Toward A Constructive and Comparative Theology of Krishna Bhakti for Contemporary Bengal Vaishnavism: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

In this study my intention is to bring out some important dimensions and essential features of thought found within the traditional early teachings of the Chaitanya school of Vaishnavism, also known as Bengal Vaishnavism, as well as its modern transmission by its most impactful modern exponent, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupåda. The specific ideas brought out in this article are essential elements for inclusion in a constructive and comparative theology of Krishna bhakti.
Here I attempt to sketch the nature of sources and their relationship to one another, some of the elements of a matrix within which such a constructive and comparative theology may develop, and to build on profound themes that Prabhupåda has already transmitted, but ones that need to be brought out and further appreciated in light of the constructive and comparative theological enterprise. These ideas are presented precisely because they are seen as necessary for both constructive and comparative dimensions of a theology, as each dimension is necessarily synergistically dependent upon and informed by the other, with the aim of taking Krishna bhakti theology to new heights, required in today’s world.