20201227 Māyāvāda Bhāṣya Taught by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya is Refuted by Lord Caitanya (Part 3)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja

on 27^th December 2020 in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Introduction: Today we are continuing with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, Part 3 of the chapter entitled:

Māyāvāda Bhāṣya Taught by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya is Refuted by Lord Caitanya

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.161

চিদ্বিলাসকে নির্ব্বিশেষরূপে ধারণা—দম্ভমাত্র :—

ṣaḍ-vidha aiśvarya — prabhura cic-chakti-vilāsa
hena śakti nāhi māna, — parama sāhasa

Translation: In His spiritual potency, the Supreme Lord enjoys six kinds of opulences. You do not accept this spiritual potency, and this is due to your great impudence.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full with six opulences. All of these potencies are on the transcendental platform. To understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as impersonal and devoid of potency is to go completely against Vedic information.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So now Lord Caitanya is instructing Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya that He is being very impudent to say that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no potencies. His transcendental potencies are fully manifested.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.162

ভগবান্ ও জীবে নিত্য ভেদ, কেবল-অভেদবাদ—নাস্তিকতা :—

‘māyādhīśa’ ‘māyā-vaśa’ — īśvare-jīve bheda
hena-jīve īśvara-saha kaha ta’ abheda

Translation: The Lord is the master of the potencies, and the living entity is the servant of them. That is the difference between the Lord and the living entity. However, you declare that the Lord and the living entities are one and the same.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is by nature the master of all potencies. By nature, the living entities, being infinitesimal, are always under the influence of the Lord’s potencies. According to the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.1–2):

dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā
samānaṁ vṛkṣaṁ pariṣasvajāte
tayor anyaḥ pippalaṁ svādv atty
anaśnann anyo ’bhicākaśīti

samāne vṛkṣe puruṣo nimagno
’nīśayā śocati muhyamānaḥ
juṣṭaṁ yadā paśyaty anyam īśam
asya mahimānam eti vīta-śokaḥ

The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad completely distinguishes the Lord from the living entities. The living entity is subjected to the reactions of fruitive activity, whereas the Lord simply witnesses such activity and bestows the results. According to the living entity’s desires, he is wandering from one body to another and from one planet to another, under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā. However, when the living entity comes to his senses by the mercy of the Lord, he is awarded devotional service. Thus he is saved from the clutches of māyā. At such a time he can see his eternal friend, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and become free from all lamentation and hankering. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54), where the Lord says, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati: “One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything.” Thus it is definitely proved that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the master of all potencies and that the living entities are always subjected to these potencies. That is the difference between māyādhīśa and māyā-vaśa.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, māyādhīśa means the Lord of potencies, and māyā-vaśa means under the control of potenices. So, we have a choice, to be under material potency or under spiritual potency. Material potency is known as māhā-māyā and the spiritual potency is known as yoga-māyā. So those who practice bhakti-yoga are under the protection of yoga-māyā and those who do fruitive activities are under the control of māhā-māyā.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.163

গীতায় ‘জীব’—ভগচ্ছক্তি:—

gītā-śāstre jīva-rūpa ‘śakti’ kari’ māne
hena jīve ‘bheda’ kara īśvarera sane

Translation: In the Bhagavad-gītā the living entity is established as the marginal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet you say that the living entity is completely different from the Lord.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: The Brahma-sūtra states that according to the principle of śakti-śaktimator abhedaḥ, the living entity is simultaneously one with and different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Qualitatively the living entity and the Supreme Lord are one, but in quantity they are different. According to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, the living entity and the Supreme Lord are accepted as one and different at the same time.

Jayapatākā Swami:  Since the living entities are one in quality with the Lord, they can have personal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Because two entities of the same quality can have personal relationship. But since Kṛṣṇa is Supreme, His quantity is much greater, unlimited. Therefore the individual soul can never be equal or greater than the Supreme Soul.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.164

ভগবানের গুণ-মায়া ও জীব-মায়া :—
শ্রীমদ্ভগবদ্‌গীতা (৭৪-৫)—

bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā

Translation: Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego are My eightfold separated energies.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.165

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ
prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām
jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho
yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

Translation: Besides these inferior energies, which are material, there is another energy, a spiritual energy, and this is the living being, O mighty-armed one. The entire material world is sustained by the living entities.’

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Verses 164 and 165 are quotations from the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4–5).

