20210824 Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī Blasphemes Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 24th August 2021 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Sri Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book. Todays chapter entitled is:

Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī Blasphemes Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.101

mahārāṣṭrīya viprera āgamana o prabhura ānugatya:—

mahārāṣṭrīya vipra āise prabhu dekhibāre
prabhura rūpa-prema dekhi’ haya camatkāre

Translation: At Vārāṇasī there was a Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa who used to come daily to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This brāhmaṇa was simply astonished to see the Lord’s personal beauty and ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Lord Caitanya has descended from the spiritual world, His personal beauty was incomparable and since His pastime was to relish the ecstasy of devotee for Lord Kṛṣṇa, therefore He was experiencing unparalleled ecstasy all the time.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.102

prabhuke bhikṣā dite māyāvādī avaiṣṇava-viprera ayogyatā:—

vipra saba nimantraya, prabhu nāhi mane
prabhu kahe,—’āji mora hañāche nimantraṇe’

Translation: When the brāhmaṇas of Vārāṇasī would invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to lunch, the Lord would not accept their invitations. He would reply, “I have already been invited somewhere else.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.103

ācārya-līlākārī prabhura māyāvādisaṅga tyāga:—

ei-mata prati-dina karena vañcana
sannyāsīra saṅga-bhaye nā mānena nimantraṇa

Translation: Every day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refused their invitations because He feared associating with Māyāvādī sannyāsīs.

Purport: A Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī never accepts an invitation from a party who considers Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs to be one and the same. In other words, Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs do not at all like to associate with Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, to say nothing of eating with them. This principle must be followed by the sannyāsīs of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, given by His personal behavior.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Māyāvādīs consider each other as Nārāyaṇa, therefore the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs don’t like to associate with them, since they are absorbed in serving the Supreme Lord.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.104

prakāśānandera bahu-śiṣya-saṅge māyāvāda-vyākhyā:—

prakāśānanda śrīpāda sabhāte vasiyā
‘vedānta’ paḍāna bahu śiṣya-gaṇa lañā

Translation: There was a great Māyāvādī sannyāsī named Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, who used to teach Vedānta philosophy to a great assembly of followers.

Purport: Śrīpāda Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was a Māyāvādī sannyāsī, and his characteristics have been described in Caitanya-bhāgavata (Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter three):

hasta’, ‘pada’, ‘mukha’ mora nāhika ‘locana’ veda more ei-mata kare viḍambana
kāśīte paḍāya veṭā ‘prakāśa-ānanda’ sei veṭā kare mora aṅga khaṇḍa-khaṇḍa
vākhānaye veda, mora vigraha nā māne sarvāṅge ha-ila kuṣṭha, tabu nāhi jāne
sarva-yajñamaya mora ye-aṅga — pavitra ‘aja’, ‘bhava’ ādi gāya yāṅhāra caritra
‘puṇya’ pavitratā pāya ye-aṅga-paraśe tāhā ‘mithyā’ bale veṭā kemana sāhase

In the Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter twenty, it is said:

Being an impersonalist, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī used to explain the Absolute Truth as being without hands, legs, mouths or eyes. In this way he used to cheat the people by denying the personal form of the Lord. Such a foolish person was Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, whose only business was to sever the limbs of the Lord by proving the Lord impersonal. Although the Lord has form, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī attempted to cut off the hands and legs of the Lord. This is the business of demons. The Vedas state that people who do not accept the Lord’s form are rascals. The form of the Lord is factual, for Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. When Kṛṣṇa says aham, He says “I am,” which means “I,” the person. He adds the word eva, which is used for conclusive verification. Thus by studying Vedānta philosophy one must come to know the Supreme Person. Whoever describes Vedic knowledge as impersonal is a demon. One becomes successful in life by worshiping the form of the Lord. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs deny the form of the Lord, which delivers all fallen souls. Indeed, the Māyāvādī demons try to cut this form to pieces.

The Personality of Godhead is worshiped by exalted demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. The original Māyāvādī sannyāsī, Śaṅkarācārya, also accepted the fact that the Lord’s form is transcendental: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt. “Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the avyakta, the unmanifested material energy.” Avyaktād aṇḍa-sambhavaḥ: “ This material world is a creation of that unmanifested material energy.” However, Nārāyaṇa has His own eternal form, which is not created by the material energy. Simply by worshiping the form of the Lord, one is purified. However, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are impersonalist philosophers, and they describe the form of the Lord as māyā, or false. How can one be purified by worshiping something false? Māyāvādī philosophers have no sufficient reason for being impersonalists. They blindly follow a principle that cannot be supported by reason or argument. This was the situation with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, the chief Māyāvādī sannyāsī of Benares. He was supposed to teach Vedānta philosophy, but he would not accept the form of the Lord; therefore he was attacked with leprosy. Nonetheless, he continued to commit sins by describing the Absolute Truth as impersonal. The Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, always displays pastimes and activities, but Māyāvādī sannyāsīs claim that these activities are false.

