20220421 The Words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Are a Shower of Nectar

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 21st,2022 in Śrī Dhāma 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 Krishna! Dear Devotees! Today we are continuing with the compilation of Caitanya-līlā book, the chapter entitled is:

The Words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Are a Shower of Nectar

Under the section: How All the Residents of Vārāṇasī Became Vaiṣṇavas

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.46

gaurabhakta prakāśānandera ukti; uddhārānte tāṅhāra ‘prabodhānanda’ nāmaprāptira pramāṇābhāva :—

eta kahi’ sei kare kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana
śuni’ prakāśānanda kichu kahena vacana

Translation: After saying this, the disciple of Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Hearing this, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī made the following statement.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.47

‘kevalādbaitavāda sthāpanārtha śaṅkarera sātvataśāstra-khaṇḍanaceṣṭāya ‘pracchanna-nāstikatā’ vā bhagavad-abiśvāsa :—

“ācāryera āgraha-’advaita-vāda’ sthāpite
tāte sūtrārtha vyākhyā kare anya rīte

Translation: Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī said, “Śaṅkarācārya was very eager to establish the philosophy of monism. Therefore he explained the Vedānta-sūtra, or Vedānta philosophy, in a different way to support monistic philosophy.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, since Śaṅkarācārya was instructed to present covered Buddhism to attract the atheists back to the Vedas, he presented the philosophy in a particular way

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.48

‘bhagavattā’ mānile ‘advaita’ nā yāya sthāpana
ataeva saba śāstra karaye khaṇḍana

Translation: “If one accepts the Personality of Godhead, the philosophy that maintains that God and the living entity are one cannot be established. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya argued against and refuted all kinds of revealed scriptures.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, since he was asked by Viṣṇu to cover the true meaning of the Vedas, he had to do that in order to establish the kevala-advaita-vāda, so it wasn't his fault, but what he did was to give wrong interpretation and thus Lord Caitanya advised that people should not listen to the Māyāvādī philosophy.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.49

kutarkamūlaka matavādera phala :—

yei grantha-kartā cāhe sva-mata sthāpite/ śāstrera sahaja artha nahe tāṅhā haite

Translation: “Anyone who wants to establish his own opinion or philosophy certainly cannot explain any scripture according to the principle of direct interpretation.

Jayapatākā Swami: A scripture is supposed to be explained by direct interpretation, but if you do that you come up with a false philosophy. Therefore Śrīla Prabhupāda gave Bhagavad-gītā As It is and Śaṅkarācārya he established the Vedanta-Sūtra in a false way.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.50

ṣaḍvidha dārśanikera vibhinna matavāda o vaidika mata :—

‘mīmāṁsaka’ kahe,—‘īśvara haya karmera aṅga’/ ‘sāṅkhya’ kahe,—‘jagatera prakṛti kāraṇa-prasaṅga’

Translation: “The Mīmāṁsaka philosophers conclude that if there is a God, He is subject to our fruitive activities. Similarly, the Sāṅkhya philosophers, who analyze the cosmic manifestation, say that the cause of the cosmos is material nature.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the impersonalists philosophers falsely explain that the material nature is the cause, much like ithe mpersonal philosophers, the Sāṅkarite Māyāvādī, But Krsna is clearly the cause of all causes; the material and spiritual creations are dependent on Him.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.51

‘nyāya’ kahe,—‘paramāṇu haite viśva haya’
‘māyāvādī’ nirviśeṣa-brahme ‘hetu’ kaya

Translation: “The followers of nyāya, the philosophy of logic, maintain that the atom is the cause of the cosmic manifestation, and the Māyāvādī philosophers maintain that the impersonal Brahman effulgence is the cause of the cosmic manifestation.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the Māyāvādī philosophers they say the impersonal brahman as the cause.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.52

‘pātañjala’ kahe,—‘īśvara haya svarūpa-jñāna’
veda-mate kahe tāṅre ‘svayaṁ-bhagavān’

Translation: “The Pātañjala philosophers say that when one is self-realized, he understands the Lord. Similarly, according to the Vedas and Vedic principles, the original cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the yoga master Patañjali explain that the Supreme Lord is the cause. The Vedas explain that Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.53

vyāsakarttṛka brahma-sūtre sarva-matavāda-khaṇḍana :—

chayera chaya mata vyāsa kailā āvartana
sei saba sūtra lañā ‘vedānta’-varṇana

Translation: “After studying the six philosophical theses, Vyāsadeva completely summarized them all in the aphorisms of Vedānta philosophy.

Jayapatākā Swami: The different philosophies were explained by Vyāsadevā in his Vedānta-Sūtra but somehow those are being twisted.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.54

‘vedānta’-mate brahma—cid-vilāsa saviśeṣa vā saccidānandamaya vigraha :—

‘vedānta’-mate,-brahma ‘sākāra’ nirūpaṇa
‘nirguṇa’ vyatireke tiṅho haya ta’ ‘saguṇa’

Translation: “According to Vedānta philosophy, the Absolute Truth is a person. When the word ‘nirguṇa’ [‘without qualities’] is used, it is to be understood that the Lord has attributes that are totally spiritual.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the Absolute Truth is a person but sometimes He is described as nirguṇa or quality less. It means He has no material qualities or His qualities are spiritual.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.55

paramata-khaṇḍanapūrvaka nija-nija matavāda sthāpanaceṣṭā :—

parama kāraṇa īśvara keha nāhi māne/ sva-sva-mata sthāpe para-matera khaṇḍane

Translation: “Of the philosophers mentioned, none really cares for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. They are always busy refuting the philosophical theories of others and establishing their own.

