Mayaypura, West Bengal
I received an e-mail from a Unitarian leader who was suggesting that a few of us should do some scrupling. I got back to him saying, "I agree with you. Scrupling is a good idea."
What on earth is "scrupling"?
Scrupling apparently is something that was common amongst
the Quakers. It was their old practice, developed in the mid-19th century to
focus thinking on the issue of slavery abolition in the U.S., an issue in which
Quakers played a role.
So I was thinking that scrupling is like a discussion, a
diliberation on something which involves a lot of listening. This is what
brahmins are supposed to do -- to discuss topics of social and spiritual
concern. We might call it ishtaghosti. North American natives may call it a pow
wow.
Surely when I get back to the west the intent is to have a
face-to-face with a Unitarian member to discuss issues on how we can better
assist the world. Since their church is a mere five minutes walk from our centre
on Avenue Road in Toronto, we have no excuse to avoid a chat.
There are many concerns shared by groups of different
denominations and it just sounds great when one of the spiritual leaders takes
the initiative for brahmins to knock heads, so to speak. It is very
commendible.
Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had many dialogues with members
and leaders of other faiths. So the green light is on to promote understanding.
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