"....This Krsna consciousness movement is not Hinduism. It is Vaisnavism. Vaisnava means Visnu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and one who loves Visnu or loves God, he is Vaisnava. So Hinduism is not like that. Present conception of Hinduism, they have got so many demigods. Demigods are there in the Vedas, but demigod worshipers, they are all materialistic persons. ....We are not teaching Hinduism, Muslimism, Christianism. We are teaching how to love God. That's all. There is no question of proselytization. It is the natural. We are, by nature we are lover of God. Just like father and son. The love is already there. It cannot be extinguished. The father and son may be separated for many, many years, but when they come together the affection immediately revives. So we are teaching that, that we have got eternal relationship with God and revive it. We are embarassed by establishing artificial relationship with my family, country, and society, and so-called religions. These are all artificial. Real relationship, that "God is great and I am His servant," that is real religion. So we are teaching that thing."
Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 06-28-76, New Vrindaban
"...The highest principle of any religion is there in Vaisnavites, or the followers of Krsna consciousness. Any best thing, in any religion, you will find in Krsna consciousness. Therefore it is perfect. Buddha religion teaches ahimsa; the Krsna conscious people are ahimsa. Lord Jesus teaches love of God; they are the best lover of God. And Hindu religion teaches liberation; ....As soon as they become Krsna conscious, immediately they are liberated, immediately, instantly. There is no question of asking for liberation."
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam, 12-22-70, Surat
"...Religion means searching after God, every religion. The process may be different. The audience may be different. Just like in Christianity there is conception of God, "God created this world." So this is a fact. We also say. But we say in very lucid explanation from the Vedas. We don't stop, simply saying, "God created," but how created, how things developed, these descriptions are there in the Vedic literature. That is the difference. Otherwise there is no difference of opinion. The Christians accept God created this world; the Jewish religion, they also accept God created this world; the Muslims they also accept God created this world; we also accept God created this world. So "God is the supreme; God is great," that is accepted by everyone. But the only difference is that we give details so that modern mind, who are advanced in education and scientific knowledge, they can understand, whereas others, they cannot give in detail. Therefore they are deviating gradually because the modern, advanced, educated persons they want to know how God created this world, and that description is lacking. But we can give that. That is the difference. Otherwise the primary principle, to understand God--God is great; we are small, tiny; we are subordinate; we are maintained by God--this idea is everywhere."
Srila Prabhupada Lecture, 02-01-68, Los Angeles
"Bhakti-yoga means connecting ourselves with Krsna, God, and becoming His eternal associates. Bhakti-yoga cannot be applied to any other objective; therefore in Buddhism, for instance, there is no bhakti-yoga, because they do not recognize the Supreme Lord existing as the supreme objective. Christians, however, practice bhakti-yoga when they worship Jesus Christ, because they are accepting him as the son of God and are therefore accepting God. Unless one accepts God, there is no question of bhakti-yoga. Christianity, therefore, is also a form of Vaisnavism, because God is recognized. Nonetheless, there are different stages of God realization. Mainly, Christianity says, "God is great," and that is a very good assertion, but the actual greatness of God can be understood from Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Accepting the greatness of God is the beginning of bhakti. Bhakti-yoga also exists among the Muhammadans, because God is the target in the Muslim religion. However, where there is no recognition of a personal God--in other words, where there is only impersonalism--there is no question of bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga must include three items: the servitor, the served, and service. One must be present to accept service, and one must be present to render service. The via media is the process of service itself, bhakti-yoga. Now, if there is no one to accept that service, how is bhakti-yoga possible? Therefore, if a philosophy or religion does not accept God as the Supreme Person, there is no possibility of bhakti-yoga being applied."
Path of Perfection, Chapter 8
"Real civilization is not concerned simply with man's animal needs but with enabling man to understand his relationship with God, the supreme father. One may learn about his relationship with God by any process-through Christianity, through the Vedic literatures or through the Koran--but in any case it must be learned. The purpose of this Krsna consciousness movement is not to make Christians into Hindus or Hindus into Christians but to inform everyone that the duty of a human being is to understand his relationship with God. One must learn this, otherwise he is simply wasting his time by engaging in animalistic propensities. We must all try to love Krsna or God. If one has a process, he should practice it, or he can come and learn this process. One should not begrudge the selection of one process over another. Visad apy amrtam grahyam amedhyad api kancanam. nicad apy uttamam vidyam stri-ratnam duskulad api (Niti-darpana 1.16). Canakya Pandita says that one must catch what is right from any source. If there is a glass of poison with some nectar in it, he says, one should take out the nectar and leave the poison. In the same way, if one finds gold in a filthy place, he should take it. similarly, although according to the Vedic system of education one must be given instruction by intellectual persons like brahmanas, if someone lower on the social scale has learned the truth, one should accept him as a teacher and learn from him. One should not think that just because one is lowly born he should not be accepted as a teacher.
Similarly, if one is serious about understanding God, he should not think, "I am Christian," "I am Hindu," or "I am Muslim." If one is serious about understanding love of God, he should consider which process is practical. One should not think, "Why should I follow Hindu or Vedic scriptures?" The purpose of following the Vedic scriptures is to develop love of God. When students come to America for a higher education, they do not consider the fact that the teachers may be American, German or of other nationalities. If one wants a higher education, he simply comes and takes it. Similarly, if there is an effective process for understanding and approaching God, like this Krsna consciousness process, one should take it."
Matchless Gift, Chapter 6
"So-called followers of Vedic principles simply accept the Vedas formally, but they act against Vedic principles. This is symptomatic of this Age of Kali. People claim to follow a certain type of religion, saying formally, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am this or that," but actually no one follows the principles enunciated in religious scriptures. This is the disease of this age. But the merciful Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has simply advised us to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam. The Lord can deliver anyone and everyone, even though one may have fallen from the injunctions of revealed scriptures. This is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's special mercy. Consequently He is known as patita-pavana, the deliverer of all fallen souls."
Caitanya-caritamrta, Madyam lila 8:38
"Western culture is monotheistic, but Westerners are being misled by impersonal Indian speculation. The young people of the West are frustrated because they are not diligently taught about monotheism. They are not satisfied with this process of teaching and understanding. The Krsna consciousness movement is a boon to them, because they are being really trained to understand Western monotheism under the authoritative Vedic system. We do not simply theoretically discuss; rather, we learn by the prescribed method of Vedic regulations."
01-30-70 Letter to Professor J.F. Staal
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.
