According to the principles of the Mayavadi sannyasis, singing, dancing and playing musical instruments are strictly prohibited, for they are considered to be sinful activities. The Mayavadi sannyasi is simply supposed to engage in the study of Vedanta. Therefore when the Mayavadi sannyasis in Benares saw that Lord Caitanya was indulging in singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and always chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, they concluded that He was not educated and that, out of sentiment, He was misleading His followers. Sankaracarya's injunction was that a sannyasi should always be engaged in the study of Vedanta and that he should be satisfied by simply having one cloth and nothing more. Because Lord Caitanya neither studied Vedanta formally nor ceased from singing and dancing He was criticized by all the sannyasis at Benares, as well as by their householder followers.

When Lord Caitanya received news of this criticism from His students and disciples, He simply smiled and started for Mathura and Vrndavana. When He returned again to Benares on His way from Mathura to Jagannatha Puri, He stayed at the house of Candrasekhara, who was considered a sudra because he was a clerk. In spite of this, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu made His residence at his home. Lord Caitanya made no distinctions between brahmanas and sudras; He accepted anyone who was devoted. Customarily, a sannyasi is supposed to take shelter and eat in the home of a brahmana, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead, used His own discretion and decided to stay at Candrasekhara's house.

In those days, by misusing their brahminical heritage, the brahmanas passed a law to the effect that anyone not born in a brahmana family was to be considered a sudra. Thus even the ksatriyas and vaidyas were also considered sudras. Because the vaidyas were supposed to be descendants of brahmana fathers and sudra wives, they were sometimes called sudras. Thus Candrasekhara Acarya, although born in a vaidya family, was called a sudra in Benares. As long as Lord Caitanya stayed in Benares, He remained at Candrasekhara's home, and He took His food at the home of Tapana Misra.

When Sanatana Gosvami met Lord Caitanya at Benares, he learned the process and principles of devotional service during two months of continuous teaching. Lord Caitanya's instructions to Sanatana Gosvami have been described in the first part of this book. After receiving these teachings, Sanatana Gosvami was authorized to propagate the principles of devotional service and Srimad-Bhagavatam. It was during this time that both Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara Acarya were feeling very sorry about the strong criticism against Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and they came together and prayed for the Lord to meet the Mayavadi sannyasis.

"We have been mortified by hearing unfavorable criticisms from the Mayavadi sannyasis against You," they informed Lord Caitanya. "Indeed, it has become intolerable for us." They requested the Lord to do something so that these criticisms might be stopped. While they were discussing this subject, a brahmana came to Lord Caitanya and invited Him to his home. All the sannyasis had been invited but Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and now the brahmana came to invite Him. Knowing that the Lord did not associate with Mayavadi sannyasis, the brahmana fell down at Caitanya Mahaprabhu's feet and implored Him: "Although I know that You do not accept invitations, I still implore You to come and take prasada at my home with the other sannyasis. If You accept this invitation, I will consider it a special favor."

The Lord took this opportunity and accepted the brahmana's invitation in order to meet the Mayavadi sannyasis. Actually this was an arrangement made by the Lord Himself. Although the brahmana who invited Him knew that the Lord did not accept any invitations, he was still very eager to invite Him.

The next day Lord Caitanya went to the house of the brahmana and saw that all the Mayavadi sannyasis were sitting there. He offered His respects to all the sannyasis as was customary, and then went to wash His feet. After washing, He sat down beside the foot basin, a little distance from the other sannyasis. While He was sitting there, the sannyasis saw a glaring effulgence emanating from His body. Being attracted by this glaring effulgence, all the Mayavadi sannyasis stood up and showed Him their respects. Amongst them was one sannyasi named Prakasananda Sarasvati. He was the chief amongst the impersonalist sannyasis, and he addressed Lord Caitanya with great humility, asking Him to come and sit amongst them.

"My dear Sir, why are You sitting in that filthy place?" he asked. "Please come and sit with us."

