Can followers of other religions who don’t follow the regulative principles go back to Krishna?

Anwser Podcast

Duration: 3 min

Transcription by: Sundarinath das

Question: In Krishna consciousness, we follow so many rules and regulations like no meat eating but in other religions people do all these things. Can they still be elevated to go back to Krishna?

Answer (short):
• Elevation and liberation are two different things. One can get elevated by practicing the regulations of any path that god has given. The extent of our elevation will depend on how much purified we become.
• One can attain Krishna by developing love for him. It is not a matter of affiliation to any organization, but a matter of purification.
• Love for god can be developed more easily by following certain principles, like showing kindness to all creatures of god.

Answer (long):
There are two aspects to spiritual progress – one is becoming elevated, and the other is getting liberated. These two are not the same. We can be elevated from where we are by practicing any spiritual path given by god. The extent of our elevation will depend on how much purified we become.

Our affiliation with a religious institute like ISKCON does not guarantee that we will go back to Krishna. The institute of Krishna consciousness movement is simply a facility for us to become Krishna conscious. If we become Krishna conscious and learn to love Krishna, then we will attain Krishna. Attaining god or Krishna depends on our purification and attraction to him. People can develop love for god and attain him by following some other paths also. Important thing is to check whether they are becoming purified by following the path. If they are following regulations as prescribed by their tradition, they too will become purified.

Many Christians and Muslims are vegetarians. Not all rationalize meat eating. There are people within other religions also who recognize that violence against animals is not good. However, we should not get too caught up in the specifics. We should focus on the principle i.e. develop love for god.

We can see for ourselves that by showing kindness to all the creatures, love for god can be developed much more easily. If we are not showing kindness to other creatures, we may still develop love for god, but with great difficulty. It is akin to lighting a fire while putting water over it.

Spiritual progress is not so much about what we give up or what path we follow. The important thing is what consciousness we achieve. We can attain god or Krishna only by developing love for him.