Roadside Assistance For The Spiritual Traveler

Can God incarnate as both Christ and Krishna?

- Rabbi Rami Shapiro

I’m a Christian and I’ve been reading the Bhagavad Gita. Can God incarnate as both Christ and Krishna?

Rabbi Rami: If God can incarnate as one person, why not two? I believe God incarnates as all reality. To borrow from Paul Tillich and St. Paul: God doesn’t exist, God is existence: that dynamic, evolving process in which we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Christ and Krishna knew they were God; you can also. The great spiritual awakening that some religions foster and others fear is that one day all humanity will put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and realize in all truth and humility that “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and Atman, the universal Self, is Brahman, Absolute Reality (Upanishads). So yes, God can be both Christ and Krishna, and you and me as well.

My 22-year-old son says, “Life has no point and living is pointless.” He isn’t suicidal, only philosophical. How might I respond?

I would say this: Yes, life has no point; life is the point, and living is how life makes that point. It took 13.8 billion years for the universe to manifest as your son—a precious, never to be repeated “I” whose purpose is to move life further along the path to awakening, justice, and love. Then I would ask him how he is achieving this purpose, and how I might be of assistance.

When we discover sentient beings on other worlds, how will our Earth-centric religions respond?