"Why didn't Jesus teach the power of the name?"

[theist]

Common question. The answer is he did? I think it needs to re-emphasized.

 

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John 17

1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,

2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.

3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

4 " I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

5 "Now, Father, ( glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

6 " I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

7 "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;

8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.

9 " I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;

10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.

11 "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.

12 "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

 

 

The Disciples in the World

 

13 "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.

14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

16 " They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 " Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

18 "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19 "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

20 "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

 

 

Their Future Glory

 

22 "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;

23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and (53) loved them, even as You have loved Me.

24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

25 "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;

26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

Hare Krsna

[Guest guest]

MENTION Krishna? He keeps referring to God's name, but what name is that? Jehovah? Krishna? Yahweh?

[theist]

It seems the writers and or translaters have failed there. We hardly see the Father's named mentioned in the Bible. I am certainly just a layman in these matters and know nothing about other languages or how to translate them into English.

 

But these verses give an opening for those who have an inclination to try and persuad present Christian groups to take shelter of the Fathers name as well as the Sons.

 

You ask which name. My initial impression is that you may think names of God that are perceived to be from other lands or cultures have no potency. For those that think that way it will be good to remeber Lord Caitanya's instryction that God has hundreds and millions of holy names in which He has invested His transcendental potencies.

[theist]

In Text 43 King Kulaçekhara directly used the name Krsna nine times, while in the present verse he calls on Krsna by names that refer to His pastimes. The names in this verse are all as good as the name Krsna, since they all arise from krsna-lilä, in which the Lord is known variously as Gopäla (a cowherd boy), as Kaàsäntaka (the killer of Kaàsa), as Rämänuja (the younger brother of Balaräma), or as Gopéjananätha (the Lord of the gopés). Ultimately, all names of God refer to Krsna. For a Krsna devotee, whether God is addressed by the name Krsna or other names—even names of God from other religions—the devotee, following the conclusion of the Srimad-Bhägavatam and the Brahma-samhitä, always understands that these names ultimately designate the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. - Mukunda-mala-stotra text 44 purport

[Guest guest]

17 " Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

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rev

3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

...

19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

...

19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

[Guest guest]

The mission of Lord Jesus Christ offers no contradiction to the science of Bhakti yoga.

Some so-called Christians will not even consider the word "yoga" in relation to Lord Jesus, yet they have no concern for what the Bhakti yoga adherants understand.

 

Scripture is inclusive of both first-person and third-person accounts of pertanant information (sruti and smrti). Christians have been misled by their King James and other

compilers of their scripture, gross omissions of certain writings, promises of evils befalling the scrutinizing researcher of His teachings, they are given a useless "religion" based on sentimental blind faith.

 

Lord Jesus Christ did not teach mayavada philosophy, nor did He teach monism. He did not lay the foundations of philosophy to be summed up as a "mystery". Some of His

followers tried to equate Him as a member of a "mysterious" trinity, and He rejects them soundly. Rather, He teaches, in a simplified way, acintya bheda bheda tattwa, simultaneous oneness and difference between jiva and Visnu.

 

From the Greek text attributed to Didyamous Thomas the Architect apostle of Lord Jesus, Jesus states that

trinity worshippers are without God, those who worship One will see Him with that One. He also clearly states that those who accept Him simultaneously accept the One Who has sent Him.

 

Those who act "mysteriously" and artificially merge the Father and the Son as the same being not only deny the Father, they also deny the Son. Impersonalism is atheism,

regardless of the so called religious stature such philosophy may hold in society. The Son has no meaning without the Father, the Father is meaningless without heir.

 

Lord Jesus Christ always presents Himself as servant of the Supreme Lord, He is also the servant of humankind. Christ means "of God", Jesus means "of human", He claims servitude

to Isaiah, David, Solomon. He denies any claim of "mastery", deferring always to the Father who He serves, "Only the Father who has sent Me is Good", and even states that his followers can be as He is, even surpass Him in His service to the Supreme Lord.

There is no evidence that Lord Jesus Christ accepts any worship reserved for His Father.