"Oh, I belong to an inferior sect of sannyasis," Lord Caitanya replied. "Therefore I think that I should not sit with you. Let Me remain down here."

Prakasananda was surprised to hear such a thing from such a learned man, and he actually took the Lord's hand and requested Him to please come and sit with him. When Lord Caitanya was finally seated amongst them, Prakasananda Sarasvati said, "I think Your name is Sri Krsna Caitanya, and I understand that You belong to our Mayavadi sect because You have taken sannyasa from Kesava Bharati, who belongs to the Sankaracarya sampradaya."

According to the Sankara sect, there are ten different names for sannyasis. Out of them, three names-Tirtha, Asrama and Sarasvati-are given to the sannyasis considered to be the most enlightened and cultured. Since Lord Caitanya was a Vaisnava, He was naturally humble and meek, and He wanted to give the better sitting place to Prakasananda, who belonged to the Sarasvati sampradaya. According to Sankara's principles, a brahmacari of the Bharatic school is called Caitanya. However, although Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, He kept His brahmacari name and did not take up the title of Bharati.

"Well, Sir," Prakasananda Sarasvati continued, "You belong to our Sankara sect, and You are living in Benares-so why don't You mix with us? What is the reason? Another thing-You are a sannyasi and are supposed to engage simply in the study of Vedanta, but we see that instead You are always engaged in chanting and dancing and playing music. What is the reason? These are the activities of emotional and sentimental people but You are a qualified sannyasi. Why not engage in the study of Vedanta? By Your effulgence it appears to us that You are just like the Supreme Narayana, the Personality of Godhead, but by Your behavior, You appear to be otherwise. So we are inquisitive to know why You act in this way."

"My dear sir, My spiritual master considered Me a great fool [Cc. Adi 7.71]," Lord Caitanya replied. "Therefore he has more or less punished Me by saying that because I am such a fool I have no capacity to study Vedanta. So in turn he gave Me the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. My spiritual master told Me, 'Just go on chanting this Hare Krsna mantra: it will make You all-perfect.' "

Actually Lord Caitanya was neither foolish nor ignorant of the principles of Vedanta. His purpose was to demonstrate to modern society that fools who have no history of penance and austerity should not try to study Vedanta just for some recreational purpose. In His Siksastaka, Lord Caitanya said that one should be in a humble state of mind, should think himself lower than the grass on the street, should be more tolerant than a tree, and should be devoid of all sense of prestige and ready to offer all kinds of respects to others. In such a state of mind, one can chant the Vedanta philosophy or the holy name of God constantly. The Lord also wanted to teach that a serious student of transcendental science should follow the words of his spiritual master. According to the calculations of the spiritual master, Lord Caitanya appeared to be a fool; therefore he said that He should not indulge in the study of Vedanta but should continue chanting the Hare Krsna mantra. Lord Caitanya strictly obeyed this order. In other words, Lord Caitanya impressed on the Mayavadis that the words of a bona fide spiritual master must be strictly followed. By following them, one becomes perfect in all respects.

Vedanta indicates that the last word of Vedic knowledge is the understanding of Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham: "By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." (Bg. 15.15) When one actually comes to understand the Vedanta, he comes to know Krsna and his relationship with Krsna. One who understands Krsna, understands everything. The knower of Krsna is always engaged in the transcendental loving service of Krsna. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita:

A living entity is eternally related with Krsna in the relationship of master and servant. Once that service is wanting-or, in other words, when one is not situated in Krsna consciousness-it is to be understood that study of Vedanta is insufficient. When one does not understand Krsna or does not engage in His transcendental loving service, it is to be understood that he is adverse to the study of Vedanta and to the understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The path of Vedanta study shown by Lord Caitanya should be followed by all. A person who is puffed up by so-called education and who has no humility does not seek the protection of a bona fide spiritual master. He thinks that he does not require a spiritual master and that he can achieve the highest perfection by his own efforts. Such persons are not eligible for the study of Vedanta-sutra. Those who are under the spell of material energy do not follow the instructions of the disciplic succession but try to manufacture something of their own and thereby step outside the sphere of Vedanta study. A bona fide spiritual master must always condemn such independent mental speculators. If the bona fide spiritual master directly points out the foolishness of a disciple, it should not be taken otherwise.

