identity in Radha Krishna’s eternal pastimes in the spiritual world. This is a positive alternative to the nihilism and formlessness so prevalent today. There is a spiritual reality that exists with individuality, form and variegation beyond time-space, birth, death, disease and old age. Rather than becoming free of ego, we become free of false ego and develop our true spiritual identity as associates of Radha Krishna. Rather than leaving your next life up to chance, you can choose an identity, develop it and attain it, just as one makes any major life change. I am here in Hawai’i writing this book now, because I envisioned it in Michigan several years ago. Of course, the goal should be attainable, the appropriate actions must be taken and a certain amount of grace or good fortune thrown in. When we are free of false ego and identify ourselves as servants of God-dess, everything becomes spiritualized and no longer binds us to material life. We still live in the material body and world for as long as this life may last, but we are in the process of transitioning our consciousness from this life to the next, since we know this life is perishing. While God-dess is formless, absolute, unchanging, unmanifest, etc., God-dess is also personal, relational, responsive and loving. God-dess is truly compassionate towards all beings feeling their happiness and distress. We should model our lives on God-dess and develop compassion for all beings. God-dess wills the good for all beings. However, God-dess’ power to bring this about is the power of persuasion rather than coercive control. God-dess does not micromanage creation, but permeates it and supports it trying to persuade beings to follow the divine plan. The living entities have a degree of free will to accept or reject the plan, and thus the possibility of evil exists. God-dess wants to engage in voluntary, loving relationships with us, not with automatons programmed to do only the divine will. Since God-dess’ nature is persuasive rather than controlling, it behooves us to be persuasive with others rather than try to control them. This applies on the interpersonal level as well as the international level. An example is given in the Mahabharat when Krishna tried to mediate a peaceful settlement between the Pandavas and the Kauravas over the rule of the empire. The Kauravas unjustly usurped the rule from the Pandavas and ruled unjustly as oppressive tyrants. Krishna was a friend of the Pandavas, his devotees. He tried to reason and reach an accommodation with the Kauravas so the Pandavas might have at least five small villages to rule over and make a living. The Kauravas would not give an inch, so there was no alternative but war. For purposes of justice and ending people’s suffering, sometimes military, coercive control is needed, but only as a last resort, when all peaceful means have been exhausted, and even then reluctantly. This is a model that would be very useful in today’s international arena where coercive control is often the first option rather than the last. We need diplomats rather than thugs. On a more personal level, it is befitting for us to advocate for peace and justice. We are best served when we use persuasion rather than coercion in interpersonal relationships. In relationships based on love, there is no room for control, domination or violence. Everyone is dear to God-dess who showers grace on all equally. Some are more open to grace and therefore appear more blessed. Just because one is blessed does not mean one’s life will be easy, happy or peaceful. Devotees often suffer greatly, as did the Pandavas. Yet they are fixed in God-dess and their eternal, spiritual relationship. Even death is not the end but the long awaited release from bondage. Preparing for death and transition to the next life during this life makes that transition easier. When we accept death, we can live life fully without undue attachments that bind. While Chaitanya’s philosophy is inconceivable dualism and non-dualism, his followers tend to emphasize dualism. Thus, there is a negative view of life in the material world with a resultant emphasis on renunciation, asceticism, rules and regulations which limit enjoyment of this life. Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer and everyone else is the enjoyed. This comes out of a patriarchal, hierarchal culture in which Krishna is seen as the king writ large. If we see living entities as expansions or parts of Radha Krishna and creation’s purpose is expanding enjoyment of their play unlimitedly, then we can see life here as non-different than life in the spiritual world. When we model our life here on the life of a resident of the spiritual world, our actions are meant to increase the enjoyment of Radha Krishna. Just as we are able to enjoy by identifying with God-dess’ enjoyment, God-dess enjoys through us like a parent enjoys through their children. Like any good parents, Radha Krishna want to see us enjoy ourselves, thus adding to their enjoyment. Somehow, a dualistic, life-denying paradigm with an emphasis on limiting enjoyment of life is dominant in Vedic religion as in Christianity. The result is a stern, lifeless Vaishnavism in tension with the natural drive to enjoy life. Thus, devotees struggle with abstaining from experiences we find intrinsically good. By engaging in self-denial, one strengthens the shadow which sometimes manifests in dysfunctional ways. It is better to live holistically, enjoying the life of body, mind, intellect and spirit. One need not sacrifice one aspect of life for another. It is better to live a well rounded life. Universalist Radha Krishnaism sees God-dess’ aim as promotion of the creatures own enjoyment. God-dess’ loving creative influence promotes what creatures experience as intrinsically good. God-dess’ basic concern is promotion of enjoyment. Since God-dess wants all to enjoy, our enjoyment should not inhibit the enjoyment of others. We should enjoy in ways that increase the enjoyment of others both now and in future. Life is an adventure for God-dess and us since no one knows how it is going to turn out. Since, God-dess is persuasive rather than controlling, the status quo cannot automatically claim divine sanction. Krishna did not sanction the Kauravas’ corrupt rule. While outwardly not taking sides, Krishna worked through his devotees to reestablish their just rule. However, the outcome is never certain. The future is open. As servants of the Supreme Enjoyer, our service is to make the present and future enjoyable for all concerned. This is the primary moral question we should ask, rather than worry over negative rules or fixed principles considered immutable moral absolutes that suck the enjoyment out of life. We need to ask, what conditions are required to maximize the possibilities for present and future enjoyment and then go for it. God-dess is the ultimate source of unrest in the universe. Existence is process, and God-dess is the root of it. Whitehead called God the Divine Eros, just as Krishna is called the Transcendental Cupid. Life is so God-dess and all beings can enjoy ever fresh, new and novel experiences. This gives zest and enthusiasm for life. Order is needed to maximize enjoyment. Life is really very ordered, but that order must not become excessive and stifle intense enjoyment of experience. A fluid order open to smooth change as part of the ongoing progress of life is required. God-dess is the source of order. Order and novelty are both good as far as they increase enjoyment. There must be balance. Impersonal order is the servant of personal love. As we progress from lower to higher states of enjoyment and order, chaos needs to reign sometimes. What was originally in harmony with God-dess’ will may not be so today. Times, circumstances, we and God-dess all change. Therefore, we need fresh, novel ways of relating with God-dess today. We, God-dess and all beings are on a great adventure into an unknown future with vast potential for intense enjoyment as well as tragic beauty. It all started with God-dess’ dream. We will see how it ends. Meanwhile, life is in the living of it, enjoying each moment consciously. In the West, the traditional view of God is quite masculine. In India, there is a more balanced view. God may be seen as masculine, but with a female, consort, energy, aspect. Sometimes, the Goddess is Supreme and has her masculine counterpart such as Durga and Shiva. Radha is Krishna’s eternal consort, his pleasure potency, his other