Suhṛdaḥ. Su-hṛda means one who is actually wanting your welfare. That is called suhṛt. Just like father, mother. In spite of so many faults on the part of the son, still they are willing always, "How my sons will be happy." These are the examples of suhṛdaḥ. He's not ordinary friend. Ordinary friend, that is reciprocation: "If you do me, then I shall do to you. Otherwise not." But suhṛdaḥ means the other side does not do anything benefit, but one side is always willing. That is called suhṛdaḥ. Similarly, a mahātmā, he is not well received. He is criticized, insulted, sometimes injured. Still, he wants Just like Lord Jesus Christ. He was so badly treated and still he was thinking, "Father, they do not know what they are doing. Please excuse." This is suhṛdaḥ. He is praying to God This is sādhu, mahātmā. Suhṛdaḥ praśāntā. Not that... In India there are examples like Haridasa Ṭhākura, Prahlāda Mahārāja. And the Western countries also, Lord Jesus Christ, he is śaktyāveśa-avatāra, God's son. And he tolerated so much. These are the examples of mahātmā. Don't misunderstand that we are preaching that mahātmās are only in India. No. By the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there are mahātmās even amongst the birds, even amongst the beasts, even amongst the lower than animals. Because this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is going on in different places, in different circumstances. That is God's desire. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). So Kṛṣṇa wants this. Just like in your country there is welfare activities by the government. The welfare department is seeing that nobody is unhappy for want of money. Similarly, mahātmās, they are also in the welfare department of Kṛṣṇa. They are sent to different countries, different places, different species of life, so that the living entity may take advantage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Jesus Christ as saktyavesa-avatara
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So there are three incarnation of guṇāvatāra, then manvantarāvatāra. Manvantarāvatāra means... There is seventy-one yugas. One yuga means about 4,300,000's of years. Four million and 300,000's of years, that makes a complete yuga. Such seventy-one yuga is the duration of a Manu. That is called Man... And each Manu is also an incarnation, Manvantarāvatāra. And such Manu takes place, fourteen Manus take place, during one day of Brahma. So Manvantarāvatāra. Then yuga avatāra. Yuga avatāra... In each yuga, during that 4,300,000's of years, there are yuga avatāra. They are the incarnation. They come. They are called yugāvatāras. And then there is śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Śaktyāveśa-avatāra, they are counted just like Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ. They are counted amongst the śaktyāveśāvatāras. They are also incarnation of śaktyāveśāvatāra, powerful. In this way the Supreme Lord manifests all over the universes. There are innumerable universes, and some of His incarnation are working always.
(recites verse)
- śaktyāveśāvatāra kṛṣṇera asaṅkhya gaṇana
- dig-daraśana kari mukhya mukhya jana
Lord Caitanya says that incarnation of opulence... Śaktyāveśa avatāra means incarnation of opulence. We have analyzed the opulences of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So śaktyāveśa avatāra... An incarnation who represents a particular opulence of the Supreme Lord, he is called śaktyāveśa avatāra. So Lord Caitanya says that there are innumerable incarnations like that, of whom only the principal, I mean to say, principal incarnations, they are mentioned herein. And who are they?
- 'sanakādi', 'nārada', 'pṛthu', 'paraśurāma',
- jīva-rūpa 'brahmāra' āveśāvatāra-nāma
Jīva-rūpa 'brahmāra' āveśa. Brahma, the first creature of this universe, he's also considered as one of the śaktyāveśa avatāras.
Now, so far our experience is concerned, Lord Caitanya says there are innumerable. So how we can accept a avatāra, a śaktyāveśa avatāra, whose names are not mentioned herein? Then we have to... As in the beginning, Lord Caitanya says that by the symptoms we can understand that He is śaktyāveśa. By the symptoms and activities and influence. So what is that symptom? Symptom is that eternal and temporary. So avatāra, incarnation, comes to glorify the eternal existence of the Supreme Lord. So any avatāra, any incarnation, he comes to glorify that "There is spiritual kingdom, there is God, and I have come to reclaim you to back to Godhead, back to home." This is the symptom. So therefore, by that symptom, we accept Lord Jesus Christ as śaktyāveśa avatāra, or Hazrat Muhammad, he's also. Because these two religious leaders of the world, they preached about the glorification of the Supreme Lord. And they sacrificed everything for preaching the glories of the Lord. Therefore... And their influence and their followers, there are... These are the symptoms by which we can understand that Jesus Christ and Hazrat Muhammad was, were śaktyāveśa avatāras.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Just like the Christians said: Jesus Christ, God. And how God can be killed by crucification? We do not discuss this point, but actually this is the fact. He was empowered man, that we can understand. But we cannot accept him God. In our history, God is never killed. God kills others. That we have got evidence. And ordinary men, they took him, and crucified, and nobody, other, of the opposite party was killed. So that makes a little difference. So far son of God, that we accept. Everyone is son of God. We accept him śaktyāveśa avatāra, a living entity especially powered from God. That we can accept. So son of God we can accept. That is another thing. And where is the evidence in the śāstras that God was killed? Big, big giant, God fought them and killed them. Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa. Very, very great giant and demon. God was never killed by them. Is it not? Yes. Prahlāda Mahārāja said that: "What is this material power. My father was so materially strong. Even demigods and Indra, Candra, they were afraid. And He killed him within a moment. So what is the use of this material power?" And the God could not kill these crucifiers? As soon as they attempted to kill, there would have, He has, would have fought. He had to show some power. And they say that he agreed to take all our sin, and he crucified. Is it not? They say?
