By Praghosa Das (ACBSP)
To all who now feel compelled to “expose” the true position of Islam and its founder, a comment.
There is essentially no difference between the fanatics who embrace and use the Talmud, the Koran or the New and Old Testament, to substantiate their pillage, plunder and murder – all in the name of being the “favored Chosen Ones” of Yahweh, Allah or Jesus Christ. They are all ignorant, divisive; deviants who seek an “advantage” over others in their desperate struggle for temporary survival in this material world.
“WE ARE THE ONLY CHOSEN ONES and claim the authority to disregard at best and if need be – kill – at the worst – all those who would intervene in our affairs or attempt to deal with us as anything but master” is the very consciousness that compelled our arrival in this material world in the first place. Every single soul that arrives here – is a criminal; a petty thief. Naturally – competition within the prison for whatever meager resources there are is a constant. All look for advantage over all others.
There is little to be gained by exposing the lunacy of imagined Supremacy in the eyes of God – that one mundane religion purports to hold and/or use to inflict unimagined horror upon all those who differ or compete with them, if it is not acknowledged that ALL religions are equally guilty of this basic flaw to one degree or the other. History is replete with an endless succession of war and plunder by the adherents of all religious, political and social ideologies.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, in his essay “On Initiation” speaks candidly of the soul’s inability to submit without reservation to all but the Absolute:
“In this world the moral principle, indeed claims our willing submission. But even morality also is a curtailment of freedom necessitated by the peculiar circumstances of this world. The soul, who does not belong to this world, is in a state of open or court rebellion against submission to an alien domination. It is by his very constitution capable of submitting willingly only to the Absolute.”
All religious ideology, save the Eternal Spiritual Culture of Pure Devotion to Lord Krsna – is incomplete at best – and cannot be wholly accepted by all. Thus all religious form in this world will feel threatened by the apathy or rejection of all others towards it. This then facilitates a natural state of competition between them – in as much as the modes of nature themselves exist in a state of competition. In as much as all jivas exist here in this world in an open state of rebellion against the Lord Himself – they are even more inclined to view themselves in an open state of war – declared or undeclared – amongst themselves. The use of ideology – religious or otherwise – is merely the way to generate a sense of communal loyalty, for the expressed purpose of enhancing their numbers and providing numerical strength and the more mystical element of “conviction” in the cause. The cause of course is really just survival. A basic animal drive. However “religion” provides a “Transcendent Authority” to all the pillage and plunder that each jiva pursues.
The recent spate of expose’ by some, as to the “real” truth about Islam is not representative of the Krsna Consciousness movement’s position on such matters. Krsna Consciousness isolates the demon from the devotee – on the basis of very particular characteristics. The dark side of Islam is no “darker” than the dark side of Talmudic Judaism or Jesuit Catholicism; no more eager to rule the world – than good old fashion Anglo Saxon Protestantism. No more capable of generating horror and war – than the staunchest practitioner of Humanistic Socialism. In many ways – Islam’s proverbial “bark” – is more impressive than its “bite” when measured against the evils actually perpetrated by other ideologies that claim to be so much more “civilized”.
All ideology in this world is just that: Of this world! The Acharya has nothing to do with the affairs of this world. He does not come here to “improve” this world. He comes into this world – on orders from Lord Krsna Himself – to bring us out of this world. Period. While it is certainly true that by following the Acharya’s guidance without reservation, improvement of the atmosphere of this world will be take place, enhancing our position here in what is essentially a prison, in any way, is not the intention of the Acharya.
There is nothing to be gained by highlighting the defects of Islam. Nor by arguing amongst each other over the relative superiority of one group’s religious notion over any other. They are all incapable producing the “absolute submission” of the soul to Lord Krsna that is demanded by Him in order to free us from this prison. Only pure devotional service under the guidance of the Acharya can put an end to the rebellion of the jiva towards Lord Krsna and the internecine rivalry all jivas naturally feel towards one another that yields nothing but murder and plunder – under the banner of one ideology or another.
Let us distribute the Holy Name far and wide as much as possible. Never mind that at present there are some places it cannot be introduced. Lord Chaitanya can and will change that according to His own Sweet Will! Remember that one day – ISLAM will claim Hari Das Thakur as her “Favorite Son” for his embodiment of the full power of the Holy Name!! He will personally rescue all of ISLAM and personall bless them for their faith. I can only imagine what kind of Vaisnavas they will become!! Just imagine the faith they have shown in their Acharya – Mohammed – being directed to the Lotus Feet of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada!!