half. Radha Krishna are two in one. Most devotees relate to Krishna, the diplomat, sovereign, warrior who spoke Bhagavad Gita. Radha is considered a more confidential, intimate subject for advanced devotees. Radha has her devotees who consider her to be higher than Krishna because she controls him by her love. Krishna even admits her superiority and incarnated in the same body with her as Krishna Chaitanya. It is not important whether Radha or Krishna is higher in an ontological sense. They are one, two aspects of one divine being. It is not Radha or Krishna that matters as much as the love they share. We may say, “God-dess is love.” Our function is to partake in that love, helping it expand in ever fresh ways. That increases God-dess’ and our enjoyment. We are related to Radha Krishna, God-dess as a whole. Revelation is progressive. The revelation given by Chaitanya is higher than that of the Vedas and previous understandings derived from them over the millennia. Bhaktivinode Thakur pointed out how in the golden Vedic age, they developed their relationship with God-dess in the mood of neutrality. Over the ages, the relational moods developed servant-hood, friendship and parental affection. Chaitanya opened the floodgates of the amorous relationship, which is considered the highest, since it contains the elements of the other relationships along with other even sweeter tastes. Rupa Goswami explained these five moods of relating to God-dess based on his developed understanding of classical, Indian aesthetic theory. While summarizing all the relationships, Rupa focused on the amorous relationship, as do his followers. Bhaktivinode looked at things in a progressive, evolutionary manner, regarding the movement of Radha Krishnaism from India to the West, which he pioneered. Bhaktivinode met the West as a college educated, civil servant in nineteenth century British colonial East India. He began the process of synthesizing Western critical, analytical thought, Unitarian Christian theology and traditional, Chaitanya Radha Krishnaism to appeal to other Western educated Bengalis. He felt that when Radha Krishnaism migrated to the West, as it has, it would benefit by the interaction. This is my latest attempt to continue the interaction. As a theologically trained Westerner, I endeavor to explain Radha Krishnaism in clear theological language acceptable to the educated Western mind. Bhaktivinode did not believe in rote repetition from one generation to the next, but rather, each generation has a contribution to make in the evolution of thought. More complex forms evolve from simpler forms. As Radha Krishna step from the stage of India, where they have been the presiding deities of millions of persons for centuries, onto the world stage where they are not as central, it is helpful to have a theology that speaks the same language the new wider audience understands. To be seen as a living, active, universal God-dess, a certain amount of theological accommodation to present circumstances is required. Bhaktivinode saw the cultural externals of the faith tradition as secondary to the spiritual essence. The spiritual essence of Radha Krishnaism may be preserved without the cultural trappings it was born with. Radha Krishna provide a harmony and intensity of experience leading to transcendental enjoyment that is unmatched in other theological systems. This life is prelude to eternal life. There is no need to sacrifice enjoyment in this life to enjoy the next life. Radha Krishna are pro-enjoyment to the max now and eternally. Universalist Radha Krishnaism promotes a reverence of all life and sees the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things. It is holistic in its approach. We promote responsible use of resources so they will be there for the enjoyment of others including future generations. We support a harmonious social order based on persuasion rather than control to maximize the enjoyment of all. We encourage committed relationships in which harmonious, intense love and respect is shared for maximum enjoyment of all. We live in a unique time and must find unique ways to live with God-dess and creation. We are in the process of creating the future which is quite open. We need to take responsibility for our part in creating that future even though things may seem to be spinning out of control at times. When we differentiate our true, conscious self from the conditioned false ego of identification with body, mind, family, nation, etc., we are better able to act responsibly in harmony with God-dess for the good of all. We are free in this life. The more we realize our oneness with all things, the more we realize our unique individuality. We can model our relationship with Radha Krishna on the eternal residents of Vrindaban described in sources such as the Bhagavat Purana and the writings of Chaitanya’s followers. The process of integrating oneself into the play of Radha Krishna is well documented and extensive. There is exquisitely beautiful detail of their appearance and activities in this transcendental land. Yet considering God-dess’ predilection for novelty and our unique identity along with Krishna’s statement in the Gita that however we approach him, he will reciprocate accordingly, we cannot adequately imagine what it will be like when we attain our perfected spiritual body in relationship with God-dess. Still, the main meditation for devotees practicing the spontaneous path is to imagine themselves in their perfected body relating with Radha Krishna throughout the day. It is the longing for relationship and self surrender to God-dess that attracts the mercy of God-dess and enables actualization of that relationship. Vedic religion is quite ritualistic. The rituals are meant to evoke certain emotions in the participants. These emotions are further strengthened by an elaborate belief system rooted in ancient teachings and myths. It also has a highly developed rationalization which makes it the center of a coherent ordering of life involving thought and action toward a unified purpose. One of the basic principles of Vedic thought is that you are not the body, mind, intellect or false ego. One is taught to differentiate the self from these false identifications and experience oneself in relationship to God-dess. The conscious self gains control of the lower nature and learns to use it in the service of God-dess. This is what differentiates humans from animals whose psyche mainly serves the body. As we separate the conscious self from the lower self, our enjoyment moves from mere creaturely comforts to more spiritual joys. We need not give up creaturely comforts, but learn to use them in the service of God-dess. One can live abundantly in the world, but not be of it. We are free spirits. We need only give up our dysfunctions which impede realization of our spiritual nature and true enjoyment of life. It is a matter of attaining and maintaining balance in one’s life combining harmony and intensity to create enjoyable experiences eternally. It is not a question of dominating the body or nature but learning to live in harmony with all creation. The self is never corrupted by material nature. We are qualitatively one with God-dess but quantitatively different. Our true self interest and maximum enjoyment is with God-dess who is the whole while we are the part. By practice of devotional service, the self becomes free of material illusions and attains its true spiritual identity. Various spiritual disciplines help us realize these truths for ourselves. The self may be covered over, but it is eternally perfect. When we are open to the creative-responsive love of God-dess we receive that which we cannot attain on our own. God-dess’ grace opens the door to the eternal spiritual realm of existence for our full enjoyment. As we surrender to God-dess’ love, we give up self preoccupation and become channels of that love to all. Persons such as Krishna, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus and Chaitanya brought new structures of existence into being. They developed new ways of being and looking at life that are still instrumental today. In the progressive, Reformed Christian tradition where I served as a pastor, I was impressed by how the church was reformed and ever reforming, or in process. Through the ages, it managed to change and adapt to the changing times reasonably successfully rather than remain rigid and fossilized. Some rare churches actualize this ideal more than others and are