Jayapatākā Swami: It says that every philosopher is supposed to have different philosopy from others. Usually they will try to refute the philosophy of the Supreme person. Actually if there is a Supreme Person other philosophers cannot refute this, and follow the direct meaning of the Vedas.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.56

aniścayatāmūlaka manodharmmī tarkapanthī ṣaḍ-darśana chāḍiyā śrautapanthī mahājana vā śuddha-bhaktai āśrayitavya :—

tāte chaya darśana haite ‘tattva’ nāhi jāni
‘mahājana’ yei kahe, sei ‘satya’ māni

Translation: “By studying the six philosophical theories, one cannot reach the Absolute Truth. It is therefore our duty to follow the path of the mahājanas, the authorities. Whatever they say should be accepted as the supreme truth.

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives the following summary of the six philosophical processes. Prakāśānanda admitted that Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, being very eager to establish his philosophy of monism, took shelter of the Vedānta philosophy and tried to explain it in his own way. The fact is, however, that if one accepts the existence of God, one certainly cannot establish the theory of monism. For this reason Śaṅkarācārya refuted all kinds of Vedic literature that establishes the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead. In various ways, Śaṅkarācārya has tried to refute the Vedic literature. Throughout the world, ninety-nine percent of the philosophers following in the footsteps of Śaṅkarācārya refuse to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead they try to establish their own opinions. It is typical of mundane philosophers to want to establish their own opinions and refute those of others. Therefore: (1) The Mīmāṁsaka philosophers, following the principles of Jaimini, stress fruitive activity and say that if there is a God, He must be under the laws of fruitive activity. In other words, if one performs his duties very nicely in the material world, God is obliged to give one the desired result. According to these philosophers, there is no need to become a devotee of God. If one strictly follows moral principles, one will be recognized by the Lord, who will give the desired reward. Such philosophers do not accept the Vedic principle of bhakti-yoga. Instead, they give stress to following one’s prescribed duty.

(2) Atheistic Sāṅkhya philosophers like Kapila analyze the material elements very scrutinizingly and thereby come to the conclusion that material nature is the cause of everything. They do not accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of all causes.

(3) Nyāya philosophers like Gautama and Kaṇāda have accepted a combination of atoms as the original cause of the creation.

(4) Māyāvādī philosophers say that everything is an illusion. Headed by philosophers like Aṣṭāvakra, they stress the impersonal Brahman effulgence as the cause of everything.

(5) Philosophers following the precepts of Patañjali practice rāja-yoga. They imagine a form of the Absolute Truth within many forms. That is their process of self-realization.

All five of these philosophies completely reject the predominance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and strive to establish their own philosophical theories. However, Śrīla Vyāsadeva wrote the Vedānta-sūtra and, taking the essence of all Vedic literature, established the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All five kinds of philosophers mentioned above understand that impersonal Brahman is without material qualities, and they believe that when the Personality of Godhead appears, He is contaminated and covered by the material qualities. The technical term used is saguṇa. They speak of saguṇa Brahman and nirguṇa Brahman. For them, nirguṇa Brahman means “the impersonal Absolute Truth without any material qualities” and saguṇa Brahman means “the Absolute Truth that accepts the contamination of material qualities.” More or less, this kind of philosophical speculation is called Māyāvāda philosophy. The fact is, however, that the Absolute Truth never has anything to do with material qualities because He is transcendental. He is always complete with full spiritual qualities. The five philosophers mentioned above do not accept Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they are very busy refuting the philosophies of other schools. There are six kinds of philosophical processes in India. Because Vyāsadeva is the Vedic authority, he is known as Vedavyāsa. His philosophical explanation of the Vedānta-sūtra is accepted by the devotees.

As Kṛṣṇa confirms in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15):

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known; indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.”

The ultimate goal of studying all Vedic literature is the acceptance of Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is propagating the philosophical conclusion of Śrīla Vyāsadeva and following other great ācāryas like Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Nimbārka and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, five philosophies mentioned they are all presenting some different philosophies and Vedavyāsa’s philosophy is the proper philosophy, so we strictly follow Vedavyāsa and thus we are in harmony with all the other great ācāryas. So, in this way the Māyāvādī idea is rejected, Lord Caitanya establish the proper Vaiṣṇava philosophy, We believe in the Supreme Person, and we reject all other concocted ideas.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.57

Mahābhārata vana-parve (313/117)—

Translation: “Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.’

Purport: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda This is a verse spoken by Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja in the Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.117.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, unless one is from the bonafide sampradāya then naturally the truths are hidden. So, we should accept initiation from one of the bonafide sampradāyas, we should be very careful to avoid the Māyāvādī misinformation.

Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.58

caitanya-siddhāntavāṇī anusaraṇīyā :—

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-vāṇī-amṛtera dhāra
tiṅho ye kahaye vastu, sei ‘tattva’-sāra”

Translation: “The words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are a shower of nectar. Whatever He concludes to be the ultimate truth is indeed the summum bonum of all spiritual knowledge.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, if one wants to understand the true meaning of the Vedas, we should take the words of Lord Caitanya as a shower of nectar.

Jay!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, The Words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Are a Shower of Nectar

Under the section: How All the Residents of Vārāṇasī Became Vaiṣṇavas