A discourse on the Holy Bible by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Delivered on June 14, 1974, in Paris, France

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for kindly participating in this saṅkirtana movement, which is a movement for the vibration of transcendental sound. Sound is the origin of all creation. That is admitted in the Bible also. We are reading a passage from the Bible:

[A disciple reads] The Gospel According to Saint John. Chapter 1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

This same principle is explained in the Vedic literature. Here it is said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Because God is the Absolute Truth, there is no difference between God and God's form, His qualities and His word. Everything related to God is also God. In the material world, name and substance are different. For example, when you are thirsty, if you simply utter the words "water, water, water," that will not quench your thirst. But in the spiritual world the name of God, or Krsna, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the same.

I shall quote one Sanskrit verse from the Vedas, which parallels this Biblical passage:

The purport of this verse is that the name of God is as powerful as God Himself. It is called purna, which means "complete," suddha, which means "free from all material contamination," and nitya, which means "eternal." Abhinnatvan nama-naminoh means that there is no difference between the name and the person whose name we are chanting. Thus when we chant the holy name of God, like the name Krsna, Krsna is personally present. One need not chant the name Krsna; one may chant any name that he knows is God's. God has many names, which may be chanted with the same effect in different languages and in different countries.