shinning examples in a sea of mediocrity. Still, the ideal model is there, and I apply it to Radha Krishnaism. Vaishnav meaning can best be expressed today through a contemporary vision of the world that is also truly Vaishnav. It is not important that the forms and language of the past be preserved, but that a living faith relates to our needs and opportunities. Process theology provides a brilliant contemporary vision which gives faith new life. The basis of my faith is the life and teachings of Chaitanya who incarnates the divine love of God-dess. My conclusions are based on those teachings as developed by his disciplic succession. It seems to me, Chaitanya and process theology are a great combination. While quite learned and literate, Chaitanya did not leave us systematized writings; he left that to his disciples to whom he imparted his direct realizations of spiritual truth in summary form. Chaitanya lived an exemplary life showing us by his own example how to serve Radha Krishna while being their embodiment. God-dess pervades the entire creation and is the guiding, ordering, designing principle, the ground of being, the cosmic Christ, the super soul, the one from which the many flows. We are parts or emanations of God-dess, and like a piece of a hologram, we contain the image of the whole. God-dess is within us guiding and directing our lives through creative, persuasive love. It is up to us how we choose to respond. God-dess is most fully present in persons who are most open to that presence. The various devotional practices, such as hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, etc., open us to the presence of God-dess in our life. God-dess, the spiritual realm, the universe, heavens, hells, gods and goddesses all live within us in what Jung called the collective unconscious. The devotional path is about making our relationship with God-dess conscious through constant remembrance. As we remember our oneness with God-dess, we learn to maximize our enjoyment by linking our consciousness with God-dess’ and serving the whole. By sympathetic connection to God-dess’ feelings we experience a more intense enjoyment than we could independently. This process transforms the devotee from a person of this world to an eternal resident of the spiritual world, a confidential associate of God-dess. When we see things in this broader spiritual perspective, it puts our present life in a different perspective harmonizing conflicting actualities and minimizing the impact of negative actualities. Indeed, this very life is transformed to a spiritual plane of existence free of bondage to material illusion. God-dess is most fully manifest in persons open to creative transformation. Chaitanya reveals the divine through words and deeds. Accepting Chaitanya as the divine incarnation of Radha Krishna and the manifestation of their love to the world opens us to the divine transformative impulses within us. The life of Chaitanya was an important event whose repeated remembrance strengthens its field of force allowing him to transformatively live in us. Chaitanya’s distinctive revelation was to open wide the amorous relationship with God-dess. Chaitanya was a human just like us as well as an incarnation of Radha Krishna. One does not deny the other. It reenforces his role as a paradigmatic individual, God-dess personally showing us by example how to be devotees. Chaitanya’s transformative effect in us is enhanced as we accept Chaitanya as God-dess’ decisive revelation. It is also enhanced as we deliberately place ourselves in his field of force, experiencing his presence in our life and studying his teachings. Thus, we allow ourselves to be shaped by him. Chaitanya’s disciplic succession is dedicated to amplifying his field of force by spreading the memory of his life and teachings to ever new generations in different parts of the world. This keeps his presence alive with us today as it is passed from one devotee to another. Thus, he is able to touch and transform lives today. God-dess is both immanent and transcendent. God-dess as divine love incarnate in Chaitanya is non-different from Radha Krishna in the transcendental Golok. Both are equal aspects of deity itself. The Super Soul is another immanent aspect of deity itself. When the future looks quite bleak, Radha Krishnaism offers a message of hope. It is possible to enter a spiritual dimension of life that is conscious, full or knowledge and blissful. We can begin to make that transition in this very life. The more we are able to shift our consciousness from the material view to the spiritual view, the more our life becomes spiritual. The more persons who do this, the more the whole world becomes spiritual. The future is totally open and does not have to be limited by past modes of being. Progress is possible. It need not be linear. We are capable of making quantum leaps. Radical change for the better can come through new ideals. We can change the very quality of our existence. We have taken our individuality about as far as it can go. Now, we need to reclaim our interdependence on all levels. When we realize our enjoyment is dependent on the enjoyment of others and we are all beloved children of God-dess, we can work for the good of the whole replacing egoistic selfishness with universal love. Since the future is dependent on the many choices all humans make, there is no guarantee what the outcome will be. No matter what, we all face death and the perishing nature of all things in the temporal world. We long for eternal life because that is our nature. When the body dies, the self continues on to the next life taking the subtle body with it and continuing its individuality in a new form. Continually being born, aging, getting sick and dying, endlessly experiencing mixed happiness and distress is not ultimately satisfying. Therefore, more advanced souls seek release from the cycle of birth and death. Some settle for ending individual existence, which they equate with suffering, by merging in the impersonal aspect of God-dess. Others strive to purify the self of mundane trappings and enter into a personal relationship with God-dess, which is the true nature of the self. This leads to maximum enjoyment for eternity. God-dess persistently uses persuasive love, beauty and truth to attract us to this option, the perfection of life. When we begin living in union with God-dess, we develop an inner peace which allows us to be naturally detached from the ups and downs of life. It puts things in a different perspective. Artificial renunciation is not required or even helpful. There is no one right way to live or act. We must each follow our own way based on our unique individuality and life situation. God-dess is always with us to persuasively guide us on the way. We cannot work out our own salvation. By surrendering to God-dess’ guidance, we will naturally find our way by grace. We can live with and in God-dess in this very life. We find a unique opportunity in Radha Krishnaism’s interaction with other religious, philosophical, scientific, cultural and metaphysical world views. We benefit greatly by being open to the truths they offer and incorporating them into our view if they are harmonious. We need not cling to a dead past by adopting an insular protective stance. We must treat our predecessors with respect and build on their revelations. Yet, revelation did not end with Chaitanya or anyone else. God-dess actively reveals truth today. We should be open to new insights, regardless of their source, and adjust to them like scientists of the spirit. God-dess as creative transformation calls us to a new vision of Radha Krishna as universal divine love offering ever fresh opportunities to live fully and abundantly enjoying this life and the next harmoniously. Universalist Radha Krishnaism provides solutions to the problems of contemporary life both individually and collectively. We recognize the urgency of the situation and the radical shifts that will occur in the coming decades one way or another. The future of humanity and the planet depend on the choices we make. Are they life affirming or life denying? God-dess supports the fullness and abundance of life. Yet the forces of death and destruction are strong. We each need to choose where we stand and act accordingly. There is no safe middle ground. Not to choose is also to choose. Not to act is also to act. We are each responsible for our part. God-dess only acts through us.
Copyright 2003-08 Steve Bohlert

