The “personal” call is the decisive element distinguishing the prophet from the priest. First of all, the prophet declares new revelations by charisma, whereas the priest serves to a sacred tradition. It is no accident that almost no prophet has come from the priesthood.

Contrary to relying on tradition and faith for one’s truth, a prophet is a person who has had firsthand experience of the Otherworld or the unseen world—truth through personal experience. In The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James documented this type of experience. In this classic study, he finds the origin of belief in an “unseen” world in the experience of “religious geniuses” who experience firsthand the realities of which religion speaks, and carefully distinguishes this primal experience from what he calls ‘secondhand’ religion, the beliefs that people acquire through tradition. According to William James, the church is a secondhand religion.

I am an Exemplary Prophet

A prophet who brings a message and leads by example is known as an exemplary prophet. This was Jesus. He emphasized deeds over faith. By his personal example, he “showed the way” to the kingdom. This was not by faith but by deeds. His teachings were based on love (unity), not fear (separation). Through our deeds we may perfect ourselves. There was no original sin. Accordingly, a priest, who might absolve sins, was unnecessary. Furthermore, there was no need for temple obedience as an ethical duty. It was one’s deeds based on one’s heart that mattered and led to the awakening of the kingdom within.

In the Vedic tradition, my Atmakaraka or soul planet is Venus. The Ancient Vedic civilization looked at Venus as the Sukrachara or the teacher of the demons but that does not diminish her spiritual role as a Guru and her greatness along with Jupiter as the world’s Gurus. Venus is also known as the Acharya of the Asuras. Venus as Acharya is a religious teacher.

The Sanskrit word Acharya means “one who teaches by example.” In other words, an exemplary prophet. For Hindus, Christ is an acharya. His example is a light to any of us in this world who want to take up the serious practice of spiritual life. His message is no different from the message preached in another time and place by Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya.