Christ and Krishna – the Name is the Same
When an Indian person calls on Krishna, he often says, Krsta. Krsta is a Sanskrit word meaning attraction. So when we address God as Christ, Krsta, or Krishna we indicate the same all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Jesus said, Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name, the name of God was Krsta or Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada: What is the meaning of the word Christ?
Father Emmanuel: Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “the anointed one”.
Srila Prabhupada: Christos is the Greek version of the word Krishna.
Father Emmanuel: This is very interesting.
Srila Prabhupada: When an Indian person calls on Krishna, he often says, “Krsta”. Krsta is a Sanskrit word meaning “attraction”. So when we address God as “Christ”, “Krsta”, or “Krishna” we indicate the same all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Jesus said, ” Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name,” the name of God was Krsta or Krishna. Do you agree?
Father Emmanuel: I think Jesus, as the son of God, has revealed to us the actual name of God: Christ. We can call God “Father”, but if we want to address Him by His actual name, we have to say “Christ”.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. “Christ” is another way of saying Krsta and Krsta is another way of pronouncing Krishna, the name of God. Jesus said that one should glorify the name of God, but yesterday I heard one theologian say that God has no name — that we can call Him only “Father”. A son may call his father “Father”, but the father also has a specific name. Similarly, God is the general name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose specific name is Krishna. Therefore whether you call God “Christ”, “Krsta”, or “Krishna”, ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Father Emmanuel: Yes, if we speak of God’s actual name, then we must say, “Christos”. In our religion we have the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe we can know the name of God only by revelation from the son of God. Jesus Christ revealed the name of the Father, and therefore we take the name “Christ” as the revealed name of God.
Srila Prabhupada: Actually, it doesn’t matter — Krishna or Christ — the name is the same. The main point is to follow the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures that recommend chanting the name of God in this age. The easiest way is to chant the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. Rama and Krishna are names of God and Hare is the energy of God. So when we chant the maha-mantra we address God along with His energy. This energy is of two kinds, the spiritual and the material. At present we are in the clutches of the material energy. Therefore we pray to Krishna that He may kindly deliver us from the service of the material energy and accept us into the service of the spiritual energy. This is our whole philosophy. Hare Krishna means, “O energy of God, O God (Krishna), please engage me in Your service.” It is our nature to render service. Somehow or other we have come to the service of material things, but when this service is transformed into the service of the spiritual energy, then our life is perfect. To practice bhakti-yoga [loving service to God] means to become free from designations like Hindu, Muslim, Christian, this or that, and simply to serve God. We have created Christian, Hindu and Mohammedan religions, but when we come to a religion without designations, in which we don’t think we are Hindus or Christians or Mohammedans, then we can speak of pure religion, or bhakti.
Father Emmanuel: Mukti? [liberation from material miseries]
Srila Prabhupada: No, bhakti. When we speak of bhakti, mukti is included. Without bhakti, there is no mukti, but if we act on the platform of bhakti, then mukti is included. We learn this from the Bhagavad-gita (14.26):
mam ca yo ‘vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down under any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.”
Father Emmanuel: Is Brahman Krishna?
Srila Prabhupada: Krishna is Parabrahman. Brahman is realised in three aspects: as impersonal Brahman, as localised Paramatma and as personal Brahman. Krishna is personal and He is the Supreme Brahman, for God is ultimately a person. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11), this is confirmed:
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj-jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmati
bhagavan iti sabdyate
“Learned transcendentalists, who know the Absolute Truth, call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan.” The feature of the Supreme Personality is the ultimate realisation of God. He has all six opulences in full: He is the strongest, the richest, the most beautiful, the most famous, the wisest and the most renounced.
Father Emmanuel: Yes, I agree.
Srila Prabhupada: Because God is absolute, His name, His form and His qualities are all absolute and they are nondifferent from Him. Therefore to chant God’s holy name means to associate directly with Him. When one associates with God one acquires Godly qualities and when one is completely purified he becomes an associate of the Supreme Lord.
Father Emmanuel: But our understanding of the name of God is limited.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, we are limited, but God is unlimited. And because He is unlimited, or absolute, he has unlimited names, each if which is God. We can understand His names as much as our spiritual understanding is developed.
What is the difference between Krishna consciousness and Christianity?
Father Emmanuel: May I ask a question? We Christians also preach love of God, and we try to realise love of God and render service to Him with all our heart and all our soul. Now, what is the difference between your movement and ours? Why do you send your disciples to the Western countries to preach love of God when the gospel of Jesus Christ is propounding the same message?
Srila Prabhupada: The problem is that the Christians do not follow the commandments of God. Do you agree?
Father Emmanuel: Yes, to a large extent you’re right.
Srila Prabhupada: Then what is the meaning of the Christians’ love for God? If you do not follow the orders of God, then where is your love? Therefore we have come to teach what it means to love God. If you love Him you cannot be disobedient to His orders. And if you are disobedient your love is not real.
Srila Prabhupada: All over the world people don’t love God. They love their dogs. The Krishna consciousness movement is therefore necessary to teach people how to revive their forgotten love for God. Not only the Christians, but also the Hindus, the Mohammedans and all others are guilty. They have rubber-stamped themselves as Christian, Hindu or Mohammedan, but they do not obey God. This is the problem
Visitor: Can we say in what way the Christians are disobedient?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. The first point is they violate the commandment “Thou shall not kill” by maintaining slaughterhouses. Do you agree that this commandment is being violated?
Father Emmanuel: Personally, I agree.
Srila Prabhupada: Good. So if the Christians want to love God, they must stop killing animals.
