The thesis called Education in the Hare Krishna movement aims primarily to gather information about the purpose, principles and methods of education in gurukulas of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) abroad and open research problems of education in Czech Hare Krishna movement. At first the text describes the background and theoretical concepts of education in the movement and its comparison with the original method of education vaisnava tradition. Further, the text describes a specific historical development and education form of ISKCON΄s gurukulas, the issue of child abuse and provides available information about the current form of education in the world gurukulas. The last part is focused on the project Gurukula Krishna΄s court in Czech Republic and reconstruction of failed efforts of Czech devotees dedicated to its inclusion in the network of schools and educational institutions of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic in the period 1995-1997 on the basis of unpublished archival materials. Key words Guru, gurukula, education, ISKCON, Krishna΄s court, Prabhupada, Rochford, The Hare Krishna movement, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, training

In the following essay, I will present my fieldwork that I've conducted in Radhakund India. For three weeks I was living in a hindu monastery (eg. ashram) that primarily houses a group of swedes who have formerly suffered from substance-abuse and have gone through medical detoxification, rehabilitation and 12-step treatment. They have all eventually taken up the religious/spiritual practice that the monastery focuses on; meditative and ritual practice in the tradition of gaudiya-vaishnavism. The monastery, namned Bhajan Kutir Ashram, was formed by the psychologist and author Torbjörn Fjellström, who himself is a practitioneer of gaudiya-vaishnavism. Besides rituals and meditation, pilgrimage to Radhakund is part of the religious practice and tradition these people adhere to. My ambition has been to investigate if their religious/spiritual practice in this tradition has been helpful in their recovery. My conclusion is that they have recovered through the cognitive and emotive tools, analytically called Sense of Coherence (SOC) that are found both in the 12-step treatment and the gaudiya-vaishnava-tradition. While the 12-step treatment has helped the respondents to recover from substance-abuse, their religious/spiritual practice in the context of gaudiya-vaishnavism is seen as a natural continuation of the 12 steps and a deepening of its principles. Another theoretical conclusion drawn from the material is that the way the respondents describe recovery, is practically impossible to separate from their religious/spiritual practice and perspectives.

This dissertation focuses on a seventeenth-century (so-called) Malwa manuscript that illustrates the story of Krishna, and the copy manuscripts that were produced after it. It explores how the story is transformed in its incarnations as the vernacular text inscribed on the manuscript, the cycle of illustrations depicting that text, and then the copies made from what appear to be the initial illustrations. The claim is that narrative variations which find their way into these different embodiments should almost never be considered "mistakes," even when an act of misunderstanding seems to be clearly implied. Rather they are moments when the artist's or author's engagement with contemporary sectarian concerns, literary trends, artistic strategies and popular culture is manifest. The first three chapters of the dissertation are devoted to an analysis of text, illustration and copy illustration respectively, while the fourth presents the broader context in which such Krishna manuscripts were circulating.The underlying objective is to re-evaluate the conventional narrative of North Indian illustrated manuscripts. This is cast as the teleology of court styles where political history is used to decide important and influential ateliers. Visually compelling and historically important illustrated manuscripts such as the ones I study, but whose patronizing court is undecided, are largely ignored. This dissertation showcases an alternative, interdisciplinary approach that undertakes thorough visual and textual analyses alongside an examination of the broader socio-religious trends that impacted artistic production. It advocates that every illustrated manuscript should be studied individually, rather than as just a member of a predetermined stylistic group.

