Karuna Institute - Educated Outreach Curriculum Roadmap
The curriculum is organized into four tiers. Tiers 1 and 2 build subject-matter competence; Tier 3 builds delivery skill; Tier 4 builds ethical and institutional literacy.
Tier 1 — Philosophical Foundations
From Schopenhauer to Vaishnavism (built)
Will vs. person; impersonalism vs. bhakti; Schopenhauer's own regard for the Upanishads
From Kant to Krishna
Limits of pure reason; the case for revealed/testimonial knowledge (śabda-pramāṇa)
From Advaita to Acintya-bhedābheda
Śaṅkara engaged on his own terms; simultaneous oneness and difference
From the Buddha's No-Self to the Ātmā
Anātman vs. sanātana-dharma — the single hardest objection devotees report facing
From Spinoza to Sāc-cid-ānanda
Pantheism vs. personalism; substance vs. person
Tier 2 — Tradition-Specific Dialogue Skills
Vaishnava–Buddhist Dialogue (built)
Suffering, self, and liberation compared properly — not the caricature version
Vaishnava–Christian Dialogue
Grace vs. bhakti; incarnation vs. avatāra; exclusivism claims Christians raise
Vaishnava–Islamic Dialogue
Tawḥīd and strict monotheism vs. Vaishnava personalism; addressing the "polytheism" charge respectfully and precisely
Vaishnava–Secular/Existentialist Dialogue
Meaning without metaphysics; the "why do you need God" conversation
Vaishnava–Jewish Dialogue
Smaller-audience module, valuable for completeness and academic credibility
Tier 3 — Practicum and Delivery Skills
Handling Hostile and Bad-Faith Interlocutors (built)
De-escalation; recognizing mockery vs. genuine objection; when to disengage
Outreach in Text: Social Media and Online Apologetics
Asynchronous, screenshot-able conversation dynamics; tone and brevity under public scrutiny
Emotional Intelligence for Outreach (built)
Reading defensiveness; managing personal reactivity under challenge; distinguishing winning an argument from making an invitation
Train-the-Trainer / Mentorship Practicum
Pairs graduates with experienced outreach devotees for supervised real conversations against a readiness rubric (see Section 4)
Tier 4 — Ethics and Institutional Literacy
Theology of Religions from a Vaishnava Perspective
Exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism — argued from Vaishnava sources, not assumed
Religion, Violence, and the History of Conversion
Addressing this history honestly, so devotees are not caught flat-footed
Answering the "Cult" Question
NRM studies, ISKCON's institutional history, direct and unapologetic
Interfaith Dialogue from Within
What dialogue looks like from the position of a committed practitioner, not a neutral observer