Have any of you EVER met the devotees of Kazaksthan?
Incredible!! Simply Incredible!! I was blessed with their most purifying association in Sri Dhama Mayapur two years back. I am purified only recalling them all!!
One day Saudia Arabia and ALL the rest – will out chant the Holy Name , out cook the Lord’s prasada, out dance in the kirtan and out fox and out distribute Srila Prabhupada’s wonderful books than all the other nations of the world – combined!!
I guarantee it.
Islam means “submission”. They want to submit. All jivas want to submit! They just haven’t arrived at the proper point yet to fully and wholly and absolutely submit -to Krsna! But one day – they will. For sure.
The Karmi apologists for the present Western Economic System – would have us all believe otherwise about ISLAM. That is THEIR game. Not Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! When He said “Someday -in every town and village”…He did not say “Except in the Muslim village”!
He said “In every town and village MY name will be chanted”.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!!
Praghosa Das (ACBSP) – NYC
Hare Krsna AGTSP! Please accept my obeisances.
We are not speaking of Absolutes, as you yourself agree, when we discuss the relative merits to the preaching mission of the various materialistic religions. Everyone on this website knows the position of Krsna consciousness relative to lesser sastra, yet we even have devotees saying that the Bible , Koran, and Gita are “on par”. What is being discussed is the white-washing of the truth to present a more mellow crowd-pleasing version of reality that some Iskcon members indulge in, at great danger to this mission. Lord Viswambharea Himself called for the complete destruction of the Yavanas if they continue to impede the sankirtana movement. He did not say, “Oh , they are just expressing themselves within their own God-given faith”. So if a spirit of compromise is what you think is the real Iskcon position, you are mistaken.
Meanwhile no one is suggesting that the preaching should not go on full strength everwhere, so where did you get the idea that Muslim countries are being rejected by those trying to enlighten you as to the real natture of our avowed and materially powerful competition? I myself preached for over three years in Saudi Arabia. I risked my life knowingly for this mission. So Praghosa Prabhu, following your challenge that Saudia will become a nation of Vaisnavas as it was in part beforwe Islam, what have you done to bring this to fruition?
You mention Kazakhstan, but there are devotees from all backgrounds in the world. Who said otherwise? Where in any of the articles did anyone suggest that the spirit soul cannot rise to pure love of Godhead regardless of background? You are dissembling, missing the points, and extrapolating absurdly.
So what is your mood? ; compromise. Our Lord Himself was no wimp when it came to dealing with violent opposition to Krsna consciousness. For example, more caution would have possibly prevented the recent attack in Manipura, which by the way the evidence of guilt reported to date does not point to Islamic terrorists. Those who cannot learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it, to learn their lessons the hard way. There is much to be gained by understanding things as they are, then acting intelligently instead of blindly. Naively suggesting that Christianity as it is today and Islam as it is are equal in terms of how they react to this movement is just ignorance.
Tamoharadasa, M.S., Aud ( C ), (ACBSP)
Dear Prabhus,
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Recently I have read different articles dealing with interfaith and the so-called “standings” of faith traditions vs. Vaishnavism. I find this topic to be very important, and it comes up a lot in my recent talks. Thus I must meekly ask those devotees who are to be respected as good as my own guru maharaja to forgive any offense I might make in this my stance on the various world religions.
I would like to begin by quoting from His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur as he wrote in the Caitanya-Siksamrta:
“As people in different places rise above the aboriginal condition and gradually develop culture, science, law, and devotion to God, their means of worship also diverge in terms of language, costume, kinds of offerings, and mental attitiudes. Considering all these secondary differences impartially, however, we find no discrepency. As long as the object of worship is the same, there is no harm. Therefore Lord Caitanya has specifically ordered that we should execute our own service to the Supreme Lord in the mode of pure goodness and at the same time refrain from ridiculing the religious codes of others.
“Because of the variety of spiritual authorities, on some places people honor the Vedic sages, in others they revere the prophets led by Mohammed, and in still other regions, they esteem the religious personalities who follow Jesus. Similarly, in each locality, many different men of knowledge are shown particular respect. Each community should, of course, properly honor its own spiritual masters, but simply for the sake of gaining followers, no one should try to establish that the instructions given by one’s own local spiritual masters are better than the instructions of spiritual masters everywhere else. The propogation of such an antagonistic position would certainly be inauspicious for the world.
