Christ, Christos, Krishna!

Just as there is one sun, referred to with different utterances based on the language one speaks, God is also known by many different names. This is a very simple common sense principle. It underlies the concept shared by all pious individuals in the form of, “Love your fellow man.” Yet how much love is actually demonstrated if your faith dictates that one must follow the details exclusive to your given tradition for approaching God or you will immediately be exiled as are ungodly!

There should be NO exiling going on between the individuals of all the the different people who believe in God regardless of who their teacher may be or what scripture they follow. We are all on the same team. Our shared challenge is with those who are atheistic. Every one of our different faiths indicate that it is the proud man who does not accept the supreme authority of God that is at the root of all the difficulties in the world today. This is confirmed in many places but most particularly by Lord Siva when he refers to the impersonal New-Age pseudo-faiths that are atheistic in nature despite how much they masquerade as religion:

“The theory of Mayavadism, though given a facade of great importance and claiming itself to be derived from the Vedas, is in truth a non-Vedic theory. O goddess Parvati! It is I, who propagated this concocted theory which is the root cause of the world’s destruction.” – Lord Siva Speaking to Paravati in Padma Purana (Uttara-khanda 25.7)

The Gita further confirms how mixed up things are in Kali Yuga:
“That understanding which considers irreligion to be religion and religion to be irreligion, under the spell of illusion and darkness, and strives always in the wrong direction, O Partha, is in the mode of ignorance.” – Bhagavad Gita As It Is Chapter 18 “Conclusion-Perfection of Renunciation,” Text 32. Link: https://www.vedabase.com/en/bg/18/32

A devotee sees everyone as a servant of Krishna. Some have realized the potential of that relationship, while others have not. Some are so covered by God’s illusory potency that they speak all sorts of speculative things in the name of mundane sociology, evolution or science etc. Yet extraordinarily pious individuals can be found in each of the great religious traditions and those are the people that are worthy of our respect and appreciation. This is why a devotee of Lord Krishna can quite genuinely acknowledge Jesus as our Guru. He is indeed a pure devotee of God and for that reason alone we can fall at his feet with great reverence.

What follows is a short clip from a 1974 dialogue between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Father Emmanuel Jungclaussen, a Benedictine monk from Niederalteich Monastery in Bavaria Germany. Noticing that Srila Prabhupada was carrying meditation beads similar to the rosary, Father Emmanuel explains that he also chants a constant prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, be merciful unto us.” The following conversation ensued:
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Father Emmanuel: Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “the anointed one.”

Srila Prabhupada: Christos is the Greek version of the word Krsna.

Father Emmanuel: This is very interesting.

Srila Prabhupada: When an Indian person calls on Krsna, he often says, “Krsta.” Krsta is a Sanskrit word meaning “attraction.” So when we address God as “Christ,” “Krsta,” or “Krsna,” we indicate the same all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Jesus said, “Our Father, who art in heaven, sanctified be Thy name,” that name of God was Krsta or Krsna. Do you agree?

Father Emmanuel: I think Jesus, as the Son of God, has revealed to us the actual name of God: Christ. We can call God “Father,” but if we want to address Him by His actual name, we have to say “Christ.”

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. “Christ” is another way of saying Krsta, and “Krsta” is another way of pronouncing Krsna, the name of God. Jesus said that one should glorify the name of God, but yesterday I heard one theologian say that God has no name — that we can call him only “Father.” A son may call his father “Father,” but the father also has a specific name. Similarly, God is the general name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose specific name is Krsna. Therefore whether you call God “Christ,” “Krsta,” or “Krsna,” ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Father Emmanuel: Yes, if we speak of God’s actual name, then we must say, “Christos.” In our religion, we have the Trinity: the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe we can know the name of God only by revelation from the Son of God. Jesus Christ revealed the name of the father, and therefore we take the name Christ as the revealed name of God.
Srila Prabhupada: Actually, it doesn’t matter — Krsna or Christ — the name is the same. The main point is to follow the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures that recommend chanting the name of God in this age.