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Jesus and Krishna (Questions From a Christian)

• Subject: Jesus and Krishna (Questions From a Christian)
• From: Noble <krishna@krishna.org>
• Date: Thu Nov 07 17:38:02 1996
• Message-Id: id7041

Dear Noble, 



Hello. Hare Krishna! Thanks for writing. The message of Lord Jesus Christ 

and the message of Krishna are one and the same. Krishna says in the 

Bhagavad-gita:



   "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O 

descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time 

I descend Myself." (Bg 4.7)



The real business of human beings is to make spiritual advancement, to 

reestablish our relationship with God. We're not meant to just try and 

make a comfortable arrangement here for the satisfaction of our senses. 

Eating, sleeping, sex and defense. No. Human life is meant for solving 

the real problems: birth, death, old age and disease. It's meant for 

answering the real questions: "Who am I?", "What's the purpose of life?", 

"Is there a God?", "What is my relationship with God?", "What happens 

after death?"... 



So whenever religious principles decline in the world, which is the 

natural tendency here, God comes here Himself or He sends His 

representative or son like Lord Jesus Christ to reestablish the religious 

principles. So it's an ongoing process. If you study any culture you'll 

find they have some spiritual knowledge, something that gives them the 

information the purpose of life is not to just make a comfortable 

arrangement here, but this life is a preparation for the next and it 

should be used to elevate our consciousness... The language may be 

different and the rituals may be different, but the principle of eternal 

life is there...

>

>Do you believe that the Christian Bible is true?



Yes. It is a presentation of the absolute truth according to a particular 

time and circumstance. It's not an eternal scripture as it has a 

beginning. There are scriptures presented according to time and place and 

eternal ones that are relevant for all times and all places. 



>Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?



Yes. Of course we are all sons of God, but in our current condition we 

have forgotten that. In our language Jesus is a shaktavesa avatara, it 

means an empowered incarnation of God. So he is not of this material 

world. Generally everyone born here is born because of the sins they have 

committed in the past. But Jesus was not like that. He came to the Earth 

directly from the Kingdom of God on the order of his Father to preach, to 

reestablish the principles of religion.



>Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin?



Yes. But you have to follow his instrutions. It's not that you can keep 

sinning and say "Jesus died on the cross for my sins, so it's OK". If you 

actually accept Jesus as your saviour then he will give you the strength 

to stop sinning. What is the meaning of Christianity if the Christians 

don't become "Christ-like"? They have to develop the godly qualities... 

Not that they can remain as sinners of all types and say "I'm a Christian 

-- Jesus has saved me..." If you actually love someone you will follow 

his instructions. So Jesus has given so many nice instructions in the 

Bible, but it seems the present-day Christians do not take them very 

seriously. 



You can find Christ being quoted as saying "Thou shalt not kill" in most 

of the gospels, but the Christians are running so many slaughter-houses, 

killing so many animals... You can find clear instructions that sex is 

for bringing nice God-conscious children into the world within religious 

marriage only, but so many "Christians" completely ignore this... There 

are so many things. If you actually want to be a Christian you have to 

follow the instructions of Christ. Otherwise what is the question of 

being a "Christian"? 



So these days they have made it very cheep. "God is a loving God... He 

wouldn't be so mean to have a Hell... No one's perfect... Everyone's a 

sinner..." So they just keep on sinning and expect Jesus to keep on 

forgiving them. But this is nonsense. You can be forgiven for your past 

sins, previous to taking shelter of Jesus, and you can also be forgiven 

for accidental sins that you may commit. But not that it will continue. 

Not that we can think "I am doing this sinful activity now and Jesus will 

forgive me..." No. That mentality -- committing sinful activities on the 

expectation that Jesus will forgive them -- is offensive and such sins 

are not forgiven.



>Do you believe in a Hell that is a total seperation from God for

>Eternity?



There are hellish planets, middle planets and heavenly planets. The Earth 

is a middle planet. The demons go to hell for practically eternity... But 

they will get another chance one day... God is merciful after all. Hell 

is separation from God, but it is Hell also!! The idea that Hell is total 

separation from God is not a very complete understanding of Hell. It is 

the sinful, the demons, who go to Hell. So they want total separation 

from God... So if Hell was just total separation from God then it would 

not really be Hell for the demons... Actually we have to suffer the 

reactions to the sinful acts we perform. "What you sow, so shall you 

reap." So that is what is happening in Hell. The sinners go there to 

suffer the reactions to their sins, it is real suffering, not just 

separation from God.



