We give all praise, honor, and glory unto Lord Yeshua HaMashiach.
"Madhudvisa: What is our view of Lord Jesus Christ?
Prabhupada: Jesus Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, is... He is son of God, the best son of God, so we have all respect for him. Yes. Anyone who is teaching people about God consciousness, he is respectful to us. It does not matter in which country, in which atmosphere, he was preaching. It doesn't matter." (Lecture at St. Pascal's Franciscan Seminary – June 28, 1974, Melbourne)
Shrila Prabhupada explains how one who is sharing genuine God consciousness is worthy of our respect.
"Lord Jesus preached the message of God and I have taken up the same mission, and it would be a good luck for me if I can follow the foot prints of Lord Jesus who preached the message of God in spite of all persecution. Lord Jesus is a living example how one has to suffer in this material world simply for the matter of preaching the message of God." (Shrila Prabhupada, Letter to: Sally -- New York 19 November, 1965)
Our Shrila Prabhupada exemplifies true humility by such a statement and gives us glimpses only of the depth of that humility, of which we can only pray to imbibe even a drop. He constantly emphasizes that spreading God consciousness is an inseparable aspect of following in the footsteps of the representative of God, in this case, in following Lord Yeshua.
"Now, in the Bible, Lord Jesus Christ is described as the son of God. Now, so far I have heard, that it is claimed that he is the only one son of God. Now according to Bhagavad-gita, every living entity is son of God. Now how to adjust? If the Bible says that Lord Jesus Christ is the only one son, then how these so many innumerable sons can be adjusted? There is adjustment.
There is very nice adjustment. One should know it. He is the only one son means one who can sacrifice his life for God, he is real son. And one who is simply taking from father, "O God, give us our daily bread," and He is supplying, and eating and enjoying sense enjoyment, he is not real son. The real son is he who sacrifices his life for glorifying his father.
Similarly, anyone who will sacrifice his life... Of course, it is not required that everyone shall be crucified like Lord Jesus Christ, but he should sacrifice his energy for the Supreme Lord. And that person who has devoted his energy for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, he is called Krishna conscious person." (Shrimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.6 – January 3, 1970, Los Angeles)
Krishna consciousness means that 'I sacrifice, or dovetail, all of my energies for the service of the Lord and by a sincere and dedicated application of this practical process, I will attain the ultimate state of bliss; pure love of God.'
"This awakening of pure love of God is the ultimate perfection of all bona fide religious principles including Christian, Judaic, Mohammedan, Hindu, etc. Just as it is recorded that Lord Jesus Christ said that the first commandment is that one should love God with all his heart, and soul and mind. Similarly Krishna instructs that everyone should surrender unto Him in Love. Lord Jesus says that the first thing is to develop your love for God. Krishna is God. Krishna says to love Him only. So what is the difference between the original teachings of Lord Jesus Christ and Krishna?
Yes, it is a fact that no one can see Krishna without being a pure devotee of the Lord. Every living entity is the son of God, but not all of the sons are faithful to their Father. This is explained in Bhagavad Gita. So one who turns away from his father naturally cannot see his father; but the faithful son can see his father at any time. Under the circumstances, we can understand the word of John because amongst all the people of that place Jesus Christ was the only faithful son of God, Krishna. Lord Jesus says (John 6:46), "Not that any man hath seen the father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father." So one who is a devotee of the Lord in pure love, who teaches others how to love God is the messenger of God and he can see God without any doubt. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita (11:54), "My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you; and I can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of my understanding."
So the method of approaching God, bhaktiyoga or devotional service, and the supreme goal of life, pure love of Krishna, is the same message taught by Lord Jesus Christ as well as Krishna Himself. The matter is very simple: Lord Jesus is the faithful son of God and his Father God is Krishna, so there cannot be any disagreement between them. Therefore the Father and Son are one, in agreement.
Lord Jesus explains that he kept his disciples faithful to the Lord in His Holy Name. And the process of Lord Chaitanya is the same -- to keep one always in contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by constantly chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, the Holy Names of the Lord." (Letter to: Gerald -- ISKCON: Akash Ganga Bldg; 89 Bhulabhai Desai Road; Bombay-26 India 19th February, 1971)
Shrila Prabhupada explains how the Father and the Son are One. How are they One? They are one in agreement. Their interests are One. They are united in all ways, but they remain eternally individuals. The father is always the father and the son is always the son, and without this distinction, where is the question of a relationship with God? For a relationship, there must be some dynamic. And to develop a relationship, we must have the facility to associate with some person, which we can do by staying in contact with the Lord's Holy Names, such as Hare, Krishna, and Rama.