“A devotee’s prescribed ritual of worship varies according to his mentality and devotional feeling. In some places, the mode of worship is to seat oneself in a sacred place and practice renunciation and breath control. In another place worship is performed by falling down five times during the day and evening – even if caught unprepared – to offer obeisances facing the direction of the cheif shrine. And elsewhere, worshippers kneel down either in the temple or at home and with folded hands declare their own fallen condition and the glories of the Lord.
“Some worshippers whose consciousness is saturated with devotion set up a Deity of the Supreme Lord in their heart, in their mind, or in the outside world, with the understanding that it is non-different from the Lord. In other processes which are more inclined toward logical argument, a conception of the Lord is framed within the mind and worshipped; external images are not accepted.
“The many religions of the world have naturally grown very distinct from each other due to these kinds of differences. However, to create mutual discord because of these differences would be disastrous. If one happens to be in another’s temple at the time of his worship, one should think, ‘Here my Lord is being worshipped in a different form. Since I am committed to my particular practice, I cannot take part in this ritual, but as I watch it, I am developing a greater feeling for my own method of worship. The Supreme Absolute Truth is one without a second. Therefore, as I offer my obeisances to the form which I see here, I pray to my Lord from whom this form comes, that this Deity will help me expand my love for Him.’
“Pure, unalloyed love of God is the actual eternal religion of the spirit soul. Thus, in spite of the distinctions among religious systems, we should recognize as genuine any religious process whose goal is the realization of pure love of God. It is useless to quarrel over superficial differences. If the goal of a process is pure, then the system is fully auspicious.”
This is the basis upon which I try to found all my dealings in interfaith, and when talking about different faith traditions to people. So often I get the comment that was the title of this article, “You claim to be nonsectarian, but EVERYONE is saying they have absolute truth. Even when you concede that others are “on the path,” still this is implying that we have the best, and everyone else is trying to reach it.” And I have been trying very hard to find either if this is true, or the correct Krishna Conscious response to this.
In a direct sense – it IS right. The Bhagavad-Gita is the direct words of the Supreme Absolute Truth describing Himself and if we simply and unchangingly follow and teach the words of the Bhagavad-Gita then what we say and what we do is completely perfect. However, to simply state the Absolute Truth can be dogmatic, thus we must also be expert in explaining HOW it is correct, and this is where I have been struggling.
Insight is found in the words of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur and Srila Prabhupada. That if the end of a process is pure, then it is all auspicious. Also, from Srila Prabhupada – while lecturing to priests in Australia (as heard from the video compilation, “The Science of God”), he made mention that one must hear about God from scripture, “Nevermind from Bible from Bhagavad-Gita, from Bhagavatam…” It can be thus said that if one strictly follows the Vedic literatures (or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version), and strictly follows the words of the acharyas in any tradition, then all perfection will come to them sooner or later.
The problem here, is that it becomes much too easy to interpret one scripture to more closely follow one’s own preferred glorification of the Supreme Lord. Take the Bible for example. I have often explained to people that the highest commandment is “to love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself,” and then gone on to espouse the need to “pray constantly,” and that “from the rising of the sun to its setting the Lord’s name should be praised.” I am sure many other devotees have used this as well, and yet the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Jains, the Atheists, and just about everyone else has re-defined the meaning of the Bible in light of their own chosen path.
Srila Prabhupada explained that to remove this cheating tendency, we MUST follow as instructed by the Mahajans. Yet with the continuation of Kali Yuga, we are so degraded that even their instructions and actions are twisted to suit our own desires. Lord Jesus taught turn the other cheek, but then attacked the priests in the temple – thus it is alright to physically attack those who skew the teachings, right? No, we cannot imitate, we must simply serve, but again even this statement is grounded upon instruction from authority. The appeal to authority is most powerful, but how to explain this to a challenging innocent?
In the end, we must return to the first, and best teachings of Lord Krishna. That we are not these bodies, and that any designation fitting the body is not a description of the eternal self. This can be applied when dealing with “my path is better than yours” arguments. Do not try to argue Vedic versus Abrahamic versus Buddhist versus whatever else. Instead, argue Absolute Truth – that which does not change, that which is non-differentiated no matter what the environment or circumstance. Do not try to convert people from Hindu to Jew to Muslim to ISKCON devotee – simply try to advance them towards love of God within their own faith tradition. It is ironic that the most conflict comes from the interactions of the world religions that all teach the same understanding on the Supreme Absolute Truth.
