Preface

The icj is returning to continue this sort of work, begun almost thirty years ago. While the icj was discontinued, ISKCON Commu- nications in Europe has never stopped working on behalf of iskcon. It put energy into organizing annual conferences at iskcon’s Euro- pean temples and celebrated iskcon’s fiftieth anniversary in 2016.

This first issue of the revived, revamped icj addresses timely, important topics: interfaith dialogue, the empirical study of con- sciousness, environmental priorities, the welfare of cows, the ben- efits of ethics and moral philosophy, and relations between iskcon and the Gaudiya Maths.

In forthcoming issues, we will publish articles on various forms of interfaith dialogue, iskcon’s stance on obstacles to reli- gious freedom, and iskcon’s positions on contemporary ethical matters, such as environmental challenges. ICJ would also like to continue to address various forms of abuse (domestic, pastoral, etc.), the diverse approaches to sexuality among iskcon followers, and ways to reconcile controversial statements in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s writings. ICJ remains committed to presenting articles on a range of scientific topics and Vaiṣṇava philosophical thought. In this way, we hope that icj will serve both the iskcon community and the larger society with whom we share interests and concerns. Our audience includes academics, the media, Hindu organizations and other faith communities, and political leaders and decision makers and more. ICJ will appear every year.

We recently formed a highly qualified advisory board to guide icj’s course into the future: Kṛṣṇa Kṣetra Swami, Rāsamaṇḍala Dāsa, Shaunaka Rishi Das, Rādhika Ramaṇa Dāsa, and Gopīnāthācārya Dāsa.

I would like to thank Anuttama Dāsa, the Global Minister of ISKCON Communications, for his encouragement to revive the icj, an important voice in iskcon; the worldwide team of ten regional directors of ISKCON Communications, who meet weekly in cyber- space and discuss topics that need to be addressed at conferences and in our journal; the expert and patient editors, Tattvavit Dāsa and Rūpa Sanātana Dāsa (who also does the layout); the profes- xv sional Māyāpriya Devī Dāsī for the new cover; Viṣṇu Mūrti Dāsa and Lakṣmīpriyā Devī Dāsī for agreeing to distribute the icj; and, of course, the contributing writers for this issue: Anuttama Dāsa,