Are the Abrahamic God, who orders killing and enslaving, and the Vedic God the same person?

Answer Podcast

Q: Are the Abrahamic God, who orders killing and enslaving, and the Vedic God the same person?

This is an important and sensitive question. To explore it properly, we need to distinguish between three things:

1. The concept of God,
2. The actions attributed to God, and
3. The specific historical or cultural context in which those actions are described.

Yes, at first glance, there appear to be significant differences between the way God is portrayed in the Abrahamic texts (like the Bible or Quran) and in the Vedic texts (like the Ramayana or Mahabharata). For example, some depictions of God in the Old Testament involve commands for killing or enslaving — things that may appear harsh or morally questionable, especially from a modern lens. These seem different from the bhakti conception of God as supremely loving and compassionate.

However, we must be fair when comparing religious traditions. If we only compare the most compassionate and sublime descriptions of God in our tradition with the harshest portrayals in another tradition, we won’t arrive at an honest understanding. For a fair comparison, we should look at both the best and the most challenging aspects of each tradition.

For example, in our own tradition, Parashurama is said to have annihilated 21 generations of Kshatriyas. Was every one of them truly corrupt? How do we know that? It’s a matter of faith — we accept that Parashurama, as a divine incarnation, had the right to judge and act accordingly. Some accounts say even women and children were killed, which could seem brutal if taken out of context.

Similarly, when we come across difficult passages in the Abrahamic scriptures, we should also ask:

• What is the context behind such actions?
• How do scholars and theologians within those traditions interpret and explain those verses?

There is a rich tradition of commentary and theological reasoning in Christianity and Islam, just as there is in the Vedic tradition. It’s worth engaging with those interpretations rather than judging based solely on isolated verses.

Now, coming to the core question — are these the same God?
Our acharyas, such as Srila Prabhupada and Bhaktivinoda Thakura, were clear: Yes, it is the same one Supreme God who is revealed in different ways, according to time, place, and circumstance.

There is a famous conversation where Srila Prabhupada told a Christian preacher:

“If you follow any genuine scripture properly — including the Bible — you will go to God.”
He acknowledged that sincere Christians can attain God.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura also advised that when we visit other places of worship — even from other religions — we should go with reverence, understanding that God is being worshipped there, though in a form or method that may differ from ours.

The attributes of God in Abrahamic traditions — such as being the Alpha and the Omega, the Creator and the Judge — have clear parallels with descriptions of Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita as the source of all, the destroyer of all, and the ultimate goal of all.

Yes, some specific depictions may differ, and not all details will align completely. But that doesn’t mean the concept of God is fundamentally different. The core attributes — transcendence, omniscience, omnipotence, and moral authority — are largely shared across traditions.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura also explains that divine revelations are adapted to the audience’s level of understanding. In societies governed by tribal or survivalist mentalities, God’s guidance may be perceived — and even recorded — in a way that reflects those mentalities. That doesn’t necessarily make the guidance false, but it does make it context-bound.

In summary:

• Our acharyas affirm that one Supreme God is worshipped across different religions.
• The differences lie largely in contextual expressions, scriptural styles, and cultural needs of the time.
• While the bhakti conception of God as supremely loving and reciprocative may not be fully mirrored in all religious texts, the essential divine identity remains the same.
• Specific troubling verses should be understood by engaging with the commentarial tradition of that religion, rather than judging them out of context.

So, yes — according to the broad and generous vision of our tradition, the God of the Abrahamic religions and the Vedic God are the same Supreme Being, revealed differently to different people in different times.