Father Emmanuel: But isn’t the most important point…
Srila Prabhupada: If you miss one point there is a mistake in your calculation. Regardless of what you add or subtract after that the mistake is already in the calculation and everything that follows will also be faulty. We cannot simply accept the part of the scripture we like and reject what we don’t like and still expect to get the result. For example, a hen lays eggs with it’s back part and eats with it’s beak. A farmer may consider, “The front part of the hen is very expensive because I have to feed it. Better to cut it off.” But if the head is missing there will be no eggs any more because the body is dead. Similarly, if we reject the difficult part of the scriptures and obey the part we like, such an interpretation will not help us. We have to accept all the injunctions of the scriptures as they are given , not just those that suit us. If you do not follow the first order, “Thou shall not kill,” then where is the question of love of God?
Visitor: Christians take this commandment to be applicable to human beings, not to animals.
Srila Prabhupada: That would mean Christ was not intelligent enough to use the right word: murder. There is killing, and there is murder, Murder refers to human beings. Do you think Jesus was not intelligent enough to use the right word. Killing means any kind of killing and especially animal killing. If Jesus had meant simply the killing of humans he would have used the word murder.
- Mathew:5:21: Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
- Mark:10:19: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
- Luke:18:20: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
- Romans:13:9: For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- James:2:11: For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Father Emmanuel: But in the Old Testament the commandment “Thou shall not kill” does refer to murder. And when Jesus said, “Thou shall not kill,” he extended the commandment to mean a human being should not only refrain from killing another human being, but should also treat him with love. He never spoke about man’s relationship with other living entities but only about his relationship with other human beings. When he said, “thou shall not kill,” he also meant in the mental and emotional sense — that you should not insult anyone or hurt him, treat him badly and so on.
Srila Prabhupada: We are not concerned with this or that testament but only with the words used in the commandments. If you want to interpret these words, that is something else. We understand the direct meaning. “Thou shall not kill” means, “The Christians should not kill.” You may put forward interpretations in order to continue the present way of action but we understand very clearly there is no need for interpretation. Interpretation is necessary if things are not clear. “Thou shall not kill” is a clear instruction. Why should we interpret it?
Father Emmanuel: Isn’t the eating of plants also killing?
Srila Prabhupada: The Vaisnava philosophy teaches that we should not even kill plants unnecessarily. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.26) Krishna says:
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
“If someone offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water, I will accept it.” We offer Krishna only the kind of food He demands, and then we eat the remnants. If offering vegetarian food to Krishna were sinful, then it would be Krishna’s sin, not ours. But God is apapa-vijna — sinful reactions are not applicable to Him. He is like the sun, which is so powerful that it can purify even urine — something impossible for us to do. Krishna is also like a king, who may order a murderer to be hanged, but who himself is not subject to punishment because he is very powerful. Eating food first offered to the Lord is also something like a soldier’s killing during wartime. In a war, when the commander orders a man to attack, the obedient soldier who kills the enemy will get a medal. But if the same soldier kills someone on his own he will be punished. Similarly when we eat only prasada [the remnants of food offered to Krishna], we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (3.13):
yajna-sistasinah santo
mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
bhunjate te tu agham papa
ye pacanty atma-karanat
“The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food that is first offered for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.”
Father Emmanuel: Krishna cannot give permission to eat animals?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes — in the animal kingdom. But the civilized human being, the religious human being is not meant to kill and eat animals. If you stop killing animals and chant the holy name Christ, everything will be perfect. I have not come to teach you, but only to request you to please chant the name of God. The Bible also demands this of you. So let’s kindly cooperate and chant, and if you have a prejudice about chanting the name Krishna then chant “Christos” or “Krsta” — there is no difference. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: namnam akari bahu-dha nija-sarva-saktis. “God has millions and millions of names, and because there is no difference between God’s name and Himself, each one of these names has the same potency as God.” Therefore even if you accept designations like Hindu, Christian or Mohammedan, if you simply chant the name of God found in your own scriptures, you will attain the spiritual platform. Human life is meant for self-realisation — to learn how to love God. That is the actual beauty of man. Whether you discharge this duty as a Hindu, a Christian or a Mohammedan, it doesn’t matter — but do it?
Father Emmanuel: I agree.
Srila Prabhupada: [pointing to a string of 108 meditation beads] We always have these beads, just as you have your rosary. You are chanting, but why don’t the other Christians also chant? Why should they miss this opportunity as human beings? Cats and dogs cannot chant, but we can because we have a human tongue. If we chant the holy names of God, we cannot loose anything; on the contrary, we gain greatly. My disciples practice chanting Hare Krishna constantly. They could also go to the cinema, or do so many other things, but they have given everything up. They eat neither fish nor meat nor eggs, they don’t take intoxicants, they don’t drink, they don’t smoke, they don’t partake in gambling, they don’t speculate and they don’t maintain illicit sexual connections. But they do chant the holy name of God. If you would like to cooperate with us then go to the other churches and chant, “Christ”, “Krishna” or “Krsta”. What could be the objection?
Instead of keeping the churches closed, why not give them to us?
Father Emmanuel: There is none. For my part I would be glad to join you.
Srila Prabhupada: No. We are speaking with you as a representative of the Christian church. Instead of keeping the churches closed why not give them to us? We would chant the holy name of God there twenty-four hours a day. In many places we have bought churches that were practically closed because no one was going there. In London I saw hundreds of churches that were closed or used for mundane purposes. We bought one such church in Los Angeles. It was sold because no one came there, but if you visit the same church today, you will see thousands of people. Any intelligent person can understand what God is in five minutes; it doesn’t require five hours.
Father Emmanuel: I understand.
