When different paths have stark differences how can all paths be valid and how can we explain our path offers something more?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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So if we say all paths are bona fide, then we also say that there is more knowledge available in our path. So how do we reconcile that? When people see stark differences between different paths, how do they get confused by that? Well, firstly, it is too broad to say that all paths are bona fide.
I am saying that there are many paths. Many paths is not all paths. So we have to actually see what is the effect.
Broadly speaking, bhakti, pareesha anubhav, viraktir anyatra ca. That if there is devotion that leads to the experience of God, and the experience of God is so captivating that one becomes detached from worldly cravings. So are people at least becoming regulated in their worldly indulgences? Are they doing something in a regulated way to connect with God? That broadly we have to see.
Is the path actually going up the mountain or not? That we have to see. So it is not a sweeping statement that all paths are bona fide. But there are many paths which can help people to rise in their consciousness.
Having clarified that, when I talk about this particular point, often what I say is that if some Christians say that in our tradition it is not told that Krishna is God. So then why should we worship, why should we accept Krishna as God? So the challenge is that in the Christian tradition, there is not much positive description of God given. And people need some tangible object of worship.
And that is why what Christians did from the Nicene Creed onwards was that they made Jesus into an equivalent of God. So for practical purposes they worship Jesus as if he is God. God talks about the trinity, but they worship Jesus as if he is God.
They pray to Jesus and they remember Jesus. But Jesus himself said, I am not the father. I have been sent by the father.
So if they say that Krishna is not mentioned in our tradition, is there anything about Krishna that is contradictory to the conception of God that is described in the Bible? If you look at the description of God, the attributes of God that are mentioned in the Old Testament primarily, in the New Testament also, I am the Alpha and Omega of all things. In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, So the characteristics of Krishna described in the Bhagavad Gita are very similar to the characteristics of the Divine of Yahweh or whoever you want to say that, described in the Bible. So in terms of attributes, there is nothing specifically directly contradictory.
In terms of specifics, there is no certain revelation that is not there. So the way I explain it is that there may be different paths taking up the mountain, but from some paths you may get a clearer view of the top of the mountain. If in some path there are many ridges, and there are many trees, and there are many land masses, you may not very clearly see.
So if you say, no, this particular vision of God is not being talked about, so I won’t accept it. Well, then are you interested in, each religious path is like a college. It is given knowledge of God.
So are you attached to the college? Are you interested in the college? Or are you interested in the knowledge? So if Draupadi said that we are not here to convert Christians to become Hare Krishnas. If somebody was already committed nominally a Christian, or nominally a Jew, Prabhupada encouraged them to take up Krishna consciousness. But if somebody is already dedicated, Prabhupada did not pull them.
If they are already up that path, pull you down and come on up this path. No, Prabhupada encouraged them to become more dedicated. And he said reading the Bhagavad Gita, understanding the Bhakti tradition, can actually help you to become a better Christian.
So we can say that from certain views or certain paths, the top might be seen more clearly. And this is not just a sectarian claim. There is objectively a lot of vivid description of God in our tradition.
So that’s one point. The second point which you mentioned is that there are stark contradictions. Yes, there are.
Bhaktivinoda Thakur talks about this in Chaitanya-Shiksha-Amrita, that I think multiple factors depending on language, depending on culture, depending on conception, there will be different forms of worship that will evolve. And some of them may not just be different, they may be contradictory. Now this is not all that odd.
If you see, if you drive in India, we drive on the left side of the road. Alright, I always get confused. So you drive on the left side of the road.
But if you go to America, you drive on the right side of the road. So here the rule is not just different, it’s opposite. The rule is opposite, but the purpose is identical.
So there could be differences in forms of worship, specific practices, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s an inherent contradiction. It’s a contradiction in application. So I have written a whole book on deity worship, idol worship or ideal worship.
I think the biggest point of contradiction for people is that in the Abrahamic religions, idol worship is condemned. And in our tradition, worship of images is central. But then I have explained that elaborately, that at that time when the Abrahamic religions emerged, there was no positive revelation of God’s form.
And therefore, whatever was being worshipped was a concocted form. When Moses went up the mountain to get the Ten Commandments, in that time his followers made a golden, to call their gold, made it into a golden cup and started worshipping that. And Moses came and said, what are you doing? And he smashed that.
He says, don’t worship such false images. So the idea is, if people are concocting some form and worshipping it, then better don’t worship a concocted form. Just don’t have a form.
But then if there is a tradition which describes the form of God, and then that is worship, then why not? So yes, there are contradictions, but I don’t think they are intrinsic or irreconcilable contradictions in essence. In practices, there are definitely contradictions. And they need to maturely address.