Spirit/Soul

July 26, 2002

Dear Subal das, Yasodanandana das and all prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances at the lotus feet of Srila

Prabhupada.

Regarding the subject of Spirit/Soul... one way to explain it is

going to the Lord's words in Bhagavad-gita. That which is 'me', that

which is 'you'.. that is atma (spiritsoul), and is eternal. The symptoms

of the presense of atma are the same regardless of the body, for without

spiritsoul there can be no growth, no movemment, no reproduction, no

being 'alive.' The quality of atma is equal even to that of Krsna ;

only the quantity is different.

One point that has helped my Christian mother and sister understand

this concept came up when discussing the inevitable 'death' of a pet dog

many years ago. My mother was stating that her dog has 'no soul'... so I

asked, "What happens when she dies? Does she just run out of gas like a

car? No... her 'life force'.. her 'self'... leaves her body. "

There is also a part of the church service I recall from my growing

up that may be used in most churches and therefore might help make the

point... : "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all

creatures here below. Praise him above, ye heavenly host...."... and so

on... "Praise Him all creatures here below" If a being is not part and

parcel of God, why would there be a calling to praise Him? This line

does not say.. "Praise Him all humans here below." ... It COULD have...

just as easily.. but it does not...

Also, if one is a follower of Christ, who is shaktavesh avatar, that

needs to be respected. As devotees, we know that one is not converted

to Krsna consciousness but awakened to Krsna consciousness. Prasadam..

kirtan... These are the weapons against maya. So gentle persuading..

logical Vaishnava argument and lots of prasadam...<s>....

In any case, I try to remember always that Krsna tells us "Everyone

follows My path in all respects.".. and that He "...is directing the

wanderings of all living entities..."... Whether or not it is understood

who Krsna is, He is still the Supreme Personality of Godhead... We are

so fortunate to have begun awakening to our original Krsna consciousness

by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and all Vaishnavas.

Hoping something here is useful in your preaching.

Sincerely

your servant,

Bhuvana Pavani d.d.

July 27, 2002

Regarding preaching to Christians:

Since Christians don't accept the same pramaanas that we do, it may

be difficult to engage in dialogue with them. The underlying

assumptions of each tradition are different. The best way to reach

them, I think, is to use logic and analogy the way Srila Prabhupada

did, and then later back it up with quotations from our scriptures.

Regarding Jesus being a shaktyavesha avataara, I think there may be

some statements by Srila Prabhupada to this effect, as there are

statements by him indicating that he is a pure devotee, an empowered

servant of Krishna, etc. However, objectively speaking, it is

difficult to prove these points, since a disciple must know the

scriptural basis behind his guru's teachings. Even more dangerous in

making these claims is the inadvertent justification of some of

Jesus' behavior which might not be consistent with Vedic injunctions

or Vaishnava ethics. Indeed, it will likely be seen as hypocritical

by other Vedic schools of thought, to give so much regard to non-

Vedic prophets who do not follow scriptural regulations, as compared

to respectable gurus in other sampradaayas like Shankara, etc.

The best thing, as always, is to refrain from reinterpreting anyone

else's religion and simply preach Krishna-consciousness as it is. If

members of other religions like what they hear, then they can

reexamine/reinterpret their own scriptures as they choose. It's not

our responsibility to justify things according to non-Vedic

scriptures.

regards,

- K

August 10, 2002

Harekrishna

....but in western countries we have to answer some questions about jesus and

we ourselves must have an idea about the religion in wich we were born....

the personality of Jesus is easily judgeable by His acts. I am a christian

born, i have a little more than average culture of gospels and bible and i

cannot find behaviours of Lord Jesus not in line with the vaishnava

siddhantas. If some vedic practitioners and scholars are not at ease with

jesus, this is their problem...... we will not bring uselessly this subject

when discussing with them but i do not understand in wich way we'd be

considered in a bad way if we glorify jesus, as Srila Prabhupada often did.

Of course we are vaishnavas and Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya C., Bh.Gita ecc.

are our scriptures and there is no need to refer to the Bible or Gospel (or

Coran and Buddhist Sutras) when there is not a real and specific

need........ but again, i'd find very strange to find vedic practitioners

who are not aware of the greatness of jesus

obviously we know also that there are Puranas speaking specifically of

jesus, Buddha and Mohamed

........ , the simple word God, knowing the science of vedas, is extremely

generic.... Srila Prabhupada accepts the jesus's statement : "who sees me,

sees the Father", in this way, i have not any difficulty, preaching to

christians that make such questions at the sunday feast or so, to answer YES

Jesus is GOD, then it is possible to continue with other important topics,

without having anyone feeling offended, and without have said a

lie........... when one will be introduced to the more specific and complex

science of the infinite personalities emanated by Krishna, it will not very

difficult to reconciliate these aspects.

harekrishna

yasodanandanadasa florence italy