20210825 Neglecting the Blasphemy of the Vārāṇasī Māyāvādīs, Lord Caitanya Proceeds to Mathurā Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 25th 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 Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book. Todays chapter entitled is:

Neglecting the Blasphemy of the Vārāṇasī Māyāvādīs, Lord Caitanya Proceeds to Mathurā Part 1

Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.40

vṛndāvana yāite prabhu rahilā kāśīte
māyāvādi-gaṇa tāṅre lāgila nindite

Translation: While Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was passing through Vārāṇasī on His way to Vṛndāvana, the Māyāvādī sannyāsī philosophers blasphemed against Him in many ways.

Purport: While preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness with full vigor, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu faced many Māyāvādī philosophers. Similarly, we are also facing opposing svāmīs, yogīs, impersonalists, scientists, philosophers and other mental speculators, and by the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa we successfully defeat all of them without difficulty.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda was preaching the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. He faced many obstacles from the above mentioned persons but he was not stopped in presenting Kṛṣṇa consciousness, similarly his followers need to face up any kinds of obstacles with proper enthusiasm and dedication to spread the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.41

māyāvādigaṇera prabhunindā:—

sannyāsī ha-iyā kare gāyana, nācana
nā kare vedānta-pāṭha, kare saṅkīrtana

Translation: The blasphemers said, “Although a sannyāsī, He does not take interest in the study of Vedānta but instead always engages in chanting and dancing in saṅkīrtana.

Purport: Fortunately or unfortunately, we also meet such Māyāvādīs who criticize our method of chanting and accuse us of not being interested in study. They do not know that we have translated volumes and volumes of books into English and that the students in our temples regularly study them in the morning, afternoon and evening. We are writing and printing books, and our students study them and distribute them all over the world. No Māyāvādī school can present as many books as we have; nevertheless, they accuse us of not being fond of study. Such accusations are completely false. But although we study, we do not study the nonsense of the Māyāvādīs. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs neither chant nor dance. Their technical objection is that this method of chanting and dancing is called tauryatrika, which indicates that a sannyāsī should completely avoid such activities and engage his time in the study of Vedānta. Actually, such men do not understand what is meant by Vedānta. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham: “By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” Lord Kṛṣṇa is the actual compiler of Vedānta, and whatever He speaks is Vedānta philosophy. Although they are lacking the knowledge of Vedānta presented by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the transcendental form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Māyāvādīs are very proud of their study. Foreseeing the bad effects of their presenting Vedānta philosophy in a perverted way, Śrīla Vyāsadeva compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is bhāṣyo ’yaṁ brahmā-sūtrāṇām; in other words, all the Vedānta philosophy in the aphorisms of the Brahma-sūtra is thoroughly described in the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Thus the factual propounder of Vedānta philosophy is a Kṛṣṇa conscious person who always engages in reading and understanding the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and teaching the purport of these books to the entire world. The Māyāvādīs are very proud of having monopolized the Vedānta philosophy, but devotees have their own commentaries on Vedānta such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and others written by the ācāryas. The commentary of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas is the Govinda-bhāṣya. The Māyāvādīs’ accusation that devotees do not study Vedānta is false. The Māyāvādīs do not know that chanting, dancing and preaching the principles of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, called bhāgavata-dharma, are the same as studying Vedānta. Since they think that reading Vedānta philosophy is the only function of a sannyāsī and they did not find Caitanya Mahāprabhu engaged in such direct study, they criticized the Lord. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has given special stress to the study of Vedānta philosophy: vedānta-vākyeṣu sadā ramantaḥ kaupīnavantaḥ khalu bhāgyavantaḥ. “A sannyāsī, accepting the renounced order very strictly and wearing nothing more than a loincloth, should always enjoy the philosophical statements in the Vedānta-sūtra. Such a person in the renounced order is to be considered very fortunate.” The Māyāvādīs in Vārāṇasī blasphemed Lord Caitanya because His behavior did not follow these principles. Lord Caitanya, however, bestowed His mercy upon these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and delivered them by means of His Vedānta discourses with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His Divine Grace Śrīla AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda encouraged that devotees should study Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta, to this end he established study courses and degrees of Bhakti śāstrī, Bhati Vaibhava, Bhakti Vedānta, Bhakti Sārvabhauma. The devotees are recommended to study very diligently the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in this way the science of Vedānta would be understood.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.42

mūrkha sannyāsī nija-dharma nāhi jāne
bhāvuka ha-iyā phere bhāvukera sane

Translation: This Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an illiterate sannyāsī and therefore does not know His real function. Guided only by His sentiments, He wanders about in the company of other sentimentalists.

