Russian Archbishop calls Lord Krishna 'Satan'
HindustanTimes.com/UK: News for UK Asians
UK Bureau
London, December 6, 2005
Hindus are shocked and outraged to read the views of the Russian Orthodox Church on Lord Krishna, who is revered by over one billion Hindus worldwide as the Supreme Lord, said an ISCKON press statement.
According to it, in a letter to the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, dated November 29, 2005, the Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak from the Russian Orthodox Church called Lord Krishna "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God", and "a livid lascivious youth".
The Archbishop 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 (a satanic obscenity destined to be built right in the heart of the Orthodox Christian country of Russia) 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", said the Archbishops letter.
"The shower of offences that Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts," said Sanjeet K. Jha, the president of the Association of Indians in Russia.
Aside from displaying stunning ignorance of the world's oldest religion, it is also evident from the statement that the Russian Orthodox Church is still embedded in the dark ages of religious exclusivity, which has no place in today's increasingly pluralistic society.
To call Lord Krishna 'satanic' is not only sacrilegious in the eyes of Hindus; it is also patently ridiculous as any student of Hinduism knows; for Krishna is famous as the slayer of demons, Bhagavad-Gita (4.7-8).
In contrast to the Russian Orthodox Church's stance, Hindus respect Jesus Christ, who is predicted in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures, as a specifically empowered personality.
"We respect all religions", said Bimal Krishna das, General Secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK) and the Russian Orthodox Church has nothing to fear from Hindus. "We think the Archbishop may gain some fresh insights into his own Christian faith by reading Krishna's words in the Bhagavad-Gita," he said.
UK Bureau
London, December 6, 2005
Hindus are shocked and outraged to read the views of the Russian Orthodox Church on Lord Krishna, who is revered by over one billion Hindus worldwide as the Supreme Lord, said an ISCKON press statement.
According to it, in a letter to the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, dated November 29, 2005, the Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak from the Russian Orthodox Church called Lord Krishna "an evil demon, the personified power of hell opposing God", and "a livid lascivious youth".
The Archbishop 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 (a satanic obscenity destined to be built right in the heart of the Orthodox Christian country of Russia) 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", said the Archbishops letter.
"The shower of offences that Archbishop Nikon decided to publicly pour on Lord Krishna caused us intolerable pain and evoked bitterness and indignation in our hearts," said Sanjeet K. Jha, the president of the Association of Indians in Russia.
Aside from displaying stunning ignorance of the world's oldest religion, it is also evident from the statement that the Russian Orthodox Church is still embedded in the dark ages of religious exclusivity, which has no place in today's increasingly pluralistic society.
To call Lord Krishna 'satanic' is not only sacrilegious in the eyes of Hindus; it is also patently ridiculous as any student of Hinduism knows; for Krishna is famous as the slayer of demons, Bhagavad-Gita (4.7-8).
In contrast to the Russian Orthodox Church's stance, Hindus respect Jesus Christ, who is predicted in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures, as a specifically empowered personality.
"We respect all religions", said Bimal Krishna das, General Secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK) and the Russian Orthodox Church has nothing to fear from Hindus. "We think the Archbishop may gain some fresh insights into his own Christian faith by reading Krishna's words in the Bhagavad-Gita," he said.
1 Comments:
My dear respected readers,
Today is a sad day in the history religion! For the Archbishop Nikon of Ufa and Sterlitamak from the Russian Orthodox Church has shown that he has no understanding of Hinduism (The Vedas) and no understanding of this statement of Jesus from Mark 9:40 "For he that is not against us is on our part." Also for he that is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9:49-50).
There is no question that the Hare Krishna movement and a large number of Hindus accept Jesus Christ (Isha in Hebrew), please review this quote from the founder of the Krishna movement, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
"In the Christian religion, Jesus Christ claimed to be the son of God and to be coming from the kingdom of God to reclaim conditioned souls. As followers of Bhagavad-gita, we admit this claim to be true. So basically there is no difference of opinion. In details there may be differences due to differences in culture, climate and people, but the basic principle remains the same-that is, God or His representatives come to reclaim conditioned souls."
(Raja Vidya Chapter 6 :Knowledge of Krsna's Appearance and Activities)
In fact, the Jewish and Hindu (Vedic) religions are saying the same thing. using almost the same language root. Their calendars are only about 300 years apart (after 5000 yrs) And, the most important name of God for every Jewish person is the name El KNA, Who every Hindu knows as Kana another name of Krsna. Of course Archbishop Nikon most likely does not know that in some parts of India Krishna is know by the name Krista and Kristen, there are many more variations and loving nicknames. To explain Jesus to a Hindu is really a simple matter when you understand the Vedas.
A detailed linguistic and philosophical comparison can be found on the internet at www.equalsouls.org and www.soultoosoul.com/blog I quote Dr. Nathan Katz from Florida International University, "Rather than postulate a common source, I might attribute these affinities either to historical borrowing indeed, there has been many more interactions between India and Judaic civilizations then is commonly supposed or to inherent similarities of the human mind." From Dr. Katz's review of "The Rabbi and I, Equality Based On The Soul"
I personally invite Archbishop Nikon to India to commence a dialogue.
Thank you and praying for God's mercy.
William Glick
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