20220404 The Māyāvādī Sannyāsīs Request Lord Caitanya to Describe the Direct Explanation of the Vedānta-śūtra

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 04th,2022 in New Pāṇihāṭi Dhāma, Atlanta,USA.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: I thank Ṭhākuraṇī for singing so nicely! And also those who played the instruments. So we will have a short reading and then I will speak something.

Today’s chapter is entitled:

The Māyāvādī Sannyāsīs Request Lord Caitanya to Describe the Direct Explanation of the Vedānta-śūtra.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.134

prabhura pratisūtrera śāṅkarabhāṣya-khaṇḍana o sannyāsigaṇera camatkāra :—

ei mate pratisūtre karena dūṣaṇa 
śuni’ camatkāra haila sannyāsīra gaṇa

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thus showed for each and every sūtra the defects in Śaṅkarācārya’s explanations, all the assembled Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were struck with wonder.

Jayapatākā Swami: So when Lord Caitanya had entered very humbly and said how He was very grateful that His spiritual master had told Him to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Actually, He was requested to please explain the Vedānta-śutra. Then He showed the indirect meaning of Śaṅkarācārya and how he was misleading. So all the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were struck with wonder.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.135

sannyāsigaṇera svīkārokti o sāmpradāyika bhāva :—

sakala sannyāsī kahe,— ‘śunaha śrīpāda 
tumi ye khaṇḍile artha, e nahe vivāda

Translation: All the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs said, “Your Holiness, kindly know from us that we actually have no quarrel with Your refutation of these meanings, for You have given a clear understanding of the sūtras.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was giving the direct meaning of the sūtras as it is. And the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs said that they accepted it. So Lord Caitanya, He was able to convince the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.136

ācārya-kalpita artha,—ihā sabhe jāni 
sampradāya-anurodhe tabu tāhā māni

Translation: “We know that all this word jugglery springs from the imagination of Śaṅkarācārya, and yet because we belong to his sect, we accept it although it does not satisfy us.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were stating that they know that Śaṅkarācārya has speculated so many things. And we did not feel satisfied but because we belonged to the sect, we just accepted it. This is the problem that some people they belong to some particular sect, then they accept all the defects of the sect. But Śrīla Prabhupāda, he presented the Bhagavad-gītā and other scriptures as it is. So that the direct meaning actually gives the proper understanding.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.137

prabhuke abhidhā-vṛttite vyākhyā karite anurodha :—

mukhyārtha vyākhyā kara, dekhi tomāra bala’ 
mukhyārthe lāgāla prabhu sūtra-sakala

Translation: “Now let us see,” the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs continued, “how well You can describe the sūtras in terms of their direct meaning.” Hearing this, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu began His direct explanation of the Vedānta-sūtra.

The Māyāvādī Sannyāsīs Request Lord Caitanya to Describe the Direct Explanation of the Vedānta-śūtra.

Haribol! Gauranga!

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, He was requested by the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs to give His direct meaning of the Vedānta-śūtras. So in this way Lord Caitanya turns all the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs into Vaiṣṇavas! So, this is a very important discussion. That Lord Caitanya by giving the direct meaning, He naturally established the Personality of Godhead. And the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs they say that to achieve mukti one has to be a sannyāsī. But Lord Caitanya taught gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. Whether you are gṛhastha or a vairāgī, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and you will achieve all perfection.

So, Lord Caitanya instructed the people how to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, how to understand the scripture as it is. Svāyambhuva Manu, the first Manu, he was a gṛhastha. And he had children but he and his wife they always kept Kṛṣṇa in the center. This is the secret of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That the gṛhasthas work together to serve Kṛṣṇa. I was seeing we have 120 Bhakti-vṛkṣa groups in Chennai. Some of the children performed a drama/skit. Two children were playing Yamadūtas and one playing Yamarāja. A girl played Yamarāja with a mustache on. So the Yamadūtas said we are trying to take these devotees to hell. But they have the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they worship Jagannātha Baladeva Subhadrā and Nitāi Gaura, they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and they eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda! We cannot touch them! We should get another job! So, like that it was a very interesting skit. And we see that how the gṛhasthas are keeping Kṛṣṇa Deity in their house, offering bhoga and eating prasāda, and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Naturally they become hands off for the Yamadūtas. And so the Yamadūtas were complaining we cannot touch them. What are we supposed to do? They were complaining to Yamarāja. So in this way we want our devotees to also worship Kṛṣṇa together and become transcendental. That Yamadūtas cannot touch them. So this is very important that we keep Kṛṣṇa in the center. We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we hear kīrtana. Lord Caitanya, He said that gṛhasthas can also go back to Godhead. Someone asked me that do if we have to have pure love to go back to Godhead? In the Bhagavad-gītā there is a verse where Kṛṣṇa says

janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
(Bg 4.9)

so if one knows how Kṛṣṇa is transcendental, His appearance, His activities are divine, they go back to Godhead. So naturally one feels some affection for Kṛṣṇa. And I see that there are a lot of children, so the children can be brought up to be nice devotees. The devotees the Kṛṣṇa conscious children, could be Kṛṣṇa conscious, long lived, healthy supātras.