Jayapatākā Swami:  So,

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.166

ভগবদ্বিগ্রহ—সচ্চিদানন্দময় :—

īśvarera śrī-vigraha sac-cid-ānandākāra
se-vigrahe kaha sattva-guṇera vikāra

Translation: The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete in eternity, cognizance and bliss. However, you describe this transcendental form as a product of material goodness.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, this is the defect of the Māyāvāda philosophers, they don’t take the transcendental qualities of the Lord as spiritual. They think anything with quality must be material. They describe the Supreme Lord as goodness, and only the impersonal Brahman is transcendental. So, to listen to their explanations is very polluting and very offensive to the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.167

নিত্যচিদ্বিলাস অস্বীকাব পাষণ্ডতা-মাত্র :—

śrī-vigraha ye nā māne, sei ta’ pāṣaṇḍī
adṛśya aspṛśya, sei haya yama-daṇḍī

Translation: One who does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord is certainly an agnostic. Such a person should be neither seen nor touched. Indeed, he is subject to be punished by Yamarāja.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: According to the Vedic instructions, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has His eternal, transcendental form, which is always blissful and full of knowledge. Impersonalists think that “material” refers to the forms within our experience and that “spiritual” refers to an absence of form. However, one should know that beyond this material nature is another nature, which is spiritual. Just as there are material forms in this material world, there are spiritual forms in the spiritual world. This is confirmed by all Vedic literature. The spiritual forms in the transcendental world have nothing to do with the negative conception of formlessness. The conclusion is that a person is an agnostic when he does not agree to worship the transcendental form of the Lord.

Actually, at the present moment all systems of religion deny the worship of the form of the Lord due to ignorance of His transcendental form. The first-class materialists (the Māyāvādīs) imagine five specific forms of the Lord, but when they try to equate the worship of such imaginary forms with bhakti, they are immediately condemned. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15), where He says, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Bereft of real knowledge due to agnosticism, the Māyāvādī philosophers should not even be seen by the devotees of the Lord, nor touched, because those philosophers are liable to be punished by Yamarāja, the superintendent demigod who judges the activities of sinful men. The Māyāvādī agnostics wander within this universe in different species of life due to their nondevotional activities. Such living entities are subjected to the punishments of Yamarāja. Only the devotees, who are always engaged in the service of the Lord, are exempt from the jurisdiction of Yamarāja.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, in the Bhagavad-gītā, there is a description of three kinds of activities – akarma, vikarma and karma. So, akarma is activities in devotional service towards the Lord which has no reaction, vikarma is the prohibited activities which have negative reactions and karma is the good fruitive activities which lead one to a better material enjoyment but keep one in the material world.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.168

মায়াবাদী মুখে বৈদিক হইলেও প্রচ্ছন্ন-বৌদ্ধ :—

veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta’ nāstika
vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda bauddhake adhika

Translation: The Buddhists do not recognize the authority of the Vedas; therefore they are considered agnostics. However, those who have taken shelter of the Vedic scriptures yet preach agnosticism in accordance with the Māyāvāda philosophy are certainly more dangerous than the Buddhists.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Although the Buddhists are directly opposed to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, it can easily be understood that the Śaṅkarites are more dangerous because they accept the authority of the Vedas yet act contrary to Vedic instruction. Vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda means “agnosticism under the shelter of Vedic culture” and refers to the monistic philosophy of the Māyāvādīs. Lord Buddha abandoned the authority of the Vedic literature and therefore rejected the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the Vedas. His nirvāṇa philosophy means stopping all material activities. Lord Buddha did not recognize the presence of transcendental forms and spiritual activities beyond the material world. He simply described voidism beyond this material existence. The Māyāvādī philosophers offer lip service to Vedic authority but try to escape the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They concoct some idea of a transcendental position and call themselves Nārāyaṇa, or God. However, God’s position is completely different from their concoction. Such Māyāvādī philosophers consider themselves above the influence of karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities and their reactions). For them, the spiritual world is equated with the Buddhist voidism. There is very little difference between impersonalism and voidism. Voidism can be directly understood, but the impersonalism enunciated by Māyāvādī philosophers is not very easily understandable. Of course, Māyāvādī philosophers accept a spiritual existence, but they do not know about the spiritual world and spiritual beings. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32):

ye ’nye ’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas
tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ
āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ

The intelligence of the Māyāvādīs is not purified; therefore even though they practice austerities for self-realization, they cannot remain within the impersonal brahma-jyoti. Consequently, they fall down again into this material world.

