Russian Church Leader Calls Krishna ‘Satan’

[Guest guest]

Russian Church Leader Calls Krishna ‘Satan’As Putin Prepares to Meet Indian PM

 

Moscow, RUSSIA – Thousands of Indians living in Russia have become outraged with what they consider a public blasphemy of Hinduism as Moscow prepares to receive Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his first state visit to Russia, scheduled for Monday, December 5.

 

In a letter to the Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, wired by Interfax news agency on December 30, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Nikon called Lord Krishna “an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God”, and “a livid lascivious youth”.

 

The Archibishop further requested the Mayor to ban construction of the proposed Krishna temple in Moscow saying it would otherwise become “an idolatrous disgrace erected for the glory of wicked and malicious ‘god’ Krishna”.

 

“Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the thousand-year religious culture of Russia where the overwhelming majority of people, Christians and Muslims including, consider Krishna an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God”, Interfax quoted Archbishop Nikon as saying.

 

President of the Association of Indians in Russia Sanjeet K. Jha wrote a letter of protest to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexiy II, asking him to step in and bring the Archbishop to senses.

 

“For centuries faith in Lord Krishna has been the very foundation of the Indian tradition of tolerance and respect for all religions and for all life. Nurtured by His teachings, none of His followers will ever dare speak a word of blasphemy against founders of any other religions. In fact, His teachings instill in us deepest respect for Jesus Christ, Muhammad and Moses as genuine saints who dedicated their lives to God”, said Mr.Jha in his letter to Patriarch.

 

“Therefore the shower of offenses that Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts”, Sanjeet Jha added.

 

He also reminded the Patriarch that the only Krishna temple in Moscow had been demolished last year, leaving some 15,000 Indians and 10,000 Russian followers of Hinduism without a place of worship. The fact was quoted by the U.S. Department of State in its annual International Religious Freedom Report among instances of religious intolerance against Hindus and other religious minorities in Russia.

In January 2004, the Department of State report says, the Mayor of Moscow Mr.Luzhkov signed a decree allocating land in northwest Moscow for construction of a new temple in place of the demolished one. However, in October 2005 the Mayor repealed the decree and gave the order to remove a temporary Hindu shrine that devotees had erected from the allocated land.

 

Now, according to Mr. Jha, the statement by Archbishop Nikon just adds to the exasperation felt by Indian community in Moscow in regard to the razed temple.

“With the old temple demolished and the new temple project thwarted at the very root, thousands of Indians living in Moscow feel utterly disappointed,” – says a leader of the Indian business community in Russia who wished to remain anonymous. “While Russia signs multibillion contracts with India in weapons, it seems to turn a blind eye to such outrageous violations of our essential needs in the center of its capital”.

 

According to several Moscow-based Indians, the discriminatory move by the Moscow government, the harassment of Indians by Russian ultra-nationalistic groups, inspired by open hostility of some Church leaders towards Hinduism, is making Russia a less than appealing place for Indians to live.

 

“We hope that during his upcoming state visit to Russia in December, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will treat the signing of contracts with Russia and the protection of Indians in Russia as two inseparably related issues,” – the Indian business leader added.

 

[Guest guest]

For these offences that church leader will drag his entire church into hell. I guess associating with godless Russia for so long has warped this poor man. I pray that the civilized world church leaders are a little more advanced in God realization than this unfortunate wretch.

 

I imagine our foul-mouthed friend will find out soon enough just how wrong he was. May Jesus have mercy on his soul.

 

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm starting to lose faith in all religionists.

[Guest guest]

December 30th?

[Guest guest]

continue to offend christians in their own land, this sort of thing will persist. No point in saying Jesus will not forgive them, bla-bla. Christians don't care whether you think Jesus will not forgive them. In their view, jesus will forgive them no matter what, and they dont care what you think because as far as they're concerned, you're a worthless heathen and so is your god, so is your opinion on Jesus or whoever.