Haṁsadūta: Yes, this is the idea.
Prabhupāda: So God could not... Kṛṣṇa says: ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo... (BG 18.66). That God can, without dying Himself, He can immediately and, I mean to say, vanquish all sinful action. Why He should be killed for that purpose? Just like the Pūtanā gave Kṛṣṇa poison. But Pūtanā was killed. And Kṛṣṇa was never ki... Kṛṣṇa cannot be killed by poison. Even Kṛṣṇa's devotees are not killed by poison. Prahlāda Mahārāja. If we discuss in detail, we create animosities. Therefore we do not discuss because Christian religion is followed by large number. We do not wish to make... We say yes. He says: "Son of God." We accept it. That's all. To accept a person God, that requires great evidences from śāstra. Especially. And when he's present, He will prove the statement of the śāstra. Then we accept Caitanya Mahāprabhu, God. There are evidences... (break) You see. We don't allow anybody to pass on as God because we are presenting real God. We must make process.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Acyutānanda: In the last part of Kṛṣṇa Book, Mahā-Viṣṇu says that Arjuna is of the capacity of Nara-nārāyaṇa. So they are avatāras also.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Acyutānanda: But as Arjuna he acts as an ordinary jīva?
Prabhupāda: Yes, there are different types of śaktyāveṣa avatāra. So when an ordinary jīva is specially empowered, he is called śaktya aveṣa avatāra, śatktyaveṣa avatāra, vibhūti. Yad yad vibhūtimat sattvam. He is living entity, but especially empowered. Just like for certain business I give sometimes somebody power of attorney, that "He will do this. He will sign for me." Like that. He is also one of the disciples, but for particular purpose, he is given the power of attorney. In this way when a living entity is empowered specifically to do something, that is called śaktyāveṣa avatāra. Aveṣa avatāra. Kṛṣṇa śakti vinā nāhe nāma pracāra. That is explained in the... These are explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. (break) ...śaktya. Mama tejo-'ṁśa-sambhavam. So śaktyāveṣa avatāra is not viṣṇu-tattva. He is jīva-tattva. So the Lord Jesus Christ or Lord Buddha, they come within the jīva-tattva especial power.
Bhāgavata: They are śaktyāveṣa avatāras.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Buddha is śaktyāveśa-avatāra. We accept Lord Jesus Christ also, śaktyāveśa-avatāra; Mohammed, śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Śaktyāveśa-avatāra means a living entity especially empowered and he preaches the philosophy on behalf... That is called śaktyāveśa-avatāra. There are different types of avatāras. Guṇāvatāra, manvantarāvatāra, yugāvatāra, līlāvatāra, śaktyāveśāvatāra, like that. They are described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. About avatāras. You find out Teachings of Lord Caitanya, avatāras. Innumerable avatāras. Come here. Find out this chapter. Avatāra saṅkhyeyaḥ. It is compared, just like in the river, the waves are flowing. You cannot count, or in the... What is that? Avatāra. Read, read that chapter.
Nitāi: "Lord Caitanya continued: The expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa who come to the material creation are called avatāras, or incarnations. Avatāra means one who descends from the higher spiritual sky. In the spiritual sky there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets, and from such a planet, the expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes to this universe, and therefore He is called avatāra. Avatāra means to descend.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: One Christian boy inquired. Have you got the copy? Bring. (pause) We shall go on playing govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam aham. People may hear or not hear. We don't mind.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: To Mr. Francois Pierre. "My dear Francois." He's in France. "Please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you for your letter dated March 17th. Try to understand our mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The world is all going to hell. They do not know what is the value of life. Like blind sheep following a blind leader, they are all going to the slaughterhouse. Human life is meant for saving, but instead the leaders are keeping the people in darkness. This is suicidal. Let us try to save them. Christian, Hindu, or Muslim, it doesn't matter. One must have faith in God. But if one does not know what is God, then what is the question of religion? This sectarian view has caused havoc in the world. Our real business is to know God and one's relationship with God. Do you know what is God? The answers to your questions are as follows: 1) Yes, the message of Jesus is universally applicable. Why not? Jesus says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' This is applicable to all. But all Christians are violating this law. So where is a Christian? In my opinion there is not a single Christian. Do they follow all ten commandments? 2) We accept Jesus Christ as śaktyāveśa-avatāra, an empowered incarnation of God. 3) The Bible should be accepted literally and not symbolically. There is no symbolical meaning of the sacrifice on the cross. The people were so rascal. They attempted to kill him because he was speaking of God. We can understand the position of that society. He had to deal with such rascals. He preached 'Thou shalt not kill,' and they killed him. The argument that Jesus died to redeem us of sins is simply another sinful argument. That Jesus has taken contract to redeem your sins is simply a plea of the sinners. They continue sinning and expect Christ to take the contract to freedom. It is most sinful. Instead of actually stopping sins, they contract with Jesus Christ. These people should be immediately hanged. That way our..., they say, 'That way our religion is very good. We cannot stop sinning, but it is okay because Christ has taken contract to save us.' It is the same as saying 'I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa now. I can do any nonsense.' That is known as nāma-aparādha, offenses to the holy name of the Lord. 4) Regarding Christ coming again, for the time being, you follow his instructions. Then if he comes it will be all right. Regarding the position of our movement if Christ were to come again, that we shall see when he comes. 'The end of the world' means that the world will be devastated. Just like you have a body and it will be finished, similarly the whole world body will be devastated. Creation, maintenance and annihilation. Naśa in Sanskrit means devastated. 5) There is no difference between a pure Christian and a sincere devotee of Kṛṣṇa. 6) Everything is accurately described in the Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa. Love of God means God's mercy. If God is pleased, He will do anything. The pleasure of God can be awarded by God. In Sanskrit it is described kṛpā-siddhi, perfection out of mercy. One must follow the four regulative principles—no eating meat, fish or eggs; no intoxication; no gambling; and no illicit sex life. Repent of all sinful activities and depend on Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Hoping this meets you well, your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami."
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Frankly, though, we can see by Christianity that some defect is there. Either it's probably not there on the part of Jesus. He could have given them a way to purify themself, but they...
Prabhupāda: One chance, that "You have accepted me, I take your all sinful reactions." But these rascals continue.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: His point was that "Now you must continue to follow my instructions."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Otherwise why ten commandments? And these rascals took it that "I shall not follow any of you. You take our sinful reaction. It is very good religion."
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And therefore they say no one is more merciful than Jesus.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Even if... We are doing anything, but he still forgives us.
Prabhupāda: This is going on. Therefore according to history, he retired. That is resurrection. He went to Kashmir. "It is hopeless."
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He didn't die on the cross.
Prabhupāda: It is not possible to kill him. Such a great personality, representative of God, he is not killed. That is not possible.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Simply by putting some wounds.
Prabhupāda: He made a show that "I am killed." That is resurrection. And when you finished your business, then he will go (indistinct).
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, they say that when he got down they rubbed his body with oils.
Prabhupāda: He was a great yogi and so on.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You remember in that book you were reading, The Aquarian Gospel. It mentioned how he learned yoga when he came to India.
Prabhupāda: We admit. Guru Mahārāja said śaktyāveśa-avatāra, powerful incarnation. Therefore whenever there was question of Jesus, I never disrespected Jesus. Never criticized him, because I know that he is powerful representative of God. We took it from Guru Mahārāja.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Your Guru Mahārāja would sometimes...
Prabhupāda: He said that Christ is śaktyāveśa-avatāra, as Buddha. How he can be otherwise? He sacrificed everything for God. He cannot be ordinary man.
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
Yes, Lord Jesus was jivatattva. He is not Visnu tattva. When a jiva tattva becomes specifically empowered by the Lord, he is called saktyavesa avatara. Lord Buddha and Lord Jesus Christ were in this group of saktyavesa avatara.. But they were not in conditioned state when they appeared; they came to teach here.
1969 Correspondence
Regarding your question about Lord Jesus Christ, we accept him as saktyavesa avatara. Lord Buddha is in the same category also. Lord Buddha is mentioned specifically in Srimad-Bhagavatam as incarnation of Godhead, and yet Vaisnavas do not accept his philosophy, which is classified as atheism. Similarly, even if we accept Lord Jesus Christ as saktyavesa avatara., it doesn't mean that we have to accept his philosophy. But we have all respects for him without fail.
1970 Correspondence
Lord Jesus Christ is a saktyavesa avatara, an empowered living entity or jiva. In order to attain such a position one must be pure, so in this sense Lord Jesus Christ was a pure devotee. Of course, humanitarianism is not a sign of the pure devotee, but unless he did like that no one would hear him. So Lord Jesus Christ was acting a part suitable for the particular circumstances.
| Page Title: | Jesus Christ as saktyavesa-avatara |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika |
| Created: | 03 of Sep, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=3, Con=5, Let=3 |
| No. of Quotes: | 11 |