 

Lord Jesus Christ always speaks authoritively concerning His relationship with His Father, indicating His Madhyama Adhikari status. Though 100% fixed up in this relationship, He, in humble service to His Father, accepts Madhyama platform to preach His Father's glories. (Note: Uttama Adhikari is not a "practical" preaching platform because from this viewpoint, everyone is thoroughly engaged in sanatana dharma. From the Madhyama platform, however, one sees God, sees His servants as well as those rejecting Him, and teaches solely for the purpose to end the temporal forgetfulness of those conditioned by matter.)

 

There are many instances where Lord Jesus Christ asserts Himself as via-medium to the Supreme Lord, yet this assertiveness is not arrogance, this is Servitude. He is here on His Father's business, and His Father is pleased to empower Him with the position of Sri Gurudeva.

 

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

 

PS Names of God are attributes, and Lord Jesus has thousands of attributes he gives whom he mainly refers to as "father" (Abah). He uses the word "elahoi" meaning friend, as well as others. He uses the word Krsna in that his preaching confirms that "he who has sent me" is the most attractive personality, and he confirms to dismas (the good thief) that his father is most merciful and most compassionate. His Mother, Mary, has many names as well, including "Israel", which means "wife of god". My favorite name for Mary is "the pearl", a name mentioned as prophecy to the great righteous ruler, King Solomon, by the angel gabriel, who also described the pearl to solomons wife, queen mekeda of shiibha as the uncontaminated daughter of hannah and zachariah. (source, kebra nagast)

 

[Guest guest]

What is that using the Lord's name in vain about?

[Guest guest]

Haribol, sorry i dont have any time today, but what you ask is very important. The

key word in this direct commandment from The Supreme Person ia vain, vanity, selfishness, etc.

 

Gotta run, tommorrow Ill be quite extensive on the subject, hare krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

[Guest guest]

One of the offences of chanting the Holy Names when taking initiation is to hear so much instruction on the Holy Name and pastimes of the Lord and still hold on to ones misconceptions of life = false ego = false identity = vanity = I am great, I am saved, I am advanced, I am knowledgeable, wise, I have love for God.

Whereas Mahaprabhu taught "Unfortunate as I am I have NO attraction to chanting these glorious Names you have given us."

Srimati Radharani stated "I don't have a single drop of love for Krsna. And yet what was their example, inconceivable!

[Guest guest]

 

 

Question: can somebody stay and live in vrindavan even he or she doesnt have a solid "belief" with the ISKCON teachings? Respect there is, but worshipping those images, she doesn't know or understand ever existed?

 

Thanks.

[theist]

 

Question: can somebody stay and live in vrindavan even he or she doesnt have a solid "belief" with the ISKCON teachings? Respect there is, but worshipping those images, she doesn't know or understand ever existed?

 

 

I don't quite understand your question nor am I the person to ask over who can or can not live in Vrndaban. But there are some obvious points I can bring up.

 

Presently there are billions of non-ISKCON residents of Vrndaban, most are not even in human form. Impersonalists who claim to be devotees are also there. All kinds of beings are there. Mostly the humans are devotees though even though they may be of slightly different moods than that predominant in ISKCON. There is certainly room for variety.

 

If you mean THE Vrndaban to live there one must be loving Krsna in a specific mood to enter in.

 

ISKCON is a presence in Vrndaban but they are not the ultimate gate keepers. You don't need their permission to enter into either Vrndaban.

 

You mentioned doubts. Perhaps on the basis of some stories that seem far-fetched to your mind. Everyone has doubts and they can only be resolved by the Lord. Don't them trouble you too much.

 

I also have doubts and some are well founded. I don't feel inclined to believe every story about Krsna some pujari tells me. Like "I will show you Krsna's footprint" for ten rupees.

 

I don't see much value in pretention.

 

You are attracted to live there so if you can then go ahead. You mentioned you are respectful and that will get you by. Chant as much as possible and be open to the fact that the Deities may show Themselves to you. A quiet observing mind will serve you well there.Don't expect your mind to be able to categorize it all in a neat and orderly file either. Keep a healthy skepticism but be open to it being answered by the Lord's inconceivable presence.

 

In other words follow that attract force all the way to Vrndaban without worrying about the views of others or even the beliefs and doubts of your own mind.

 

Jaya Radhe! Jaya Krsna! Jaya Vrndaban!