“Ordering Subjects” argues that the merchants of Marwar led efforts to demarcate a new, exclusive community of elites, one that they conceptualized of as self-consciously ‘Hindu’ and forged through the application of state power. This early modern Hindu community defined itself in opposition not to the figure of the Muslim but to that of the ‘Untouchable,’ a category that included but was not limited to the Muslim. The early modern Hindu identity was thus deeply imagined in caste terms. This elite community organized around Krishna devotion, especially the Vallabh Sampraday, and demarcated itself through cultural markers such as the practice of vegetarianism, teetotalism, and austerity. Merchants, often joined by brāhmaṇs, waged their battles for the demarcation of this new community by petitioning the crown and by successfully deploying the control that they had gained in prior centuries over the state apparatus as bureaucrats. State power, consisting of its judicial, fiscal, recordkeeping, and surveillance mechanisms, played a central role in the implementation of laws and regulations, including spatial, economic, social, and ritual segregation, enforced vegetarianism, and the moral policing of elite subjects’ lives. Most of these petitions and state responses were legitimized with reference to ethics, marking a departure from the until-then prevalent emphasis on custom as the basis for legislating society. “Ordering Subjects” suggests that this marked a shift towards a more universal law and that the turn to ethical principles made possible the disregard for the force of custom that these departures marked. Further, the dissertation demonstrates that these processes enabled the ascendance of a mercantile ethos as the preeminent cultural code of the region, displacing that of the warrior and modifying that of the brāhmaṇ. Lastly, it shows the extent to which the state in eighteenth century Marwar had penetrated society and was capable of intervening in it using surveillance and judicial methods. The dissertation challenges the current scholarly framing of the debate over the existence of religious identities in pre-colonial South Asia, suggesting that it casts modern, binary (‘Hindu-Muslim’) conceptions of religion, as distinct from politics, upon pre-modern history. Instead, “Ordering Subjects” points to the role of caste, as a field of politics, in determining the contours and imagination of early modern Hindu identity. It offers a political and social history of Krishna devotion, extending scholarship on this field beyond the focus on its literary, theological, and cultural aspects that currently dominate the field. In tracing the local effects of the global processes of economic circulation and integration that characterized early modernity upon social and political life of a landlocked kingdom, the dissertation offers a perspective upon the history of early modern South Asia as it unfolded away from, but in connection with, the ports and court cities of the region.

ABSTRACT The local bhakti tradition prevalent and popular in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India worships Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa (Ru-K) as the divine couple. The divine couple Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the object of devotion of the greater Vaiṣṇava bhakti tradition has been the focus of several academic studies. Almost all scholarly publications and literature relating to the religious tradition of Kṛṣṇa tend to focus on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the divine couple. In contrast, very little is published on Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa as a divine couple. My doctoral research examines the almost 700-year old Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition that is still very much alive today and that continues to thrive in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India. The research has focused on centrality of Goddess Rukmiṇī in the tradition and its doctrine as revealed from the Marāṭhī devotional literature written by its poet-sants. I also study the devotional practices and profile of contemporary Ru-K tradition followers to establish how their understanding of the doctrine influences and shapes their personal practices. In particular, I explore the hypothesis that the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition is a distinctive, syncretistic, and living devotional tradition that integrates Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva elements in its Marathi poet-sant literature as well as in its religious practice amongst its followers. Thus, in both theory and practice, the tradition caters to the needs and dispositions of followers from various social classes. My research methodology mainly comprised textual analysis Marāṭhī devotional literature written by the four major poet-sants of the Ru-K bhakti tradition. The research also involved a small component of field trip to study the contemporary followers and practices of the tradition. Research revealed that the followers of Rukmiṇi-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition look upon Rukmiṇī as pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The analysis of the hagiographies and local legends reveal Rukmiṇī’s role as a mediator and facilitator of meetings of Kṛṣṇa with those who love him and are devoted to him. Acting as a mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his common devotees, she brought him out of his royal pastimes of Dvārakā to Paṇḍharapura, albeit on the pretext of getting upset with him. Following Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in Paṇḍharapura, it has become the centre and springboard of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The Paṇḍharapura pastimes of Kṛṣṇa primarily involve personal loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa (as Viṭṭhala) and his devotees from all walks of life. In these pastimes, Rukmiṇī plays the compassionate mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his devotees, facilitating their meetings and exchanges. Therefore, Rukmiṇī is also looked upon by devotees as a kind and considerate mother. Analysis of the sant literature of the tradition revealed the dichotomous doctrinal stance of Advaitic (non dualistic) nirguṇa bhakti towards an impersonal Supreme taken by Jñāneśvara and Ekanātha, and that of Vaiṣṇava (dualistic) saguṇa bhakti towards a personalised form of Supreme, taken by Nāmadeva and Tukārāma, co-existing under the umbrella of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The reason for such a harmonious co-existence of mutually incompatible doctrines and flourishing of the tradition despite the