There are many different hellish planets:



   "Sukadeva Gosvami describes the following twenty-eight hells: Tamisra, 

Andhatamisra, Raurava, Maharaurava, Kumbhipaka. Kalasutra, Asi-patravana, 

Sukaramukha, Andhakupa, Krmibhojana. Sandamsa, Taptasurmi, 

Vajrakantaka-salmali, Vaitarani, Puyoda, Pranarodha, Visasana, 

Lalabhaksa, Sarameyadana, Avici, Ayahpana. Ksarakardama, 

Raksogana-bhojana, Sulaprota, Dandasuka. Avata-nirodhana, Paryavartana 

and Sucimukha.

   "A person who steals another's money, wife or possessions is put into 

the hell known as Tamisra. A man who tricks someone and enjoys his wife 

is put into the extremely hellish condition known as Andhatamisra. A 

foolish person absorbed in the bodily concept of life, who on the basis 

of this principle maintains himself or his wife and children by 

committing violence against other living entities, is put into the hell 

known as Raurava. There the animals he killed take birth as creatures 

called rurus and cause great suffering for him. Those who kill different 

animals and birds and then cook them are put by the agents of Yamaraja 

into the hell known as Kumbhipaka, where they are boiled in oil. A person 

who kills a brahmana is put into the hell known as Kalasutra, where the 

land, perfectly level and made of copper, is as hot as an oven. The 

killer of a brahmana burns in that land for many years. One who does not 

follow scriptural injunctions but who does everything whimsically or 

follows some rascal is put into the hell known as Asi-patravana. A 

government official who poorly administers justice, or who punishes an 

innocent man, is taken by the assistants of Yamaraja to the hell known as 

Sukaramukha, where he is mercilessly beaten.

   "God has given advanced consciousness to the human being. Therefore he 

can feel the suffering and happiness of other living beings. The human 

being bereft of his conscience, however, is prone to cause suffering for 

other living beings. The assistants of Yamaraja put such a person into 

the hell known as Andhakupa, where he receives proper punishment from his 

victims. Any person who does not receive or feed a guest properly but who 

personally enjoys eating is put into the hell known as Krmibhojana. There 

an unlimited number of worms and insects continuously bite him.

   "A thief is put into the hell known as Sandamsa. A person who has 

sexual relations with a woman who is not to be enjoyed is put into the 

hell known as Taptasurmi. A person who enjoys sexual relations with 

animals is put into the hell known as Vajrakantaka-salmali. A person born 

into an aristocratic or highly placed family but who does not act 

accordingly is put into the hellish trench of blood, pus and urine called 

the Vaitarani River. One who lives like an animal is put into the hell 

called Puyoda. A person who mercilessly kills animals in the forest 

without sanction is put into the hell called Pranarodha. A person who 

kills animals in the name of religious sacrifice is put into the hell 

named Visasana. A man who forces his wife to drink his semen is put into 

the hell called Lalabhaksa. One who sets a fire or administers poison to 

kill someone is put into the hell known as Sarameyadana. A man who earns 

his livelihood by bearing false witness is put into the hell known as 

Avici.

   "A person addicted to drinking wine is put into the hell named 

Ayahpana. One who violates etiquette by not showing proper respect to 

superiors is put into the hell known as Ksarakardama. A person who 

sacrifices human beings to Bhairava is put into the hell called 

Raksogana-bhojana. A person who kills pet animals is put into the hell 

called Sulaprota. A person who gives trouble to others is put into the 

hell known as Dandasuka. One who imprisons a living entity within a cave 

is put into the hell known as Avata-nirodhana. A person who shows 

unwarranted wrath toward a guest in his house is put into the hell called 

Paryavartana. A person maddened by possessing riches and thus deeply 

absorbed in thinking of how to collect money is put into the hell known 

as Sucimukha." (from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.26 Summary)



So Hell is VERY real...



>Explain the Big bang theory please.(Cause I don't know the exact

>details.)



It's better to ask the scientists -- they are the "experts". There's not 

one "Big Bang Theory", it's a term that describes many different theories 

and none of them seem to make much sense... There are plenty of articles 

on the Sudarsana site (www.krishna.org) you could read. Just use the 

search (magnifying glass on the button-bar) Search for big bang...



>

>I would really appretiate it if you could tell me more about this stuff. 

>Just to let you know, I am a Christian Ministries Major.  I just want to

>campare your beliefs with mine.  Thanks!!



Krishna consciousness is not a sectarian religion, it is a scientific 

process of reestablishing our forgotten relationship with God, Krishna. 

It is for everyone who wants to develop their loving relationship with 

God...



Thamks for writing, chant Hare Krishna and be happy!



Madhudvisa dasa

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