Some people falsely claim that Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī later became known as Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, but this is not a fact. Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī was the uncle and spiritual master of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. In his gṛhastha life, Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī was a resident of Śrī Raṅga-kṣetra, and he belonged to the Vaiṣṇava Rāmānuja-sampradāya. It is a mistake to consider Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī the same man.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was a Māyāvādī who criticized Lord Caitanya and eventually Lord Caitanya explained to him, of how one should take shelter of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s holy names.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.105

tatsamīpe eka viprera prabhu-caritra-varṇana:—

eka vipra dekhi’ āilā prabhura vyavahāra
prakāśānanda-āge kahe caritra tāṅhāra

Translation: A brāhmaṇa who saw the wonderful behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and described the Lord’s characteristics.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya had transcendental characteristics and these were explained to Śrīpāda Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.106

eka sannyāsī āilā jagannātha haite
tāṅhāra mahimā-pratāpa nā pāri varṇite

Translation: The brāhmaṇa told Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, “There is a sannyāsī who has come from Jagannātha Purī, and I cannot describe His wonderful influence and glories.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this Maharastrian brāhmaṇa was very impressed to see the personal beauty and activities of Lord Caitanya, so he was trying to explain this to Śrīpāda Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.107

īśvara-lakṣaṇa-samūha prabhute virājamāna:—

sakala dekhiye tāṅte adbhuta-kathana
prakāṇḍa-śarīra, śuddha-kāñcana-varaṇa

Translation: Everything is wonderful about that sannyāsī. He has a very well built and luxuriant body, and His complexion is like purified gold.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is 7 ft tall and His arms go down to His knees, He is golden in color, therefore He is known as Gaurāṅga.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.108

ājānu-lambita bhuja, kamala-nayana
yata kichu īśvarera sarva sal-lakṣaṇa

Translation: He has arms that extend to His knees, and His eyes are like the petals of a lotus. In His person are all the transcendental symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa is describing some of the transcendental qualities of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.109

bhāgavata- kathita īśvara vā mahā-bhāgavata-lakṣaṇanicaya prabhute vidyamāna:—

tāhā dekhi’ jñāna haya—’ei nārāyaṇa
yei tāṅre dekhe, kare kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana

Translation: When one sees all these features, one takes Him to be Nārāyaṇa Himself. Whoever sees Him immediately begins to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya simply by seeing Him, one gets inspired to enagage in congregation chanting of the holy name of Krsna, saṅkīrtana.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.110

‘mahā-bhāgavata’-lakṣaṇa śuni bhāgavate
se-saba lakṣaṇa prakaṭa dekhiye tāṅhāte

Translation: We have heard about the symptoms of a first-class devotee in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and all those symptoms are manifest in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, he was seeing all these transcendental symptoms mentioned in Śrīmad-bhāgavatam in the person of Lord Caitanya Māhaprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.111

‘nirantara kṛṣṇa-nāma’ jihvā tāṅra gāya
dui-netre aśru vahe gaṅgā-dhārā-prāya

Translation: His tongue is always chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, and from His eyes tears incessantly fall like the flowing Ganges.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.112

kṣaṇe nāce, hāse, gāya, karaye krandana
kṣaṇe huhuṅkāra kare,—siṁhera garjana

Translation: Sometimes He dances, laughs, sings and cries, and sometimes He roars like a lion.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.113

alaukika-nāma-rūpa-guṇa-līlā-yukta kṛṣṇa-caitanya:—

jagat-maṅgala tāṅra ‘kṛṣṇa-caitanya’-nāma
nāma, rūpa, guṇa tāṅra, saba—anupama

Translation: His name, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, is all-auspicious for the world. Everything about Him — His name, form and qualities — is unparalleled.

Jayapatākā Swami: Any neutral person can appreciate the great qualities of Lord Caitanya, but whether the Māyāvādīs would l do so is doubtful.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.114

śraddhāvānera īśvara-darśanei tatkṛpāya tacceṣṭānu-bhava, śudhu tarkapanthāya śravaṇa niṣphalamātra:—

dekhile se jāni tāṅra ‘īśvarera rīti’
alaukika kathā śuni’ ke kare pratīti”

Translation: Simply by seeing Him, one understands that He possesses all the characteristics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such characteristics are certainly uncommon. Who will believe it?”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this brāhmaṇa was so impressed by seeing the transcendental qualities of Lord Caitanya. With great joy is descrbing what he saw.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.115

prabhura carita-śravaṇe tarkapanthī prakāśānandera prabhuke vyaṅga-vidrūpa vā avajñā:—

śuniyā prakāśānanda bahuta hāsilā
vipre upahāsa kari’ kahite lāgilā

Translation: Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī laughed very much to hear this description. Joking and laughing at the brāhmaṇa, he began to speak as follows.