Srila Prabhupada: But the people do not. Their disease is that they don’t want to understand.
Visitor: I think understanding God is not a question of intelligence but a question of humility.
Srila Prabhupada: Humility means intelligence. “The humble and meek own the kingdom of God.” This is stated in the Bible, is it not? But the philosophy of the rascals is that everyone is God and today this idea has become popular. Therefore no one is humble and meek. If everybody thinks he is God, why should he be humble and meek? Therefore I teach my disciples how to become humble and meek. They always offer their respectful obeisances in the temple and to the spiritual master, and in this way they make advancement. The qualities of humbleness and meekness lead very quickly to spiritual realisation. In the Vedic scriptures it is said, “To those who have firm faith in God and the spiritual master, who is His representative, the meaning of the Vedic scriptures is revealed.”
Father Emmanuel: But shouldn’t this humility be offered to everyone else also?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but there are two kinds of respect: special and ordinary. Sri Krishna Caitanya taught that we shouldn’t expect honour for ourselves, but should always respect everyone else, even if he is disrespectful to us. But special respect should be given to God and His pure devotee.
Father Emmanuel: Yes, I agree.
Srila Prabhupada: I think the Christian priests should cooperate with the Krishna consciousness movement. They should chant the name of Christ or Christos and should stop condoning the slaughter of animals. This program follows the teachings of the Bible; it is not my philosophy. Please act accordingly and you will see how the world situation will change.
Father Emmanuel: Thank you very much
Srila Prabhupada: Hare Krishna!
About the Author
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founded the Hare Krishna Movement in 1966 in New York. In only 11 years he spread the movement all over the world. He wrote more than 80 books including Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad. Prabhupada's books constitute a complete library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature and culture.
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Since the western Theology has pushed out reincarnation out of its jurisdiction and each religion controls their own unique narration of these figures. The Hindu Krishna is the Indian Jesus Christ. One can only wonder if this is a conspiracy against Krishna?
Some have wondered whether there is more than meets the eye between these legendary people. Is it feasible that Jesus and Krishna are both reincarnations of the same divine spark but manifested in different ways? 🕊️
While this speculation may pique the interest of some, it’s crucial to note that Jesus and Krishna are seen quite differently in the theologies of orthodox Christianity and Hinduism. However, this has not been the cause of a conflict. However, they have mutually agreed to coexist peacefully so that each religion may construct a narrative around its own Idol. Each religious group’s interpretation of these remarkable people is shaped by its own set of core beliefs, canonical texts, and historical accounts.
Lord Jesus Christ almost certainly travelled to India during his youth. And at that time in India Buddhism was very strong. So what Jesus learned in India was something of a mixture between the Vedic knowledge and Buddhism.
So Jesus came back from India with spiritual enlightenment that includes aspects of both the Vedic tradition and the Buddhist tradition.
How could the Eskimos survive if they stop eating meat? Where they live there is hardly vegetation to grow.
Yes. We are not saying actually that everyone should stop eating meat. What we are saying is if you eat meat then that will mean you will not be able to make any significant spiritual advancement. So it is up to you to choose, if you want to suffer eternally in ignorance in the material world, then go on eating meat. But if you want to expand your consciousness, if you want to develop spiritually, if you want to leave this morbid material world and make the journey back home back to Godhead, back to the spiritual world where you will regain your original transcendental eternally youthful body full of ever-increasing knowledge and transcendental bliss, then stop eating meat.
It is up to you. But if you choose to eat meat you are choosing eternal suffering and pain in the material world. Your choice…
Joanna Panzera said “I cannot believe I have finally found exactly how I feel inside described in one article. These are one hundred percent my beliefs. Thank you for this life changing article. I am excited to see where my spiritual journey leads me next. Namaste! Hare Krishna.”
I like the way Prabhupada explained the killing of animals….but here’s a question…. The commandments as given in the bible are given in 2 parts…first 5 have to do with our relationship with God… And the last 5 have to do with our relationship with our fellowmen…so I do not believe the one about killing was referring to animals…..now if one is to support the non killing of animals with the story of Daniel in the bible only eating vegetables and ending up more healthy looking physically and I believe more spiritually purified and enlightened, I will glady accept that point…also prabhu said eating meat that has been presented to Krishna is acceptable…which means if you give thanks to God in prayer for a meal, it is acceptable in God’s eyes to eat it….granted many Christians do not pray before eating these days but yes….if you offer a prayerful sacrifice of praise for the meat you’re about to eat, it should be acceptable to god then…
I eat meat and drink alcohol and find it very hard to stop. I would never kill an animal even if I was starving but I do eat if another has killed the animal. I know this supports killing of animals and I feel guilty about it. I do not eat beef because I honour the cow. I contemplate why Jews and Muslims are forbidden to eat pork only. I also drink alcohol but try not to become intoxicated.
Please can you advise . Thank you 🙏
Our advice is always the same. It is not possible to make any significant spiritual advancement without following the four regulative principles (no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication) and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day. And the only way you are going to get the intelligence and determination to actually do it is to read Srila Prabhupada’s books…
I have one question about Jesus and krishna teaching
I found about all the teachings of krishna and Jesus same but only one question is Jesus is saying he would resurrect all people who are dead and give them eternal life but Krishna says man die but spirit take another body so can anybody explain this?
Krishna does not say that men die. The material body is always dead. The man IS the spirit soul. So some ideas of the Christians are not very well understood. So the idea of resurrecting from the dead is not a very realistic idea. Because no one dies. We are not the material body, we are the spirit soul. As soon as the spirit soul leaves the material body that body decomposes and is gone in a few months. So there is no bringing that body back. The soul is carried by his desires and the laws of material nature into the womb of his next mother and takes birth again. So this idea of ‘resurrection’ of dead bodies is not very realistic at all.
