A Modern Kurukṣetra?

Vaiṣṇavism, Nationalism, and the Second World War

Abstract

This article explores the complex relationship between Vaiṣṇavism, nationalism, and the Second World War, highlighting the diverse responses of prominent Vaiṣṇava figures to the global conflict. While India was politically divided between support for the British-led Allies and Subhas Chandra Bose’s pro-Axis Indian National Army, Vaiṣṇava perspectives ranged from spiritual detachment to active political engagement. The British-born Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ascetic Sri Krishna Prem viewed the war as a manifestation of humanity’s collective inner turmoil, advocating pacifism rooted in yogic philosophy. In contrast, Sri Aurobindo, though not a Vaiṣṇava, framed the war as a cosmic battle between divine and demonic forces, aligning the Allies with dharma. Meanwhile, Svāmī Bhakti-hṛdaya Vana of the Gauḍīya Maṭha supported the British war effort, citing the Bhagavad-gītā to justify defensive violence. Conversely, figures like Savitri Devi (Maximiani Portas) and some Hindu nationalists absurdly deified Hitler as an avatāra of Viṣṇu, reflecting extremist political interpretations of Hinduism. The case of Sadānanda dāsa (Ernst-Georg Schulze), a German Vaiṣṇava suspected of Nazi sympathies, further complicates the narrative, illustrating the fraught intersection of devotion and wartime allegiance. Ultimately, this study reveals how Vaiṣṇavas—whether detached, loyalist, or extremist—interpreted the war through a theological lens, seeing it as part of Kṛṣṇa’s cosmic play (līlā), even as political ideologies clashed around them.