incongruity is owing to the two common practices, singing the glories of Kṛṣṇa and worshipping of personal form of Kṛṣṇa, both of which are considered to be of significance by both doctrines, albeit for different reasons and to achieve dissimilar objectives. Both practices have been instrumental in bringing together the followers and devotees with contrasting and incompatible doctrinal leanings. The case study of the contemporary devotees revealed a dichotomy, in the form of two different classes of devotees found within the tradition, one consisting of the non-elite rank and file devotees from rural and semi-urban regions displaying saguṇa bhakti practices and understanding, and the other consisting of devotees from the elite class taking an Advaitic nirguṇa stance. These classes continue to be maintained because the preachers, although Advaitic in their personal stance, tend to preach saguṇa bhakti to the masses, considering them to be insufficiently qualified for the advanced stage of Advaita. Consequently, the dichotomy perpetuates itself and is apparently harmonized through this bivalence on the part of preachers and common devotees. The unique aspect involving the fusion of Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism that one finds in the form of Hari-hara-aikya-bhava, sets the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition distinctly apart from the greater Vaiṣṇava tradition, where such a fusion is not just absent, but rather clearly and consciously avoided.

ABSTRACT The local bhakti tradition prevalent and popular in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India worships Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa (Ru-K) as the divine couple. The divine couple Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the object of devotion of the greater Vaiṣṇava bhakti tradition has been the focus of several academic studies. Almost all scholarly publications and literature relating to the religious tradition of Kṛṣṇa tend to focus on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the divine couple. In contrast, very little is published on Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa as a divine couple. My doctoral research examines the almost 700-year old Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition that is still very much alive today and that continues to thrive in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India. The research has focused on centrality of Goddess Rukmiṇī in the tradition and its doctrine as revealed from the Marāṭhī devotional literature written by its poet-sants. I also study the devotional practices and profile of contemporary Ru-K tradition followers to establish how their understanding of the doctrine influences and shapes their personal practices. In particular, I explore the hypothesis that the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition is a distinctive, syncretistic, and living devotional tradition that integrates Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva elements in its Marathi poet-sant literature as well as in its religious practice amongst its followers. Thus, in both theory and practice, the tradition caters to the needs and dispositions of followers from various social classes. My research methodology mainly comprised textual analysis Marāṭhī devotional literature written by the four major poet-sants of the Ru-K bhakti tradition. The research also involved a small component of field trip to study the contemporary followers and practices of the tradition. Research revealed that the followers of Rukmiṇi-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition look upon Rukmiṇī as pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The analysis of the hagiographies and local legends reveal Rukmiṇī’s role as a mediator and facilitator of meetings of Kṛṣṇa with those who love him and are devoted to him. Acting as a mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his common devotees, she brought him out of his royal pastimes of Dvārakā to Paṇḍharapura, albeit on the pretext of getting upset with him. Following Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in Paṇḍharapura, it has become the centre and springboard of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The Paṇḍharapura pastimes of Kṛṣṇa primarily involve personal loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa (as Viṭṭhala) and his devotees from all walks of life. In these pastimes, Rukmiṇī plays the compassionate mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his devotees, facilitating their meetings and exchanges. Therefore, Rukmiṇī is also looked upon by devotees as a kind and considerate mother. Analysis of the sant literature of the tradition revealed the dichotomous doctrinal stance of Advaitic (non dualistic) nirguṇa bhakti towards an impersonal Supreme taken by Jñāneśvara and Ekanātha, and that of Vaiṣṇava (dualistic) saguṇa bhakti towards a personalised form of Supreme, taken by Nāmadeva and Tukārāma, co-existing under the umbrella of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The reason for such a harmonious co-existence of mutually incompatible doctrines and flourishing of the tradition despite the incongruity is owing to the two common practices, singing the glories of Kṛṣṇa and worshipping of personal form of Kṛṣṇa, both of which are considered to be of significance by both doctrines, albeit for different reasons and to achieve dissimilar objectives. Both practices have been instrumental in bringing together the followers and devotees with contrasting and incompatible doctrinal leanings. The case study of the contemporary devotees revealed a dichotomy, in the form of two different classes of devotees found within the tradition, one consisting of the non-elite rank and file devotees from rural and semi-urban regions displaying saguṇa bhakti practices and understanding, and the other consisting of devotees from the elite class taking an Advaitic nirguṇa stance. These classes continue to be maintained because the preachers, although Advaitic in their personal stance, tend to preach saguṇa bhakti to the masses, considering them to be insufficiently qualified for the advanced stage of Advaita. Consequently, the dichotomy perpetuates itself and is apparently harmonized through this bivalence on the part of preachers and common devotees. The unique aspect involving the fusion of Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism that one finds in the form of Hari-hara-aikya-bhava, sets the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition distinctly apart from the greater Vaiṣṇava tradition, where such a fusion is not just absent, but rather clearly and consciously avoided.