It is true that we should never compromise the philosophy – the Supreme Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality. We should always be prepared and eager to defend the principles of religion – truthfulness, cleanliness, compassion, and austerity. We should even be ready to encourage anyone to follow by refraining from the four sinful activities of gambling, intoxication, meat-eating, and illicit sex. However, in none of this is it required that a person change their identity to anything but the servant of the servant of that Supreme Personality.
Can a Christian fully surrender to Lord Jesus? Can a Muslim be fully Allah Conscious? I see no reason why not – even if they never see the Bhagavad-Gita, though I would agree that due to the current environment it is not as likely. It is true that Lord Caitanya declared prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama/ sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama. “In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard,” but where in this does it say which name will be chanted. Why not the 99 names of Allah? Why not Jehovah or Elohim or Awoon? Will we limit the Krishna Consciousness movement to the three names Hare Krishna and Rama?
“Pure, unalloyed love of God is the actual eternal religion of the spirit soul. Thus, in spite of the distinctions among religious systems, we should recognize as genuine any religious process whose goal is the realization of pure love of God.”
Sending a High,
I had to login into the site, Thank you for posting replies!
If one suffers and Pointing blame to others, should take a look inside himself and chant!
Show respect to Krsna, for Krsna has different clothes and Names, there is only ONE!
see: Bhagavad-gita 16.9 Vers 9
Dear Dasanudas; This all sounds very ideal, but where is reality? If the other faith attacks and kills you, will you accept it ? Do you think it is alright for the Kazakhstan government, composed of secular Muslims, to demolish the homes of the Vaisnavas? What is the value of this open-mindedness except in theory? Are our dear Muslim brothers going to welcome Iskcon? Will you really love them equally when they forbid you to practice another religion than theirs?
Too many are not following a true religion, but a man-made concoction. These materialistic devotees can be very dangerous. We believe in non-sectarianism, but do they? Lord Caitanya set the example by responding heavily to the attacks by the Chand Khazi. Was He wrong to do so? Should he have chanted the names of Allah instead? Your nice presentaion of philosophy will not save you from the oppressors’ whips, my friend.
We are Radha Krsna bhaktas. There is no limit to the Holy Names of Krsna. If you wish to chant Allah, then you may go join them, it is your choice. That would be a wrong choice, in case you didn’t know. This is the Hare Krsna movement, not the any-name-will-do -it-is-all-one movement. If you think it is all the same, then please explain why did our Prabhupada cross the ocean specifically to give us the Maha-mantra? Was Prabhupada sectarian and mistaken ? Did he fail to read Srila Bhativinode’s writings?
Wishing you the very best, even if you do not recognize this at first;
Tamoharadasa
Here is something that may shed light on this subject:
Letter to Sivananda 13 Feb. 1969
“Regarding your question about various names of God, we have nothing to do with Jehovah, Allah, Jesus, etc. If somebody else wants to chant in this way it is all right, let them do that, but as far as we are concerned, we should be satisfied with the Hare Krsna mantra and nothing more. We have registered our association particularly under the name Krsna. God has millions of names undoubtedly, but we are especially concerned with the name Krsna because we are in the disciplic succesion of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu Who chanted this holy name of Krsna. Everyone should be particular to his particular disciplic succession or sampradaya’s regulative principles. This is required as much as there are many different political parties, although every one is meant to serve the country.”
Srila Prabhupada didn’t make distinctions as to who or who couldn’t accept Krishna consciousness:
“”In our Temples all Europeans, Indians, Mohammedans, Christians, everyone is welcome. And our presentation is so nice that everyone will be attracted to accept it because we are preaching love of God. Love of God is the prime function of all living entities, without any sectarian understanding.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, 29th January, 1970)
As in every country, religion or culture, there are some who are open-minded, and others who are not. A preacher is often looking for a needle in a haystack no matter where he or she presents Krishna Consciousness, but with sincerity and Krishna’s blessings, that needle (and those needles) will miraculously appear.
It’s my humble experience that if one displays genuine respect to others, including Muslims or otherwise, they will reciprocate with the same. But if one is arrogant or disrespectful, then one can expect the same as well. Therefore, mutual respect is the key.