Jayapatākā Swami: It seems that Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī didn’t really accept the transcendental qualities of Lord Caitanya, tried to laugh it off.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.116

svīya māyāvāda-halāhala-udgāra:—

“śuniyāchi gauḍa-deśera sannyāsī—‘bhāvuka’
keśava-bhāratī-śiṣya, loka-pratāraka

Translation: Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī said, “Yes, I have heard about Him. He is a sannyāsī from Bengal, and He is very sentimental. I have also heard that He belongs to the Bhāratī-sampradāya, for He is a disciple of Keśava Bhāratī. However, He is only a pretender.”

Purport: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was considered bhāvuka (sentimental) because He was always seen in the bhāva stage. That is, He always exhibited ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. However, foolish people considered Him sentimental. In the material world, so-called devotees sometimes exhibit emotional symptoms. Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s ecstatic love cannot be compared to the imitative emotional exhibitions of pretenders. Such exhibitions do not continue for very long. They are temporary. We actually see that some emotional imitators exhibit certain symptoms, but immediately after their exhibition, they are attracted to smoking and other things. In the beginning, when Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī heard of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s activities, he considered them to be those of a pretender. Consequently he called Him a loka-pratāraka, a pretender. Māyāvādīs cannot understand the transcendental symptoms exhibited by a devotee; therefore when such symptoms are manifest, the Māyāvādīs equate them with temporary emotional feelings. However, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī’s statement is offensive, and consequently he should be considered an atheist (pāṣaṇḍī). According to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, since Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was not engaged in the Lord’s devotional service, his sannyāsa is to be considered phalgu-vairāgya. This means that since he did not know how to use things for the Lord’s service, his renunciation of the world was artificial.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīpāda Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was taking the transcendental qualities of Lord Caitanya as something, mundane or material. Lord Caitanya’s ecstasy was real, it describes that in Rāmakeli, sometimes He would laugh ecstatically for six hours and constantly experiencing different transcendental emotions, these cannot be understood by the Māyāvādīs so they criticized the Lord, not realizing His actual position.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.117

‘caitanya’-nāma tāṅra, bhāvuka-gaṇa lañā
deśe deśe grāme grāme bule nācāñā

Translation: Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī continued, “I know that His name is Caitanya and that He is accompanied by many sentimentalists. His followers dance with Him, and He tours from country to country and village to village.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the Māyāvādīs they cannot appreciate the actual mercy of Lord Caitanya and how He engaged everyone in loving devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.118

yei tāṅre dekhe, sei īśvara kari’ kahe
aiche mohana-vidyā—ye dekhe se mohe

Translation: Whoever sees Him accepts Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since He has some mystic power by which He hypnotizes people, everyone who sees Him becomes illusioned.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was trying to pass off Lord Caitanya’s loving ecstasy and transcendental symptoms as some kind of mystic magical powers that people would think that He is transcendental, this is the offensive mentality of the Māyāvādī sannyāsī.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.119

sārvabhauma bhaṭṭācārya—paṇḍita prabala
śuni’ caitanyera saṅge ha-ila pāgala

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a very learned scholar, but I have heard that he also has become a madman due to his association with this Caitanya.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was very envious against Lord Caitanya and He was speaking so many blasphemies against Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.120

‘sannyāsī’—nāma-mātra, mahā-indrajālī!
‘kāśīpure’ nā vikābe tāṅra bhāvakāli

Translation: This Caitanya is a sannyāsī in name only. Actually He is a first-class magician. In any case, His sentimentalism cannot be very much in demand here in Kāśī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Kāśī is a place of impersonalism, naturally the impersonalists could not appreciate Lord Caitanya and not take His mercy. Lord Caitanya would make some plan, some strategy how to also bring in these impersonalists.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.121

‘vedānta’ śravaṇa kara, nā yāiha tāṅra pāśa
ucchṛṅkhala-loka-saṅge dui-loka-nāśa”

Translation: Do not go to see Caitanya. Just continue hearing Vedānta. If you associate with upstarts, you will be lost in this world and in the next.”

Purport: The word ucchṛṅkhala, meaning “whimsical,” is significant in this verse. In the Bhagavad-gītā (16.23), Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself says:

“If one acts whimsically and does not follow the śāstric principles, he will never attain perfection, happiness or the spiritual world.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the Māyāvādī sannyāsī is being so critical of Lord Caitanya, he was blaspheming Him in so many ways and telling the brāhmaṇa not to go and see Him.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 17.122

prabhu-nindā-śravaṇe viprera ‘kṛṣṇa’smaraṇa-pūrvaka sthāna-parityāga:—

eta śuni’ sei vipra mahā-duḥkha pāilā
‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ kahi’ tathā haite uṭhi’ gelā

Translation: When the brāhmaṇa heard Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī speak like this about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he became very much grief-stricken. Chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, he immediately left.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is one of the alternatives, when you hear some blasphemy, they should remember Kṛṣṇa and leave that place. The brāhmaṇa he knew the actual position of Lord Caitanya, when he heard these offensive statements, he immediately remembered Kṛṣṇa and left.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī Blasphemes Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

So this was the example of the kind of blasphemy the Māyāvādī sannyāsī were committing on Lord Caitanya, although Lord Caitanya has given His love to everyone in Benares but the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were deprived of His mercy by their own offensive behavior.