Chapter 27 - Krishna and Jesus Christ
Many people often wonder what is the view of Lord Jesus
Christ in the Krishna consciousness movement.
Srila Prabhupada, the foremost exponent of the Krishna
consciousness movement explains that Jesus is Krishna's
representative, son of God, and spiritual master.
Below are excerpts from Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures,
and conversations about Jesus Christ and his
relationship with Krsna.
"If one loves Krishna, he must love Lord Jesus also. And if one
perfectly loves Jesus he must love Krishna too. If he says,
"Why shall I love Krishna? I shall love Jesus," then he has no
knowledge. And if one says, "Why shall I love Jesus? I shall
love Krishna", then he has no knowledge either. If one
understands Krishna, then he will understand Jesus. If one
understands Jesus, you'll understand Krishna too"
(Srila Prabhupada - Room conversation with Allen Ginsberg,
May 12, 1969 / Columbus - Ohio)
As Lord Jesus Christ said, we should hate the sin, not the
sinner. That is a very nice statement, because the sinner is
under illusion. He is mad. If we hate him, how can we deliver
him? Therefore, those who are advanced devotees, who are really servants of God, do not hate anyone. When
Lord Jesus Christ was being crucified, he said, "My God, forgive them. They know not what they do." This is
the proper attitude of an advanced devotee. He understands that the conditioned souls cannot be hated, because
they have become mad due to their materialistic way of thinking. In this Krsna consciousness movement, there
is no question of hating anyone. Everyone is welcomed to come and chant Hare Krsna, take krsna-prasada,
listen to the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, and try to rectify material, conditioned life. This is the essential
program of Krsna consciousness.
(Path of Perfection Chapter 3: Learning How to See God)
Christian, Muhammadan, Hindu-it doesn't matter. If he is simply speaking on behalf of God, he is a guru. Lord
Jesus Christ, for instance. He canvassed people, saying, "Just try to love God." Anyone-it doesn't matter
who-be he Hindu, Muslim, or Christian, is a guru if he convinces people to love God. That is the test. The
guru never says, "I am God," or "I will make you God." The real guru says, "I am a servant of God, and I will
make you a servant of God also." It doesn't matter how the guru is dressed. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,
"Whoever can impart knowledge about Krsna is a spiritual master." A genuine spiritual master simply tries to
get people to become devotees of Krsna, or God. He has no other business.
(Science of Self Realization Chapter 2: Choosing a Spiritual Master)
So Lord Jesus Christ said, "My Lord, hallowed be Thy name." He wants to glorify the name of the Lord. And
some people says that there is no name of God. How? If Lord Jesus Christ says "Hallowed by Thy name,"
there must be name. The name is there, but he did not pronounce it because the people at that time will not be
able to understand or maybe some reason, but he says there is name. So we are making this propaganda, Krsna
consciousness movement, the "Hallowed by Thy name. My Lord Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, let Your
holy name be glorified." This is our movement. It is not a sectarian...(Lecture: Bhagavad Gita 3.27 Melbourne
June 27, 1974)
Sometimes Sri Krsna descends Himself, and sometimes He sends His representative. The major religions of
the world-Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Moslem-believe in some supreme authority or personality coming
down from the kingdom of God. In the Christian religion, Jesus Christ claimed to be the son of God and to be
coming from the kingdom of God to reclaim conditioned souls. As followers of Bhagavad-gita, we admit this
claim to be true. So basically there is no difference of opinion. In details there may be differences due to
differences in culture, climate and people, but the basic principle remains the same-that is, God or His
representatives come to reclaim conditioned souls.
(Raja Vidya Chapter 6 :Knowledge of Krsna's Appearance and Activities)
Just like Lord Jesus Christ. He was so badly treated and still he was thinking, "Father, they do not know what
they are doing. Please excuse." This is suhrdah. He is praying to God This is sadhu, mahatma. Suhrdah
prasanta. Not that... In India there are examples like Haridasa Thakura, Prahlada Maharaja. And the Western
countries also, Lord Jesus Christ, he is saktyavesa-avatara, God's son. And he tolerated so much. These are the
examples of mahatma. Don't misunderstand that we are preaching that mahatmas are only in India. No. By the
order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there are mahatmas even amongst the birds, even amongst the
beasts, even amongst the lower than animals. Because this Krsna consciousness movement is going on in
different places, in different circumstances.(Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.3 --vrndavana Oct 25, 1976)
A devotee of Krsna is friendly to everyone. Therefore it is said here that he has no enemy (nirvairah). How is
this? A devotee situated in Krsna consciousness knows that only devotional service to Krsna can relieve a
person from all the problems of life. He has personal experience of this, and therefore he wants to introduce
this system, Krsna consciousness, into human society. There are many examples in history of devotees of the
Lord who risked their lives for the spreading of God consciousness. The favorite example is Lord Jesus Christ.
He was crucified by the nondevotees, but he sacrificed his life for spreading God consciousness. Of course, it
would be superficial to understand that he was killed. Similarly, in India also there are many examples, such as
Thakura Haridasa and Prahlada Maharaja. Why such risk? Because they wanted to spread Krsna
consciousness, and it is difficult. A Krsna conscious person knows that if a man is suffering it is due to his
forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Krsna. Therefore, the highest benefit one can render to human
society is relieving one's neighbor from all material problems. In such a way, a pure devotee is engaged in the
service of the Lord. Now, we can imagine how merciful Krsna is to those engaged in His service, risking
everything for Him. Therefore it is certain that such persons must reach the supreme planet after leaving the
body.
(Chapter 11 Bhagavad gita text 55 purport)