This essay is derived from Process Theology: an Introductory Exposition, by John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffin, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1976.

Universalist Radha Krishnaism is an eclectic blend influenced by the philosophy of Krishna Chaitanya along with the philosophies of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne known as process philosophy as well as by process theology, developed by John Cobb and David Griffin among others. It coalesced over the years as I put together pieces of truth gathered on my spiritual journey.

Universalist Radha Krishnaism speaks about God, but in a way that is philosophically and religiously opposed to the way the term is generally understood. Therefore, I prefer to use the term God-dess.

God-dess is not the “Cosmic Moralist” who gives us a long list of unchanging, absolute laws, codes, rules and regulations we must follow under threat of punishment either in this life or the next. Rather, God-dess wants us to enjoy life fully, yet responsibly in relationship with him-her, others and indeed all creation. God-dess is a giver of grace and may ask us at the time of death why we did not enjoy life more.

God-dess is not an unchangeable, passionless absolute who remains aloof from and unaffected by the world. God-dess is intimately related to the world, enjoying and responding to and through all beings. God-dess is dynamic, changing and adapting to creation. God-dess is not limited by 5,000, 2,000 or even one year old descriptions. God-dess is ever-fresh like youth or spring.

God-dess is not the “Controlling Power” who micromanages the world deciding who lives and who dies along with all the other details of what happens and what does not. God-dess set the processes of creation in motion. Those processes work according to their own natural laws and God-dess does not suspend them to perform miracles. God-dess’ power is one of persuasion rather than coercion.

God-dess does not sanction the status quo or will it to be as it is. The status quo is a passing stage in a grand evolutionary process developing higher states of consciousness capable of greater enjoyment of experience. The status quo needs to give way to new, novel ways of harmonious conscious being.

God-dess is not male but both male and female with an emphasis on the more feminine side. God-dess is Radha Krishna, the Divine Couple engaged in an eternal love affair with each other and all beings. Chaitanya is considered to be Radha Krishna in one body, the perfection of androgyny.

The past is past and cannot be repeated. The future is open and not predetermined. The present is happening now. The past influences the present and the future. Many options for possible futures exist. We have a certain amount of free choice regarding which future we choose. Each instant is new and unrepeatable. All we really have is the “eternal now.” Therefore, we can live eternal life in relationship with God-dess now.

Radha Krishna relate with one another and all beings. We relate with them and all beings also. We are all interrelated and connected to all things. Yet we maintain our individual existence. We are in the process of developing conscious relationships based on love and respect for all things. Everything is a manifestation of God-dess. Nurture your interdependence more than your independence. The richer your relatedness, the greater your enjoyment of experience.

Our present experience includes a select, limited portion of the past. Our past experiences led us to this particular present. Similarly, this present will become past and lead us to a particular future. We can influence what the future will be by how we live in the present, the consciousness we develop and most importantly, the loving relationship we develop with Radha Krishna. We envision the desired future and enlist the aid of God-dess to get us there. We do this by becoming surrendered souls living in the presence of God-dess constantly.

In this way, we can see the interrelatedness of all things as finite parts or emanations from God-dess. We can relate to creation as part of God-dess and care for it as we care for ourselves for we are dependent on it and it upon us. Creation is alive, and God-dess is its Soul. God-dess expanded through the original big bang to become all things. In spite of becoming many, God-dess remains one.

While many past influences determine our available present choices, we do have choices. Radha Krishnaism teaches one to surrender one’s will to God-dess and act on God-dess’ behalf as an agent rather than an actor. Thus, one becomes free of bondage to the past through a natural sense of detachment and renunciation of the outcomes of one’s work.

What is God-dess’ aim or purpose in all this? As the transcendental cupid, to urge the world to new heights of enjoyment. Creation is divine sport or play for enjoyment of all kinds of experience. We cannot maximize our enjoyment without considering the enjoyment of others and the environment as well. We are co-creators, with God-dess, creating ourselves and our environment. Experiencing ever new, fresh possibilities enhances God-dess’ enjoyment as well as our own. God-dess is an essential part of all experience.

God-dess uses persuasive power, rather than control, to entice us into conscious relationship. By our conscious entry into God-dess’ play, we can engage in ever new, enjoyable pastimes together. It is not just the same old pastimes repeatedly for eternity. We have a unique role to play with God-dess.

The faith we need to enter into the pastimes of Radha Krishna is a way of life in which we cultivate basic emotions, attitudes and commitments favorable to Radha Krishna. Beliefs, doctrines and dogmas are secondary. We learn to live as the paradigmatic individuals of Vrindaban live. By following their examples, we become in tune with our innate, prereflective knowing and God-dess’ promptings to conscious awakening.

Our conscious beliefs and doctrines are subordinate to what is. There is an actual, objective reality that imposes itself on us regardless of our conscious beliefs. Our beliefs cannot change what is. Life places demands on us and we must respond.

