In his divine discourses, Shree Swami Prakashanand Saraswati continues to illuminate seekers with clarity, logic, and a deep sense of spiritual responsibility. A revered teacher of Sanatan Dharm and a beacon of divine love, Swamiji’s teachings guide devotees beyond superficial boundaries and into the heart of universal truths. In this segment of the Gita Series, Speech 11, Swamiji examines the theological and philosophical aspects of four prominent Western religions—Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islam—while comparing their views with the timeless wisdom of Vedic scriptures. With compassionate reasoning and spiritual insight, he unravels the complexities of heaven, hell, divine justice, and creation, and brings them into alignment with the foundational truths of Hindu philosophy.
According to Swami Prakashanand Saraswati..
The Divine souls: In the last speech, we learned about 4 religions of the West, their philosophy and their practice both. The JEWISH RELIGION also has a scripture. It’s called the Torah. And in MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION there are 2 sects, ISLAM religion, Shea and Suddhanese, and also there is a branch of Islam religion. It’s called SUFI Matt. Their philosophy is a lot different. They are more practical towards worshipping God. The philosophy is simple. God, (although he has no form. They also worship formless form of God). But that God is your divine beloved, a formless divine beloved is your God. And you have to love him. So they talk of love to God. Also they talk of renunciation. In the history of their divine saints who achieved the perfection is a lot of renunciation described going into jungle, worshipping God, leaving food and water. Many kinds of austerities and engrossing themselves into the love of God. But their God is impersonal. That’s the Sufi religion. They don’t talk much about day of judgment or the reaction from that.
Read Part 1 Here:- Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 1
Now in all these 4 religions, the Jewish, Christians, Parsees, and Islam, there is something all very common. These 4 religions they talk of heaven and hell. They talk of creator of this world. Creator. There is a creator of this world. They talk of good and bad karmas, and they all talk of being righteous, being good. Means our samanya dharmas, means secondary dharmas which I explained before (lists some, I think) Means all those good virtues which a human could, they all stress on that. Means to become a very good person, helping others and yet fearing God and devoting yourself to God . It’s all very common in all the religions. And also day of judgment when God will give you the outcome of karmas. So they talk of the consequence of karmas. If you have done good, you are bound to be rewarded. If you have done wrong, a sin, you are bound to be punished. So punishment to sinners and reward to good people, they all talk of that.
Read Part 2 Here:- Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 2
One more thing they say. All these 4 religions say that that is the only path to realize God. So Jewish people say the only path to find God through their master, Moses, or following God or following their religion. So Parsees say by following their Auhara Mazda’s will revealed through Zoroaster, that is the only way to receive happiness. And Christians stress very much Christ Jesus is the only way to reach God because he is the only son of God. And Mohammedans also say the same thing, their path is the only path to reach Allah, no other path. Just think of that. What their prophets have said, we have no evidence to know. What they say nowadays we know. But the question is, suppose 4 religions telling the same thing at the same time, how could that be correct? It means they cross each other. All the 4 saying their path is the only path to God, means all 3 are useless. So, all the four say for all the other three, they are useless, indirectly or directly, and theirs is the only path. So that’s not logical. Very illogical. That could have been said.
Read Part 3 Here:- Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 3
Suppose at that particular time, in that particular community their prophet was the only path to God. That was correct. Take an example; suppose in a distant remote village there is a small school, and people say, “Oh yes, this is the only school to get educated.” It’s correct. Only school in that community in that locality at that particular time. But they can’t say there’s no school in the world except their small primary school. That’s not right. So, for a particular community in a particular age, a particular prophet could be the only path to show to God. That’s correct, no doubt. But to say that there was no other path in the world at that time is not logical. And nowadays, world has changed so much, so in this way that doesn’t seem logical. Anyway, what their prophet said, I don’t know who knows correctly. But anyway, a saint cannot say like this. Their devotees might have misinterpreted that part just to develop their own religion. Could be misinterpretation.
Read Part 4 Here:- Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 4
Now we come to their philosophical side, as it coincides, how it coincides with our philosophy. You see, we have all those in our Scriptures. Just like there are 7 celestial abodes (Swamiji lists them) 7 celestial worlds. We also describe at least 7 kinds of hell in our Puranas described. So hell and heaven are described in detail in our Scriptures, hell and heaven. And creator of hell and heaven, we have a personality, we call it Brahma. He is the creator, so he created all the hell and heaven plus this earth, earth planet. So he created this whole world. Brahma, he’s the creator. This also says to become good. That all the scriptures say. A person has to become good.
Read Part 5 Here:- Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 5
If he’s bad, he must become good. That’s the next step of going higher. And about rising from dead, or day of judgment, you see in our Scriptures, the moment a person dies, immediately, means our authority is called Demaraj of Yamaraj, he decides the fate of that person immediately. A person, suppose he is dying, it happens instantly (Quotation by Swamiji) The soul, when he dies – so whatever he’s thinking, accordingly he’s rewarded or given his next lifetime. Plus also karma (More quote) He carries forward his all past karmas. So accordingly, his next life is determined, good or whatever it is. but who determines? We have a power that Demaraj or Namaraj. So Demaraj said “OK this man had done so much sin, he can go into this species, he can suffer the sufferings of hell of that species. He can be rewarded into celestial abode, or go back into human life. Things like that. So there’s a rewarding or punishing authority, we also know that. But there’s no such like thing that all will be dead. That also doesn’t seem very logical. Because you see, every year population has been increased. Suppose old people die, then there are young generation. Young become old, they die, then new young generation So world goes on and on and on like that. There would be no time that there’s no human being in this world, they’re all dead. There cannot be like that. I think that all this philosophy, when it travelled from India, those countries, it just took some different shape, that’s it. Some different shape, So like we see, suppose I say something in my speech, and someone listens according to his own mind. Then he tells to someone according to his own mind, third one, according to his own mind tells the fourth person. When it reaches the 4th, 5th 6th person it could be a lot changed. So we have all those philosophies in our Scriptures, but when it travelled from here up to Jordan or Arabia or Palestine or anywhere, so just got something mixed up with individual personal thoughts.