The problem is no one really knows what the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ actually were. Bible is a collection of memories written at least 30 years after Jesus disappeared. And since then over the years the Bible has been edited and things have been removed and added due to political reasons and so on. So in many cases the details are not exactly correct. But the basic ideas are correct.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I have a friend that got me interested in your movement but find it hard to understand a link between the two when Jesus said he was GOD in the flesh. Does the sanskrit name krishna really translate into the english word christ? I ‘m not fully ready to leave my christian background completely but have a desire to chant the name like you recommend.
Hare Krishna Ssthitaprajna
Yes. Krishna and Christ is the same name. It has changed because of language differences only. In India another name for Krishna is Krsta. And in Greek the actual name of Christ is not Christ it is Krstos. So it has gone from Krishna to Krsta to Krstos to Christ. So the name is the same. So it is Jesus of the Christ. Or Jesus the son of Krishna.
So in that sense if you read the Bible and Srila Prabhupada’s books you will not find any contradiction.
In fact I was brought up as a Christian myself and now, since I am in Krishna consciousness, I am a much better Christian than I could have ever been in todays Christian churches.
There is no contradiction between Krishna Consciousness and Christianity. Only the same thing is explained in greater detail in the Vedas than it is in the Bible. Lord Jesus Christ admitted that “There are so many things that I have not told you, because you could not bear them…” So Bible is introduction to the Vedas. Full detail of the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ is available in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.
So you do not have to give up Christianity. I never gave up Christianity. I am still a Christian, but I know that the better source of the knowledge Jesus was preaching is Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Sorry. but where is your Vedic scriptural statement that Krsta became krstos n then Christ (As u state spiritual master speaks nothing more than what he heard) n where is the historical proof also
The proof is Srila Prabhupada said this. Srila Prabhupada is a pure devotee of Krishna, non-different from Krishna. So that is the Vedic scriptural statement you are looking for.
If someone offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or a little water, I will accept it.” We offer Krishna only the kind of food He demands, and then we eat the remnants.
This site is totally informative n wt the world needs.
Hare krishna,
I am confused with some things.
The atma or sole living in the body. If the body doing sins, it will affect to the atma.? When the body dies the atma leaving the body and accepts another body.If the old body did some sins then why should the atma takes another birth and suffering.
Hare Krishna Sureshbabu
You are not your material body. The material body is just like a machine. It is like a motor car. If you drive your motor car out on the road and run over some people and kill them and the police catch you and you say: “I did not do it, it was the car that ran over those people.” Then the police will say you were driving the car, you were behind the steering wheel, the car was under your control, it was you who drove the car into those people therefore it is you who are responsible for killing those people.
So it is with your body. Your body is exactly like a car. You are driving your body. You are responsible for the actions of your body because it is you, the spirit soul, the atma, who is driving your body. So even if your body dies and is no longer present, you, the spirit soul, are still responsible for whatever you did in that body.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
since Krishna is the father of jesus so the Christians should worship Krishna I hope they start worshiping Krishna soon before the coming of jesus so jesus will be happy and respect them .Christians should study the holy hindu books that is way the Christians will find the truth.
did krishna die for humankind’s sins like Jesus? please help. thankyou
NO. Krishna never dies. Krishna is completely spiritual. Eternal, full of knowledge and full of transcendental bliss and possessing an eternally youthful transcendental body. We are also like Krishna in the sense that we are also eternal, full of knowledge and full of transcendental bliss, and we also have an eternal spritual form. And so does Lord Jesus Christ of course. Here in the material world our real spiritual self is covered by the gross and material bodies just like you cover your body with layers of clothing. Because we are currently covered by the material covering of the material body and we are identifying with these material bodies, thinking “I am an Australian man,” or “I am an American woman,” etc., we are misidentifying the material body with our actual spiritual self.
The material body is born and the material body will ‘die’. But actually we are no the material body, and we do not die when the material body dies. The material body is just a vehicle that the spirit soul is contained within in the material world. So when the material body becomes old and useless and is no longer able to serve its purpose of providing an environment for the soul to operate within the soul will be forced to leave that material body and will be placed in the womb of its next mother and will take birth again in a new body.
So you see we are the spirit soul, not the material body and the soul never dies. It simply transmigrates from one body to another. So there is no question of anyone actually dying. No one dies. It is only the material body that appears to die, but actually the material body is never alive. The material body is only animated because of the presence of the spirit soul. It is the energy of the soul that makes the material body seem ‘alive’ and when the spirit soul leaves the material body that is when the body appears to ‘die.’
So Jesus did not die. No one dies. The soul can not die. It is eternal.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna, Madhudvisa dasa ji,
I know in the book of Revelation descriptions of God in white horse, who will come at the end of times, is strikingly similar to descriptions of Kalki Avatar of Lord Krishna in Shrimad Bhagavatam.
There is also another striking connection. In Bible, there is a book called 2 Maccabees..in which there it talks about two young men which are akin to God (Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama?) who punish Heliodorus(A greek who converted to Vaishnavism and erected the Heliodorus pillar (Dedicated to Vasudeva))for forcing the high priest in Jerusalem to give the temple riches…you can read about the pillar in Wikipedia and about the story on
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Maccabees+3&version=DRAon
“Then two other young men, remarkably strong, strikingly beautiful, and splendidly attired, appeared before him. Standing on each side of him, they flogged him unceasingly until they had given him innumerable blows.”Two Maccabees 3:26
I just wanted to point out that even in Bible(this one I think is Catholic) you can find description of Lord Krishna even though it is in a subliminal manner.