We are often more able to discern the truth of things intuitively than rationally. Intuitive knowing comes from innate prereflective, prethematized, unconscious promptings from God-dess within. It behooves us to bring our beliefs in line with our deepest knowing as well as external realities rather than living in denial, thinking our beliefs will change what is simply by believing it to be so. The aim is to attain psychic wholeness and consistency of action.

Beliefs do matter. They greatly influence our emotions, attitudes and actions. As beliefs spread, they can have tremendous effects on life in the world. Beliefs can be positive or negative. We should embrace beliefs that are life affirming, empowering and increase love while rejecting beliefs that are opposite.

Beliefs come and go. Do not try to hang on to them. Faith is not dependent upon belief. Beliefs are like the furniture of faith. They can be reorganized, replaced or set aside. Some beliefs are more conducive to development of faith than others. We should not be expected to believe the unbelievable. Nor should we cling to outmoded beliefs of the past. Development of religious thought is evolutionary and progressive.

Since beliefs shape character, purpose, emotions, attitudes and behavior, we benefit by examining our beliefs’ appropriateness and adjusting them accordingly. Our current state is largely the outcome of previous beliefs, values, purposes, emotions and actions. We want to insure the present leads to a future of maximum enjoyment.

Beliefs are also important because they help us decide which experiences to select and emphasize out of various potential experiences. By selecting and focusing attention on certain elements of experience, we heighten conscious awareness of them and increase their effectiveness. For example, when we are conscious of and open to divine grace, an aspect of the universal experience of deity, we increase benefits from it individually and collectively.

Most religious beliefs cannot be proven but must be accepted as self-evidently true. We can intuitively accept and understand far more than we can put into words. We are not all equal in this regard, however. We accept a verbal expression of universal truth because it strikes a sympathetic chord and rings true in us. Reason and argument may help us accept, but there must be that basic “Aha!”

Most religious doctrine describes prethematized universal experience, while emphasizing selected features which differ from religion to religion. By studying the perspectives of various religions, we get a fuller picture of the universal religion. Radha Krishnaism comes out of a particular historical context which gives its particular flavor, form and emphasis. As it meets new contexts, it must adapt. The language, images and practices that work in a traditions native context may not produce the same effects in a new foreign context. Therefore, my emphasis is on adapting Radha Krishnaism to the current Western context.

Before certain possibilities may be actualized, other possibilities must be actualized first. Considering a person’s history, they may or may not be able to actualize certain aspects of a belief system. We must all work out our spirituality from where we stand and what is possible.

While traditional Radha Krishnaism contains universal truth, it also contains practices and beliefs particularly derived from and relevant to medieval Indian culture. Some are transferable and others not. By de-emphasizing secondary cultural externals, the lives and universal teachings of Radha Krishna, Chaitanya and their associates become more accessible to Westerners today.

Philosophy and religion are generally considered separate fields, with philosophy questioning the ontological existence of God and religious devotees unquestioningly serving a particular manifestation of God. Universalist Radha Krishnaism is a philosophical religious tradition with a well thought out theology developed over more than 2,000 years.

It falls under the headings of theism, monotheism and dipolar monotheism (due to its balanced male and female aspects of God-dess). God-dess manifests personally, impersonally and as an immanent all-pervading presence. Panentheism is perhaps a better heading to put it under. The more limiting and constraining our definition of God, the easier it is to disprove. God-dess is certainly unlimited and undefinable. We do not want to worship a God that is too small and cannot stand up to intellectual scrutiny. Our theology illumines contemporary human experience and coheres with the world as we understand it.

We study the nature of God-dess to harmonize our nature with God-dess’ nature, thus attaining spiritual consciousness. We enter into God-dess’ personal realm of enjoyment which is free of the limiting time-space continuum. God-dess is love. The extreme love shared between Radha, Krishna and their devotees is especially sweet and attractive. We are invited to join an intimate community of lovers.

God-dess sympathetically experiences our happiness and pain out of pure love for us. As we develop love of God-dess, we develop the ability to sympathetically experience his-her bliss. This is much more intense than we can experience on our own. God-dess created us to be in relationship. God-dess is able to hide his-her awesome majestic nature and emphasize the loving, beautiful nature so we can relate as equals. God-dess responds to a devotee’s love according to how the devotee approaches. The relationship is give and take in both directions. It is like having a wealthy, powerful friend who is totally unpretentious and makes us feel right at home.

Radha Krishna along with their eternal associates are paradigmatic individuals. Five hundred years ago, they incarnated in Krishna Chaitanya and his associates to give us a updated paradigm. Buddha and Jesus are other paradigmatic individuals who incarnated in different times and places. Since our whole existence changed so drastically in the past hundred years, these paradigms need constant updating to make them relevant to current reality.

Chaitanya Radha Krishnaism teaches its adherents to model their lives on the lives of Chaitanya and his followers. They also envision a spiritual body that will be their identity in Radha Krishna’s eternal pastimes in the spiritual world. This is a positive alternative to the nihilism and formlessness so prevalent today. There is a spiritual reality that exists with individuality, form and variegation beyond time-space, birth, death, disease and old age.

Rather than becoming free of ego, we become free of false ego and develop our true spiritual identity as associates of Radha Krishna. Rather than leaving your next life up to chance, you can choose an identity, develop it and attain it, just as one makes any major life change. I am here in Hawai’i writing this book now, because I envisioned it in Michigan several years ago. Of course, the goal should be attainable, the appropriate actions must be taken and a certain amount of grace or good fortune thrown in.

When we are free of false ego and identify ourselves as servants of God-dess, everything becomes spiritualized and no longer binds us to material life. We still live in the material body and world for as long as this life may last, but we are in the process of transitioning our consciousness from this life to the next, since we know this life is perishing.

While God-dess is formless, absolute, unchanging, unmanifest, etc., God-dess is also personal, relational, responsive and loving. God-dess is truly compassionate towards all beings feeling their happiness and distress. We should model our lives on God-dess and develop compassion for all beings.

God-dess wills the good for all beings. However, God-dess’ power to bring this about is the power of persuasion rather than coercive control. God-dess does not micromanage creation, but permeates it and supports it trying to persuade beings to follow the divine plan. The living entities have a degree of free will to accept or reject the plan, and thus the possibility of evil exists. God-dess wants to engage in voluntary, loving relationships with us, not with automatons programmed to do only the divine will.

