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This meeting, which took place on April 14th and 15th,
was the third in a continuing series of dialogues held in the Washington
D.C. area. Participants included Christians from the Catholic, Episcopalian
and Anglican traditions and Vaisnavas from the Gaudiya tradition.
Because many of the participants have become friends as well as
dialogue partners during the three years of these meetings, we began
with a substantial common ground of trust and mutual understanding.
Returning to Rockwood Manor for the dialogue was like a homecoming.
We gathered on Friday afternoon to continue the theme of the previous
year, one that we had agreed we had only begun to explore. We listened
to two talks on the call to transform life and service in the Christian
and Vaisnava traditions, and we reflected on the implications of
this. The texts that served as the basis for these talks were taken
from the Bhagavad-gita and the Gospel of John, and had been
distributed to the participants in advance. The evening was a time
for sharing songs and memories. Saturday morning was an opportunity
to share in worship together - an experience that fosters growth
of the religious life in these traditions. As friends and companions
on a journey, we then took the more daring step of looking at documents
from the Vaisnava and Catholic traditions that give direction to
the process of dialogue. I say 'daring' because we moved beyond
mutual understanding and shared experience to look at the way our
traditions encourage and discourage a life of dialogue, 'an opportunity
to examine different perspectives in understanding how God interacts
with people of other faiths'.
We were warmly welcomed by Anuttama Dasa, who introduced the participants.
It is amazing how short the introductions can be when many participants
are already trusted friends, and how focused the participants' self-descriptions
can be when they share a religious journey. We then turned to the
theme of how our religious traditions lead us both to withdraw from
attachment to the world and also to encounter the world in loving
service.
Radha Dasi reflected on the transformation of renunciation in the
Bhagavad-gita, looking especially at Bhagavad-gita
18.49, 12.12, 5.2 and 2.47. She pointed to the 'domestication of
renunciation' through the change of consciousness called for in
the Gita, the renunciation of the fruits of action in devotional
service to the Lord. The transformation of action through the renunciation
of its fruits means that surrender to the Absolute includes the
carrying out of personal and social responsibilities. Since everything
belongs to the Lord, we are called to renounce material attachments
and, thus liberated from bondage, to place all our resources at
the service of the Lord, in selfless surrender without material
desire. She used the analogy of legal agency to describe the devotee
as one who acts completely for the Lord. From the perspective of
the Bhagavad-gita, liberation from material attachment seems
incomplete without the surrender of the self to the Lord in lived
service. She illustrated this devotional attitude by the example
of Druva Maharaja in Srimad-Bhagavatam and with the devotional
poetry of Narottama Dasa Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
She concluded, 'The tension between renouncing worldly ties and
seeking a closer relationship with God is resolved not by rejecting
the world but by understanding its true relationship to God. As
we progress in spiritual life, we integrate the disparate parts
of ourselves and our world into a coherent whole which resonates
with the love of God.'
Margo Stevenson turned our attention to one of the most dramatic
incidents in the Gospel of John: Jesus' washing of the feet of his
disciples at the Last Supper. She placed this narrative within the
very intimate context of Jesus' farewell to his disciples, in which
he gave them an example of what they also should do. She explored
two interpretations of the foot washing. The first interpretation
views the foot washing as a symbol of the sacrificial love of Jesus,
a love that was only fully understood by the disciples later, for
he as teacher and master washes the feet of his students - a dramatic
role reversal of the usual relationship of student-teacher and servant-master.
The second interpretation points beyond symbol to the actual living
of the disciples, to the attitudes of loving service and humility
that they were to show in ordinary life. It is clear from the placement
and development of this narrative that it reflects an essential
part of the Christian message as setting a model of behaviour for
the disciples of Jesus.