Srila Prabhupada stated then even if one just accepts the existence of God, then he is to be considered a devotee. In the Muslim world, the masses drop everything and pray five times a day, even on the street or road. They are very God-fearing people. Irrespective of differences and approaches, the majority of Muslims are peaceful people. This is my humble experience in nine Muslim countries over a period of years. Yes, there are radical elements, but they can be found in any religion or culture. So in my humble view, there is no sense in focusing on the differences that only accentuate and inflame misunderstandings; but to embrace the similarities — worship of, and love for God. In this way, although unqualified, I have made countless friends in many Islamic countries who willingly chant the holy names of Krishna. Sensitivity to Prabhupada’s formula of “time, place, and circumstance” goes a long way indeed. Otherwise, there is only discord and endless wrangling which, ultimately, leads to destruction and war. Were not “all one,” but we’re all brothers and sisters — and in this case, that should be enough. Otherwise, what’s the alternative? Just read the daily news and find out.
Jaya Padmapani Prabhu; My obeisances at the feet of the Vaisnava.
Yes, as you say, Muslim communities are generally very peaceful and happy. It is when they come in touch with other cultures that their communities cease to be peaceful. Unfortunately, in this day and age, this sort of isolation is no longer possible.
Muslim society tends to vacillate between liberalism and fanaticism. Currently, the fanatics dominate and are getting all the attention, and we must understand this fact fully, and deal with it accordingly.
Thank you so very much for the time spent in Egypt and Lebanon, especially, preaching. What you have done is far greater than what little I managed to do. You are a true hero and veteran of a very difficult field. The mood in Saudia is more conservative and xenophobic.
As you suggest, the largest similarity between Islam and Vaisnavism is in the mutual glorification and taking of the Names of God. This is the common platform, from which all other preaching can expand. This chanting is highly respected in Muslim culture. Life in Saudia is like a great big grhasta ashrama! I was very happy living there, made many friends ( more than the usual westerner, in that I associated closely and freely with them, whereas most Westerners are not invited to Saudi homes etc. )
Gaura haribol!
Your servant,
Tamoharadasa
Dear Tamoharadasa,
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. Yes, I would agree that what I was speaking is the ideal. It was trying to view this from the absolute, spiritual platform. When we move to the madyama platform, then distinctions must be made in order to preach. The reality, as you nicely put it, is that we must be tolerant, but also chaste – this is shown expertly by Srila Prabhupada in the quoted letter. We can recognize another tradition’s legitimacy and their parallel right to love of God, but for us, we are Gaudiya Vaishnavas, and thus we concern ourselves and teach only what has been taught and passed down from Lord Caitanya. It is not that I recommend we start adding other faith’s precepts, traditions, etc. Nor do I suggest that we give any equal footing to a philosophy that has anything besides pure love of God as the ultimate goal. I am simply trying to suggest that when – for example – a Christian cries out, “Jesus is the only way!” We can internally understand that the teachings of guru are one, and thus they are correct, though they don’t know how. There is no need to try and defeat them in debate, but nor is there any reason why we should have to defend our own beliefs to them. Just like a chaste wife, “Yes, this man is very nice, but he is not my husband.”
As for attacks or physical threats, then there should always be defense. We don’t remove the four animal propensities, simply minimize them. Srila Prabhupada would advise his disciples to arm themselves after the temples were attacked. I do not agree with killing others or destroying their homes on the basis of religious differences, but I do understand that in service to Krishna there will be difficulties. I don’t understand how the thoughts and actions of others should cause us to lower our love for Krishna and through Him all living entities. “He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.” (Isopanishad, Text 6) Does it matter that a so-called practicioner of Islam rejects us? Should we not follow in the footsteps of Lord Nityananda and forgive, still trying through an attack to give love of God?
I agree also that I have no experience of being denied the practices of my faith, thus I can’t in any way tell how I would respond to such a thing. Still, how can they forbid me to be a servant of Krishna? How can anyone deny you the eternal position of yourself? The external practices of our movement are very important, but they are all designed to develop Krishna Consciousness, which is entirely internal. I guess I would simply have to ask those devotees living in such circumstances how they fare.
Yes, it is a very bad problem that there are so many concocted philosophies and paths. I work at a restaurant that gets so many so-called spiritualists, hippies, “your-dog-is-your-guru” (literally – I have seen this), and so on; I understand that we are fighting against these things. However, as one disciple of Srila Prabhupada told me, “Instead of trying to espouse the evils of the world, just give people the higher taste of Krishna. They will be purified naturally.” Instead of trying to attack and defeat and demolish the man-made irreligious paths, just spread the chanting of the holy names, and we can watch the other ideas melt away in an ocean of bliss. Is this not the practical process given to us?
