primate Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 First of all let me say that I believe the Supreme dwells equally in everyone as paramatma. Since he is all-pervading he hears the prayers of everyone. That’s fully compatible with the Christian belief that God dwells in everyone as the Holy Spirit. "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). In Christianity God is the self-existent Creator of all things (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 44:24; Acts 14:15; Eph. 3:9). And God is the self-existent Sustainer and Governor of all things (Acts 14:16-17; 17:24-28). The eternal Son of God is described as the One who "upholds all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:3) and the One in whom "all things hold together" (Col. 1:17). That being said, I think the Bhagavad Gita is the highest and best revelation of that Supreme Being. Of course that is my shradda which is based upon my karma among other things. If I equate other scriptures with that which I believe was spoken directly by Sri Vishnu himself, then the Bhagavad Gita is no longer special. If I equate other names by which people choose to call their conception of a higher power with the 1,000 names of Vishnu, then the names Hari, Krishna and Rama are no longer special. Bhagavad Gita may indeed be the highest and best revelation of Absolute Truth, although there are no objective methods to determine any Scripture as the highest or best. As you indicated, this is ultimately a very personal matter. But I must agree that Vedic scriptures describe the nature of Absolute Truth or God in much more detail, than the Christian Bible. However, as argued, both scriptures describe God and His relation to the Self in a remarkably similar fashion, using similar terms and concepts. Hence, Christianity appears to be much closer to Vaishnavism than it is to any other religion, even though other religions such as Islam or Judaism are partially based on the same scriptures (OT). I personally find this astonishing. Given that Christianity and Vaishnavism are completely separate traditions, how can they reach the same basic conclusions about the nature of God? Moreover, the New Testament might be the latest rendering of this Absolute Truth, whereas arguably the Vedas are the oldest religious scriptures known to man. Could it be that ultimately both scriptures have the same author, God himself? In India they have this idea that a persons religion is like their mother. Everyone has the right to think that their mother is the best in the world. If they don't tell me that my mother is the same as theirs then we can live peacefully as brothers. If they don't tell me to disown my mother in order to embrace theirs, then we can live peacefully as brothers. OM SHANTI Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranjeetmore Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Objection noted. Re: Swami Prabhupada, yes it was his opinion that Jesus was a shakyavesa-avatar and he used the same term to describe Mohammed. So if someone doesn't agree with Swami Prabhupada then they have made themselves the topic? I don't think that is reasonable. Ideas are the issue and I don't agree with these ideas. That does not absolve me from the responsibility to be civil however. Since you quoted an authority I will quote one back - H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati - A BIG TIME ACHARYA - has equated the Bible with Greek mythology in his work The Encyclopedia of Authentic Hinduism www.EncyclopediaofAuthenticHinduism.org I share his views on that. BTW, anyone who searches my username can see that I have never made a secret of my views; therefore your statement "It is clear you want to hide behind this author to express your own feelings." is false. If you insist on making ad hominem attacks, at least get them right. how do you know him ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranjeetmore Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 That’s fully compatible with the Christian belief that God dwells in everyone as the Holy Spirit. "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). In Christianity God is the self-existent Creator of all things (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 44:24; Acts 14:15; Eph. 3:9). And God is the self-existent Sustainer and Governor of all things (Acts 14:16-17; 17:24-28). The eternal Son of God is described as the One who "upholds all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:3) and the One in whom "all things hold together" (Col. 1:17). Bhagavad Gita may indeed be the highest and best revelation of Absolute Truth, although there are no objective methods to determine any Scripture as the highest or best. As you indicated, this is ultimately a very personal matter. But I must agree that Vedic scriptures describe the nature of Absolute Truth or God in much more detail, than the Christian Bible. However, as argued, both scriptures describe God and His relation to the Self in a remarkably similar fashion, using similar terms and concepts. Hence, Christianity appears to be much closer to Vaishnavism than it is to any other religion, even though other religions such as Islam or Judaism are partially based on the same scriptures (OT). I personally find this astonishing. Given that Christianity