Below You will find some of my presentations, classes and interviews as audio or video. I hope You will find them interesting.
Video
Audio
A visit to Govardhan Eco Village
December 21-24, 2019
Govardhan Eco Village, Maharashtra, India
About 2-1/2 to 3 hours’ drive north of Mumbai is Govardhan Eco Village (GEV)
An amazing Vaishnava retreat center that is attracting, annually, 6000-8000 day visitors and a similar number of visitors for longer stays. When I fixed plans to come here, some weeks ago, I had no idea that some of my good friends would also be here at the same time, including Prof. Ravi Gupta and Prof. David Haberman, as well as Radhanath Swami, and Gauranga Das. As it happened, I was invited to participate in planning sessions for an exciting educational initiative—the prospect of establishing a higher education institution recognized by the Indian central government. I also took part in discussions about the rapidly developing Bhaktivedanta Research Center, which has its center in Kolkata but which is now reorganized to include a program in Govardhan Eco Village and elsewhere in India. There are now doctoral (Ph.D.) candidates of Mumbai University who are under the guidance of Vaishnava scholars who have come here to conduct graduate-level seminars to prepare them for research work. Some discussion also arose that I might be involved soon in this program, to facilitate one such seminar.
A special high point of my visit was the visit of Sripad Shyam Manohar Goswami, the senior acharya of the Vallabha sampradaya (a Vaishnava tradition founded in the 16th century in north India by Sri Vallabha Acharya). Goswami gave a lecture to a small group of us, in which he emphasized the commonality among different traditions. As well as being extremely learned in Sanskrit literature (and Braja-bhasa literature), he surprised us all when he quoted the 1950s American popular singer Nat King Cole “Sometimes I love you, and sometimes I hate you / But when I hate you, it’s ‘cause I love you”
GEV also features a very nice goshala, or cow shelter, with presently 104 cows and bulls (or oxen). They have two breeds here—Gir, which are brown colored, with large hang-down ears and large foreheads, and Tarparkar, which are white and charming. A couple of mornings I went there to visit during early morning feeding time. Then a bit later it was a joy to see some of the younger Tarparkar cows running full speed from one end of the coral to the other end and back. They seemed to be just enjoying themselves in the company of their friends.
Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue in Chennai
December 16-18, 2019
Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue in Chennai, India
I was fortunate to be again (for the third time) present at the annual Vaishnava-Christian dialogue in South India, organized by Anuttama Das, ISKCON’s minister of communication. The topic this year was “Loving Surrender and Social Engagement”. My own participation this time was quite minimal, as I was not the presenter for Gaudiya Vaishnavism (plus, I was dealing with a cold and laryngitis). What is always interesting in these dialogues is to see the richness of thought and the ways our tendencies to stereotype other traditions are challenged. And what is always rewarding is the relationships that develop through both the more formal exchanges in the discussions and the informal conversations between session. I was especially happy that my proposal for the topic of next year’s dialogue was accepted: “Inner and Outer Climate Change”. After some further discussion, a subtitle was added: “God, Nature, and Human Transformation.” We are exploring who might be the presenter for this topic for the Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
Read more on this here.
A copy of ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ for Dr. Nanditha Krishna
December 17, 2019
Chennai, India
I presented a copy of ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ to Dr. Nanditha Krishna, President of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and author of several books, here in Chennai. Dr. Krishna kindly wrote an endorsement for the book, on quite short notice, prior to its publication (included in the book’s front matter):
“The cow is integral to the economic, cultural and spiritual well being of Hindus and is central to the natural, human and divine spheres of life, which interrelate for mutual benefit. Kenneth Valpey’s book ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ discusses the historical and current issues that surround the cow as a sacred animal in Indian culture. It highlights how both dharma and bhakti are balanced in the daily care of cows, requiring the long term well-being of all animals, with the human—cow relationship as a starting point. The book is well researched on Hindu animal ethics from the Vedic to the contemporary and is an important contribution to our knowledge of the co-operation between human beings and the animal world.”
—Dr. Nanditha Krishna, President, C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Chennai, India
A visit to Govardhan Eco Village
/in Bhagavata Purana, Cow care projectDecember 21-24, 2019
Govardhan Eco Village, Maharashtra, India
About 2-1/2 to 3 hours’ drive north of Mumbai is Govardhan Eco Village (GEV)
An amazing Vaishnava retreat center that is attracting, annually, 6000-8000 day visitors and a similar number of visitors for longer stays. When I fixed plans to come here, some weeks ago, I had no idea that some of my good friends would also be here at the same time, including Prof. Ravi Gupta and Prof. David Haberman, as well as Radhanath Swami, and Gauranga Das. As it happened, I was invited to participate in planning sessions for an exciting educational initiative—the prospect of establishing a higher education institution recognized by the Indian central government. I also took part in discussions about the rapidly developing Bhaktivedanta Research Center, which has its center in Kolkata but which is now reorganized to include a program in Govardhan Eco Village and elsewhere in India. There are now doctoral (Ph.D.) candidates of Mumbai University who are under the guidance of Vaishnava scholars who have come here to conduct graduate-level seminars to prepare them for research work. Some discussion also arose that I might be involved soon in this program, to facilitate one such seminar.
A special high point of my visit was the visit of Sripad Shyam Manohar Goswami, the senior acharya of the Vallabha sampradaya (a Vaishnava tradition founded in the 16th century in north India by Sri Vallabha Acharya). Goswami gave a lecture to a small group of us, in which he emphasized the commonality among different traditions. As well as being extremely learned in Sanskrit literature (and Braja-bhasa literature), he surprised us all when he quoted the 1950s American popular singer Nat King Cole “Sometimes I love you, and sometimes I hate you / But when I hate you, it’s ‘cause I love you”
GEV also features a very nice goshala, or cow shelter, with presently 104 cows and bulls (or oxen). They have two breeds here—Gir, which are brown colored, with large hang-down ears and large foreheads, and Tarparkar, which are white and charming. A couple of mornings I went there to visit during early morning feeding time. Then a bit later it was a joy to see some of the younger Tarparkar cows running full speed from one end of the coral to the other end and back. They seemed to be just enjoying themselves in the company of their friends.
Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue in Chennai
/in Bhagavata Purana, Projects and activitiesDecember 16-18, 2019
Vaishnava-Christian Dialogue in Chennai, India
I was fortunate to be again (for the third time) present at the annual Vaishnava-Christian dialogue in South India, organized by Anuttama Das, ISKCON’s minister of communication. The topic this year was “Loving Surrender and Social Engagement”. My own participation this time was quite minimal, as I was not the presenter for Gaudiya Vaishnavism (plus, I was dealing with a cold and laryngitis). What is always interesting in these dialogues is to see the richness of thought and the ways our tendencies to stereotype other traditions are challenged. And what is always rewarding is the relationships that develop through both the more formal exchanges in the discussions and the informal conversations between session. I was especially happy that my proposal for the topic of next year’s dialogue was accepted: “Inner and Outer Climate Change”. After some further discussion, a subtitle was added: “God, Nature, and Human Transformation.” We are exploring who might be the presenter for this topic for the Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
Read more on this here.
A copy of ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ for Dr. Nanditha Krishna
/in Cow care projectDecember 17, 2019
Chennai, India
I presented a copy of ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ to Dr. Nanditha Krishna, President of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and author of several books, here in Chennai. Dr. Krishna kindly wrote an endorsement for the book, on quite short notice, prior to its publication (included in the book’s front matter):
—Dr. Nanditha Krishna, President, C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Chennai, India