Mr. Peter Awn, Mr. James Frankel
Colloquium F2001x
Assignment #7
Around the first century AD, both Hinduism and Judaism underwent movements towards devotional traditions that were accompanied by the appearance and teachings of an anthropomorphic representation of God. In the Hindu religion, this change is primarily reflected in the revelation of Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita, while in the Jewish religion this change is brought about by the appearance of Jesus in the New Testament Gospels. There are many similarities but also some differences in the teachings and characteristics of Krishna and Jesus.
The most fundamental similarity that the Bhagavad-Gita and the Gospel of John share is their approach to salvation. While earlier religious thought had emphasized philosophical ideals such as ritual purity, performing one’s sacred duty, and cultivating a life without action, these newer texts both offer a path to salvation through devotion to a single deity. Jesus, in particular, emphasizes the supreme importance of belief: “‘Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God’” (John 3:18). “‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live’” (John 11:25). Krishna says almost the same thing to Arjuna: “A man who dies remembering me at the time of death enters my being when he is freed from his body” (Gita 8.5). Jesus also says that he is the only path to salvation: “‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6). This too appears in a similar fashion in the Gita: “Without faith in sacred duty men fail to reach me” (Gita 9.3), but “men who worship me … win the reward I secure” (Gita 9.22).
In both teachings, there is also an emphasis on the importance of man’s spiritual self over his physical body. Jesus tells his disciples that “‘it is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless’” (John 6:63). Therefore, they should “‘not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give [them]’” (John 6:27). Krishna likewise tells Arjuna that there are two aspects to man, one transient and one eternal, and that Krishna is the eternal aspect, “the supreme spirit of man … the immutable lord who enters and sustains [man]” (Gita 15.16-15.17). Both teachers also stress the importance of the spiritual aspect of man. Jesus says, “‘No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit’” (John 3:5). And Krishna says, “One who serves me faithfully with discipline of devotion, transcends the qualities of nature and shares in the infinite spirit” (Gita 14.26).
An important difference between the two texts is the position of Krishna and the position of Jesus in the cosmic hierarchy. The Bhagavad-Gita makes clear that Krishna is “the original creator … eternity, being, nonbeing, and beyond … [he is] the original god, the primordial spirit of man, the supreme abode” (Gita 11.37-11.38). Krishna tells Arjuna plainly: “Nothing is higher than I am” (Gita 7.7), for “I am the universal father, mother, granter of all … I am the way, sustainer, lord, witness, shelter, refuge, friend … I am immortality and death” (Gita 9.17-9.19). The role of Jesus is much more ambiguous, and the Gospels are full of apparent contradictions that Christians have argued about for centuries. On one hand, Jesus refers to himself as a messenger of God: “‘I did not come on my own, but he sent me,’” (John 8:42) “‘I do nothing on my own’” (John 8:28), and “‘my teaching is not mine but his who sent me’” (John 7:16). On the other hand, he links himself very closely to God and alludes to his own divinity by saying, “‘The Father and I are one’” (John 10:30). He also claims, “‘I am from above … I am not of this world’” (John 8:23). John begins his Gospel by arguing that Jesus has always existed and is equivalent to, or has equal status with, God (John 1:1); however, he later admits that “no one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (John 1:18). This raises the very complicated issue of whether Jesus and God are distinct (but still equal?), and what it means for God to have a son. John argues that since Jesus called God his own Father, he was thereby making himself equal to God (John 5:18).
Both Jesus and Krishna give social instructions, though Jesus’s are concerned with love and forgiveness while Krishna’s are primarily concerned with fulfilling one’s dharma (Gita 11.32). Jesus says, “‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another’” (John 13:34). Krishna gives Arjuna a similar message: “One who bears hate for no creature is friendly, compassionate, unselfish … devoted to me, he is dear to me” (Gita 12.13-12.14). However, one thing that seems to be unique in Jesus’s message is the emphasis on forgiveness: “‘If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:23). This seems to endow Christians with an unusual ability as well as a mandate that seems uncommon in other religions.