Ask a Hare Krishna anything

[Chaitanya]

What do HKs think of Jesus and Catholicism in general?

We believe that Krishna descends upon earth in different forms when there is a rise of irreligion and tailors His message of love of God in a way that will be beneficial to the people of a particular geographical region. With the increasing corruption present in the Jewish religion at that particular time we believe that Krishna empowered Lord Christ to preach love of God to the people to revive the devotional aspect of the Israeli religion that had been lost over time.

We see Jesus as a spiritual master (or guru in Indian terms) and a demigod. A demigod is not the Supreme Lord but rather a living entity that was endowed with a much more powerful spiritual potency than your ordinary human being. Just as human beings contain more spiritual potency than a dog or othe animal, a demigod is more enlightened on spiritual matters than a human.

As for our general view of Catholicism we put it on par with any religious institution in the sense that there are three ways in which one can approach it- goodness, passion, and ignorance (which we believe to be the three modes of material nature which all living entities in the material world are acting on). I will now give examples of a Catholic practitioner approaching their religion in each of these modes.

Goodness: the catholic acting in the mode of goodness is one who truly develops God consciousness through the teachings of the church. This person experiences true transcendental ecstasy through chanting the rosary partaking in communion, etc. they also relish the teachings of the church.

Passion: This type of Catholic is one who has ulterior motives in identifying with the Church. For example, they may join the Church because they agree with the institution’s pro-life political agenda. They may be a staunch Catholic but this is because of other reasons than a pure love of Lord Jesus.

Ignorance: This person is a Catholic only when it is convenient to them. They will identify with the church as some sort of artificial spiritual comfort but not let it “interfere” with their daily lives. This person may go to church begrudgingly only on Easter or Christmas Eve (we all know THOSE types of Catholics haha) but not follow any of the prescribed rules and regulations of the church, be disinterested in the theology, etc.

One can analyze any religion in this way (including the Hare Krishna movement), but when one rises o the platform of PURE devotional service to The Lord then they transcend all three of these modes and have truly regained their relationship with God.

Thank you for your question and let me know if you need clarification on any of the points I have made!

 

[Chaitanya]

I’m not the OP, but as someone who’s very interested in studying religions - particularly south Asian ones like Hinduism and Buddhism - one of the main differences AFAIK is that Bhagavatism (aka Krishnaism) holds Krishna to be the original, absolute form of the supreme Deity (what would be called in Sanskrit svayam bhagavan “Bhagavan (the blessed one; i.e. ‘God’) himself”) from which all other incarnations of the deity (the avatars) emanate.

This is in contrast to other Vaishnavite (Vaishnavism = a branch of Hinduism which focuses on the god Vishnu) schools - Krishnaism is often considered to be a group within Vaishnavism - which focus on the veneration of Vishnu as the supreme deity. (The difference lies I think on who is considered to be the ‘original’ form of the deity: some say Vishnu is the source while Krishna is an avatar, while others would say the opposite.) There are of course other schools in modern Hinduism, such as those who would say that Shiva is the supreme deity (Shaivism), those who believe that deities like Vishnu and Shiva are all simply different yet equal manifestations of the supreme Brahman, those who focus on Shakti (the mother goddess) as the ultimate Godhead, and so on and so forth. Perhaps the OP might elaborate further and correct what I just said.

Excellent explanation-all the information you have was correct.

What sets us apart from other Hindus is that we worship Krishna in a line of disciplic succession of spiritual masters that we trace back to Krishna Himself all the way to Our guru Prabhupada (whom I mentioned at the beginning of the thread). This disciplic line is extremely similar to the Catholic succession of popes beginning with St. Peter

 

[ajecphotos]

You are very kind in your replies and it’s nice to see that.

 

[Chaitanya]

You are very kind in your replies and it’s nice to see that.

Thank you! Kindness is the only manner in which to speak of God. Also, this is such a friendly respectful community that there is no need for vitriol

 

[Chaitanya]

Thanks,
How long have you been a Hare Krishna?
Mary.

5 years

 

[Zachary]

Abortion? Divorce? Premarital relations? Homosexuality?

 

[Chaitanya]

Abortion? Divorce? Premarital relations? Homosexuality?

Abortion: As I mentioned previously, we believe that all living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. This plenary portion of God is present in us as ‘Paramatma’ or the Soul. We believe God to be physically present in every living entity and on a more microscopic level in every cell. So once life is present in the womb of a female, it is part and parcel of Krishna and to end this life in any stage of pregnancy would be a great sin.

Divorce: Divorce is never permitted under any circumstance.

Premarital Relations: To have premarital sex would be an action that would merely satisfy the senses. In the Krishna Consciousness movement, we believe in using our senses in the service of the Lord instead of our own materialistic gratification. Men and women are expected to remain celibate until marriage and even then sex should be limited to reproductive purposes.

Homosexuality: There is no direct teaching on homosexuality. The movement’s teachings on sex only for reproductive purposes implies that there is no way that two people of the same sex can maintain any sort of physical relationship. My personal opinion is that homosexuality is not a choice and that the attraction between two people of the same sex is a natural thing for some people. I welcome all homosexual brothers and sisters to get involved in our movement as long as they are able to control their sexual desires (which is something that we require of all members regardless of sexual orientation).