Since God-dess’ nature is persuasive rather than controlling, it behooves us to be persuasive with others rather than try to control them. This applies on the interpersonal level as well as the international level. An example is given in the Mahabharat when Krishna tried to mediate a peaceful settlement between the Pandavas and the Kauravas over the rule of the empire.

The Kauravas unjustly usurped the rule from the Pandavas and ruled unjustly as oppressive tyrants. Krishna was a friend of the Pandavas, his devotees. He tried to reason and reach an accommodation with the Kauravas so the Pandavas might have at least five small villages to rule over and make a living. The Kauravas would not give an inch, so there was no alternative but war. For purposes of justice and ending people’s suffering, sometimes military, coercive control is needed, but only as a last resort, when all peaceful means have been exhausted, and even then reluctantly. This is a model that would be very useful in today’s international arena where coercive control is often the first option rather than the last. We need diplomats rather than thugs.

On a more personal level, it is befitting for us to advocate for peace and justice. We are best served when we use persuasion rather than coercion in interpersonal relationships. In relationships based on love, there is no room for control, domination or violence. Everyone is dear to God-dess who showers grace on all equally. Some are more open to grace and therefore appear more blessed. Just because one is blessed does not mean one’s life will be easy, happy or peaceful. Devotees often suffer greatly, as did the Pandavas. Yet they are fixed in God-dess and their eternal, spiritual relationship. Even death is not the end but the long awaited release from bondage. Preparing for death and transition to the next life during this life makes that transition easier. When we accept death, we can live life fully without undue attachments that bind.

While Chaitanya’s philosophy is inconceivable dualism and non-dualism, his followers tend to emphasize dualism. Thus, there is a negative view of life in the material world with a resultant emphasis on renunciation, asceticism, rules and regulations which limit enjoyment of this life. Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer and everyone else is the enjoyed. This comes out of a patriarchal, hierarchal culture in which Krishna is seen as the king writ large.

If we see living entities as expansions or parts of Radha Krishna and creation’s purpose is expanding enjoyment of their play unlimitedly, then we can see life here as non-different than life in the spiritual world. When we model our life here on the life of a resident of the spiritual world, our actions are meant to increase the enjoyment of Radha Krishna. Just as we are able to enjoy by identifying with God-dess’ enjoyment, God-dess enjoys through us like a parent enjoys through their children. Like any good parents, Radha Krishna want to see us enjoy ourselves, thus adding to their enjoyment.

Somehow, a dualistic, life-denying paradigm with an emphasis on limiting enjoyment of life is dominant in Vedic religion as in Christianity. The result is a stern, lifeless Vaishnavism in tension with the natural drive to enjoy life. Thus, devotees struggle with abstaining from experiences we find intrinsically good. By engaging in self-denial, one strengthens the shadow which sometimes manifests in dysfunctional ways.

It is better to live holistically, enjoying the life of body, mind, intellect and spirit. One need not sacrifice one aspect of life for another. It is better to live a well rounded life. Universalist Radha Krishnaism sees God-dess’ aim as promotion of the creatures own enjoyment. God-dess’ loving creative influence promotes what creatures experience as intrinsically good. God-dess’ basic concern is promotion of enjoyment. Since God-dess wants all to enjoy, our enjoyment should not inhibit the enjoyment of others. We should enjoy in ways that increase the enjoyment of others both now and in future.

Life is an adventure for God-dess and us since no one knows how it is going to turn out. Since, God-dess is persuasive rather than controlling, the status quo cannot automatically claim divine sanction. Krishna did not sanction the Kauravas’ corrupt rule. While outwardly not taking sides, Krishna worked through his devotees to reestablish their just rule. However, the outcome is never certain. The future is open.

As servants of the Supreme Enjoyer, our service is to make the present and future enjoyable for all concerned. This is the primary moral question we should ask, rather than worry over negative rules or fixed principles considered immutable moral absolutes that suck the enjoyment out of life. We need to ask, what conditions are required to maximize the possibilities for present and future enjoyment and then go for it.

God-dess is the ultimate source of unrest in the universe. Existence is process, and God-dess is the root of it. Whitehead called God the Divine Eros, just as Krishna is called the Transcendental Cupid. Life is so God-dess and all beings can enjoy ever fresh, new and novel experiences. This gives zest and enthusiasm for life.

Order is needed to maximize enjoyment. Life is really very ordered, but that order must not become excessive and stifle intense enjoyment of experience. A fluid order open to smooth change as part of the ongoing progress of life is required. God-dess is the source of order. Order and novelty are both good as far as they increase enjoyment. There must be balance. Impersonal order is the servant of personal love.

As we progress from lower to higher states of enjoyment and order, chaos needs to reign sometimes. What was originally in harmony with God-dess’ will may not be so today. Times, circumstances, we and God-dess all change. Therefore, we need fresh, novel ways of relating with God-dess today.

We, God-dess and all beings are on a great adventure into an unknown future with vast potential for intense enjoyment as well as tragic beauty. It all started with God-dess’ dream. We will see how it ends. Meanwhile, life is in the living of it, enjoying each moment consciously.

In the West, the traditional view of God is quite masculine. In India, there is a more balanced view. God may be seen as masculine, but with a female, consort, energy, aspect. Sometimes, the Goddess is Supreme and has her masculine counterpart such as Durga and Shiva.

Radha is Krishna’s eternal consort, his pleasure potency, his other half. Radha Krishna are two in one. Most devotees relate to Krishna, the diplomat, sovereign, warrior who spoke Bhagavad Gita. Radha is considered a more confidential, intimate subject for advanced devotees. Radha has her devotees who consider her to be higher than Krishna because she controls him by her love. Krishna even admits her superiority and incarnated in the same body with her as Krishna Chaitanya.

It is not important whether Radha or Krishna is higher in an ontological sense. They are one, two aspects of one divine being. It is not Radha or Krishna that matters as much as the love they share. We may say, “God-dess is love.” Our function is to partake in that love, helping it expand in ever fresh ways. That increases God-dess’ and our enjoyment. We are related to Radha Krishna, God-dess as a whole.