Purport: Foolish Māyāvādīs, not knowing that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on a solid philosophy of transcendental science, superficially conclude that those who dance and chant do not have philosophical knowledge. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious actually have full knowledge of the essence of Vedānta philosophy, for they study the real commentary on the Vedānta philosophy, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and follow the actual words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as found in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. After understanding the Bhāgavata philosophy, or bhāgavata-dharma, they become fully spiritually conscious or Kṛṣṇa conscious, and therefore their chanting and dancing is not material but is on the spiritual platform. Although everyone admires the ecstatic chanting and dancing of the devotees, who are therefore popularly known as “the Hare Kṛṣṇa people,” Māyāvādīs cannot appreciate these activities because of their poor fund of knowledge. So, the Māyāvādīs do not understand that Kṛṣṇa is transcendental, that there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s name, Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, Kṛṣṇa’s qualities and Kṛṣṇa’s topics, by chanting one feels transcendental bliss, therefore one feels like dancing, but they do not appreciate the transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa, that’s why they are impersonalists and their criticism is basically false and unfounded, unsubstantiated.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.43

e saba śuniyā prabhu hāse mane mane
upekṣā kariyā kāro nā kaila sambhāṣaṇe

Translation: Hearing all this blasphemy, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu merely smiled to Himself, rejected all these accusations and did not talk with the Māyāvādīs.

Purport: As Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, we do not like to converse with Māyāvādī philosophers simply to waste valuable time, but whenever there is an opportunity we impress our philosophy upon them with great vigor and success. So, the people who are contaminated by the Māyāvādī, impersonalistic philosophy, somehow their intelligence is short circuited.

Jayapatākā Swami: So I was telling one Māyāvādī, how the last verse in the fourteenth chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, brahmano aham pratistāham, he was shocked and he said, no no, how can it be, my life I have been worshipping the impersonal truth, I will think about this” Next day I saw him, he was very happy, he said how he had talked to some Sanskrit professor in the local University, he told him that means that “Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the four headed Brahmā” but although the name is similar, but it is very clear that Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. Anyway, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that such people should be engaged in Kṛṣṇa service, may be after serving Kṛṣṇa, he will get purified and be able to understand our philosophy. So, he followed that policy and eventually he said that he understood the philosophy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 19.95

straiṇa o madyapa nītiparāyaṇera vicāre nikṛṣṭa haileo vaiṣṇava vidveṣī vedāntī apekṣā bhagavānera adhika kṛpāpātra—

straiṇa-madyapere prabhu anugraha kare
nindaka vedāntī yadi, tathāpi saṁhāre

Translation: Lord Caitanya bestowed mercy on womanizers and drunkards, but He annihilates blasphemers even if they are well-versed in Vedānta.

Purport: (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī) Ordinary people who are intoxicated by material enjoyment and who follow worldly morality give more respect to impersonalists than to drunkards and womanizers, but the supremely independent Lord, who is most merciful to the living entities, does not approve of their consideration, which is born of external perception. Realizing that the conception of the Vedāntists who are averse to the Vaiṣṇavas is completely opposed to devotional service, He refutes it. And He displays compassion on the weak, the womanizers, and the drunkards according to their respective qualifications.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, basically the drunkards and womamizers and committing sinful acts but they could be easily delivered, but the impersonalists, Māyāvādīs, are committing offense to Kṛṣṇa. So their aparādha is more serious than sin.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 19.96

saṅgera tāratamya-pradarśanakalpe dārī sannyāsīke gaurasundarera kṛpāpūrvaka māyāvādīra saṅga varjana śikṣāpradāna—

nyāsī haiyā madya piye, strī-saṅga ācare
tathāpi ṭhākura gelā tāhāra mandire

Translation: Although the dārī sannyāsī drank wine and intimately associated with women, Lord Caitanya visited his house.

Purport: (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī) People who enjoy other's wives and drink wine are not accepted as pious in this world. No one goes to the house of a sinful person to associate with him. Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda bestowed mercy on even this dārī sannyāsī to reveal that in a comparison of various kinds of association the association of Māyāvādīs is more abominable and undesirable than the association of drunkards. But They revealed that the association of the Māyāvādī Vedāntists of Kāśī was even more undesirable. The licentious drunkards are only sinful, but the Māyāvādīs are envious of the Supreme Lord and His devotees, therefore they are eternally offenders. Sins are exhaustible, but imperishable sins like spiritual suicide resulting from offense do not allow one to give up his false identification. As a result of offenses, the eternal good fortune and supreme auspiciousness of living entities are destroyed forever. When piety is accumulated, sinful reactions are destroyed. But the result of offenses is more inauspicious than sin in all respects.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 19.97

vākyāvākya kailā prabhu, śikhāila dharma
viśrāma kariyā kailā bhojanera karma

Translation: In the course of their conversation, Lord Caitanya taught the dārī sannyāsī religious principles. He took rest in his house and ate there.

Jayapatākā Swami: He gave great mercy to this dārī sannyāsī and at the end of course the dārī sannyāsī would invited him to stay for lunch and he would give Him fish. Then Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda when they realsied that the dārī sannyāsī ate fish They jumped into the Ganges with all their cloths on to purify themselves, point is that before that They gave so much mercy to the dārī sannyāsī.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Madhya-khaṇḍa 19.98

nā haya e janme bhāla, haiba āra janme
sabe nindakere nāhi vāse bhāla-marme

Translation: Even if the dārī sannyāsī could not attain perfection in this life, he would in the next. But the blasphemers will never achieve perfection.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, if one does sinful activity, they have to take rebirth gain, but they can be eventually delivered. But if someone is a blasphemer or offender of the Lord and His devotees, they can never achieve perfection.

Thus end the chapter, “Neglecting the Blasphemy of the Vārāṇasī Māyāvādīs, Lord Caitanya Proceeds to Mathurā Part 1,
Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana