Is Krishna Good???

The Hari Krishna sect of Hinduism was founded by Bhaktivedanta (1896-1977), though he claimed it came from classical Hinduism. Since many people wonder about Hari Krishnas and about the Krishna they worship, here are some things you might want to know about Krishna.

Krishna is known as the Cosmic Lover. According to traditions Hindus believe, Krishna was irresistible with women. He could even cause married women to leave their meals and the husbands and tryst with him. Women from all over would come just to give him themselves.

If you had a daughter, would you let her adore Krishna as the legends tell both the unmarried and married women did?

If someone followed Krishna's example, would you deplore immorality in humans that is OK for Krishna's partners?

Besides his many one-night stands, Krishna was said to have 16,000 wives and 180,000 sons. How would you think Krishna's wives felt when he would have an adulterous affair? [See documentation at the end]

No one can deny Krishna had a sense of humor. Sometimes when women were bathing in the river, he would steal their clothes, and they would have to beg him to give their clothes back. If you were a judge in a court of law and somebody came before you who did that, what punishment would you give?

In the Bhagavad-Gita, or "Lord's Song", Krishna counsels Arjuna why it is good he and his brothers go to war to kill their own cousins to rule their land. According to the translation The Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, here is exactly what he said.

"O descendant of Bharata [Arjuna] he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being. Considering your specific duty as a ksatriya [warrior class], you should know that there is no better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is no need for hesitation. O Partha, happy are the ksatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets. If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your reputation as a fighter. People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person, dishonor is worse than death. The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you insignificant. Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What could be more painful for you? O sun of Kunti [Arjuna], either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore, get up with determination and fight." Bhagavad-Gita As It Is 2.30-37 p.114-121.

In short, Arjuna is supposed to fight and kill his cousins who usurped the throne, and even kill those whose rightful duty is to fight on the other side because:

1) Souls cannot be slain, so do not grieve.

2) There is nothing better for a warrior than fighting for religious principles.

3) If you do not fight, you will neglect your duties.

4) People will speak ill of you, and think you insignificant for being a coward.

5) Nothing could be more painful than others scorn for you.

6) You will either enjoy the fruits of your conquest, and be rewarded after death for being killed while trying to kill others.

Some see this as cold-blooded. Notice that these six reasons can justify fighting in any and every battle, so long as you have a religious priest or demi-god saying warriors must not neglect their duty of killing.

A reason Krishna gave not to mourn was because no immortal soul ever really dies. This would seem to that we should not mourn any murder, as long as it is done out of duty for religious principles.

At the end of the Mahabharata, Arjuna's wicked cousins are feasting in heaven, because they fulfilled their dharma (duty) and did what they were supposed to do in fighting their cousins. Arjuna's ally and brother, Yudhisthira was in hell, because he resisted the system and questioned his duty in fighting his cousins. Should we ever resist the system because it is evil, or should we always follow a system because we are told to without questioning?

If all, even classes and tests are illusion, then why study? In fact, why work hard at anything?

If all the universe is illusion, then is the love and friendship others have for you illusion too? What a lonely thought.

If everything is illusion, then I suppose this tract is just illusion, and it does not matter whether others read it or not, since in the end, nothing matters.

Hari Krishnas claim that Krishna and Jesus Christ are the same. So Hari Krishnas should at least claim to believe what Jesus and the Bible say.


The Truth, the (One) Way, and the Life

This universe matters very much to God, and He cares very much for us. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life."

Jesus' apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him (God) because he cares for you."


Only One Way

After John 3:16, Jesus goes on to say, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (John 3:17-18)

According to Jesus, the truth, the ultimate reality, is Him and nobody else. John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me.'"

Jesus' apostle Peter said in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for their is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

In John 8:23-24. Jesus told the Pharisees, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins' if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."


No Reincarnation

Heb 9:27 says, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."


Meaning in Life

Perhaps you feel that the meaning in life in general, or perhaps your life in particular is a meaningless illusion. It need not be. We are so precious to God that the precious blood of Jesus was shed for us (1 Pet 1:19). In John 10:10 Jesus says He came "that we might have life, and have it to the full."

Romans 10:9-10 tells how to be saved. "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

So make Jesus your Lord, and make sure your Jesus is the real Jesus. 2 Cor 11:3 warns, "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

If you would like more information, or if you would like to know the real Jesus, talk with Christians in A.C.C.C.F. or other Bible-believing Christian groups.


Documentation


One person claimed it might be hate speech to say that Hinduism taught that Krishna was adulterous. As a response, I am against hate speech myself. I have no hatred of Hindus; my personal friends who are Hindus would tell you the same. Rather than hating them or wanting to see them harmed, I love Hindu people, and not only want good things for them, but the very best thing: that they would find the true God and go to Heaven. I apologize if my criticizing what is wrong in Hinduism has been misconstrued by anyone as hating Hindu people, but you can criticize an idea and still love people trapped by that idea. If someone were to insist that repeating the accepted fact that legends of Krishna tell of his romantic escapades outside of marriage, then my sources, including Time-Life Books and the Encyclopaedia Britannica, as well as artwork by Hindus themselves, would have to be called hate speech too.

Historic India by Lucille Schulberg and the editors of Time-Life Books p.115 says of Krishna "As a youth he is irrestible; he courts and wins the love of countless peasant girls. Later he turns solemn and goes to war-and fulfills the prophecy of the seers by killing the king. He marries more than 16,000 wives, who bear him 180,000 sons." p.123 says, "girls, in turn, revered him as a passionate lover."

