Conway Hall Ethical Society

Conway Hall

The South Place Ethical Society, based in London, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world, and is the only remaining Ethical Society in the United Kingdom. It now advocates secular humanism and is a member of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. Sri Sri Shikshashtaka

by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not do much writing, but was widely renowned as a scholar in His youth. Nonetheless, He did leave these eight verses known as Sikshashtaka. These explain the essence of His mission and the philosophy of devotional service to Lord Krishna. See the article on Lord Caitanya to learn more about Him. Two more songs/prayers follow that elaborate on the sacredness of the Lord's holy names.

(1)

cheto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam

shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam

anandambhdhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamritasvadanam

sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate shri-krishna-sankirtanam

Glory to the Shri Krishna sankirtana (congregational chanting of the Lord's holy names), which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. That sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

(2)

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-shaktis

tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalaha

etadrishi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi

durdaivam idrisham ihajani nanuragahah

O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names, you have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach you by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

(3)

trinad api sunicena

taror api sahishnuna

amanina manadena

kirtaniyah sada harihi

One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

(4)

na dhanam na janam na sundarim

kavitam va jagad-isha kamaye

mama janmani janmanishvare

bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.

(5)

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram

patitam mam vishame bhavambudhau

kripaya tava pada-pankaja-

sthita-dhuli-sadrisham vichintaya

O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.

(6)

nayanam galad-ashru-dharaya

vadanam gadgada-ruddhaya gira

pulakair nichitam vapuh kada

tava nama-grahane bhavishyati

O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?

(7)

yugayitam nimeshena

chakshusha pravrishayitam

shunyayitam jagat sarvam

govinda-virahena me

O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.

(8)

ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam

adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va

yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato

mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparaha

I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.

History

The organisation began in 1793 as a group of nonconformists known as Philadelphians or Universalists. William Johnson Fox, a former theological student of Dr Pye Smith, became minister in 1817. In 1824 the congregation built a chapel at South Place, Finsbury, London.

In 1926 they built new premises, Conway Hall, at 37 Red Lion Square, Bloomsbury, on the site of a tenement, previously a factory belonging to James Perry, a pen and ink maker. Coincidently this was the birthplace of the prominent occultist, Harry Price. The name of the society still reflects the original location.

Conway Hall is named after an American, Moncure Conway, who led the Society from 1864–1885 and 1892–1897, during which time it moved further away from Unitarianism. Conway spent the break in his tenure in America, writing a biography of Thomas Paine. In 1888 the name of the Society was changed from "South Place Religious Society" to "South Place Ethical Society" under Stanton Coit's leadership.

Bibliography

• Moncure Daniel Conway, Centenary History of the South Place Society : based on four discourses given in the chapel in May and June, 1893. London/Edinburgh : Williams and Norgate 1894
• MacKillop, Ian (1986). The British Ethical Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-26672-6

See also

• National Secular Society
• British Humanist Association
• Rationalist Association
• International Humanist and Ethical Union

External links

• South Place Ethical Society