On July 21-22, Yekaterinburg ISKCON hosted a landmark event – a conference of Russian Vaishnavas with scientific qualifications. The forum brought together scientists and scholars from dozens of cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Tyumen and Novosibirsk.
This gathering of Vaishnava scholars was initiated by two Russian spiritual leaders – Chaitanya Chandra Charan Prabhu and Bhakti Vijnana Gosvami – whose long-standing desire to implement Srila Prabhupada’s vision for organizing scientific activities in Krishna Consciousness was finally fulfilled. A scientist from the United States, Murali Gopal, PhD Physics, helped to realize the plan by joining the Yekaterinburg conference as a representative of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies. He offered a seminar on cosmology, as presented in the Srimad Bhagavatam and elucidated by the talented mathematician Sadaputa Prabhu in his pioneering work, Mysteries of the Sacred Universe. Murali Gopala also reported on the current stage of development of the Bhaktivedanta Institute in the United States and abroad.
Srila Prabhupada incorporated the Bhaktivedanta Institute in 1976 as a scientific sanga for his academically qualified disciples. He proposed that, along with criticism of evolutionary doctrine and materialism, His PhD’s would formulate a scientific basis for the ancient teachings of Krishna consciousness. The Institute was generously funded by Srila Prabhupada, who envisioned large international projects in Mayapur and Vrndavana.
Yekaterinburg was the perfect venue for this event, being home to the unique “Bhaktivedanta Institute Ashram,” where brahmacaris have the opportunity to work on their PhDs while following the sadhana of bhakti-yoga. The ashram instructor is Vasusresthatha Prabhu, a bhakti sastri and doctor of philosophical sciences. Temple leadership supports both ashram activities and Bhaktivedanta Institute programs. Our special thanks to A.G. Shershevsky, Director of “Lotos” company, where the conference was held, and to the Ural restaurateur Jagannath-Baladeva Prabhu, who arranged accommodations and meals for the participants. Without their generous hospitality and humble seva, the event could not have taken place.
Before departing to Radhadesh for the Kuli-Mela, Murali Gopal invited all the participants to attend the upcoming “Science of Consciousness” conference, a momentous gathering of academically trained devotees with the goal of establishing international coordination of Bhaktivedanta Institute projects. This conference, scheduled for January 18-20, 2019 in the historic Thomas Center in Gainesville, FL, USA, is being hosted by the combined efforts of the BIHS (USA) and the Philosophy and Science Initiative (UK). Anyone with an interest in the role of consciousness in the sciences is welcome to attend. The conference will begin with a keynote address by Stuart Hameroff, the author of the original concept of quantum consciousness, on Friday evening (1/18/19), followed by a full day of individual presentations, and ending on Sunday (1/20/19) with workgroups and discussion of joint projects. Many Vaishnava experts are expected to arrive representing different fields of science – from Indology and linguistics to biology and astrophysics. It is the intention of the organizers for the participants to form target thematic groups in which the research and discussion of topical scientific problems will continue.
All details can be found on the conference website: Consci19.org
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