Revelation is progressive. The revelation given by Chaitanya is higher than that of the Vedas and previous understandings derived from them over the millennia. Bhaktivinode Thakur pointed out how in the golden Vedic age, they developed their relationship with God-dess in the mood of neutrality. Over the ages, the relational moods developed servant-hood, friendship and parental affection.

Chaitanya opened the floodgates of the amorous relationship, which is considered the highest, since it contains the elements of the other relationships along with other even sweeter tastes. Rupa Goswami explained these five moods of relating to God-dess based on his developed understanding of classical, Indian aesthetic theory. While summarizing all the relationships, Rupa focused on the amorous relationship, as do his followers.

Bhaktivinode looked at things in a progressive, evolutionary manner, regarding the movement of Radha Krishnaism from India to the West, which he pioneered. Bhaktivinode met the West as a college educated, civil servant in nineteenth century British colonial East India. He began the process of synthesizing Western critical, analytical thought, Unitarian Christian theology and traditional, Chaitanya Radha Krishnaism to appeal to other Western educated Bengalis.

He felt that when Radha Krishnaism migrated to the West, as it has, it would benefit by the interaction. This is my latest attempt to continue the interaction. As a theologically trained Westerner, I endeavor to explain Radha Krishnaism in clear theological language acceptable to the educated Western mind. Bhaktivinode did not believe in rote repetition from one generation to the next, but rather, each generation has a contribution to make in the evolution of thought.

More complex forms evolve from simpler forms. As Radha Krishna step from the stage of India, where they have been the presiding deities of millions of persons for centuries, onto the world stage where they are not as central, it is helpful to have a theology that speaks the same language the new wider audience understands. To be seen as a living, active, universal God-dess, a certain amount of theological accommodation to present circumstances is required. Bhaktivinode saw the cultural externals of the faith tradition as secondary to the spiritual essence. The spiritual essence of Radha Krishnaism may be preserved without the cultural trappings it was born with.

Radha Krishna provide a harmony and intensity of experience leading to transcendental enjoyment that is unmatched in other theological systems. This life is prelude to eternal life. There is no need to sacrifice enjoyment in this life to enjoy the next life. Radha Krishna are pro-enjoyment to the max now and eternally.

Universalist Radha Krishnaism promotes a reverence of all life and sees the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things. It is holistic in its approach. We promote responsible use of resources so they will be there for the enjoyment of others including future generations. We support a harmonious social order based on persuasion rather than control to maximize the enjoyment of all. We encourage committed relationships in which harmonious, intense love and respect is shared for maximum enjoyment of all.

We live in a unique time and must find unique ways to live with God-dess and creation. We are in the process of creating the future which is quite open. We need to take responsibility for our part in creating that future even though things may seem to be spinning out of control at times. When we differentiate our true, conscious self from the conditioned false ego of identification with body, mind, family, nation, etc., we are better able to act responsibly in harmony with God-dess for the good of all. We are free in this life. The more we realize our oneness with all things, the more we realize our unique individuality.

We can model our relationship with Radha Krishna on the eternal residents of Vrindaban described in sources such as the Bhagavat Purana and the writings of Chaitanya’s followers. The process of integrating oneself into the play of Radha Krishna is well documented and extensive. There is exquisitely beautiful detail of their appearance and activities in this transcendental land.

Yet considering God-dess’ predilection for novelty and our unique identity along with Krishna’s statement in the Gita that however we approach him, he will reciprocate accordingly, we cannot adequately imagine what it will be like when we attain our perfected spiritual body in relationship with God-dess. Still, the main meditation for devotees practicing the spontaneous path is to imagine themselves in their perfected body relating with Radha Krishna throughout the day. It is the longing for relationship and self surrender to God-dess that attracts the mercy of God-dess and enables actualization of that relationship.

Vedic religion is quite ritualistic. The rituals are meant to evoke certain emotions in the participants. These emotions are further strengthened by an elaborate belief system rooted in ancient teachings and myths. It also has a highly developed rationalization which makes it the center of a coherent ordering of life involving thought and action toward a unified purpose.

One of the basic principles of Vedic thought is that you are not the body, mind, intellect or false ego. One is taught to differentiate the self from these false identifications and experience oneself in relationship to God-dess. The conscious self gains control of the lower nature and learns to use it in the service of God-dess. This is what differentiates humans from animals whose psyche mainly serves the body.

As we separate the conscious self from the lower self, our enjoyment moves from mere creaturely comforts to more spiritual joys. We need not give up creaturely comforts, but learn to use them in the service of God-dess. One can live abundantly in the world, but not be of it. We are free spirits.

We need only give up our dysfunctions which impede realization of our spiritual nature and true enjoyment of life. It is a matter of attaining and maintaining balance in one’s life combining harmony and intensity to create enjoyable experiences eternally. It is not a question of dominating the body or nature but learning to live in harmony with all creation.

The self is never corrupted by material nature. We are qualitatively one with God-dess but quantitatively different. Our true self interest and maximum enjoyment is with God-dess who is the whole while we are the part. By practice of devotional service, the self becomes free of material illusions and attains its true spiritual identity. Various spiritual disciplines help us realize these truths for ourselves. The self may be covered over, but it is eternally perfect.

When we are open to the creative-responsive love of God-dess we receive that which we cannot attain on our own. God-dess’ grace opens the door to the eternal spiritual realm of existence for our full enjoyment. As we surrender to God-dess’ love, we give up self preoccupation and become channels of that love to all.

Persons such as Krishna, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus and Chaitanya brought new structures of existence into being. They developed new ways of being and looking at life that are still instrumental today. In the progressive, Reformed Christian tradition where I served as a pastor, I was impressed by how the church was reformed and ever reforming, or in process. Through the ages, it managed to change and adapt to the changing times reasonably successfully rather than remain rigid and fossilized. Some rare churches actualize this ideal more than others and are shinning examples in a sea of mediocrity. Still, the ideal model is there, and I apply it to Radha Krishnaism.

Vaishnav meaning can best be expressed today through a contemporary vision of the world that is also truly Vaishnav. It is not important that the forms and language of the past be preserved, but that a living faith relates to our needs and opportunities. Process theology provides a brilliant contemporary vision which gives faith new life.