Helidorus was a devotee of Vishnu around 110 B.C. and that fact itself shows that the Vaishnavism’s devotional aspect was not borrowed or influenced from Christianity(as claimed by some Christians)…since, the time that predates Christianity itself, Vaishnvaism was not only practiced in India but also by some Greeks who got connected to India when Alexander The Great fought battles with Indian kings.
You can still visit the pillar. It is located in central India in Vidisha near modern Besnagar.
The first inscription says..:
“This Garuda-standard of Vasudeva, the God of Gods
was erected here by the devotee Heliodoros,
the son of Dion, a man of Taxila,
sent by the Great Greek (Yona) King
Antialkidas, as ambassador to
King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior
son of the princess from Benares, in the fourteenth year of his reign.”
The second inscription says:
“Three immortal precepts (footsteps)… when practiced
lead to heaven: self-restraint, charity, consciousness”
Hare Krishna Prahu
Everyone in the world who are born are aware that they are going to die one day and this body is not permanant as well. So why they have to be threatened by nonexistence.
Is bodily concept of life and material concept of life the same
Can you please explain
Hare Krishna Divakar
Everyone in the world who is in the bodily concept of life, thinking that “I am an Indian, I am an American, I am a man, I am a women, etc.”, is threatened by nonexistence. Because at some time in the future the body that they are so attached to and the body that they are misidentifying as their self will become nonexistent [it will die.]. So they are afraid of death… They are threatened by nonexistence.
It is only the devotees who are not in the bodily concept of life, who realize that they are the spirit soul, and that they have no connection actually with the material body, they are not threatened by nonexistence. Because they know, as spirit souls, they are eternally existent…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Both of you Srila Prabhupada and Father Emmanuel.. Who told you both that christianity is a religion????
Just because one nation’s language sound like other languages it does not mean you can interpret the absolute truth based on relative idealogy.
Who said we have to keep the law to attain to God. Jesus came to fulfil the law.
I feel foolish to be pointing out such elementary stuff to both of you.
What both of you are missing is God.
Jesus was made a Martyr by the Christian church. There was hundreds of other “Messiahs” during his time, just like there were a hundreds of different mahatmas in India. I hate to break it to you. He did not come to fulfill any law.
I disagree…Jesus Christ did say he came to fulfill the law and not to abolish it…the meaning being that he came to teach a higher law not of man but of God which is love…and Jesus was not killed by Christians please….he was killed by Jews who practiced Judaism…the ways and laws of moses…who believed that the promised Messiah was supposed to be military like one…not jesus
[…] Sources: Christ and Krishna- The Name is the Same. https://krishna.org/christ-and-krishna-the-name-is-the-same/ Srila Prabhubada’s Hare Krishna Society. […]
Hare Krishna mataji please accept my most humble obeisance jai srila prabhupad wanted to ask u a question a little out of the subject why devotee prevent other people to touched their feet to take blessing????????? what is the reason behind it????????
Because when you touch someone else’s feet you dump your sinful reactions on the other person. So it is not a very good thing to have many sinful people touching your feet.
This feet touching is only for disciples.
I disagree. To bow down and touch the feet of an elder is to show humility. In addition, when bowing down to a spiritual guru, it shows surrender, and also seeking shelter. Bowing down and touching the feet of a person who is of the same age shows humility only. And in all cases, it shows respect. Also, when you bow down, it is also a sign that the person you are bowing to, has a higher status than you are.
The reason a person will not bow down is because of his aham, or pride. When faced with a spiritual guru, we think “Why do we need to prostate/ bow down? I am someone big too. I make this much amount of money, possess these many material things, I have a big name in society. How can I bow down?”
When face to face with a friend in your circle, you think “I know this person. He has these many faults. I’ve seen him do such and such wrong deed. He is lazy, has such faulty personality, why should I bow down to him?”
And in this way, your pride makes the best of you. To think of paap, or sin, to be transferred by just bowing down and touching the feet of someone is really, folly, because the fruits of your actions and reactions stays with you and you only, and this is said in scripture.
Hare Krishna
Greetings
(1) According to Gita, only Krishna should be worshiped. But Hindus also worship Hanuman, Durga etc. Is that a correct practice?
(2) On one hand Gita says, “whoever has been born shall have to die.” but on the other hand there is a concept of Moksha / Mukti in Gita which means that the Mukt person NEVER COMES BACK. Is it not a big contradiction in Gita?
Thank you
Hare Krishna Abu
According to the Gita Krishna says that those who worship the demigods [like Durga, Kali, etc] for temporary material things are fools who have no intelligence. So He does stress in the Gita that one need only worship Krishna.
In the Vedas there is mention of worshiping different demigods for different benefits. You will find Hindus worshiping Lakshmi for example because they want money. They can worship Lakshmi and get money, but Krishna says they are fools because they are worshiping a demigod for some material benefit.
But they want a material benefit, money, so they worship Lakshmi instead of Krishna.
Krishna also says that He is the ultimate benefactor. So Lakshmi can not give her devotees money unless Krishna sanctions it so it is more intelligent to directly worship Krishna even if you are only worshiping for some material benefit.
So although worshiping demigods for various material benefits is described in the Vedas you can not say exactly that it is wrong. Still Krishna stresses in the Bhagavad-gita that the demigod worshipers are fools because they are worshiping for temporary material things and even if they want temporary material things it would be better to ask Him for them because He is the ultimate supplier of these things anyhow…
As far as your second point there is no contradiction. When the Gita says “One who is born will have to die” it is speaking of birth in the material world. So it is speaking of the material body. The body is “born” and the body will have to “die.” At the time of death if the person is thinking of Krishna his soul will be transferred to the spiritual world and will never have to come back to the material world again.