The Māyāvādīs’ conception of spiritual existence is almost identical to the negation of material existence. The Māyāvādīs believe that there is nothing positive in spiritual life. As a result, they cannot understand devotional service or the worship of the Supreme Person, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. The Māyāvādī philosophers consider Deity worship in devotional service to be pratibimba-vāda, or the worship of a form that is the reflection of a false material form. Thus the Lord’s transcendental form, which is eternally blissful and full of knowledge, is unknown to Māyāvādī philosophers. Although the term “Bhagavān” is explicitly described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they cannot understand it. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: “The Absolute Truth is called Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.” (SB 1.2.11) The Māyāvādīs try to understand Brahman only, or, at the most, Paramātmā. However, they are unable to understand Bhagavān. Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, says, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ [Bg. 7.15]. Because of the temperament of the Māyāvādī philosophers, real knowledge is taken from them. Because they cannot receive the mercy of the Lord, they will always be bewildered by His transcendental form. Impersonal philosophy destroys the three phases of knowledge—jñāna, jñeya and jñātā. As soon as one speaks of knowledge, there must be a person who is the knower, the knowledge itself and the object of knowledge. Māyāvāda philosophy combines these three categories; therefore the Māyāvādīs cannot understand how the spiritual potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead act. Because of their poor fund of knowledge, they cannot understand the distinction in the spiritual world between knowledge, the knower and the object of knowledge. Because of this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu considers the Māyāvādī philosophers more dangerous than the Buddhists.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, how the Māyāvādī philosophy is more dangerous was understood by Śrīla Prabhupāda in His Vyāsa-pūjā offering to his guru, His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda Ṭhākura. So one of the purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness  is to completely protect people from the dangerous impersonal philosophy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.169

ব্রহ্মসূত্রেই জীবের চরম কল্যাণ, শাঙ্করভাষ্যে জীবের সৰ্ব্বনাশ নিহিত :—

jīvera nistāra lāgi’ sūtra kaila vyāsa
māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa

Translation: Śrīla Vyāsadeva presented the Vedānta philosophy for the deliverance of conditioned souls, but if one hears the commentary of Śaṅkarācārya, everything is spoiled.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Factually, the devotional service of the Lord is described in the Vedānta-sūtra, but the Māyāvādī philosophers, the Śaṅkarites, prepared a commentary known as Śārīraka-bhāṣya, in which the transcendental form of the Lord is denied. The Māyāvādī philosophers think that the living entity is identical with the Supreme Soul, Brahman. Their commentaries on the Vedānta-sūtra are completely opposed to the principle of devotional service. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore warns us to avoid these commentaries. If one indulges in hearing the Śaṅkarite Śārīraka-bhāṣya, he will certainly be bereft of all real knowledge.

The ambitious Māyāvādī philosophers desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, and this may be accepted as sāyujya-mukti. However, this form of mukti means denying one’s individual existence. In other words, it is a kind of spiritual suicide. This is absolutely opposed to the philosophy of bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga offers immortality to the individual conditioned soul. If one follows the Māyāvādī philosophy, he misses his opportunity to become immortal after giving up the material body. The immortality of the individual person is the highest perfectional stage a living entity can attain.

Jayapatākā Swami:  Since the living entity is ultimately a person, if the living entity merges into the impersonal truth, he will not stay there immortally. And then since he does not know about bhakti yoga or devotional activities, He falls down. Then again he engages in material activities. So, he is missing the opportunity to achieve real immortality.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.170

শক্তিপরিণামবাদই ব্রহ্মসূত্রে উদ্দিষ্ট :—

‘pariṇāma-vāda’ — vyāsa-sūtrera sammata
acintya-śakti īśvara jagad-rūpe pariṇata

Translation: The Vedānta-sūtra aims at establishing that the cosmic manifestation has come into being by the transformation of the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: For a further explanation of pariṇāma-vāda, refer to Ādi-līlā, Seventh Chapter, verses 121–133.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.171

প্রাকৃত চিন্তামণির দৃষ্টান্ত; শক্তি পরিণত হইলেও শক্তিমান্‌ অবিকৃত :—

maṇi yaiche avikṛte prasabe hema-bhāra
jagad-rūpa haya īśvara, tabu avikāra

Translation: The touchstone, after touching iron, produces volumes of gold without being changed. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself as the cosmic manifestation by His inconceivable potency, yet He remains unchanged in His eternal, transcendental form.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: According to the commentary of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the purpose of the janmādy asya aphorism in the Vedānta-sūtra is to establish that the cosmic manifestation is the result of the transformation of the potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is the master of innumerable eternal energies, which are unlimited. Sometimes these energies are manifested, and sometimes they are not. In any case, all energies are under His control; therefore He is the original energetic, the abode of all energies. A common brain in the conditioned state cannot conceive of how these inconceivable energies abide in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, how He exists in His innumerable forms as the master of both spiritual and material energies, how He is the master of both manifest and potential powers, and how contradictory potencies can abide in Him. As long as the living entity is within this material world, in the condition of illusion, he cannot understand the activities of the inconceivable energies of the Lord. Thus the Lord’s energies, though factual, are simply beyond the power of the common brain to understand.