and Vaishnavism are completely separate traditions, how can they reach the same basic conclusions about the nature of God? Moreover, the New Testament might be the latest rendering of this Absolute Truth, whereas arguably the Vedas are the oldest religious scriptures known to man. Could it be that ultimately both scriptures have the same author, God himself? Agreed. me too.It's astonishing and assertive too. It depends on time and place what God chooses to reveal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted August 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 I have never met Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, but I once attended a satsang given by one of his swamis at a Hindu Temple in Norwalk, CA. how do you know him ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted August 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Due to the kripa of the Supreme, we find little sattvic elements in even the most base nonsense. This is a way of planting seeds for the persons next life since these non Vedic religions inevitably lead to rebirth. Once you stop exaggerating the similarities and ignoring the glaring differences, things will become more clear. That’s fully compatible with the Christian belief that God dwells in everyone as the Holy Spirit. "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). "Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). In Christianity God is the self-existent Creator of all things (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 44:24; Acts 14:15; Eph. 3:9). And God is the self-existent Sustainer and Governor of all things (Acts 14:16-17; 17:24-28). The eternal Son of God is described as the One who "upholds all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:3) and the One in whom "all things hold together" (Col. 1:17). Bhagavad Gita may indeed be the highest and best revelation of Absolute Truth, although there are no objective methods to determine any Scripture as the highest or best. As you indicated, this is ultimately a very personal matter. But I must agree that Vedic scriptures describe the nature of Absolute Truth or God in much more detail, than the Christian Bible. However, as argued, both scriptures describe God and His relation to the Self in a remarkably similar fashion, using similar terms and concepts. Hence, Christianity appears to be much closer to Vaishnavism than it is to any other religion, even though other religions such as Islam or Judaism are partially based on the same scriptures (OT). I personally find this astonishing. Given that Christianity and Vaishnavism are completely separate traditions, how can they reach the same basic conclusions about the nature of God? Moreover, the New Testament might be the latest rendering of this Absolute Truth, whereas arguably the Vedas are the oldest religious scriptures known to man. Could it be that ultimately both scriptures have the same author, God himself? Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaisersose Posted August 4, 2009 Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Bhagavad Gita may indeed be the highest and best revelation of Absolute Truth, although there are no objective methods to determine any Scripture as the highest or best. As you indicated, this is ultimately a very personal matter. But I must agree that Vedic scriptures describe the nature of Absolute Truth or God in much more detail, than the Christian Bible. However, as argued, both scriptures describe God and His relation to the Self in a remarkably similar fashion, using similar terms and concepts. Hence, Christianity appears to be much closer to Vaishnavism than it is to any other religion, even though other religions such as Islam or Judaism are partially based on the same scriptures (OT). I personally find this astonishing. Given that Christianity and Vaishnavism are completely separate traditions, how can they reach the same basic conclusions about the nature of God? Moreover, the New Testament might be the latest rendering of this Absolute Truth, whereas arguably the Vedas are the oldest religious scriptures known to man. Could it be that ultimately both scriptures have the same author, God himself? I do not find it astonishing at all. We see what we want to see. if your goal is to see similarities and unify the two, then you will find astonishing similarities. If you want to see diffferences, you will see enough to see that the two have no relation to each other, whatsoever. it is all a matter of perspective. The same Gita in India is interpreted completely differently by different scholars. Does this mean they all are wrong, except the one who matches the Christian scripture? As you can see, we create the differences and similarities based on our personal preferences. It is not about what the scripture says, it is about what we want to see in it. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranjeetmore Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 ^ yes like you OBVIOUSLY ignore "BRahmano hi pratishtha ham." "I am The basis of Brahm." - Bhagavad Geeta. There is NO interpretation to that. Sri KRsna Is the basis of BRahm.simple. So your right,You will see only what YOU want to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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