Newport News, Virginia – The latest issue of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies (JVS) – a highly respected biannual, interdisciplinary refereed publication dedicated to the in-depth study of Vaishnavism – takes on the theme of the “Bhagavad Gita Coming West” and includes an exploration of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is authored by ISKCON founder-acarya Srila Prabhupada. Founded and edited by ISKCON devotee Satyaraja Dasa (Steven J. Rosen), JVS presents the research of Vaishnava scholars and scholars of Vaishnavism, and balances the insights of practitioners with academic perspectives.

The issue, which also features academic essays on the Gita’s impact on Emerson, Bede Griffiths, and modern Western politics, carries an article about Prabhupada’s efforts to bring an authoritative Vaisnava Bhagavad Gita to contemporary Western society. “Of Mothers and Messengers: Understanding A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada As He Is” by Vyenkata Bhatta Dasa (ISKCON’s North American communications director, and a member of the ISKCON News editorial team) analyzes the Bhagavad-gita As It Is by examining different roles Prabhupada played in making Krishna intelligible to the West while maintaining chastity to the parampara.

The Fall 2007 issue of JVS was released in late November, and coincides with the holiday of Gita Jayanti, commemorating the day the Gita was spoken.

Important Note: The following article appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Vaishnava Studies (Vol. 16, No. 1, Fall 2007), edited by Satyaraja Prabhu. Those who wish to subscribe, and to receive the full issue in which this article appears (“The Gita Comes West”), can make a check payable to “FOLK Books” and send to “FOLK Books, P.O. Box 108, Nyack, NY 10960, USA”. The cost for a yearly subscription is US$35 — or US$60 for those who live outside the USA.

The entire text of “Of Mothers and Messengers: Understanding A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada As He Is” can be found here.