[Kulapavana]

yes, you abrahamic religion folks just keep killing and disrespecting others in the name of "your" God... 3000 years of barbarism and counting... Kali-yuga inded /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

Now that 'slant' isn't fair! Just because that idiot spoke like that - does that mean you should too?

 

 

[Guest guest]

What you say may be true, but the fact remains...Vaishnavas have no power and are living at the mercy of christians. They must follow rules, if they wish to survive. I am not defending any abrahamic faith, but simply pointing out certain facts. Vaishnavs must try to seek forgiveness from Christians for their own welfare.

[Guest guest]

I don't know about that but it seems Krishna can be devlish at times in transcendental way. I can see why Christians think Krishna is Satan because Krishna is going to steal their daughters. They are paranoid about losing their wives and daughters to Krishna. Maybe one day Krishna will pull a devlish trick on them and trick them into becoming devotees, until then well....................

[Guest guest]

All this time, you were busy defending christianity and its lies, now you're getting thrashed by the same christians whom you used to protect and pamper. This is called justice.

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

Ya whatever - I defend sincere servants of God - no matter the faith - that ruskie is not a sincere servant of anything but his ego [like you] - he may be seeing the pews in his dry disconnected church empty these days - they are going to Krishna - oh well.

 

As for you - I love how it is so easy for some to sneer from the shadows...dear 'guest'.

 

You have failed to understand Gita....

[Kulapavana]

"Vaishnavas have no power and are living at the mercy of christians"

----------------

 

We are all living at the mercy of the Lord alone. the power is all His as well. "christians" like the idiot in the main story only DISGRACE real christianity. they may call him a christian, but he is only a Kali-chela, a disciple of Kali.

 

you think christians are the ones who hold material power? LOL! you think demons like Bush give a rat's tail about true christian values? their god is money. they use religious sentiments to delude simple fools to vote for them.

 

there are "christians" out there who would love to burn all us Vaishnavas at the stake if they could... and I'm not joking here. I have met such people. they ARE the demons, no question about it.

 

truth is, you may call yourself a Vaishnava, or a Christian, but the good Lord knows who is who, by knowing their heart and by observing their deeds. Evil must be condemned regardless of who does it.

[Guest guest]

I can't blame the Russians for disliking Hinduism. After all AC Bhaktivedanta taught many things about Jesus that have been considered heretical by Christians for 2000 years. The Hare's try to say they "respect" Jesus but they teach he was an ordinary jiva. If Some told you that Krishna was an ordinary human being what would you say to him? "Avajanti mam MUDHA!" Isn't it? You would be angry and call anyone a demon who disagreed with your assesment that Krishna was God. Orthodox Christianity has been rooted in Russian culture for a long long time, despite what the atheistic communists tried to do. The communists murdered almost 90% of the clegy in Russia and countless thousands of lay people. Now Russia is open again to it's foundational religion and there is in fact a spiritual revival happening in Russia. And here comes this new Hindu religion that minimizes the identity of Jesus Christ... try to be a little understanding from their point of view, and don't be hypocritical.

[JSdas]

Srila Prabhupada did not say jesus was an ordinary jiva, he said jesus was a shakti avesha avatara which is a jiva empowered by krishna or god, which is also what srila prabhupada is.

the fact is christians are confused themselves about wether or not jesus is god or the son of god, so many say completely different things.

i have talked with many christians before and some say he is god while others say he is not god but the son of god.

 

i think there are 200 different christian branch's or sects within christianity and all think there correct and not the other, so work that one out.

 

what prabhupada strongly opposed was the commandment THOU SHALL NOT KILL but there killing in the name of jesus and it's ok.

[Guest guest]

"true christian" 11 7 has cornered you. Answer him, we'll see!

[Guest guest]

get thrashed by christians whom you protect and pamper at the expense of genuine devotees. Bye bye!

[JSdas]

why was the topic ...was srila prabhupada poisoned.... discontinued.

[vittal]

vasudeva hari!

Krishna and Jesus, both r son of god and they r god themselves. both of them preached how a man should lead his life in a good way. some illiterates may talk without knowing the supreme. let both krishna and jesus forgive him! it is the mind and thought that work. no supreme can be reached without intellect working. if thoughts r divine everything seems divine.