Read Part 6 Here:- Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 6
But anyway, we have all those in our Scriptures. These religions, they don’t describe very much. Only Quran describes a lot about their heaven. And their description exactly tallies with the Arabian situation. So they describe when a person reaches heaven with Allah what does he do, what does he enjoy? There’s a cool breeze, many maidens to serve him and to live with him. Plenty of bread to eat, and lots of meadows, greeneries, flowers, garden, a great description. This has been said many, many times in the Koran at many, many places. So any means in our Scripture also we said that there’s a celestial abode of many kinds, and they’re all kinds of luxuries are there. Whatever you could imagine. All kinds of luxuries.
Read Part 7 here: Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 7
And as regards human beings, we have a very definite history. Just like the religions say that it started from God. Or take Christianity, from Adam and Eve. So from there, this started. But when they were on this earth planet? There’s no time or nothing said how many thousand, million, or billion, or hundred years ago or ? years ago, doesn’t say anything. There’s one more story about just like Noah’s ark. I’ll just tell you in brief. I explained one day there’s also a dissolution time, partial dissolution, when there is a huge deluge and the whole world is filled with water. It happens at the end of every manvantar, So we have that also in our history. At the end of every manvantar there is a parlay, huge deluge, and everything is completely finished and is not there. Then again souls. come into being. Same story also when it reached over there, it took some different shape. So anyway, we have definite descriptions. When our this present civilization started from Manu and Satyuga. We have two proper names. When they were on this earth planet? Oh, millions of years ago 120.533094 years this year. That many million years. Means more than 120 million years before? Yes. They were here, and from then human civilization started. And prior to that, there was a parlay, that huge sea deluge or water deluge or cloud burst whatever you may say.
Read Part 8 Here: Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 8
So our history is very specific from today to back 4,000 to 5,000 years. Our Mahabharat happened around 3,000 BC. From that up till today we have recorded history in detail. And prior to that, we have short history up to the manvantar treta, 120 million years ago with all the major events, all the major kings who ruled India, what they did, what had happened, in sequence. Who are who’s son. In Krishn’s time, before Krishn, Ram’s time, before Ram, other king’s time. Before that their ancestors. We have all that history. Not in great detail, but sequence-wise we have history up to 120 million years. And the latest 5,000 years history, we have in detail. How long this earth planet is there? 155.52 million, million years. We also have a definite calculation. So what happened between that period, 120 million year, prior to that? Then we have very queen-sized, major things. What Brahma did when he started this earth planet. It was a Brahmakalp. Then what happened after that, then various descensions of Godhead personality in very brief. Where are they?
Read Part 9 Here: Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 9
They are all in the Bhagwatam. Anyone can read it. In the Bhagwatam. Manvantarkatar, Brahma and how it was created, everything is there. Also in our Puranas, we have 11 more Puranas. In those Puranas, this history has also been repeated, and many places it has been expounded with various events what happened. All those events relate to the enlightenment for a soul that he must think of God and try to be devotional and decide to find God’s love. They take you to that particular direction. In Mahabharat and Valmeeki Ramayanam. These 2 Scriptures are said to be our historical Scriptures. Mahabharat and Valmeeki Ramayanam. In that, many kings and their sons, they all have been described in Ramayanam or Mahabharat, the history books. So we have a detailed history and a precise history. Nothing ambiguous. Nothing that somebody has said, or somebody has heard, or somebody has written, no. All precise, And it was recorded by a descended Divine personality, that’s more important. In his own personal handwriting. It’s not available now in his handwriting, but the language he wrote, we have same language today. Not translations, original language. What was the language? Sanskrit language. So Ved Vyas, 5,000 years ago he wrote everything what I have just said. Everything, All the history in our Puranas, created the Bhagwatam revealing the true path to God realization. That’s history. And he was a power of God, descended power of God, Wrote in Sanskrit; same we have today. There are translations nowadays in Hindi, in English some of the parts or that, but we have the original Scriptures as he wrote at that time so no mistaking.
Read part 10 here: Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s Speech on the Gita Series 4 – Part 10
In this way, if we look to these religions and our recorded and described philosophy and history we find that those philosophies, they came from Indian philosophy and as they reached those places there were slight twistings. But again, they originated from Indian philosophy. What our Gita says? Gita is the essence of all those Scriptures ? says the same thing (chanting quote) Up to Brahmalok people go up there to creator god, is our creator god. But Gita says further. That creator god cannot give you total liberation. He can only give you the heaven said by all these 4 religions. The best. the best heavenly luxuries, You can stay with god for billions of years, with god Brahma. He cannot give you absolute liberation. That comes when you come to Supreme Personality of God. Then Gita adds more.
In Conclusion:
Through Swami Prakashanand Saraswati’s insight, we understand that while Western religions emphasize moral conduct, divine reward, and punishment, the Vedic tradition provides a more complete and timeless framework for the soul’s journey, backed by precise spiritual history. Swamiji reminds us that truth is eternal and must be understood beyond geographical or cultural boundaries.
Connect with us for Part 12 as Swamiji continues to illuminate the timeless knowledge of our scriptures.
