His Holiness Bhakti Vasudeva Swami Speaks on

Religion and Social Justice

Photo courtesy of Bhakti Vasudeva Swami

 
His Holiness Bhakti Vasudeva Swami (Vasudev Das) is a religious leader of the Gaudiya
Vaishnava Hindu faith, a doctoral researcher of leadership and organizational change,
and a scholar of the social sciences.   He was born in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, and
commenced his wide-reaching religious and communal activities there in 1984 with the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).   His Holiness frequently
travels around the world to educate diverse audiences on the values of love, peace,
unity in diversity, self-realization, positive change, and community development. His
Holiness sat down with Sanctum  to discuss how he understands the relationship
between religion and social justice.
 
There are a number of varying ideas on what constitutes social justice, some
of which conflict with each other. What is true social justice, and how is it
best achieved?
 
This is a very important issue in social justice.  Rudimentarily, social justice refers to the
idea of creating an egalitarian society or institution that is based on the principles of
equality, justice, and solidarity that understands and values human rights, and that
recognizes the differences of all.  It is easily achieved when we understand our pristine
identity; that is, the fact that despite our differences in bodily designations - race,
gender, age, etc. - we have a common spiritual essence, and based on that spiritual
essence, we can value people instead of trampling their rights. So [social justice] can
be achieved very easily if we recognize, first of all, who we are and who others are -
despite the color of their skin, and despite their gender, and despite their age, etc.
That’s why I call social injustice as being rooted in an “identity crisis.”  That is
ignorance, ignorance of our true identity.
 
Are we naturally inclined toward establishing and maintaining social justice,
or are we more naturally inclined toward destroying it, due to our inherent or
developed qualities?
 
Let me explain it this way: the degree of our inclination to maintain social justice is
directly proportional to our social insight, and our social insight has to do with our moral
reasoning.  And of course, our moral reasoning is to some degree rooted in the
purification of our consciousness.  For example, if someone has a pathological state of
consciousness, there is no question of his or her striving for social justice.  We need to
understand that in the present era, many people are imbued with so much hypocrisy,
quarreling, and agitation; their consciousness is not purified.  
 
There is a time-tested and definite methodology of becoming purified in consciousness,
and that methodology is given practically in all śāstric literatures or bona fide scriptures.
I call it sonic therapeutic intervention, or audition and recapitulation of the names of
God.  Basically, we understand that God has multifarious names - such as Jehovah,
Allah, or Krishna, and dedicate time everyday to Him through repetitions of these
names.  If we don’t take care to give some quality time to God, we may have good
intentions about social justice, but our intentions may be thwarted, because if we don’t
have that purified consciousness, it is very difficult to strive for social justice.
 
We’ve seen in the past that many people who champion social causes are very eloquent
speakers and very scholarly people, but we can find even in the history of this country
that they have fallen right in the noose.  So we need some purification; we need to
purify our consciousness to stand firm in the pursuit of social justice.
 
This practice of chanting the holy names of God as a method of purification
of consciousness implies belief in a God, and thus holds little meaning to the
faithless.  Is there a way to purify the consciousness without such a theistic
or religious practice?
 
Firstly, if we discuss consciousness, we should also understand what essentially
consciousness is, because if we don’t understand that, we will be led astray.  To answer
your question, yes, we can also purify our consciousness by transcendental austerities:
by diet therapy, by abstinence from intoxication and lies, and of course by sexual
restraint.  We can also purify our consciousness through spirituality.  You may say that
spirituality and religion are the same, but there is a difference between spirituality and
faith - your faith can change, but your spiritual identity does not change.  Research
shows that the sustainability of the purification of consciousness is more prominent with
the audition and recapitulation of the names of God. The symptom of purified
consciousness is that the individual will not be attracted to bestial culture.
 
What is the ideal connection between faith and social justice?  To what
extent should faith in general be connected with social justice?
 
When you talk about faith, it is a very broad concept.  Basically, we have to understand
that we are all children of one Creator; therefore, we should uphold human rights with
impunity, and we should respect and honor everyone because we are all essentially
spiritual beings - parts and parcels of the Supreme Being. You call Him God, Jehovah,
Allah, etc; we call Him Krishna.  When our eyes become anointed with the salve of love,
or when our eyes become anointed with transcendental love, we will be able to have a
universal vision not based on color, gender, race, age, etc., but based on the fact that
everyone is a spark from the Creator.  Therefore in a sense, faith has a very vital role to
play in originating social justice or even in the execution of social justice.  
 
Faith in essence implies that we believe in something, and everyone believes in
something - in fact, the variable is the object of our belief.  And so the very prosecution
of social justice is faith - because in a literal sense, faith implies conviction or belief, and
each and everyone has a belief in something.  And so yes, faith has some major
ingredient or significance in social justice - based on the concept that we have some
conviction, and we have to fulfill that conviction.  
 
If someone is really spiritually inclined, they need to be inclined in social justice,
because the whole concept of social justice is that people should not be dehumanized,
or people should have equal treatment.  If someone claims to be a member of a faith,
and that someone is not inclined toward social justice, it [is problematic] to me.
Because if we love God, we should love His parts and parcels - we should love the
people around us.  Social justice should begin with our families, because our family is a
microcosm of society.  We should not abuse our children and our spouses, and then go
out to champion the cause of social justice.
 
As Your Holiness has clearly explained, there is a strong connection between
religion and the establishment and maintenance of social justice. However,
despite this connection, in the past religion has been misused in a number of
ways for the obstruction of social justice and the detriment of the well-being
of the people.  What is the root cause of these problems?
 