Our discussion allowed for considerable latitude in learning from
each other how we each interpret scripture as a rule of life. The
Christian participants were asked many questions about the practical
significance of the foot washing narrative, the implied criticism
of social relationships, and the example of servant leadership that
Jesus embodied. The Vaisnava participants spoke of the transformative
quality of practical devotional renunciation. All shared insights
on the spiritual power of ordinary life, for example, the special
moments of divine grace experienced in marriage and the deep meditation
found in preparing food ('a cooking spirituality') that empties
the mind. Through this sharing of our rootedness in our traditions,
we learned a deeper understanding of devotional service and of a
life of loving care. After a delicious Ekadasi meal, we joined in
singing traditional Christian hymns and Vaisnava bhajanas.
It has become tradition in this dialogue group that we start the
second day by sharing in an experience of prayer together. Father
Paul Lee led the group in a prayer that celebrated the 'gifts of
the Holy Spirit', the divine gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel,
fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. This prayer ended
with a symbol we hold in common, the offering of incense. Anuttama
Dasa and Rukmini Dasi then led us in Vaisnava mantras and bhajanas,
and Bhaktitirtha Swami taught us from the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
There are so many ways in which differing traditions can exclude
others in worship, but this group has found a way to promote understanding
through sharing an accessible mode of prayer together.
In the context of prayer, dialogue becomes easier - a simple, natural
thing to do. John Borelli and Anuttama Dasa had provided documents
on interreligious understanding from the Roman Catholic tradition
and from ISKCON. These are 'tough texts' because they manifest irreconcilable
differences between traditions as much as they speak of dialogue.
The Catholic documents included texts from the Second Vatican Council
(1965) as well as excerpts from the more recent Ecclesia in Asia
(1999). While many of these texts highlighted the distinctive
beliefs that set Christians apart, they also highlighted Christian
beliefs about the unity of the human race, the links between communion
(or solidarity) with others and dialogue, and the mission of Christians
to be a witness of God's presence in the world.
Dialogue is 'not simply a strategy for peaceful coexistence between
peoples; it is an essential part of the Church's mission' (Ecclesia
in Asia, p. 29). The need to enter into lived dialogue with
others thus emerges out of the logic of Christian faith itself.
We then turned to the ISKCON document 'ISKCON in Relation to People
of Faith in God' (ISKCON Communications Journal, June 1999).
We had the luxury of some first-hand knowledge of the development
of this document among the conference participants. We spent some
time discussing the relation between ISKCON and other Hindus, as
well as the differences and similarities between ISKCON's beliefs
and those of other Hindus. Although the occasion for this text was
quite different from that of the Catholic statement, there were
similarities between them with regard to the need to understand
the convictions that practitioners of both traditions hold with
firm faith, and the need to make that understanding the basis for
dialogue. Dialogue, openness to others, and a disposition to learn
from others - all are impossible without a firm grounding in one's
own faith tradition. The terms 'dialogue and mission' are found
in the ISKCON document as well; this document reflects a deep awareness
of the creative tension between these two aspects of ISKCON's Vaisnava
faith. This awareness on the part of Vaisnavas and Christians was
present in our dialogue as well. Although we had to break for lunch
long before we wanted, we all received a deeper sense of the seriousness
of our conversation because it was grounded in candid statements
of our differing beliefs.
We promised to meet 'same time, same place, next year' with a focus
on texts of 'applied spiritual practice' which show the stages of
spiritual development in our respective traditions. It is clear
that, as long as Anuttama Dasa and John Borelli call us together,
we Christians and Vaisnavas will find a way to celebrate further
steps of understanding together. Many thanks are due to Anuttama
and John for their leadership and to those ISKCON devotees who provided
the food. For the company and the beautiful location and the springtime
weather, we have to praise the Lord.
Participants:
Vaisnava: Radha Dasi, Ravindra Svarupa Dasa, Bhaktitirtha
Swami, Anuttama Dasa, Hari Dasa, Rukmini Dasa, Anantavirya
Dasa, Lalit Agarwal, Yash Malhotra
Christian: John Borelli, Gerald Carney, William Cenkner,
Paul Lee, Elizabeth Orens, David Rodier, Margo Stevenson, Erik Swartz,
Judson Trapnell, James Wiseman
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