Following Jesus Christ

Tamala Krsna: So your answer to his question, "Do you consider the message of Jesus Christ to be universal?" You say yes.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: Because he says, "Thou shalt not kill."

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: But none of them are following.

Prabhupada: No, all bogus. And going on in the name of Christian.

Tamala Krsna: And he says he lived in our temples, but he is not satisfied with the Christian faith, but he is finding a great deal of satisfaction now living in our temples.

Prabhupada: First of all become Christian, that you are following all the ten commandments. "Judge not others lest you be judged."

Tamala Krsna: His second question is, "Considering that the Bible describes Jesus as the savior of the people of God, not only of Israel but of every man's sins, does it not minimize his actual position to say that he is simply an avatara, and does it not contradict the teachings of the Bible...?" First of all he says isn't that minimizing him to say that he's an avatara?

Prabhupada: We accept him as avatara, saktyavesa-avatara, empowered incarnation of God. That we accept.

Tamala Krsna: Yeah. He says, "Like any other revealed scripture, the Bible's teachings are absolute, but are they to be understood literally or symbolically, and are they applicable for all men?"

Prabhupada: Literally, not symbolically.

Tamala Krsna: He says, "What is the actual meaning of the sacrifice of the cross, Jesus dying on the cross?"

Prabhupada: It has no meaning. The people were so rascal that they attempted to kill him. Because he was speaking of God. So we can understand the pollution of the then society, how intelligent they were. He had to deal with such rascals that he was speaking about God and the result is that they wanted to kill him first. He preached, "Thou shalt not kill," and they killed him first. This is their intelligence. Now people are advanced. Those doctrines, they are not (indistinct). That's all. The answer.

Tamala Krsna: He says, "Did Jesus die on the cross to redeem all the sins of the world?"

Prabhupada: This is another sinful thought -- Jesus has taken contract for ridding your sinful activities. That's a plea, what is called plea for the sinners, that they will continue acting sinfully, and Christ will take contract to counteract. This is most sinful conviction. Instead of stopping sinful activities, we have given contract to Jesus Christ to counteract it.

Tamala Krsna: So these people are not actually getting free of their sins unless they stop sinning.

Prabhupada: Then what is the use of his preaching? They will continue sinful activities, and Jesus Christ will take contract for saving them. How nonsense idea this is! Bhavananda, do you think it is good idea?

Bhavananda: Not a good idea, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Nonsense rascals. These people should be immediately hanged. "Our religion is very good." What is that? "We cannot stop acting sinfully, and Christ has taken contract. He will save us."

Tamala Krsna: Rascals.

Prabhupada: How rascaldom it is! Namno balad papa-buddhih. Nama-aparadha. "I am chanting Hare Krsna, so no sinful action will be." It is like that. That means "I will continue my sinful activities and become a Christian, become a Vaisnava, become a chanter."

Tamala Krsna: Nama-aparadha.

Prabhupada: See whether I am answering correct.

Tamala Krsna: Oh, you are answering very good. He gives a lot of quotations from the Bible. So I'll just read you two of them, and it is very easy to...

Prabhupada: What is the use of giving me quotations from...? We are talking about practical things.

Tamala Krsna: Yeah. The only point I was going to bring out was that it is clear how they misread the Bible. Just like one of them says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." But you pointed out that to believe means to follow his teachings. That they don't understand. They say, "We believe in Jesus," but they don't follow his teachings.

Prabhupada: Then where is his belief? Where is the question of belief? Unless strictly follow the teachings, there is no question of belief. It is bogus principle.

Tamala Krsna: Yeah, it's all... His next question is, "The essence of Christianism is to believe that Christ is our saviour and redeemer, but the final test of one's faith in Christ rests upon one's hope that he will come back down to earth from heaven to establish his glory and his realm of justice forever. Is this second advent of his to be taken as a symbolic one, or will he actually come back?"

Prabhupada: I do not know. What does he say? What does he say? Explain.

Tamala Krsna: What does he say?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: Well, he quotes, "And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." In other words... "And shall he send..." There is so many statements in the Bible to allude that Christ will come again.

Prabhupada: What is the harm if he comes again?

Tamala Krsna: Practically that is the whole basis of the Christians' faith is they are awaiting the day when Christ will come.

Prabhupada: For the time being, you follow what he has said. Rather, what is the use of waiting for him?

Tamala Krsna: Yeah, if you don't follow what he said, then even if he comes he won't take you. He says if that happens, if Christ comes back, what will be the position of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Krsna consciousness movement? Nasty question.

Prabhupada: That you shall see when he comes.

(Room Conversation - April 2, 1977, Bombay)