quote:
Originally posted by Anahat
For those of you who are learned in the gita, srimad bhagavattam, and any other reputable Vedic texts, is Krishna really the supreme personality of god? Do the vedas infact sum this up as truth or is it a grounds for a fundamentalist tactic? I know that sounds harsh but kinda losing it right now over this. please help anyone who has studied these texts, even prabupads renditions. thank you
Hi Anahat,
In short, yes and no.
Firstly, the Vedas do not extol any one personality to be supreme. Krishna avatar is downstream to the Vedas. The Vedas have no mention of "Krishna" per se. Lord Vishnu (whose avatar Krishna is) is himself mentioned almost in passing in the older Vedas, where the emphasis in primarily on nature. Therefore there is more frequent mention of Indra (God of thunder/rain), Varuna (God of water), Agni (God of fire), etc. Recently, I explained a bit about the construct of the Vedas
here, if you are interested.
The business of "supreme personality" is not from the Vedas, but the Puranas. The Puranas are different, consisting of teachings in the form of stories, centered around a particular Supreme being. In the Bhagavata Purana (or Srimad Bhagavatam as it is known), Lord Vishnu reigns supreme - he is the origin of all. In the Shiva Purana, it is Lord Shiva. In the Devi Purana, She is "Adi", the primordial being, Brahman/Ishwara. And so on..
The terms "Krishna Consciousness" and "Supreme Personality of Godhead" were coined by Prabhupada, in an effort to re-vitalise what is known as Vaishnavism (followers of Lord Vishnu). And I agree, it can appear cult-ish.
In essence, Krishna = Shiva = Devi = Christ = Allah = Ishwara, i.e., the Self that is within. Thus,
whoever your Ishta is, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead - for you.
Hope this helps a bit.