 

[MaryT777]

Abortion: As I mentioned previously, we believe that all living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. This plenary portion of God is present in us as ‘Paramatma’ or the Soul. We believe God to be physically present in every living entity and on a more microscopic level in every cell. So once life is present in the womb of a female, it is part and parcel of Krishna and to end this life in any stage of pregnancy would be a great sin.

Divorce: Divorce is never permitted under any circumstance.

Premarital Relations: To have premarital sex would be an action that would merely satisfy the senses. In the Krishna Consciousness movement, we believe in using our senses in the service of the Lord instead of our own materialistic gratification. Men and women are expected to remain celibate until marriage and even then sex should be limited to reproductive purposes.

Homosexuality: There is no direct teaching on homosexuality. The movement’s teachings on sex only for reproductive purposes implies that there is no way that two people of the same sex can maintain any sort of physical relationship. My personal opinion is that homosexuality is not a choice and that the attraction between two people of the same sex is a natural thing for some people. I welcome all homosexual brothers and sisters to get involved in our movement as long as they are able to control their sexual desires (which is something that we require of all members regardless of sexual orientation).

Thanks, that seems very conservative. well said.
Mary.

 

[Chaitanya]

Thanks, that seems very conservative. well said.
Mary.

You could call it that. The perception many people have of the Hare Krishna movement is that its a bunch of drugged out hippies following some new age trend. I can assure everybody that this is not the case

 

[Zachary]

We see Jesus as a spiritual master (or guru in Indian terms) and a demigod. A demigod is not the Supreme Lord but rather a living entity that was endowed with a much more powerful spiritual potency than your ordinary human being.
Chaitanya;11064197:

Jesus said He was God, the only God. Do you think he was a liar or crazy?
Chaitanya;11064197:

chanting the rosary
Chaitanya;11064197:

We don’t “chant” the Rosary.

 

[Chaitanya]

Chaitanya;11064197:

We see Jesus as a spiritual master (or guru in Indian terms) and a demigod. A demigod is not the Supreme Lord but rather a living entity that was endowed with a much more powerful spiritual potency than your ordinary human being.
Chaitanya;11064197:

Jesus said He was God, the only God. Do you think he was a liar or crazy?

• Where does Jesus say that He is the only God?

 

[Zachary]

Who are some demigods amoung us know and who determines who is and who is not?

 

[Zachary]

Zachary;11065514:

Chaitanya;11064197:

• Where does Jesus say that He is the only God?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” I AM was what God answered who he was (to Moses, I think). Jesus is claiming divinity and being the one true god.
Theres a lot more but I think this one is a pretty clear claim.

So do HKs think Jesus was a liar or delusional?

 

[Gullveig]

This is a weird question, I don’t mean to sound flip by asking it. Just curious.

What’s the deal with Hare Krishna’s hanging around airports? Is there a reason for it being airports specifically, or is that just a convenient place?

Also, what do you believe happens to non-believers at death?

 

[openmind77]

Chaitanya;11065668:

Zachary;11065514:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” I AM was what God answered who he was (to Moses, I think). Jesus is claiming divinity and being the one true god.
Theres a lot more but I think this one is a pretty clear claim.

So do HKs think Jesus was a liar or delusional?

If I may answer this, before the OP:

Of course Jesus is not a liar or delusional. All he is saying is that the Christ existed long before Abraham.

That does not say at all that the Christ is the one and only Son of God.

As far as Hindus are concerned, Krishna is also a Son of God and so is the Buddha. (and though some Hindus may not agree, I personally believe that Jesus is also definitely a Son of God).

 

[Venite_Adoremus_1]

Does Krishna love humanity?

Besides chanting his name, do you also pray to him by talking to him and listening for his reply?

Similarly, do you have a personal relationship with him?

I hope that doesn’t sound offensive, I’m just curious.

 

[Chaitanya]

Chaitanya;11065668:

Zachary;11065514:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” I AM was what God answered who he was (to Moses, I think). Jesus is claiming divinity and being the one true god.
Theres a lot more but I think this one is a pretty clear claim.

So do HKs think Jesus was a liar or delusional?

That verse does not explicitly indicate that Jesus is the ONLY God.

We interpret this quote to mean that Lord Jesus is acknowledging that He has been a part and parcel of YAHWEH for all of eternity; even before the Lords covenant with Abraham. Also, openmind summed up our position very well

 

[MartinJordan]

11065668]

That does not say at all that the Christ is the one and only Son of God.

Right not exactly. But one needs to read the whole New Testament in full to see the many examples that Jesus is indeed God’s only Begotten Son.

MJ

 

[openmind77]

Right not exactly. But one needs to read the whole New Testament in full to see the many examples that Jesus is indeed God’s only Begotten Son.

MJ

Correct me if I am wrong, but actually the only place it says that in the Gospels is the one according to John.

If those were Jesus’s own words, I would actually accept it.

However, it is only natural for a follower to claim that theirs is the ONE and ONLY - all religions do that (except maybe Hinduism).

I do believe he is the Son of God, just not the only one.

 

[MartinJordan]

If those were Jesus’s own words, I would actually accept it.

There is no proselytizing allowed here so Im not going to force you to believe it.

However, to answer your question about that only John has Jesus saying he is God’s Only Son, there is also others like Matthew 11 : 27 “All things have been** committed to me by my Father**. **No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son **and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

MJ