Thank you for reminding me of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya in dealing with the Kazi. It is certainly true how angry He became at the stopping of sankirtan, crying out “Today I shall kill all the Muslims!” Yet, how did He do this? He did this by performing harinam sankirtan to an even greater degree, and by respectfully talking with the Kazi about the glories of sankirtan. He also showed that logic and argument and most importantly scriptural reference can be used to show the inconsistencies in a person’s practice. Yet, upon re-reading the event (and getting very nice information and mercy from Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya), I see nowhere that Lord Caitanya tells the Kazi to join His movement, or to continue chanting the names Hari, Krishna, and Narayana. He simply states that by chanting these names, the Kazi was cleared of all sins. I especially liked the seeming contradiction in these purports by Srila Prabhupada:
“Chand Kazi agreed to talk with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the strength of the scriptures. According to the Vedic scripture, if one can support his position by quoting from the Vedas, his argument is perfect. Similarly, when the Muslims support their position with quotations from the Koran, their arguments are also authorized. When Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu raised the question of the Muslims’ cow-killing and bull-killing, Chand Kazi came to the standard of understanding from his scriptures.” Adi-Lila, 17.155 purport
“In our practical preaching work we meet many Christians who talk about statements of the Bible. When we question whether God is limited or unlimited, Christian priests say that God is unlimited. But when we question why the unlimited God should have only one son and not unlimited sons, they are unable to answer. Similarly, from a scientific point of view, the answers of the Old Testament, New Testament and Koran to many questions have changed. But a sastra cannot change at a person’s whim. All sastras must be free from the four defects of human nature. The statements of sastras must be correct for all time.” Adi-lila 17.168 purport
“The sastras of the yavanas, or meat-eaters, are not eternal scriptures. They have been fashioned recently, and sometimes they contradict one another. The scriptures of the yavanas are three: the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran. Their compilation has a history; they are not eternal like the Vedic knowledge. Therefore although they have their arguments and reasonings, they are not very sound and transcendental. As such, modern people advanced in science and philosophy deem these scriptures unacceptable.
Sometimes Christian priests come to us inquiring, “Why are our followers neglecting our scriptures and accepting yours?” But when we ask them, “Your Bible says, ‘Do not kill.’ Why then are you killing so many animals daily?” they cannot answer. Some of them imperfectly answer that the animals have no souls. But then we ask them, “How do you know that animals have no souls? Animals and children are of the same nature. Does this mean that the children of human society also have no souls?” Adi-lila 17.169 purport
As for myself, I am following Srila Prabhupada and the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya because of several reasons – all of which strengthen my faith and make me quite confident that the path I am on is one that without doubt leads to Krishna-prema. I know this through authority – Krishna has stated it, the mahajans have stated it, and the many pure devotees have stated it. I know this through philosophy – I have never heard of a single philosophy not included in that of Lord Caitanya’s, and I have never heard of a philosophy that includes all of Lord Caitanya’s. This indicates that His philosophy is all-encompasing, thus absolute. Finally, I know this through practical experience – I see that when I and others follow the process, the results predicted come about. Thus I have no need and no desire to go anywhere else.
Others however – especially those who were raised in other traditions – may not have this. As the Kazi stated, “I know that our scriptures are full of imagination and mistaken ideas, yet because I am a Muslim I accept them for the sake of my community, despite their insufficient support.” Adi-lila 17.170 This statement went unchallenged by Lord Caitanya. So how can we give love of godhead to those who are also chaste to their own faith tradition? By elevating them to spiritual consciousness within that tradition. If I am simply going to upset a Christian by telling him to chant the maha-mantra, then instead I shall ask him to chant the Lord’s prayer more often (“Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…”). The meaning to the first part is essentially the same, though it later on goes to ask for bread and the like – so if he is agreeable to this, then what is the difficulty? Why should we not encourage Muslims to chant the 99 names of Allah? This doesn’t mean that we will do it, nor does it mean that we don’t understand when Srila Prabhupada explains that of all the names for the Supreme Personality, the best is Krishna.