ABSTRACT The local bhakti tradition prevalent and popular in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India worships Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa (Ru-K) as the divine couple. The divine couple Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the object of devotion of the greater Vaiṣṇava bhakti tradition has been the focus of several academic studies. Almost all scholarly publications and literature relating to the religious tradition of Kṛṣṇa tend to focus on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the divine couple. In contrast, very little is published on Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa as a divine couple. My doctoral research examines the almost 700-year old Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition that is still very much alive today and that continues to thrive in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India. The research has focused on centrality of Goddess Rukmiṇī in the tradition and its doctrine as revealed from the Marāṭhī devotional literature written by its poet-sants. I also study the devotional practices and profile of contemporary Ru-K tradition followers to establish how their understanding of the doctrine influences and shapes their personal practices. In particular, I explore the hypothesis that the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition is a distinctive, syncretistic, and living devotional tradition that integrates Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva elements in its Marathi poet-sant literature as well as in its religious practice amongst its followers. Thus, in both theory and practice, the tradition caters to the needs and dispositions of followers from various social classes. My research methodology mainly comprised textual analysis Marāṭhī devotional literature written by the four major poet-sants of the Ru-K bhakti tradition. The research also involved a small component of field trip to study the contemporary followers and practices of the tradition. Research revealed that the followers of Rukmiṇi-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition look upon Rukmiṇī as pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The analysis of the hagiographies and local legends reveal Rukmiṇī’s role as a mediator and facilitator of meetings of Kṛṣṇa with those who love him and are devoted to him. Acting as a mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his common devotees, she brought him out of his royal pastimes of Dvārakā to Paṇḍharapura, albeit on the pretext of getting upset with him. Following Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in Paṇḍharapura, it has become the centre and springboard of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The Paṇḍharapura pastimes of Kṛṣṇa primarily involve personal loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa (as Viṭṭhala) and his devotees from all walks of life. In these pastimes, Rukmiṇī plays the compassionate mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his devotees, facilitating their meetings and exchanges. Therefore, Rukmiṇī is also looked upon by devotees as a kind and considerate mother. Analysis of the sant literature of the tradition revealed the dichotomous doctrinal stance of Advaitic (non dualistic) nirguṇa bhakti towards an impersonal Supreme taken by Jñāneśvara and Ekanātha, and that of Vaiṣṇava (dualistic) saguṇa bhakti towards a personalised form of Supreme, taken by Nāmadeva and Tukārāma, co-existing under the umbrella of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The reason for such a harmonious co-existence of mutually incompatible doctrines and flourishing of the tradition despite the incongruity is owing to the two common practices, singing the glories of Kṛṣṇa and worshipping of personal form of Kṛṣṇa, both of which are considered to be of significance by both doctrines, albeit for different reasons and to achieve dissimilar objectives. Both practices have been instrumental in bringing together the followers and devotees with contrasting and incompatible doctrinal leanings. The case study of the contemporary devotees revealed a dichotomy, in the form of two different classes of devotees found within the tradition, one consisting of the non-elite rank and file devotees from rural and semi-urban regions displaying saguṇa bhakti practices and understanding, and the other consisting of devotees from the elite class taking an Advaitic nirguṇa stance. These classes continue to be maintained because the preachers, although Advaitic in their personal stance, tend to preach saguṇa bhakti to the masses, considering them to be insufficiently qualified for the advanced stage of Advaita. Consequently, the dichotomy perpetuates itself and is apparently harmonized through this bivalence on the part of preachers and common devotees. The unique aspect involving the fusion of Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism that one finds in the form of Hari-hara-aikya-bhava, sets the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition distinctly apart from the greater Vaiṣṇava tradition, where such a fusion is not just absent, but rather clearly and consciously avoided.

