Jayapataka Swami: You see my mother was a Christian and very active in a Church. But she came when I told her I had found my guru, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. And that I wanted to follow him. And then she said, why don’t you be a Christian priest? I told her that I have found my guru and I want to be taught by someone who knows the science. And she said, why don’t you do that when you are old? I said, how long do I have to live? Ha! She started crying! No mother and father want to think how long their child will live! Then how can I say how long I would live, I said. I have to take this chance now! So then she started chanting four rounds. And she started staying in an apartment near our temple in New Orleans, USA. So practically I have also a devotee who is a Christian nun and I told her that she can chant the name of Lord Jesus. She was chanting, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Christ, Christ, Jesus Jesus! She thought it is almost like the Sanskrit, why don’t I try the Sanskrit? So she started chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare! Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare! and she realized it was the same like chanting the name of Jesus. But Hare Krsna was more powerful! Christians say, Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Who is the Father? We say the Father is Krsna. He has unlimited names. And then my mother saw in the Bible, St. Johns, that Jesus said, I have many flocks and you are one of them, but there are many others, they don’t look like you. So you can also say that we are one of the flocks of Lord Jesus. You try the process and see if that process works for you. If it does, then very good! We are not saying anything negative. You just chant Hare Krsna if it works! Practice bhakti yoga and see if it works! Lord Jesus said, first commandment is love God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. I didn’t do that before I came to Krsna consciousness! I loved other things! Ha! We cannot talk about! After coming to Krsna consciousness, I learnt to love Krsna! So, hope that you will be successful in practicing bhakti yoga.
17-MAY-2020 SRI MAYAPUR DHAM, INDIA