Instigator / Pro
Sir.Lancelot's avatar
Sir.Lancelot
1578
rating
200
debates
54.75%
won
Topic
#6260

(On-balance) THBT: Krishna is a better spiritual mentor than Jesus.

Status
Debating

Waiting for the next argument from the contender.

Round will be automatically forfeited in:

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Tags
theology
hinduism
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Rated
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
Three days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Minimal rating
None
Contender / Con
21Pilots's avatar
21Pilots
1500
rating
14
debates
46.43%
won
Description

Three parts shall exist to this debate.:

The first part is who had more wisdom.
The second part involves who was the better communicator. (The one who does a better job of educating and indoctrinating students and proteges into their teachings.)
The third part involves comparing which, if incorporated, has the potentiality for a more positive impact.

Rules:
1. One forfeit is the loss of a conduct point.
2. Kritiks are allowed.
3. BOP is shared.

Round 1
Sir.Lancelot's avatar
Sir.Lancelot
Pro
#1
Welcome 21Pilots. I’m looking forward to a thoughtful and insightful discussion.

Today, we delve into the subject that compares two separate figures from Hinduism and Christianity.

Framework

As I am arguing for Krishna, and Con is arguing for Jesus. That makes this an on-balance debate. To show who is the superior mentor, we must separate the following impacts into three segments.

  • Who maxes out in wisdom. We can demonstrate this by showing who exercises sharper intellect, good judgment, and better reasoning.
  • Who is the more effective communicator? As equally important as wisdom is the ability to impart wisdom and knowledge onto that of your followers and proteges, as it is a fundamental requirement of mentorship and teaching.
  • Which of the teachings between the two figures will generate the most positive impact. We can observe this by comparing the total number of people who followed both, and which results had the strongest effect on their well-being.

Lesson #1

  • Krishna emphasizes the cultivation of discipline and detachment.

That is, remaining committed to your responsibilities without attachment to outcomes. And that the fixation on achievements leads to a stress-based obsession that is born from superficiality. Some circumstances are simply beyond our control and by accepting this, we can avoid the unnecessary stress that workaholics, perfectionists, and overachievers put them through. 

Lesson #2

  • Balance leads to a fruitful life of contentment that remains sustainable.

The idea behind this is healthy eating, getting enough sleep, and a moderate amount of exercise will help you to avoid sickness and maintain a peak mindset that shall allow you to live comfortably. To avoid getting burnt out, this is simply a requirement. 

Lesson #3

  • Mastery of the mind will affect all aspects of your life.

Krishna teaches that for those who have conquered the mind, it works as a friend. But for those who have not, it becomes their enemy. This emphasizes the importance of meditation to otherwise combat the negative thoughts that would otherwise affect you, without working to overcome it. 

Following Impacts

All three lessons operate to establish two specific impacts of Krishna.: His wisdom and the beneficial potentiality of his teachings. It accomplishes this by bolstering credibility and logos.
21Pilots's avatar
21Pilots
Con
#2
First round will be short for me because


Well,

Does Krishna have 2.83 billion people listening to his word daily?
You see, “spiritual mentor, to me, is not just about understanding. It’s also about learning, so to rephrase the question: 

Do people really have the will to learn and understand Krishna’s word? 
And if they do, are they actually able to interpret it to others who don’t know him. 

You also said existence is irrelevant. That, to me is preposterous.
Well, doesn’t that basically mean fake news?
Will you believe Elon Musk eating Donald Trump while in a Lamborghini just because of the fact that existence is irrelevant? 

Religion isn’t make believe, but the context behind it? 
If you really had the heart of faith, you will be able to answer that question. 


The lesson 

Krishna emphasizes discipline and detachment—doing your duty without caring about the outcome. But Jesus teaches trust, not detachment. In Matthew 6, He says not to worry about your life because God provides. It’s not about letting go of results—it’s about depending on God.

Krishna also promotes balance—moderation in sleep, food, and exercise. But Jesus flips that idea. He says to seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else will fall into place. Spiritual focus comes before physical comfort.