The cause is polluted consciousness.  When people become swayed by lust their
thinking is clouded, and so they subscribe to all of the dictates of the mind and the
impulses of the senses.  These very instances are being perpetrated by people with
polluted consciousness, not with pure consciousness, and this is due to the fact that
they don’t practice any genuine religious or spiritual culture to purify themselves.  They
may even have good intentions, but if they are under the impulse of lust, they don’t
think properly and so they do the wrong things. If we don’t have proper control of our
sensory modalities, we may have difficulty in championing the cause of social justice.
People abuse religious institutions just to gratify their senses, and people are running
away from religion because of these nasty activities, and they do not really understand
the culture of spirituality and religiosity.  It is a very sad development.
 
The concept of religious wars is also very sad and very harmful.  The plebeians on the
street may carry bombs and try to harm people, and this is from a lack of social
responsibility, and a lack of understanding of philosophical concepts rooted in pure
spirituality.  The best way to avoid these types of social issues is to train these people
to read the scriptures.  The people at the top - that is, the top religious scholars - are
working together, in the same schools; they are peaceful and intelligent people.  Why is
it that those on the street must be carrying bombs to go and kill people?  
 
How can the root cause of these problems - polluted consciousness - best be
addressed, and thus effectively solve these problems?
 
People are not sufficiently equipped with transcendental knowledge, with
transcendental culture.  If we cultivate transcendental knowledge, then we can remove
bodily designations - look past this tribe, and race, and gender, etc.  But we need to
gain awareness of the higher principles that govern our existence - we have to be
aware that whatever we do, we have to pay the price.  Even in the laws of physics:
Newton’s laws of motion stipulate that for every action there is an opposite and equal
reaction.  [This also relates to the laws of karma.]  People should be trained in
transcendental culture to properly understand their spiritual identity, relationship with
God, and relationships with other human beings.
 
How does Your Holiness respond to the assertion that as practitioners of
spirituality, we should focus only on the spiritual and reject the material, and
therefore we should ignore issues related to social injustice because they are
on the material platform and focus only on our spiritual practice?  
 
If our philosophies do not have a problem-solving orientation, people will not embrace
them, because why would they pray to God for help, when the people around us – the
children of God - are not caring for us?  The International Society for Krishna
Consciousness, as an example, distributes free food at college campuses, at hospitals,
at abandoned babies’ homes, and even to the public in general; to practically apply the
principles of social justice.
 
We should be caring, and not just go after our own liberation while the world is
suffering.  Rather, if we don’t care - for example, if a religious person sees that
someone is being raped, and he or she just shies away because that crime has nothing
to do with his love for God, he or she becomes an accomplice.   We should be inclined
toward helping people and at the same time, practicing our faith.  We cannot ignore the
people around us if we profess to believe in God.
 
One major problem in the realm of social justice is that of discrimination,
particularly against women and minority races.  Some religious leaders have
chosen to remain silent on such issues, whereas others have spoken strongly
against them.  What view does Your Holiness hold on the subject?
 
To deny people opportunities because of race or gender is very uncultured and terribly
barbaric.  When we find these types of developments and people don’t respond, it’s
very absurd.  The concept of discrimination is all based on the body and
disproportionate focus on the material identity.  People need some higher rationale,
rooted in transcendental knowledge and culture, to be able to move past discrimination.
We learn in the Vedic literature that the whole planet is under the auspices of a woman,
Mother Bhumi.  And so, for us to say that some people are unqualified to do something
is an inaccurate and unwholesome attitude towards life.  
 
Your Holiness is personally involved in the Hare Krishna movement - the
International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) - which is a very
large and prominent worldwide organization.  What has been its specific role
in encouraging the establishment of social justice, in bringing peace and
harmony to this world, and in helping the people in general?
 
We’re doing this practically everywhere.  To give you a practical example, I have been
preaching for many years in Africa - I happen to come from Nigeria - and in Nigeria, we
have been championing these causes. Social justice is leading by example, and that is
basically what we do.  We don’t just profess ‘peace’; whatever we have, we share with
the people.  If someone comes to our temple, for example, he will get a free meal
every morning, afternoon, and evening.  This is [showing] concern for our brothers and
sisters - for everyone, because we see them as parts and parcels of God, or parts and
parcels of Krishna.  We are also working to help with the transmission of transcendental
knowledge to all without discrimination, and to spread the message of God to every
town and village.
 
What are the consequences and repercussions of neglecting social justice,
from a material as well as a spiritual perspective?
 
Of course, materially speaking, if someone doesn’t raise an alarm, he will lend himself a
bad name and people will not trust him. If someone is not caring, what is the motive for
having a strong relationship with that person?  We want our relationships with people
who are caring, and so if someone is not seeing how others can be rectified or how
others can be relieved of their suffering, we can’t accept that person. We have to stand
firm, to be able to help those who are being victimized or those who are being abused.
 
In a sense, just as we experience material effects from neglecting social justice we
experience spiritual effects. The [spiritual] consequences are that we are responsible for
the injustice, and so we carry some karmic reactions, or effects [derived from the laws
of karma - an individual’s reward for good deeds and/or punishment for bad deeds].
Especially, for instance, as the leaders of society - parents, teachers, the educated, etc
- if we see others being treated unjustly and we don’t act, we bear the consequences of
our negligence.  So negligence of duty, or an uninterested approach to duty, is a central
problem we all must combat in our social justice work.  —
 
 
Shruti Kulkarni is a first-year in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

His Holiness Bhakti Vasudeva Swami | http://facebook.com/bhaktivasudeva

Columbia Sanctum | http://facebook.com/ColumbiaSanctum