What Attracts Me to Kṛṣṅa?
An answer to the question: “Why is a good Christian like you worshiping a Hindu god?”
by Raṅacora Dāsa
People often ask me why I changed my faith from Christianity to worship of Kṛṣṅa. They ask what made me give up Christianity. I am always quick to answer that I never “gave up” Christianity. The principal instruction Jesus gave was to love God, and I believe I can best do that by worshiping and serving Kṛṣṅa.
What is it that makes Kṛṣṅa more attractive or meaningful to me than the God of the Bible? Well, first of all, as a devotee of Kṛṣṅa I believe in only one God. and He is the same Supreme Person whether He appears in the Vedic scriptures of India or the Bible of the West, although He may be known by different names. So by worshiping Kṛṣṅa I don’t reject the God of the Bible: I simply get to know Him from a different perspective.
The Vedas teach that God appears many times in this world in different places and different ages. Each time He comes for the same reason: to reveal Himself to His lost children and to lead them back onto the right path.
When Kṛṣṅa came into this world five thousand years ago, in northern India, He showed the symptoms of God Himself. Kṛṣṅa performed many supernatural feats and displayed many facets of His character, but He is best remembered for His childhood, as the darling son of Yaśodā, playing in the forest of Vṛndāvana with His friends.
I sometimes hear, “How can God be a cowherd boy playing in the forest?” But why not? Why should He be an old man in the clouds, as He is so often depicted in Western religious art. Can’t He be an innocent and playful child?
In fact, isn’t it logical to suppose that God, being eternal, without beginning or end, never gets old.
Of course, we have to get old, because we are bound by the laws of birth and death. But not Kṛṣṅa—He is the one who made the laws, and He is not bound by them. When Kṛṣṅa was on earth, He never appeared to age beyond youth, although he lived here for 125 years.
Kṛṣṅa played in the forest as a child, surrounded by His devoted childhood friends. But He was not an ordinary child, and they were not ordinary friends. The Vedic scriptures say that only after many lifetimes of pious acts did those souls get a chance to play with Kṛṣṅa as children.
Once, Kṛṣṅa’s friends complained to His mother that He had been eating clay. Kṛṣṅa denied the story, and so His mother asked Him to open His mouth. When Kṛṣṅa obeyed, Yaśodā saw the entire creation within it She saw the elements of earth, water, fire, and air, as well as all living creatures and the rest of creation. She even saw herself with her son on her lap.
Seeing all these things, she became bewildered and confused and began to wonder who she really was and if Kṛṣṅa were actually her child. But then Kṛṣṅa, feeling sorry for her, closed His mouth, and she once more became overwhelmed with love for her beautiful son and forgot what she had seen. Yaśodā took Kṛṣṅa on her lap and began to feed Him just like an ordinary boy, convinced through love that He was actually her son and was dependent upon her for protection.
Who can fail to be attracted by the wonderful stories of Kṛṣṅa? Indeed, the name Kṛṣṅa means “all-attractive.” He attracts everyone to Him, and He is easy to love. Later, when Kṛṣṅa spoke the famous Bhagavad-gītā, the essence of the Vedic scriptures. He made a special promise: anyone who becomes His devotee, surrendering his life fully to Him as His servant, will always be protected by Him. “Do not fear.” Kṛṣṅa said. “I will free you from all your sins, and you will come to live with Me eternally.”