A person who is completely ignorant of the science of God cannot be considered learned. More or less, everyone who is not in Krsna consciousness is subject to foolishness. Sometimes we display our foolishness by accepting someone who is barely educated as a spiritual master. It is our duty to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose lotus feet are worshiped by all the Vedas. One who does not understand Him and is proud of a false understanding of Vedanta is actually a fool. Mundane attempts at academic knowledge are simply another type of foolishness. As long as one cannot understand the cosmic manifestation as a representation of the three modes of material nature, he must be considered to be in the darkness of inebriety and caught in the duality of this material world. A person who is in perfect knowledge of Vedanta becomes a servitor of the Supreme Lord, who is the maintainer and sustainer of the whole cosmic manifestation. As long as one is not transcendental to the service of the limited, he cannot have knowledge of Vedanta.

As long as one is within the limited jurisdiction of fruitive activities or is involved in mental speculation, he may perhaps be eligible to study or teach the theoretical knowledge of Vedanta-sutra, but he cannot understand the supreme, eternal, transcendental (completely liberated) vibration of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. One who has achieved perfection in chanting the transcendental Hare Krsna vibration does not have to separately learn the philosophy of Vedanta-sutra. According to the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the bona fide spiritual master, those who do not understand the transcendental vibration as being nondifferent from the Supreme and who try to become Mayavadi philosophers or experts in Vedanta-sutra are all fools. Studying Vedanta-sutra by one's own efforts (the ascending process of knowledge) is another sign of foolishness. He who has attained a taste for chanting the transcendental vibration, however, actually attains the conclusion of Vedanta. In this connection, there are two verses in Srimad-Bhagavatam which are very instructive. The purport of the first is that even if a low caste person is engaged in chanting the transcendental vibration, it is to be understood that he has performed all types of renunciation, austerities and sacrifice and has studied all the Brahma-sutras. Thus one can be able to chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The purport of the second verse is that one who chants the two syllables Ha-ri must be considered to have studied all the Vedas: the Rg Veda, Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda and Sama Veda.

On the other hand, there are many so-called devotees who think Vedanta is not meant for devotees. Such people are ignorant of the fact that Vedanta is the only platform of pure devotees. All the great acaryas of the four Vaisnava sampradayas have made commentaries on the Vedanta-sutra, but the so-called devotees known as prakrta-sahajiya carefully avoid the study of Vedanta-sutra. The prakrta-sahajiya mistakenly take the pure devotees and Vaisnava acaryas to be mental speculators or fruitive actors. Consequently they themselves become Mayavadis and leave the service of the Supreme Lord.

Understanding the Vedanta-sutra by academic knowledge never enables one to understand the value of the transcendental vibration. People who are entangled in academic knowledge are conditioned souls who are confused about the facts of "I", "mine" and "my" understanding. Consequently they are unable to detach their minds from the external energy. When a person actually attains transcendental knowledge, he becomes free from this duality and engages in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord. The Lord's service is the only means by which one can become detached from material activities. A person properly initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and engaged in chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare gradually becomes freed from the conception of "I" and "mine" and becomes attached to the Lord's transcendental loving service in one of the five transcendental relationships. Such transcendental service is not a subject matter for gross and subtle bodies. Only when one can understand that there is no difference between the Supreme and His name can one be situated in Krsna consciousness. At such a time one no longer needs to make grammatical adjustments. Rather, one becomes more interested in petitioning the Lord: "Hare Krsna-O my Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your service!"

Lord Caitanya explained all this to Prakasananda Sarasvati and told him that He had heard all this from His spiritual master. He further informed Prakasananda Sarasvati that His spiritual master had taught Him that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the actual commentary on Vedanta-sutra, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam by Vyasadeva, the author of Vedanta-sutra.