Ibid on p.132 says, "Krishna, in addition to all his other attributes, was a man women could not resist. When he played his flute at night, ladies - even respectable married ones - felt helplessly drawn to his side. 'Some ran off in the middle of their dinner,' one Indian chronicler wrote, 'others while bathing and others while engaged in plaiting their hair.' Once his admirers had joined him, Krishna would sport with them by moonlight in a forest river (right), lead them in dances and make love to them. Krishna's love-making was interpreted by Hindus as something far more significant than mere pleasure-seeking. The tales of women abandoning their families to run after him served as poetic expressions of the soul's quest for a union with divinity." The picture across from the text is an archaic drawing of Krishna embracing two immodestly partially-dressed women with 18 other topless women (and no other men) close by. The credits at the end of the book on p.185 say the picture is called "The Water Sports of Krishna," Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanesi (Raghubir Singh form Nancy Palmer Agency). For more evidence of Krishna's amorous ways, The Encyclopaedia Britannica 1971 vol.13 p.491 says, "The cowherd Krishna became widely renouned as a lover and for the ecstatic delight with which the milkmaids, among them his sweetheart, Radha, followed the sound of his flute."

The Encyclopaedia Britannica 1956 vol.13 p.503 says that the better side of the Krishna cult owed much to Chaitanya, a Vaishnava reformer of Bengal, and "its worse to Vallabha, who founded the notorious sect of the Vallabhacharyas of Guzerat and Rajputana.". It also mentions Krishna's "dallies with Goipis or cowherds' daughters."

For a list of references to Krishna as divine love, look at http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Religions/Avatars/Krishna_biblio.html (5/2007) The following is from: http://www.dollsofindia.com/radhakrishna.htm (3 May 2007)

Radha is recognized as the loveliest of all the cowgirls. She was the wife of Ayana and the daughter of the cowherd Vrishabhanu and his wife, Kamalavati. Radha was a childhood friend and soulmate of Krishna and the two were inseparable as playmates and later as lovers. Theirs was a love hidden from society, given Radha's status of a married woman. They had their moments of love, passion and anger - just like any two lovers in love and yet their love could not stand the test of duty that Krishna had to face. He had to leave Vrindavan, and Radha, to ensure that the ideals of truth and justice were established but in the process had to let down the ideal of personal love. He became a king, defeated innumerable enemies and even married a number of times. And yet it is said Radha kept waiting for him to come back to her. Her love for Krishna is considered so divine and so pure that Radha herself obtained the status of a deity, with her name being inseparably linked to that of Krishna. Most of Krishna's images are considered complete when Radha stands by his side. The word Radha means the greatest worshiper of Krishna. No other gopi in Vrindavana has such a significant name as Sri Radha. Of course, all the Braja gopis love and give pleasure to Krishna. However, compared to Radhika's ocean of love for Krishna, the other gopis are merely pools, ponds and rivers. As the ocean is the original source of all the water found in lakes and rivers, similarly the love found in the gopis, and in all the other devotees has its origin in Sri Radha alone. Since Radha's love is the greatest, she gives the greatest pleasure to Krishna. 'Krishna enchants the whole world, but Srimati Radhika enchants even Him. Therefore, Radha is the Supreme Goddess.' In Vrindavana, people are accustomed to chant Radha's name more than Krishna's name. Radha's love for Krishna is all consuming and compels her to ignore her family honor and disregard her husband. Radha serves as a symbol for all of the Gopi girls' love for Krishna. Their relationship develops on Krishna's captivating charm and aura of passion as Radha falls into a state of desire for this God. Radha is the soul; Krishna is the God. Krishna is the shaktiman - possessor of energy - and Radha is His shakti - energy. She is the female counterpart of the Godhead. She is the personification of the highest love of God, and by her mercy the soul is connected with the service and love of Krishna. The relationship between Radha and Krishna is the example of the highest and purest love, an indissoluble union of the highest intermingling and completion; it is also a love expressed through music. Music underlines the illicit relationship; this love shadowed by secrecy, adultery and scorn, finds its outlet in Krishna's charming and passionate musical talents. Radha is married or involved with someone else, and still cannot resist Krishna's musical call. In being with Him she risks social censure, alienation and humiliation. Riddled with shame and inappropriateness, this is hardly a relationship that purportedly embodies the highest union of pure love. Music becomes the voice of their illicit love which is too passionate, and secretive. Krishna is the cosmic musician who woos the gopi's (cowherd girls) with his tunes. Krishna's flute sounds so powerful that they embodied the energy of the cosmos. His beauty, charm and musical skill impassion women everywhere; at the sound of his flute playing, the gopis "jump up in the middle of putting on her makeup, abandon her family while eating a meal, leave food to burn on the stove, and run out of her home to be with Krishna". In the embrace of Krishna, the gopis, maddened with desire, found refuge; in their love dalliance with him who was the master in all the sixty-four arts of love, the gopis felt a thrill indescribable; and in making love with him in that climatic moment of release, in that one binding moment, they felt that joy and fulfillment which could not but be an aspect of the divine. Through their experience, thus, the erotic the carnal and the profane became but an aspect of the sublime, the spiritual and the divine. This cumulative myth sustained one basic point: for women, Krishna was a personal god, always accessible and unfailingly responsive. He was a god specially made for women. In the popular psyche, Krishna and Radha became the universal symbol for the lover and the beloved. Krishna was the ideal hero, and Radha the ideal heroine. This is the tie that binds Him and Radha; erotic musical passion overrides the social and female responsibilities Radha is tied to and she relinquishes herself to her adulterous, but passionate affair with Krishna.

The parts in bold were not in the original in regular tupe; I made them bold to highlight the relevant points.

See also See also the web site an Indian academician, Dr. Alka Pande, http://www.alkapande.com/Intro_paper.htm.

For more info please contact Christian Debater™ P.O. Box 144441 Austin, TX 78714 www.BibleQuery.org


 December 2016 version. 


by Steven M. Morrison, PhD.