Portraying Krishna and Radha: the Story of Deity Art in the Hare Krishnas
Publication information:
Abstract
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, like other branches of Hindu tradition, emphasizes worshipping and serving physical deity statues. When Gaudiya Vaishnavism travelled to the West, via the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or the Hare Krishnas, it encountered obstacles to deity worship: the unavailability of deities, and the inexperience of neophyte devotees in ritual protocols. With few material resources, the first Western devotees imported some deities, and crafted or decorated others themselves as they pulled together the first Hare Krishna temples. This paper examines the adaptive sacred art of Western devotees seeking to re-present Gaudiya Vaishnavism’s deity service for a new audience.
Presenter Biography
Trish Tillman has taught history courses at several colleges and universities in the Washington, D.C. area since 2012. She received her Ph.D. in History from Catholic University in 2018, and is also active in the DC-area bhakti yoga community, as well as mentoring other yoga teachers. Her academic work focuses on comparative religion, the tensions between tradition and modernity, and the resacralization of the world.