I am not trying to say that all is one, and if I came across in that way, then my apologies. Our movement is in the mood of Srimati Radharani and the gopis, thus we have no concern for anything other than Krishna. Does this mean a person whose worshipable Lord is Jehovah, or Allah, or Narayan, or Lord Rama is less advanced? No, but we do understand that they are less intimate – and this can be practically seen. Still, this doesn’t mean that they are wrong; it doesn’t mean that if they are showing actual symptoms of love of God – as described by Srila Rupa Goswami – that we should discount them.
I would say that Srila Prabhupada came to the West to give the maha-mantra because he was trying to fulfill the order of his spiritual master. Any other reason is secondary. But if we wish to list some of them, then I would say while the knowledge of love of God is in the scripture of the yavanas, it has become severely covered over. “This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.” (Bhagavad-Gita 4.2) So in order to reintroduce this spiritual science to the Western cultures:
“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.” (B.G. 4.7)
“It is not a fact that the Lord appears only on Indian soil. He can manifest Himself anywhere and everywhere, and whenever He desires to appear. In each and every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood by the particular people under their particular circumstances. But the mission is the same—to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of religion. Sometimes He descends personally, and sometimes He sends His bona fide representative in the form of His son, or servant, or Himself in some disguised form.” (B.G. 4.8 purport)
I wish to thank you, Prabhu, for your enlivening reply. I shall post this and then stop, waiting only for what you have to say in return. I must admit that I have a horrible penchance to argue, and so I must constrain myself lest I get offensive. I hope that you have been able to enjoy these talks as much as I have.
Eagerly waiting for more, I remain your humble servant.
Dasanudas
So there was very nice meeting in Tehran. Many scholar, Muhammadan, came to see me. So everyone is understanding the importance of this movement. So in Tehran I discussed about chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that there are many names. Namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktih.
Krsna’s name, manyfold. So I pleaded to the Muslim audience that “You can chant the name of Allah also. Not necessarily that you have to chant the Krsna name, but any name indicating the Supreme Lord can be chanted.” Because in the sastra it is said, harer nama, harer nama, [Cc. Adi 17.21]
the holy name of the Lord. But it must be the name of the Lord. Actually, Krsna has thousands of names, and His names are enumerated by His activities. Just like Krsna accepted to become the son of mother Yasoda; therefore He is called Yasoda-nandana. Krsna accepted Vasudeva as His father, or Nanda Maharaja; therefore He is called Nanda-nandana, Vasudeva, or Devaki-nandana. Krsna acted as the charioteer of Arjuna; He is called Partha-sarathi. So Krsna’s name means attached with the activities along with His devotees. This is Krsna’s name. So if the Muhammadans’ aim the Supreme Lord, Allah akbar, “God the great…” Just like we say Parabrahma. Brahman means the biggest, brhatvat brhannatvat. On account of being very big, including everything, that God’s another name is Parabrahma. Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]. Arjuna addressed Krsna as Parabrahma. So Allah akbar means Parabrahma.
So we do not make any distinction that this type of religion is better than that type of religion. Any religion which teaches how to love God, that is first-class religion. That is the injunction of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yena atma samprasidati
Dear Dasanudasa and the Devotee prabhus; My obeisances. AGTSP!
Thank you for your tolerance of my attempts to communicate my understandings of Krsna consciousness in regards to these topics. I must say that it is challenging communicating precisely by website format, especially as the written media is readily misinterpreted, or it is possible to fail to adequately present a viewpoint for the easy understanding of others. I am guilty of both.
Also, the topic has strayed from the Manipura disaster, but apparently the statements made were just waiting to come forth, and so have done so. I look forward to more comments and stories especially by the Mid-eastern devotees and preachers.
Excuse my sentiments, but I feel more closely connected with the network of loving Vaisnavas as a result of recent debate and exchange of viewpoints. All glories to the sangha of the Vaisnavas!
Dasanudasa Prabhu; You seem a scholar and a gentleman, and a nice devotee. May you continue to make solid advancement in attaining pure love of Godhead.
You have kindly addressed one letter to this fallen soul. I can be contacted at tamoharadasa@yahoo.ca, if desired.
I feel that I have already more than stated my two cents worth, more than enough perhaps 4 cents!, and wish to beg the forgiveness of any whom may have felt slighted or were offended by any comments I made. Greetings especially to the many moderate and sincere Muslim devotees of the Lord
Taking your assembled dusts…
Your servant
Tamoharadasa