[vittal]

vasudeva hari!

Krishna and Jesus, both r son of god and they r god themselves. both of them preached how a man should lead his life in a good way. some illiterates may talk without knowing the supreme. let both krishna and jesus forgive him! it is the mind and thought that work. no supreme can be reached without intellect working. if thoughts r divine everything seems divine

[Guest guest]

 

 

Russian Church Leader Calls Krishna ‘Satan’

 

 

And the iskcon gentleman called Ramakrishna Paramahamsa a rascal...

 

To each his own. If you cannot take it, then first stop dishing it out.

 

Cheers

[JSdas]

thats not what prabhupada said, he said jesus was son of krishna and not krishna himself.

i prefer to believe prabhupada.

who are you?

[Kulapavana]

"After all AC Bhaktivedanta taught many things about Jesus that have been considered heretical by Christians for 2000 years"

 

heretical was an entire movement of Reformation and much christian blood was spilled over trivial issues. hundreds of thousands died. for WHAT?

 

we do not subvert their religion. we just present ours. it's a free market for religious ideas.

[Guest guest]

Wow! You guys kind of missed my point. I wasn't trying to debate who was God or not, but I was just trying to let you in on a bit of Russian culture and understanding about why they oppose iskcon in Russia.

 

It just seems hypocritical to me for devotees out of one side of their mouths try to seem tolerant of the world's faiths:

 

>>>>“For centuries faith in Lord Krishna has been the very foundation of the Indian tradition of tolerance and respect for all religions and for all life. Nurtured by His teachings, none of His followers will ever dare speak a word of blasphemy against founders of any other religions. In fact, His teachings instill in us deepest respect for Jesus Christ, Muhammad and Moses as genuine saints who dedicated their lives to God”, said Mr.Jha in his letter to Patriarch."

 

and out of the other side of their mouths they preach a version of Christianity that is blasphemy to Christians. You can't have your cake and eat it too. ACB Swami presumes to interpret Christianity in the face of 2000 years of Christian belief by saying Jesus was a so-called "shaktya-vesa avatara", i.e. jiva-tattva, an "empowered living entity". The Orthodox Church in Russia believes Jesus is God, but the Hare's say he is not. To the Orthodox Christians of Russia to say that Jesus is one of God's saints is erroneous in their minds and offensive because they believe Jesus was so much more than "an empowered soul", but they believe that He was the source of Life itself, i.e. God. To the Orthodox Christians iskcon's interpretation of Christianity is an offense, plain and simple. And you people here moan and complain that they are being mean to the Hare's in Russia. It is hypocracy. Two faced. One one hand you criticize Christianity and on the other you expect them to respect you.

 

You can't expect people to feel respected by you if you presume to re-interpret their theology for them and call them liars. Especially in a place like Russia where the Orthodox Church is very ingrained in the culture.

 

Just put your self in their shoes for a minute: If I came to you and said, "Krishna was just an ordinary person who taught about God, and Hinduism has it wrong about him being God. He's not God. You Hare's are wrong, now respect me!", what do you think you would do or say to me?

 

Eleven Seven

[Guest guest]

You make fair point there. I tend to lean to the side that Jesus was the son of God and not God himself. He may have even been an incarnation of Brahma so he had 78% of the qualities of God imo. I tend to avoid Christian denominations of all kinds, although I agree mostly with them, because I know they do not understand concept of reincarnation etc. so no use in antagonizing them. In my experience with Christians the subject of reincarnation is antagonistic to them so why bother if it creates conflict. If they follow Christ they will be liberated.

[Guest guest]

orthodox christianity is only one out of many branch's of christianity, so of course there will be opposition, if they fight amongst themselves then they will definitely attack religious beliefs they feel threatened by.

 

But do not mistake iskcon with mainstream indian hinduism and indian politicians as it is entirely different.