Lastly, Krishna says to master the mind or it becomes your enemy. But Jesus doesn’t preach self-mastery—He teaches renewal through God. Romans 12 says we’re transformed by the renewing of our mind, not by controlling it, but by surrendering to God’s truth.

So while Krishna looks inward for peace, Jesus calls us to look upward—for faith, not control.
Round 2
Sir.Lancelot's avatar
Sir.Lancelot
Pro
#3
Existence is not the scope because the non-theist consensus is that Jesus was a violent insurrectionist without powers or abilities. A delusional wannabe tyrant would lack the essential qualities that judge wisdom, communication, and impact. And Krishna would be disqualified from comparison because he doesn't exist.
So the only factors we should use to compare are the version of Jesus from The Bible and Krishna from Hindu Mythology.

For this next round, I shall focus on all three of these factors.:

Linguistic Abilities & Global Wellbeing

Krishna was able to speak the native language of Brajabhumi, was able to communicate with demigods in Sanskrit, and was even able to leverage his divinity to be able to communicate fluently with animals. According to the lore and mythology, Krishna can talk in any language regardless of its location or origin. This ability is telepathic in a way, that works through a voluntary empathy. He comprehends the thoughts of people actively channeling him and is able to communicate on their level. 
The Gita, AKA Krishna's teachings have universal accessibility because a translation was made for more than 82 languages. There has been a reported reduction in the stress levels of people who follow his teachings, especially now that feelings of anxiety & self-doubt are affecting the modern world stronger than ever. His teachings have cultivated strong relationships between people and helped them develop stronger bonds. 

Demographic & Timeframe

Hinduism and Krishna's teachings have been around for thousands of years longer than christianity or the bible, having been created sometime in the BC era.
The Bhagavad Gītā's longevity has endured for a while, and has managed the support of broader appeal with strong cultural diversity. Infact, an organization that was created in devotion to krishna called ISKON has more than 800+ temples around the world, and a million followers.  

Pragmatic Lessons
A big foundation of wisdom is emotional intelligence. The lessons come up with the separate parts that make up and define emotional intelligence, each building off from each other and establishing their own framework.: Self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, social awareness, relationship management, effective communication, active listening, conflict resolution, leadership, and more. 

Which now raises the question, how does this compare/contrast to Jesus?:
  • Krishna has about as many followers than Jesus, but has existed as a concept for significantly longer. Thereby having persisted longer by influencing whole societies and communities, spanning many thousands years longer than christianity has had a chance to. 
  • Krishna also communicated in every language, even speaking to animals. While Jesus, in the Bible, only demonstrated speaking three. This means that Krishna interacted and spoke with a wider variety of people, while those Jesus interacted with were only limited to three. Krishna also lived for 125 years, while Jesus only lived until 30. Both of these factors meant that Krishna had the ability to directly win over more converts more quickly and had the opportunity to appeal to a greater demographic, and a longer time to teach more people as well.
  • Jesus emphasized belief and commitment to him, as well as the moral rules & guidelines of The New Testament. But none of these provided the range and depth of wisdom that Krishna's lessons and teachings provide. Jesus tells you what to do and what not to do. Krishna tells you what to do, what not to do, how to do it, and why you should do it. Krishna's instructions are broken down into specific detail while Jesus's lessons and quotes are so vaguely worded and loose, that they are too open to interpretation rather than being crystal clear.
From a mathematical and statistical perspective, Krishna has affected the same amount of people, but over longer generations of time. Meaning quantitatively, he is still winning according to influence and his longevity has remained a crucial standpoint. Now having made the comparison of Krishna's teachings. The Bhagavad Gita versus The New Testament also gave me the chance to illustrate why Krishna's lessons are also higher-quality than Jesus'. 
Krishna spoke to and communicated with all cultures of people, and different species. While Jesus only spoke to and interacted with his local culture and neighboring cultures. We have Krishna's teachings being translated universally, and his temples reaching more than a million people.
This means he is wiser than Jesus, is better at communicating, and his potentiality for reaching people is overall greater as he demonstrated the greater impacts. 

                   5 things to know about Krishna
                   Krishna's Lessons

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Round 3
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