A student is to be considered perfected when he understands the identity of the holy name and the Supreme Lord. Unless one is under the shelter of a realized spiritual master, his understanding of the Supreme is simply foolishness. However, one can fully understand the transcendental Lord by service and devotion. When Lord Caitanya offenselessly chanted the Hare Krsna mantra, He declared that the mantra could at once deliver a conditioned soul from material contamination. In this age of Kali there is no alternative to chanting this maha-mantra. It is stated that the essence of all Vedic literature is the chanting of this holy name of Krsna: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Lord Caitanya also told Prakasananda Sarasvati, "In order to convince Me about this essential fact of Vedic knowledge, My spiritual master has taught Me a verse from Brhan-naradiya Purana [38.126]. Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam/ kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha: [Cc. Adi 17.21] In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way."

In three out of the four millenniums (namely Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga and Dvapara-yuga) people had the honor to be able to understand transcendence through the path of disciplic succession. However, in the present age, people have no interest in the disciplic succession. Instead, they have invented many paths of logic and argument. This individual attempt to understand the supreme transcendence (called the ascending process) is not approved by the Vedas. The Absolute Truth must descend from the absolute platform. He is not to be understood by the ascending process. The holy name of the Lord-Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare-is a transcendental vibration because it comes from the transcendental platform, the supreme abode of Krsna. Because there is no difference between Krsna and His name, the holy name of Krsna is as pure, perfect and liberated as Krsna Himself. Academic scholars have no entrance by means of logic and other argument into the understanding of the transcendental nature of the holy name of God. The single path in understanding the transcendental nature of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is the chanting of these names with faith and adherence. Such chanting will release one from designated conditions arising from the gross and subtle bodies.

In this age of logic, argument and disagreement, the chanting of Hare Krsna is the only means for self-realization. Because this transcendental vibration alone can deliver the conditioned soul, it is considered to be the essence of the Vedanta-sutra. According to the material conception, there is duality between the name, form, quality, emotions and activities of a person and the person himself, but as far as the transcendental vibration is concerned, there is no such limitation, for it descends from the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there is no difference between the name of the person and the quality of the person. Of course in the material world there is a difference. Because the Mayavadi philosophers cannot understand this, they cannot utter the transcendental vibration.

Lord Caitanya then told Prakasananda Sarasvati that because He received the order from His spiritual master, He was constantly chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. "As a result of this chanting," the Lord said, "I sometimes become very impatient and cannot restrain Myself from dancing and laughing or crying and singing. Indeed, I become just like a madman. When I first wondered whether I had become mad by chanting this Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, I approached My spiritual master and informed him that I had gone mad by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Thus I asked him what was My actual position."

In the Narada-pancaratra it is stated:

Lord Caitanya informed Prakasananda Sarasvati that when His spiritual master understood Him, he said, "It is the transcendental nature of the holy names of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare to transport a man into spiritual madness. Anyone who sincerely chants this holy name very soon attains elevation to the platform of love of God and becomes mad after God. This madness arising from love of God is the first perfectional stage for a human being."

Generally a human being is interested in religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, but love of God is above all these. A bona fide spiritual master chants the holy names-Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare-and the transcendental sound vibration enters into the ear of the disciple, and if a disciple follows in the footsteps of his spiritual master and chants the holy name with similar respect, he actually comes to worship the transcendental name. When the transcendental name is worshiped by the devotee, the name Himself spreads His glories within the heart of a devotee. When a devotee is perfectly qualified in chanting the transcendental vibration of the holy name, he is quite fit to become a spiritual master and to deliver all the people of the world. The chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it gradually establishes its supremacy above everything in the world. The devotee who chants it becomes transcendentally situated in ecstasy and sometimes laughs, cries and dances in his ecstasy. Sometimes the unintelligent put hindrances in the path of chanting this maha-mantra, but one who is situated on the platform of love of Godhead chants the holy name loudly for all concerned. As a result, everyone becomes initiated in the chanting of the holy names-Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. By chanting and hearing the holy names of Krsna, a person can remember the forms and qualities of Krsna.