20220328 Question and Answer Session

Question: How important is it for a Gauḍīya vaiṣṇava to refute the Māyāvādī philosophy? Is it something that everyone must do or only a few scholarly devotees?

Jayapatākā Swami: At least the second initiated. That is why one place Śrīla Prabhupāda said that those who take second initiation should have Bhakti-śāstri. And somewhere else he said those who want to take sannyāsa should have Bhakti-vaibhava. And somewhere else he said our gurus should have Bhakti-vedānta and should have ready Teachings of Lord Caitanya. There are great Māyāvādīs like Sadananda, Yogendra, we may have difficulty for a common devotee to defeat such people. But generally - I was preaching to one gentleman in Assam and he was a Māyāvādī. So then I told them the last verse of the 14^th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā – brāhmaṇa hi pratiṣṭāham. Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. And he said, “Oh no! it cannot be! I don’t know! I don’t know!” Next time I met him he was very happy. I asked him what happened. He said I called the head of the Sanskrit department in the Assam university, and he said that that verse means Viṣṇu is the basis of the four headed Brahmā. It is in the purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda said all these things are bogus. Śrīla Prabhupāda advised that we should not argue with Māyāvādīs as their brain is short circuited. And he said engage them in devotional service and that is the best thing. Then in a couple of years we say well, it is time to understand what you are saying. So devotional service can change the heart of even Māyāvādīs. Any other question?

Question: Can we say that the modern scientists, the atheistic scientists are a kind of Māyāvādīs? Because they also preach nonexistence of God?

Jayapatākā Swami: Anyone who doesn’t accept the existence of God is an atheistic demon and they put them into Māyāvādī or other categories.