Prabhupada: Allah is not name. That is...It is not the name. It is just like the idea of God.

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Prabhupada: Caitanya Mahaprabhu says...Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, namnam

akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis.

 

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis

tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah

etadrsi tava krpa bhagavan mamapi

durdaivam idrsam ihajani nanuragah

 

Bahudha: God has many names. If you are missing, so you can take one of the

name. Krsna is one of the names, so what is the objection? And Caitanya

Mahaprabhu said, "In this name, all the potencies of God is there." Namnam

akari bahudha nija-sarva-sakti tatrarpita. That name is as powerful as God

Himself. There is no difference between the name and God, because He is

absolute. Here in the material world there is the difference between name

and the person or the thing. If I am thirsty, if I simply chant "water,

water, water," that will not appease my thirstiness. But the spiritual

world, absolute, the name and the person is the same. Abhinnatvan

nama-naminoh. Under the circumstances, if you are missing some name, so take

this name. Why it should not be taken?

Jyotirmayi: (French)

Priest: Yeah, but you can take "Rama," you can take "Parasurama," you can

take (indistinct).

Prabhupada: Yes, yes, any name, any name.

Priest: Krsna has no special...

Prabhupada: No. Special there is. In this way, it is recommended in the

sastra, recommended in the sastra: harer nama. Harer means of God. Harer

nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam [Adi 17.21]. So this is the...We have

to chant the name of God. This is the prescription. This is Vaisnava.

Priest: Does it matter...

Prabhupada: Now, there are thousands and thousands of names, that we also

admitted. At least we have got sahasra-nama, visnu sahasra. But in another

place it is said, other Upanisad, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare

Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama...This name is recommended. Just like

Agni Purana and Kalisantarana Upanisad, in this Vedic literature, this...

Priest: Yeah, but each Upanisad will recommend its own specific Deity, you

know. Rama, as you say, Hare Rama. Or Siva.

Prabhupada: Yes, Rama is all right. Rama we chant. Hare Rama we chant. Hare

Krsna and Hare Rama. Rama also we chant.

Priest: Or Siva. I mean, you see, in the Svetasvatara Upanisad.

Devotee: (Sanskrit)

Priest: I mean, what devotees? You have got bhakti also in the Saivite , all

the others.

Pusta Krsna: The argument, if you say that it is not special, then you will

say that you can chant any name.

Priest: Yes.

Pusta Krsna: We say that God's name is special, whatever name it is. Not

that we eliminate God, saying He's not special. He is special. Whether you

call Him by this authorized name or that authorized name, His name is

special because it's nondifferent from Him. So not that we should just

overlook the name of God because we're overlooking God. We do that, so we

have to...

Prabhupada: Harer nama [Adi 17.21]. Harer nama means God's name.

Priest: You see, for instance, in Christianity for a long time there was a

bhakti, and this bhakti was devoted to the name of Jesus. So for a very long

time you had that Jesus bhakti. And in your country, in America today, like

you have got the Hare Krsna, you have got also the Jesus devotees. Now, this

is also present in many places. And the name does not matter. There is no

name who has got the...Because then you find again what...

Prabhupada: No. If Jesus is the name of God, then you can chant. If Jesus is

the name of God. But Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ, says that he is son of God.

Of course, there is no difference between son and the father. That is

another thing. But still, if I want the father, how by calling the name of

son I can get the father? That is also another thing.

Priest: Yeah, but I mean, this is another point.

Prabhupada: But if you have got the father's name, why should you call Him

by the son's name?

Priest: Yeah, but this is another discussion (indistinct). What we mean by

father and son, you know, we don't mean it...

Prabhupada: That everyone's father and son is the same. If father says

something and the son says...Just like in a big family, if the son orders

something, it is as good as the father's order. That is our experience. But

still, if you want to call the father, you will not get the father's

response by calling the name of the son.

Priest: Jesus told us, "If you see me, you see the Father, because the

Father cannot be seen." It was a common name. Yoshua was a common Jewish

name.

Prabhupada: Yes. Hare Krsna. Now, one thing is that if we are interested in

chanting the name of God, if it is available, then why should I chant the

name of the son?

Priest: No, it is not that question. The question is...

Devotee: Excuse me for interrupting, but one thing was that you suggested

that the name of Krsna is a very common name...

Priest: Yeah.

Devotee: ...in the sense that many people may be called Krsna. But the

Supreme God is also called Krsna. So if you chant His name, you derive the

benefit even if you're not thinking of Him as the Supreme.

Priest: Yeah, but for the Christian the same. Jesus is a very common name.

Devotee: That's all right. We're saying chant. Our spiritual master is

teaching "You chant the name of God." That's the important thing.

Prabhupada: If you think that Jesus Christ's name is also, you can chant, we

have no objection. We say that you chant the holy name of God, whatever you

have got. That's all right.

Priest: And for a Muslim you mean to chant Allah.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Priest: Name Krsna, Allah, Jesus, (indistinct), what is the...

Prabhupada: Allah is not name. That is...It is not the name. It is just like

the idea of God.

Priest: Yeah.

Prabhupada: Allah means God, isvara.

Priest: Allah means also (indistinct).

Prabhupada: But that is not the name. That is...Just like the President and

Mr. Nixon. The President may be another person. Not only Nixon, but another

person also may be. So President is the general understanding of the post.

But still, one who occupies the post, he has got a name.

Priest: Do you know the Sufi?

Prabhupada: Huh?

Priest: Do you know the Sufis are Muslims (indistinct).

Prabhupada: No.

Priest: They are the great mystics of Islam, and they always address God as

Allah. As we say...

Prabhupada: Allah means God.

Priest: Yes. It is the name of God for them. "Allah the all-knowing is

great." Anybody who knows Islam knows that.

Prabhupada: Anyway, if one chants Allah or Jesus Christ, we have no

objection. We don't say that you stop it. We say that you chant the holy

name of God. If that name is of God, you chant.