When the atheistic philosophers or the Māyāvādīs, being unable to understand the inconceivable energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, imagine an impersonal void, their imagination is only the counterpart of materialistic thinking. Within the material world, there is nothing inconceivable. High-thinking philosophers and scientists can tackle the material energy, but not being able to understand the spiritual energy, they can simply imagine an inactive state, such as the impersonal Brahman. This is simply the negative side of material life. By such imperfect knowledge, the Māyāvādī philosophers conclude that the cosmic manifestation is a transformation of the Supreme. Thus they must necessarily also accept the theory of the illusion of the Supreme (vivarta-vāda). However, if we accept the inconceivable potencies of the Lord, we can understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead can appear within this material world without being touched or contaminated by the three modes of material nature.

From the śāstras we learn that there is a stone or jewel called a touchstone that can transform iron into gold. Although the touchstone turns iron into gold many times, it remains in its original condition. If such a material stone can maintain its inconceivable energy after producing volumes of gold, certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead can remain in His original sac-cid-ānanda form after creating the cosmic world. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.10), He acts only through His different energies. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ: Kṛṣṇa directs the material energy, and that potency works in this material world. This is also confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.44):

sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā
chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā
icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

The durgā-śakti (material energy) acts under the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the universal creation, maintenance and destruction are being carried out by the durgā-śakti. Kṛṣṇa’s direction is in the background. The conclusion is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as He is, even though directing His energy, which makes the diverse cosmic manifestation work so wonderfully.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, Śrīla Prabhupāda has given very detailed purports, because this is a very important aspect of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy. And after one gets free from all material attachments, this impersonal philosophy can block one from further advancement. So it is very important to understand how this philosophy is so detrimental. They do not understand the Lord is the master of unlimited spiritual potencies and they give  very offensive description of the Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.172

গুরু ব্যাসদেবকে ভ্রান্ত বলায় মায়াবাদী—বিবৰ্ত্তবাদী, অতএব তিনি—শ্রৌতপথ-বিরোধী নাস্তিক:—

vyāsa — bhrānta bali’ sei sūtre doṣa diyā
‘vivarta-vāda’ sthāpiyāche kalpanā kariyā

Translation: Śaṅkarācārya states that the theory of transformation presented in the Vedānta-sūtra implies that the Absolute Truth itself is transformed. In this way the Māyāvādī philosophers denigrate Śrīla Vyāsadeva by accusing him of error. They thus find fault in the Vedānta-sūtra and misinterpret it to try to establish the theory of illusion.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: The first aphorism of the Brahma-sūtra is athāto brahma jijñāsā: “We must now inquire into the Absolute Truth.” The second aphorism immediately answers, janmādy asya yataḥ: “The Absolute Truth is the original source of everything.” Janmādy asya yataḥ does not suggest that the original person has been transformed. Rather, it clearly indicates that He produces this cosmic manifestation through His inconceivable energy. This is also clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), where Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “From Me, everything emanates.” This is also confirmed in the Taittirīya Upaniṣad (3.1.1): yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante. “The Supreme Absolute Truth is that from which everything is born.” Similarly, in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.1.7) it is stated, yathorṇa-nābhiḥ sṛjate gṛhṇate ca: “[The Lord creates and destroys the cosmic manifestation] as a spider creates a web and draws it back within itself.” All of these Vedic statements indicate the transformation of the Lord's energy, not of the Lord Himself. Transformation of the Lord's energy is called pariṇāma-vāda. However, being very anxious to protect Śrīla Vyāsadeva from criticism, Śaṅkarācārya became a pseudo gentleman and put forward his theory of illusion (vivarta-vāda). Śaṅkarācārya concocted this meaning of pariṇāma-vāda, and by word jugglery he endeavored very hard to establish pariṇāma-vāda as vivarta-vāda.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So, the Māyāvādī philosophy is that actually we are God but we are covered by Māyā and when the māyā or illusion is removed then we will realize we are God. That is why they are called Māyāvāda. Because if we are covered by māyā or illusion then māyā is greater than God. So Kṛṣṇa is never covered by Māyā. Just like the sun can never be covered by the clouds. We are under the clouds so we may be not able to see the sun through the clouds, but the sun is above the clouds. Those who fly in the airplane above the clouds they can see how the sun is there, shining. But those who are underneath the clouds, they do not see the sun. So this is illusion. Somehow, they think that when the clouds are removed, they will realize they are God. So, this is a very dangerous philosophy, if you think you are God, your devotion to God cannot evolve. So these impersonalists are offender of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.