There are actually no contradictions but in our conditioned state we see many contradictions.
As we make advancement in spiritual life we will realize these are not contradictions… But to realize that we have to make spiritual advancement so:
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna!
How to get away from the ‘material world’,moha-maya?
Chant Hare Krishna Prabhu It is very, very easy…
I’m sorry, but as a Christian I believe it to be heresy to suggest that Christ and Krishan are the same thing.
God bless you all!
According to the Vedas the universe was created 8 billion years ago which is scientifically accurate .I chant the 1000 names of Vishnu and 108 names of Krishna everyday still Im always depressed may be lord Krishna doesn’t love me anymore.
It is a whole process Prabhu. Chanting is a very important part of it. But you have to follow the process of saddhana-bhakti as it is given to us by Srila Prabhuapda. Please read his books, and follow the instructions you find there and there you will find the secret how you can reestablish your loving relationship with Krishna. Krishna loves us all. But we are covered by maya and we are attached to so many material things that separate us from Krishna.
Also Prabhu, this material world is a depressing place, it is natural to be depressed here. If you are trying to be “happy” in the material world, that is not possible. This world is not for happiness. It is for depression. The spiritual world is for happiness. You can elevate your consciousness to the spiritual platform and experience that spiritual happiness even while you still have this material body. That science Srila Prabhupada teaches in his books. Please read them…
Dear from where you got the idea that krishna is chriest
krishna in sanskrit means black and chriest is a greek word meaning annointed one the appointed one. moreever chriest is not a name its a title. even the name is not jesus his name was esu in hebru and esa in arabic. and the word chriest annointad one or the appointed one has been used many times in bible
chriest in heabru means massih or massiah. means to annoint to massage. see in bible the word massih has been selectively translated as chriest
hare Krishna
what ever be the meaning they are one..
meaning of rama, krishna, vishnu, chaitanya may be different; that does not mean they are not one..
don’t search for material meaning.. search for spiritual meaning
hare Rama
Jesus died for our sins, that’s all we need to know. We are saved through faith and not by our works, chanting the name of Jesus will not save you. Read His Word, Jesus is against vain repetitions, He wants our honest heartfelt prayers. God gave unto us the right to eat animals after the flood, and even allowed the sacrifice of animals to forgive transgression in the Old Testament.
Please, I beg you, read the Holy Bible of Jesus Christ, whom loved us so much that He gave the ultimate sacrifice for our lives and washed us of our sins. Krishna asks you to chant his name to receive happiness, Christ offers eternal life by His side, even to those who do not love Him. It is a gift unto mankind that comes freely and not through anything that we can do, this includes the Hare Krishna chant. Do you honestly think that we are separated from God because we do not call His name properly or through a certain incantation?
Open your hearts to Jesus Christ, the only One who loved us enough to die for us, He is knocking at your door, He chose you, He initiated the love of God onto you. Take Him up on His Word, trust Him not on your strengths and merits, and He will surely bless you and your family.
I love you in the everlasting grace of Jesus Christ, and pray for your deliverance.
– D
Hello if jesus died for our sins, why do we still suffer? Just think for some time and you will know it cant be true.
And do you still sin and wait for jesus to save you? instead of doing something to save your self? that is kind of lame of you then. Are you lazy?
hare Krishna
Jesus died for our sins: means that he died for the sins of those people who have accepted him and are willing to change and go back to godhead.
when you read any thing written by holy ones, they have spiritual meaning not the material one…
hare Rama
Hello D
If Christ offers eternal love then why did British who were Christians came to conquer India with the slogans of Gold, Glory and Gospel. Why breakdown the Hindu temples and why is the need of forced conversions ?
Advice.
Christ offers eternal love, the Christians don’t, simple. The Christians are not the same as Christ.
The name Krishna means “All Attractive One”
Meaning of the word Krishna: “The Mahabharata’s Udyoga-parva (Mbh 5.71.4) divides kṛṣṇa into elements kṛṣ and ṇa, kṛṣ (a verbal root meaning “to plough, drag”) being taken as expressing bhū “being; earth” and ṇa being taken as expressing nirvṛti “bliss”. In the Brahmasambandha mantra of the Vallabha sampradaya, the syllables of the name Krishna are assigned the power to destroy sin relating to material, self and divine causes.[6] Mahabharata verse 5.71.4 is also quoted in Chaitanya Charitamrita and Prabhupada in his commentary, translates
the bhū as “attractive existence”, thus Krishna is also interpreted as meaning “all-attractive one”.[7][8] This quality of Krishna is stated in the atmarama verse of Bhagavatam 1.7.10.[9]”
God reveals Himself in the way that He chooses it is not for humans to decide.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Dandavats….please accept my humble obeisances
CHRISTIANITY SUCKS
and all the other bible stuff because they talk about God!
Buddhists are better ‘cause they don’t claim to know anything about an/the absolute truth and don’t talk about God therefore they don’t comtaminate your consciousness that heavy as Christians etc. do!
WORSE THAN UNTRUTH IS HALFTRUTH!!!
But in the end they’re all hypocrites ‘cause they don’t take/receive Krishnas mercy, live under his beautiful lotusfeet and therefore are the best friends to all living being. Actually they should crawl on the floor and cry but they can’t admit….RASCALS!!
ONLY Prabhupada is right let us (try to) spread his glories widely all over the world without regard to difficulties involved! You are so blessed Madhudvisa Dasa thank you so much for this service through the internet THANK you for the dust of your lotosfeet Gopal, Govinda, Trivikrama, Sridhara, Hrsikesa, Padmanabha, Yasodanandana……
Chris did you not read what Srila Prabhupada and Father Emmanuel said at all? Srila Prabhupada spoke of the truth of Christ and Christianity in togetherness with Krishna. Your comments are foolish and blind.
hare Krishna chris
Christianity and Hinduism are one and all, that what prabhupada wanted to say.
unless you cant accept everything as one, you cannot reach Krishna.
hare Rama
I just think it would be absolute speculation to say “when krishna appeared as a burning bush to moses”or when “krishna gave the laws of which animals where clean and unclean to moses”the nearest you have is the burning of the khandava forest when krishna allowed all the animals to be burned.”an angel often appears like a man but in judges the angel”shot up upon the flame of the alter and would not give his name” because it was a wonderful one they are so obedient there is nothing like them in krishna concious theology only in appearence or not at all so God is different from krishna krishna is the God of yoga of altered states of mind (the 3 modes of material nature)king david also exalts union with Jehovah but through Gods spirit.
Raised Christian majority of my life. But just so miserable. Seems everyone I am related to (with the exception of my son) despises me for things I have done in life. Thinking of starting to get involved with the Hare Krishna chant. I figure, why not, can’t hurt.
as a saivate it is clear that lord shiva is the first sound aum and the scriptures, since man cannot attach a date to the worship of lord shiva(lingam)
it is said to be pre-historic everyone else is the manufestation of that one supreme godhead.
Hare Krishna Peter
Lord Shiva is born out of the anger of Lord Braham. And the sound om was first vibrated from the Maha Visnu and Lord Brahma heard it long before Lord Shiva was born.
So you have your facts very wrong…
If you look at the pictures of Lord Shiva he has rudraksa beads and he is praying on them. Who is he praying to? Krishna, Visnu…
Shiva is not the original person. Krishna is the original person. From Krishna Maha-Visnu expands in this universe and from Maha-Visnu’s abdomen a lotus stem grows and a beautiful lotus flower blooms on the top of that stem and in that lotus flower Lord Brahma is born. And when Lord Brahma becomes angry Lord Shiva is born from between his eyebrows.
But Lord Shiva is in a special position. Lord Shiva is not a Jiva-Tattva entity. He is not exactly a Visnu-Tattva entity either. He has his own category, Shiva-Tattva. Shiva is Visnu in touch with the material energy. Visnu has no direct connection with the material energy, but Shiva does. The example given to explain this is that of milk and yogurt. Actually yogurt is nothing but milk in contact with something sour that turns it into yogurt. But once the milk has been transformed into you yogurt it has completely different properties to the original milk and it can never be turned back into milk. For example if one drinks too much milk or eats to many milk sweets he may become sick. The cure for this sickness is yogurt. So the point is that although you can not say the yogurt is anything but milk, once the milk is transformed into yogurt it acts completely differently on the body than milk.
So Lord Shiva is Visnu transformed in contact with the material energy. Lord Shiva is called “Bhutanatha.” It means the friend of the Bhutas, the ghostly haunted men. So Shiva looks after the drunkards and raksashas and you will see that the followers of Shiva are addicted to all sorts of intoxication and sex.
But Shiva himself is worshiping Lord Visnu. Shiva is the greatest Vaisnava. Shiva is in charge of the Tamo-guna, the mode of ignorance in the material world. So it is his service to look after the living entities in the mode of ignorance. You know Shiva is the lord of destruction. Ultimately he will destroy the whole universe. But in the meantime he is in charge of all the destruction that goes on in this world.
There are three things going on in this world always. Creation, maintenance and destruction. And there are three principal Deities in charge of these three departments of the material world. Lord Brahma is in charge of creation, Lord Visnu is in charge of maintenance and Lord Shiva is in charge of destruction. Of these three things maintenance is the most difficult. That is why Lord Visnu is in charge of the maintenance.
Anyhow the bottom line is that it is a mistake to think that Shiva is the origin of the aum and the scriptures. Shiva is only in the material world. There is no Shiva in the spiritual world. Shiva is simply the product of Visnu when He comes in contact with the material energy. So Shiva has no existence outside the material world. Shiva is only a temporary manifestation of Visnu in contact with the material world. There is no permanent existence of Shiva.
The entire material world consisting of unlimited universes is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest. When it is unmanifest Shiva is also unmanifest. There is no Lord Shiva at this time. But Krishna and all his Visnu-Tattva forms continue to engage in their pastimes in the spiritual world that is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge and which is not at all affected by the destruction that Lord Shiva causes in the material world. There is no Shiva in the spiritual world and there is no destruction in the spiritual world.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I think we need to clarify that the Bible is not a book of facts and it is not based on accurate historical events, none of it should be assumed as a scientific explanation to humanity and the world’s creattion, it is a book of morals and spiritual enlightment, it cannot be both, we cannot be expected to belive that our planet was created in 7 days, that a man walked on water or thata boat was constructed to house every anumal on earth, all of what is written in the Bible is not fact, there are moral teachings intended to guide humanity.
como on people, wake up!
the only beggoten son of god vishnu is brahma, whom christians call christ.
and shiva is destroyer in kali yuga, christians call him satan.
and there is just one holy ghost for everything – that is krishna.
stop this talk about christ being krishna, he has never been and never will be.
christ and satan are ultimate devotees of god vishnu, who is full avatar of krishna.
in the name of father vishnu, son brahma and holy ghost krishna – wake up, be happy and be free!