 

A real christian that follows the ten commandments would not attack anyone in this way unecessarily, one is love thy nieghbour and thou shall not kill, jesus does not say love thy russian not the hindu, so the real question mr 11 7 is who is a true christian that is following that mood of jesus. What we are seeing is just political menouvering in the guise of religion, it is just a front that we see.

 

11 7 you obviously have no spiritual understanding of the qualities one should be invested with as a saintly person.

 

what is recorded, jesus never attacked any other religious people for what they believe in so why should they.

 

do not think every so called christian is really that and every devotee is that but judge with knowledge of the true qualities of a saintly person.

 

george bush said he is a christian but does that mean jesus would except him if present and condone his actions for killing innocent civilians in iraq etc.....or war full stop?

 

so who is a christian and who is a hindu and who is a devotee? judge for yourself objectively with knowledge of the real qualities of the saintly persons we are trying to follow not the so-called followers.

 

what defines something from something else is it's quality, the quality of water is liquidity but if i say water is solid like a rock does that have any value to a sane man....no.

 

so look for the defining quality that seperates the real gold from the false gold.

 

J.S das

[Guest guest]

>>>>"orthodox christianity is only one out of many branch's of christianity, so of course there will be opposition, if they fight amongst themselves then they will definitely attack religious beliefs they feel threatened by."

 

I don't see the logic here. Iskcon is only one denomination amongst various "maths" and denominations of so-called Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which is one of many various sects and schools of Vaisnavism, which is one branch of the many denominations of so-called "vedic religion" i.e. hinduism, and all these groups fight and argue amongst themselves as much as any other "religion". You can apply your own logic to your own religion here. ACB Swami went out of his way to attack all the rest of the religions of the world and called anyone who wasn't an iskconite "hog, dogs, camals, and asses". So according to your logic, he was attacking them because he felt threatened by them...

 

 

>>>"A real christian that follows the ten commandments would not attack anyone in this way unecessarily, one is love thy nieghbour and thou shall not kill, jesus does not say love thy russian not the hindu, so the real question mr 11 7 is who is a true christian that is following that mood of jesus."

 

Yeah, it's not right to physically attack people. But if people don't want a group in their neighborhood that blasphemes their traditional beleifs, that's their choice. That's my point, if your sacred beliefs were attacked, you would push back. Iskcon is not just some pacive and benighn organization that lives in peace and tranquility. Iskcon follows in the footsteps of their leader and makes it a point to attack all other beliefs that disagree with their own. Who wouldn't see that as a threat? Wouldn't you?

 

>>>>"What we are seeing is just political menouvering in the guise of religion, it is just a front that we see."

 

I disagree. Nothing in that article mentioned politics. Only theology and beliefs.

 

>>>>"11 7 you obviously have no spiritual understanding of the qualities one should be invested with as a saintly person."

 

Well at least I know that I don't want to follow the example of ACB Swami who was extremly intolerant and disrespectful towards other religions, especially Christianity, and very presumptuous to "reinterpret" for everyone else, and if you disagree with him, you are a "hog, dog, camal and an ass" and a demon to boot!

 

>>>>"what is recorded, jesus never attacked any other religious people for what they believe in so why should they."

 

Actually, if you read the New Testament, Jesus makes it a point to attack the Pharasees and legalistic religionists of his time. He respected all people, but attacked false beliefes and self centered, disrespectful, and or exploitative religious practices.

 

>>>>"do not think every so called christian is really that and every devotee is that but judge with knowledge of the true qualities of a saintly person."

 

Now you are putting words in my mouth. I never judged every Christian or every devotee. I just judge the policies and philosophy of iskcon because I am very familiar with it. And I was trying to show another view point in this discussion.

 

>>>>"george bush said he is a christian but does that mean jesus would except him if present and condone his actions for killing innocent civilians in iraq etc.....or war full stop?"

 

Now you've gotten way off the topic. But yes I agree.

 

>>>>"so who is a christian and who is a hindu and who is a devotee? judge for yourself objectively with knowledge of the real qualities of the saintly persons we are trying to follow not the so-called followers."

 

You can judge a tree by the fruit it bears.