Question: What is the difference between the Krishna consciousness and the normal Hindu religion?
Answer by Romapada Swami: I take it that the phrase ‘normal Hindu religion’ indicates to you the traditional religious practices and faith as practiced in most of India. Originally the Vedic religion was known as Sanatana dharma or Varnashrama dharma, which was based on the idea of engaging every human being according to their nature and occupation in a culture that will help them to be gradually elevated to the point of unmotivated loving devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This indeed is the ultimate goal of the Vedas or any religion.
This, also, is the essence of the Krishna Consciousness philosophy: to mold every single activity (religious, occupational or social) of one’s life so as to achieve this ultimate goal, i.e. to become conscious of Krishna at every point of life.
To reach this goal, many intermediate processes are provided within the Vedas, e.g. karma-kanda rituals, their attendant teachings, worship of devatas, forms of yoga disciplines, etc. The ultimate attainment of the entire range of the Vedas is the same, after passing through many stages of development and forms of practice. The all culminate in unmotivated loving devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
However, with the passage of time, the varnashrama culture of the Vedic times has begun to slowly degenerate, and while the external aspects of the culture, as well as the rituals and forms of worship and practices have remained, the essential understanding behind all of it, as described above, has become lost or at least obscured by many differences of opinions and diverging philosophies. This missing link needed to tie the many disunited threads together is found in the teachings of Krishna consciousness.
