Radical Personalism: Revival Manifesto for Proactive Devotion

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PADMANABHA SWAMI has done something unique in Radical Personalism. Drawing from the richness of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and other mystical traditions, as well as the multi-disciplines of science, psychology, and sociology, he has taken a broad look at societal and institutional concerns, scriptural misunderstandings and misapplications, and individuals' psychological hindrances that thwart the embrace of our fullest potential.
Exploring in candid detail, with insight and compassion, the complex topics that have troubled many of us in spiritual pursuit, Radical Personalism can clear muddled thinking; instill hope where it is absent; ignite enthusiasm and determination where apathy has taken hold; encourage honesty and dethrone duplicity; bring light where darkness prevails; inspire us to leave aside the pettiness, sectarianism, and fundamentalism that have gripped various Gaudiya groups in recent decades; and usher in a united and vibrant Gaudiya community devoid of the barriers that currently divide us.
On the whole, this book is a comprehensive examination of how to return Gaudiya spirituality to a lived mystical tradition, as intended by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

1 FIRST MET PADMANABHA SWAMI IN 2017. As a leader in South America, he was contending with an upheaval that spanned many countries: hundreds of devotees were in crisis, having lost their (and his) diksa guru to improper behavior. To hear from a respected devotee he had accepted as a siksa-guru ten years earlier, Padmanabha Maharaja had come to an ashram I was also visiting.
Externally, Padmanabha Maharaja appeared even keeled, and his classes displayed his intellectual acumen, knowledge, and attraction for hearing and chanting about Krishna.
Still, I had my doubts, having seen many spiritual disasters and knowing how a guru's misbehaviour can irreparably devastate the foundation of even the sincerest devotee's faith in bhakti. How was he coping with his own loss? Did he even have time to sort out things internally, given that he was meant to carry the torch of hope and faith for others? I would be shown answers to these and other questions and would come to appreciate Padmanabha Swami more by being with him during another crisis a few years later.
In the meantime, Maharaja soon shone as a leader in the new sangha. He nourished the camaraderie and created community in a way that hadn't existed. With genuine interest in individuals, he encouraged and engaged each person in new initiatives he designed. I began to take note of his unpretentious, friendly demeanor. He was unaffected by his position as a sannyasi (member of the renounced order) and didn't show a need to have things center on and privilege him. By observing his interactions with others, I understood that relationships-people-were very important to him. Many devotees commented that in his presence they felt noticed, valued, and appreciated.
As far as I could see, Padmanabha Swami was loved and respected by everyone in the sangha. He is a rare combination of unassuming but real renunciation, competent intellect, soft heart, and psychological balance. He shows a genuine integration of his humanity with his spirituality.
I remember how he was intent on including everyone. On more than one occasion he asked me to lead kirtan, though he is an accomplished kirtaniya and the event would have called for him to lead. I had been attending gatherings at this ashram for years, how- ever his invitation was the first of its kind.
By this time, Padmanabha Swami had taken re-initiation from his siksa-guru, who once shed tears of affection watching Maharaja lead a kirtan at a public event. Padmanabha Swami's devotion to his guru was palpable; hundreds of classes were filled with references to his guru, expressing deep gratitude for their relationship and the many things he had learned from him. So when I and others began to see a change in his guru's mood toward this ideal student, we be- came bewildered. Eventually, his guru publicly rejected him as his disciple

IT WAS ANOTHER RAW DAY on a creative level, arguably one of the rawest during the end of 2022. Despite my witnessing a rich discussion about innovation amid paradox, my expressive skills as a writer remained somewhat paralyzed on that particular day. That's the price of authorship, especially transpersonal authorship, where one attempts to be a mere witness to someone else writing the piece through your own pen and heart. There I was, by myself and oozing with vulnerability while facing the unknown, the un- certainty, and the paradoxical that exists in each of us and always shows its reflection during creative junctures. There I was, on the frontier of something I couldn't fully comprehend, contending and struggling with a problem I was just beginning to puzzle out. Two short but endless months prior, my life had taken one of the most unexpected challenging turns I could have possibly ever imagined. It was now December 7th, 9:00 PM. The first draft of this work had been started a few days before. I was relatively pleased with the five or six initial chapters written. However, the introduction had been relegated to the "Utterly Poor and Inadequate" folder. Not knowing what to do about this all- important yet missing piece of my work, before taking rest for the night I ventured into a few pages from a recently arrived book. This particular work had captured my attention, since its premise involved a Christian author who dared to ask the question of whether he should remain a Christian or not. In its first two parts, he presents an elaborate list of points to justify either of these possibilities, which he then unpacks before concluding with a "how" section where he advises how to proceed, depending on the corresponding verdict. Since I was already pretty tired, I was only able to read the first few pages of it, but that was enough for something quite unpredictable to happen. In almost every example given in the author's list, I felt I could easily replace the word "Christian" with "Gaudiya Vaishnava" and make the whole book applicable to my own tradition. That was enough epiphany for one night. I had what I needed to resume this Introduction.