The basis of my faith is the life and teachings of Chaitanya who incarnates the divine love of God-dess. My conclusions are based on those teachings as developed by his disciplic succession. It seems to me, Chaitanya and process theology are a great combination. While quite learned and literate, Chaitanya did not leave us systematized writings; he left that to his disciples to whom he imparted his direct realizations of spiritual truth in summary form. Chaitanya lived an exemplary life showing us by his own example how to serve Radha Krishna while being their embodiment.

God-dess pervades the entire creation and is the guiding, ordering, designing principle, the ground of being, the cosmic Christ, the super soul, the one from which the many flows. We are parts or emanations of God-dess, and like a piece of a hologram, we contain the image of the whole. God-dess is within us guiding and directing our lives through creative, persuasive love. It is up to us how we choose to respond. God-dess is most fully present in persons who are most open to that presence.

The various devotional practices, such as hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, etc., open us to the presence of God-dess in our life. God-dess, the spiritual realm, the universe, heavens, hells, gods and goddesses all live within us in what Jung called the collective unconscious. The devotional path is about making our relationship with God-dess conscious through constant remembrance.

As we remember our oneness with God-dess, we learn to maximize our enjoyment by linking our consciousness with God-dess’ and serving the whole. By sympathetic connection to God-dess’ feelings we experience a more intense enjoyment than we could independently. This process transforms the devotee from a person of this world to an eternal resident of the spiritual world, a confidential associate of God-dess.

When we see things in this broader spiritual perspective, it puts our present life in a different perspective harmonizing conflicting actualities and minimizing the impact of negative actualities. Indeed, this very life is transformed to a spiritual plane of existence free of bondage to material illusion. God-dess is most fully manifest in persons open to creative transformation.

Chaitanya reveals the divine through words and deeds. Accepting Chaitanya as the divine incarnation of Radha Krishna and the manifestation of their love to the world opens us to the divine transformative impulses within us. The life of Chaitanya was an important event whose repeated remembrance strengthens its field of force allowing him to transformatively live in us. Chaitanya’s distinctive revelation was to open wide the amorous relationship with God-dess.

Chaitanya was a human just like us as well as an incarnation of Radha Krishna. One does not deny the other. It reenforces his role as a paradigmatic individual, God-dess personally showing us by example how to be devotees. Chaitanya’s transformative effect in us is enhanced as we accept Chaitanya as God-dess’ decisive revelation. It is also enhanced as we deliberately place ourselves in his field of force, experiencing his presence in our life and studying his teachings. Thus, we allow ourselves to be shaped by him.

Chaitanya’s disciplic succession is dedicated to amplifying his field of force by spreading the memory of his life and teachings to ever new generations in different parts of the world. This keeps his presence alive with us today as it is passed from one devotee to another. Thus, he is able to touch and transform lives today.

God-dess is both immanent and transcendent. God-dess as divine love incarnate in Chaitanya is non-different from Radha Krishna in the transcendental Golok. Both are equal aspects of deity itself. The Super Soul is another immanent aspect of deity itself.

When the future looks quite bleak, Radha Krishnaism offers a message of hope. It is possible to enter a spiritual dimension of life that is conscious, full or knowledge and blissful. We can begin to make that transition in this very life. The more we are able to shift our consciousness from the material view to the spiritual view, the more our life becomes spiritual. The more persons who do this, the more the whole world becomes spiritual. The future is totally open and does not have to be limited by past modes of being.

Progress is possible. It need not be linear. We are capable of making quantum leaps. Radical change for the better can come through new ideals. We can change the very quality of our existence. We have taken our individuality about as far as it can go. Now, we need to reclaim our interdependence on all levels. When we realize our enjoyment is dependent on the enjoyment of others and we are all beloved children of God-dess, we can work for the good of the whole replacing egoistic selfishness with universal love.

Since the future is dependent on the many choices all humans make, there is no guarantee what the outcome will be. No matter what, we all face death and the perishing nature of all things in the temporal world. We long for eternal life because that is our nature. When the body dies, the self continues on to the next life taking the subtle body with it and continuing its individuality in a new form. Continually being born, aging, getting sick and dying, endlessly experiencing mixed happiness and distress is not ultimately satisfying.

Therefore, more advanced souls seek release from the cycle of birth and death. Some settle for ending individual existence, which they equate with suffering, by merging in the impersonal aspect of God-dess. Others strive to purify the self of mundane trappings and enter into a personal relationship with God-dess, which is the true nature of the self. This leads to maximum enjoyment for eternity. God-dess persistently uses persuasive love, beauty and truth to attract us to this option, the perfection of life.

When we begin living in union with God-dess, we develop an inner peace which allows us to be naturally detached from the ups and downs of life. It puts things in a different perspective. Artificial renunciation is not required or even helpful. There is no one right way to live or act. We must each follow our own way based on our unique individuality and life situation. God-dess is always with us to persuasively guide us on the way. We cannot work out our own salvation. By surrendering to God-dess’ guidance, we will naturally find our way by grace. We can live with and in God-dess in this very life.

We find a unique opportunity in Radha Krishnaism’s interaction with other religious, philosophical, scientific, cultural and metaphysical world views. We benefit greatly by being open to the truths they offer and incorporating them into our view if they are harmonious. We need not cling to a dead past by adopting an insular protective stance. We must treat our predecessors with respect and build on their revelations. Yet, revelation did not end with Chaitanya or anyone else. God-dess actively reveals truth today. We should be open to new insights, regardless of their source, and adjust to them like scientists of the spirit. God-dess as creative transformation calls us to a new vision of Radha Krishna as universal divine love offering ever fresh opportunities to live fully and abundantly enjoying this life and the next harmoniously.

Universalist Radha Krishnaism provides solutions to the problems of contemporary life both individually and collectively. We recognize the urgency of the situation and the radical shifts that will occur in the coming decades one way or another. The future of humanity and the planet depend on the choices we make. Are they life affirming or life denying? God-dess supports the fullness and abundance of life. Yet the forces of death and destruction are strong. We each need to choose where we stand and act accordingly. There is no safe middle ground. Not to choose is also to choose. Not to act is also to act. We are each responsible for our part. God-dess only acts through us.