"Woman: How do you explain the fact that Jesus said that "I am the way, the truth and the light," and that "No man comes to the father but by me"?
Man: Do you believe the Bible?
Prabhupada: What is that? Hmm?
Madhudvisa: She's asking how can we explain that Jesus said he is the only way?
Prabhupada: Yes, he is the only way. We also admit. Because he is the representative of God, so if you want to approach God, you must approach through His representative. That is his version: "I am the only representative of God," then you have to reach God through him, that is fact." (La Trobe University Lecture – July 1, 1974, Melbourne)
Attaining pure love of God is not something cheap, but we are so fortunate–not due to our own qualifications–but due to the causeless and inconceivable mercy extended to us by the bonafide representative of the Lord as ordained by the Lord's own sweet will. The Lord's representative has given us a method by which to revive our forgotten relationship with the Lord, and that is by associating with Him by the recitation of His innumerable sweet names. Thus, we are daily chanting: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare
"Now, now the principal religions of the world -- Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion and Buddha religion -- most of them believes some supreme authority or personality coming down from the kingdom of God. Just like in your Christian religion Lord Jesus Christ, he claimed to be the son of God and coming from the kingdom of God to reclaim you. So this claim of Lord Jesus Christ we admit. We, the followers of Bhagavad-gita, we admit this claim. So there is no difference of opinion between the followers of Hindu religion and Christian religion. In details there may be, according to country, climate and people, in details there may be difference, but that does not make any material difference." (Bhagavad-gita 4.6–8 – July 15, 1966, New York)
Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita 4.7 that,
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
"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."So, Krishna is always ready to reclaim us back to His Kingdom, therefore He sends His loving representative, or in other cases, He descends Himself.
"Sometimes there are inquiries as to how one can surrender unto the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita (18.66) the Lord asked Arjuna to surrender unto Him, and therefore persons unwilling to do so question where God is and to whom they should surrender. The answer to such questions or inquiries is given herein very properly. The Personality of Godhead may not be present before one's eyes, but if one is sincere in wanting such guidance the Lord will send a bona fide person who can guide one properly back home, back to Godhead. There is no need of material qualifications for making progress on the path of spiritual realization. In the material world, when one accepts some particular type of service, he is required to possess some particular type of qualification also. Without this one is unfit for such service. But in the devotional service of the Lord the only qualification required is surrender. Surrendering oneself is in one's own hand. If one likes, he can surrender immediately, without delay, and that begins his spiritual life. The bona fide representative of God is as good as God Himself. Or, in other words, the loving representative of the Lord is more kind and more easy to approach. A sinful soul cannot approach the Lord directly, but such a sinful man can very easily approach a pure devotee of the Lord. And if one agrees to put himself under the guidance of such a devotee of the Lord, he can also understand the science of God and can also become like the transcendental pure devotee of the Lord and thus get his liberation back to Godhead, back home for eternal happiness.
So realization of the science of Godhead and relief from the unnecessary, useless struggle for existence are not at all difficult for the willing candidate. But they are very difficult for persons who are not surrendered souls but who simply speculate without any profit." (Purport, SB 2.7.46)
The situation is that Krishna is always anxious to bring us back Home, and He gives us all facility, at all times, under all circumstances. So, if we have some love or inclination for Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, who is very approachable compared to Krishna Himself, then we should follow in His footsteps by applying and living His teachings, and at the same time, we should not think that we are on the same level and attempt to imitate His activities. Simply follow His instructions, and this will be the perfection of our lives.
"My Dear Suchandra,
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December 3rd, 1969, and I am very glad to learn that you are feeling very strongly for Jesus Christ. You have already mentioned the exemplary character of Lord Jesus Christ that he sacrificed everything for God. This example should be taken. The process should be to follow the example, not to imitate the exact activities. For example, Lord Jesus Christ wanted to preach amongst some persons who were practically against the principle of accepting God as the Supreme, and the result was that these people crucified him. At the present moment, the world situation is more dangerous than before. People have become actually Godless. So if you follow the footsteps of Lord Jesus Christ to preach God-consciousness against Godlessness and dedicate your life in that way, that will be the real purpose of following Jesus Christ." (Letter to: Suchandra -- London 8 December, 1969)
Not only does Srila Prabhupada acknowledge Lord Yeshua as the son of God, He encourages His disciple, "So if you follow the footsteps of Lord Jesus Christ to preach God-consciousness against Godlessness and dedicate your life in that way, that will be the real purpose of following Jesus Christ." A whole book could be written about such details and in fact, one has been published called, Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers:
"Bob: Prabhupada, people that engage in religions, like these "Jesus freaks" and other people, claim that Jesus is guiding them. Can this be so?
Shrila Prabhupada: Yes, but they are not taking the guidance. Just like the Christians. Jesus is guiding them, "Thou shalt not kill," but they are killing. Where is the Jesus guidance? Simply saying, "I am guided by Jesus Christ" -- will that do? "But I don't care for his words." Is that guidance? Nobody is being guided by Jesus Christ. Their claim is false. It is very hard to find a man who is actually being guided by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's guidance is available, but nobody is caring for him. They have taken Jesus Christ as contractor to take up their sins. That is their philosophy. They commit all kinds of sins, and poor Jesus Christ will be responsible. That is their religion. Therefore they say, "We have a very good religion. For all our sinful activities, Jesus Christ will die." So is that good religion? They have no sympathy for Jesus Christ. He died for our sins. Why should we commit sins again? Such a great life has been sacrificed for our sins, so we should be guided by Jesus Christ. But if you take it otherwise -- "Ah, we shall go on committing all sins, and Jesus Christ will make a contract to nullify all my sins; I'll simply go to the church and confess and come back and again do all nonsense" -- do you think that shows very good intelligence?
Bob: No.
Shrila Prabhupada: Actually, one who is guided by Jesus Christ will certainly get liberation. But it is very hard to find a man who is actually being guided by Jesus Christ.
Bob: What about the "Jesus freaks," the young people that have joined the Jesus movement? They read the Bible very often, and they try to --
Shrila Prabhupada: But violence is against the Bible's injunctions. How can they kill if they are following the Bible?
Bob: I asked one this, and he claimed that Jesus was also eating meat in the Bible.
Shrila Prabhupada: That's all right. He may eat anything. He is powerful. But he has ordered, "Thou shalt not kill. You must stop killing." He is powerful. He can eat the whole world. But you cannot compare to Jesus Christ. You cannot imitate Jesus Christ; you have to abide by his order. Then you are guided by Jesus Christ. That is actually obedience. That is explained in the Bhagavata. One who is isvara, who is empowered, can do anything, but we cannot imitate. We have to abide by his order: "What he says to me, that I will do." You cannot imitate. You say that Jesus Christ ate meat. Admitting that, you do not know in what condition he ate meat. He is himself eating meat, but he is advising others not to kill. Do you think that Jesus Christ was contradicting himself?
Bob: No.
Shrila Prabhupada: He cannot do that. That is real faith in him -- that he cannot do that. So why has he eaten meat? He knows, but he has asked me not to kill. I have to follow. That is the real system. You are not Jesus Christ; you cannot imitate him. He has sacrificed his life for God. Can you do that? So why shall you imitate Jesus Christ? You are imitating Jesus Christ by eating meat. Why not imitate Jesus Christ and sacrifice your life for spreading God consciousness? What do you think? Yes, when you preach you can say what you think. They are so-called Christians -- but what are they doing for God? Just consider the sun. The sun is absorbing urine. Can you drink urine? If you want to imitate the sun -- "Oh, here is the sun absorbing urine. Let me drink urine" -- can you? Jesus Christ is powerful; he can do everything. But we cannot imitate; we have to simply abide by his order. That is real Christianity. We cannot imitate a powerful man. That is wrong. In our Vedic literature, there was a poison ocean, so people could not find out what to do with it. Then Lord Shiva said, "All right, I'll drink it." So he drank the whole poison ocean and kept it in his throat. Can you drink poison? Not the ocean -- just one cup? So how can we imitate Lord Shiva? Lord Shiva never advised that we drink poison. So you have to abide by the advice, not imitate." (PQPA 9: Deciding for the Future)
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