who has eyes let him see
who has ears let him hear
no more there should br division between religions
for the only beggoten son of god brahma creates the world during first three ages
in kali yuga shiva does the creation, his creation is that of destruction
therefore he is named satan, and brahma comes as christ
while brahma creates shiva helps to realize the truth
while shiva destroys brahma helps to realize the truth
both of them are ultimate devotees of krishna
while vishnu just maintains that what is going on therefore he is named god
brahmas body is spirit
shivas body is ego
vishnus body is supersoul in each heart
if your consciousness is egoistic, suffering from shiva will come on you
if your consciousness is spiritual, mercy from christ will come on you
if you realize your true nature, which is soul, liberation from vishnu will come on you
there is no end coming now – just the crucifiction of this planet
in the name of father vishnu, son brahma and holy ghost krishna – be happy and be free
We all have a purpose. It’s not always going to be glorious. It’s not always good. It can be deconstructive as well. Sometimes a manifestation comes for the undoing of mistakes or the ending of something that has served its purpose. Only Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom knows these things for sure.
Apparently, the Gods themselves worship at the alter of the Power of Creation (Infinite Knowledge & Wisdom). And maybe He has a God Himself. And so on and so forth.
Christos:
Christos (Greek) Anointed; applied in the Greek Mysteries to a candidate who had passed the last degree and become a full initiate. Also the immanent individual god in a person, equivalent in some respects to Dionysos, Krishna, etc. The Hebrew word for anointed (mashiah) is generally written in English as Messiah. What we know as Christianity is a syncretism of borrowings from Neoplatonism, neo-Pythogoreanism, Greek Gnosticism, and Hebrew religion. Christos was commonly used in the Greek translation of the Bible as a title of the Jewish Kings, those who had been anointed for reigning — a symbolic rite taken originally from the Mysteries. St. Paul’s use of the word shows that he understood its true mystical meaning, but spoke with precaution in his public epistles or writings.
Source: Rakefet Dictionary
Chrestes:
Chrestes, Chrestos, Chrestians chrestos (Greek) Applied by the Greeks as a title of respect equivalent to “the worthy.” Chrestes meant an interpreter of oracles. In the language of the Mysteries, a chrestos was a candidate or neophyte, and a christos (anointed) was an initiate. Christ is a mystical expression for the human inner god, while chrest is the good but as yet unregenerated nature; using here the language of the Mysteries, Christ may be likened to Dionysos, Osiris, or Krishna, who will deliver the suffering Chrest, mankind or Prometheus, in its trial. It is Christos that incarnates in Chrestos. These usages were taken over by the Gnostic schools out of which Christianity largely sprang, and there is abundant evidence to be found among the early Christian writers and the Gnostics themselves that the adherents originally called themselves Chrestians.
Source: Rakefet Dictionary
Keep working ,great job!
Hmmm, I just read that too. That would mean to be “antichrist” would be the same as “antikrishna” or “antiblack, or anti-dark or anti-dark blue” LOL!
LOL! You’re funny. 😀
Greetings,
I am curious as to the meaning of the word “Krishna.” I have heard exactly what this article says, that Christ and Krishna are from the same root word. But I’ve also heard it said that this is not the case, and that “Krishna” means “the black one.” Any way to clear this up? Thanks!
HARE KIRISHNA,
I want to leave all the bad habits . Plz help me & show me the true way.
How can we get Moksha ?
How can we maintain Dhyan ?
Jai Shree Krishna.
jagmohan kakkar
hare Krishna
don’t think about getting moksha and dhyan..
instead of it think about krishna..
what ever work you are doing.. do to please krishna..
go to Krishna conscious person and ask him to direct your sadhana towards Krishna.
sadhana should be performed under a guru.
hare Rama
pranaam
i am very confused as to who is God
– what are these different names signifies……shive, durga, kali etc
– i was tolled that i was born under the planet shiva, so i am presently worshiping God in this form/name……..am i doing the right thing?
– i was tolled that i have to do different puja…hanuman, shiva, latchmi etc, is’t this too much for one God.
Hare Krishna Bheesham
I understand your confusion. In India generally there is a lot of confusion about God. The real fact is there is one God, Krishna, and He appears in different incarnations, in different forms. But only the Visnu-Tattva forms are the direct incarnations of God. Shiva is also special, but he is not exactly like Krishna and he is not like us. He is like Visnu in contact with the material energy.
Actually you will see Shiva is always chanting on his beads. So a thoughtful person may ask if Shiva is the supreme god, then why is he always praying to some other god on his beads?
So that is the reality, Shiva is worshipping Visnu. Shiva is called the greatest Vaisnava, the greatest devotee of Visnu. So if we worship Lord Shiva with that understanding, that he is a great devotee of Visnu, that is fine. But to worship Shiva as the supreme lord is a mistake. Shiva is not the supreme lord.
It is not necessary to worship anyone except Krishna. Because Krishna is the Supreme Lord, everything is included in Krishna. So if you worship Krishna automatically you worship all the other demigods. The example that is given in the Vedas is supplying water to the root of a tree. If you want to satisfy all the leaves, twigs, branches, flowers and fruits on a tree you can not try to water all the leaves and flowers and fruits separately. All you have to do is to supply water to the root of the tree and automatically the water will be distributed all over the tree and will nourish all the leaves, twigs, fruits and flowers. So it is with worshipping Krishna. Krishna is the root of everything, so if we simply worship Krishna, then that includes worshipping everyone else.
It is a very simple system.
I suggest that you please sign up to our Krishna Connect mailing list. We are studying the teachings of Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita there. I will send you a small email every few days and if you simply take the time to read these emails I guarantee in a very short time all your confusion will be gone and you will be feeling very happy worshipping Krishna.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.
Srimad Bhagavat Gita verse9.23