ABSTRACT The local bhakti tradition prevalent and popular in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India worships Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa (Ru-K) as the divine couple. The divine couple Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the object of devotion of the greater Vaiṣṇava bhakti tradition has been the focus of several academic studies. Almost all scholarly publications and literature relating to the religious tradition of Kṛṣṇa tend to focus on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa as the divine couple. In contrast, very little is published on Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa as a divine couple. My doctoral research examines the almost 700-year old Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition that is still very much alive today and that continues to thrive in the state of Mahārāṣṭra in India. The research has focused on centrality of Goddess Rukmiṇī in the tradition and its doctrine as revealed from the Marāṭhī devotional literature written by its poet-sants. I also study the devotional practices and profile of contemporary Ru-K tradition followers to establish how their understanding of the doctrine influences and shapes their personal practices. In particular, I explore the hypothesis that the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition is a distinctive, syncretistic, and living devotional tradition that integrates Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva elements in its Marathi poet-sant literature as well as in its religious practice amongst its followers. Thus, in both theory and practice, the tradition caters to the needs and dispositions of followers from various social classes. My research methodology mainly comprised textual analysis Marāṭhī devotional literature written by the four major poet-sants of the Ru-K bhakti tradition. The research also involved a small component of field trip to study the contemporary followers and practices of the tradition. Research revealed that the followers of Rukmiṇi-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition look upon Rukmiṇī as pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The analysis of the hagiographies and local legends reveal Rukmiṇī’s role as a mediator and facilitator of meetings of Kṛṣṇa with those who love him and are devoted to him. Acting as a mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his common devotees, she brought him out of his royal pastimes of Dvārakā to Paṇḍharapura, albeit on the pretext of getting upset with him. Following Kṛṣṇa’s appearance in Paṇḍharapura, it has become the centre and springboard of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The Paṇḍharapura pastimes of Kṛṣṇa primarily involve personal loving exchanges between Kṛṣṇa (as Viṭṭhala) and his devotees from all walks of life. In these pastimes, Rukmiṇī plays the compassionate mediator between Kṛṣṇa and his devotees, facilitating their meetings and exchanges. Therefore, Rukmiṇī is also looked upon by devotees as a kind and considerate mother. Analysis of the sant literature of the tradition revealed the dichotomous doctrinal stance of Advaitic (non dualistic) nirguṇa bhakti towards an impersonal Supreme taken by Jñāneśvara and Ekanātha, and that of Vaiṣṇava (dualistic) saguṇa bhakti towards a personalised form of Supreme, taken by Nāmadeva and Tukārāma, co-existing under the umbrella of Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition. The reason for such a harmonious co-existence of mutually incompatible doctrines and flourishing of the tradition despite the incongruity is owing to the two common practices, singing the glories of Kṛṣṇa and worshipping of personal form of Kṛṣṇa, both of which are considered to be of significance by both doctrines, albeit for different reasons and to achieve dissimilar objectives. Both practices have been instrumental in bringing together the followers and devotees with contrasting and incompatible doctrinal leanings. The case study of the contemporary devotees revealed a dichotomy, in the form of two different classes of devotees found within the tradition, one consisting of the non-elite rank and file devotees from rural and semi-urban regions displaying saguṇa bhakti practices and understanding, and the other consisting of devotees from the elite class taking an Advaitic nirguṇa stance. These classes continue to be maintained because the preachers, although Advaitic in their personal stance, tend to preach saguṇa bhakti to the masses, considering them to be insufficiently qualified for the advanced stage of Advaita. Consequently, the dichotomy perpetuates itself and is apparently harmonized through this bivalence on the part of preachers and common devotees. The unique aspect involving the fusion of Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism that one finds in the form of Hari-hara-aikya-bhava, sets the Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa bhakti tradition distinctly apart from the greater Vaiṣṇava tradition, where such a fusion is not just absent, but rather clearly and consciously avoided.

Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2017-11-29T15:15:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MAYLLE ALVES BENÍCIO - DISSERTAÇÃO 2015 PPGCS..pdf: 596618 bytes, checksum: 40d1b52f7b65c7ae5eb7e502682fa499 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-29T15:15:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MAYLLE ALVES BENÍCIO - DISSERTAÇÃO 2015 PPGCS..pdf: 596618 bytes, checksum: 40d1b52f7b65c7ae5eb7e502682fa499 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / CNPq / A presente dissertação teve como objetivos norteadores a identificação do perfil sociodemográfico dos adeptos ao Movimento Hare Krishna em Campina Grande-PB e a descrição dos processos que compõem esse modelo de conversão, com o intuito mais amplo de testar empiricamente a hipótese weberiana da associação entre estratificação social e afiliação religiosa , bem como sua hipótese mais geral da influência da vinculação dos indivíduos a éticas religiosas e suas ressonâncias na significação de suas práticas cotidianas. Nossa metodologia consistiu da realização de observação participante nas reuniões e cotidiano da Comunidade Hare Krishna de Campina Grande-PB; no levantamento de dados sobre trajetórias dos conversos; na aplicação de 39 questionários com componentes das famílias residentes no condomínio Naimisharanya e com estudantes do Instituto Jaladuta durante o ano letivo de 2014; e na realização de 14 entrevistas semiestruturadas com uma amostra não aleatória de conversos, constituída por indivíduos-tipo. / This dissertation aimed to identify social and demographic profiles of converts to Hare Krishna Moviment in the city of Camina Grande-CG, moreover to describe the processes that compound this model of conversion, with the major objective to putting into question the Weberian hypothesis of association between social stratification and religious affiliation, besides his more generalist hiphothesis about the inflluence of the linking to religious ethics and its resonance on the meaning of daily practices of converts. Our methodology consisted of participant observation in the meetings and daily at the Hare Krishna Community in Campina Grande-PB; in data on trajectories of converts; the application of 39 questionnaires with components of households in Naimisharanya Houses Complex and with students of the Jaladuta Institute during the academic year 2014. We also carryied out 14 semi-structured interviews with a non-random sample of converts, composed of individuals-type.

The archives of religious communities is a sparingly treated subject and christian community archives constitute the majority of the archives studied. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relevance of James M. O'Toole's four characteristics of religious archives put forward in his article What’s different about religious archives? Another implicit purpose is to expand the knowledge of religious community archives and include archives from other world religions. The thesis's theoretical starting-point is O'Toole's characteristics which are also used as a basis for the questions that the thesis set out to answer. The main question is to what extent O'Toole's characteristics are relevant for studying archives linked to modern religious communities operating in Sweden. The method used is interviews. A total of seven people were interviewed who had knowledge of seven religious community archives. The archives were linked to the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, the Catholic Bishopric, the Jewish Community in Stockholm, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Triratna Buddhist Community and the Baptist Union of Sweden. With the exception of interviews, the source material consisted of literature (books and articles), web pages, archive registers and email correspondence. The result is that O'Toole's characteristics are not particularly relevant for studying archives linked to modern religious communities operating in Sweden. Religion does not seem so important for religious archives as O'Toole claims. On a scale of 0–5, the relevance of O'Toole's characteristics is 1–2. For this reason, the characteristics need to be modified. There are good opportunities for future researchers to develop the subject and supplement this study. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archival Science.