Sankaracarya
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Śaṅkarācārya was an incarnation of Lord Śiva, and it is known that Lord Śiva is one of the greatest devotees (a mahājana) of the Bhāgavata school. Since Lord Siva is the greatest soul among the living entities within this material world, his name, Siva, is very auspicious for persons who identify the body with the soul. If such persons take shelter of Lord Siva, gradually they will understand that they are not the material body but are spirit soul. Siva means mahgala, or auspicious. Within the body the soul is auspicious. Aham brahmasmi: "I am Brahman." This realization is auspicious. As long as one does not realize his identity as the soul, whatever he does is inauspicious. Siva means auspicious, and devotees of Lord Siva gradually come to the platform of spiritual identification, but that is not all. Auspicious life begins from the point of spiritual identification. But there are still more duties-one has to understand one's relationship with the Supreme Soul. If one is actually a devotee of Lord Siva, he comes to the platform of spiritual realization, but if he is not intelligent enough, then he stops at that point, only realizing that he is spirit soul (aham brahmasmi). If he is intelligent enough, however, he should continue to act in the way of Lord Siva, for Lord Siva is always absorbed in the thought of Vasudeva. As previously explained, sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam: Lord Siva is always in meditation on the lotus feet of Vasudeva, Sri Krsna. Thus the auspicious position of Lord Siva is realized if one takes to the worship of Visnu because Lord Siva says in the Siva Purana that the topmost worship is worship of Lord Visnu. Lord Siva is worshiped because he is the greatest devotee of Lord Visnu. One should not, however, make the mistake of considering Lord Siva and Lord Visnu to be on the same level. That is also an atheistic idea. It is also enjoined in the Vaisnaviya Purana that Visnu or Narayana is the exalted Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one should be compared to Him as equal, even Lord Siva or Lord Brahma, not to speak of other demigods.
(More...) Lord Chaitanya admitted that Sankaracharya was an incarnation of Lord Shiva, and Lord Shiva is one of the greatest devotees, a Mahajan of the Bhagwat school. There are twelve great authorities on devotional service, and Lord Shiva is one of them. Then, why did he adopt the process of Mayavadi philosophy? The answer is given in the Padma Purana, where there is a statement by Lord Shiva as follows: "The Mayavadi philosophy is veiled Buddhist philosophy." In other words, the void philosophy of Buddha is more or less repeated in the Mayavadi philosophy of impersonalism, althouth the Mayavadi philosophy claims to be directed by the Vedic conclusions. Lord Shiva thus admits that this philosophy was manufactured by him in the Age of Kali as a Brahmin boy to mislead the atheist class of men: "Actually, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has His transcendental Body, but I describe the Supreme as impersonal. Similarly, I have explained the Vedanta Sutra also on the same principles of Mayavadi philosophy."
(More...) In the Shiva Puranam there is one statement by the Supreme Lord: "In the beginning of the Dvapara Yuga, under My order, there will be many sages who will bewilder the people in general by Mayavadi philosophy." In the Padma Purana, Lord Shiva personally says to Bhagavati Devi: "My dear Devi, sometimes I speak Mayavadi philosophy for persons who are engrossed in the modes of ignorance. But anyone in the modes of goodness who happens to hear this Mayavadi philosophy falls. In the Mayavadi philosophy I say that the living entity and the Supreme Lord are one and the same."
(More...) We all know Srila Prabhupada was mahatma. We have faith in him. We like to hear a philosophical discourse proving Srila Prabhupada in intellectual language. And it will benefit our preaching to know the sastric references; how he is saktyavesa-avatara, how he has a spiritual body, and how his knowledge is never imperfect. It will strengthen us to know these things. As Krsnadasa Kaviraja has said, one should not avoid argumentative logic in defense of Krsna and His devotees. But that is not the only way we know he was a pure devotee. We know because we were with him and saw what he did; because he entered our hearts ad planted the seed of the devotional that is still growing for each of us. I am not saying the new disciples to Krsna consciousness cannot know this. In fact, by the feelings-in-separation (vipralambha) of his disciples in parampara, new bhaktas today are knowing Srila Prabhupada just as sweet, sometimes sweeter, than those who were on the planet at the same time he was. It is a fact, association with Srila Prabhupada is growing sweeter, and we are realizing his presence even more, day by day, by the power of devotional service in disciplic succession. His Holiness Kirtanananda Swami helped me realize this when I spoke to him and confided that I had so much intimate association with Srila Prabhupada in the beginning, in 1966, but later my physical intimacy diminished. He said, "But now you are more closely with Prabhupada with every breath than you were even then." I happily admitted it was a fact. Although I very proudly consider it my greatest personal fortune that I was there in 1966, it is a fact I was then less Prabhupada conscious and less Krsna conscious than I am now. So it is also a fact that new devotees, the disciples of his disciples, may find themselves bathing in more Prabhupada katha and relishing his inspiration as grandfather guru even more than anyone has before. (Wasn't Krsna dasa Kaviraja relishing Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu only after His disappearance by hearing from Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and reading the notebooks of Murari Gupta and Svarūpa Damodara, and reading Vrndavana dasa Thakura's Caitanya-bhagavata?) My point is, let us keep the subject matter of Srila Prabhupada alive and foremost. It will not die with the present generation of disciples. "he reasons ill who says that Vaisnavas die when thou art living still in sound. The Vaisnavas die to live and living try to spread the holy name around." So as an introduction to these 1978 Vyasa-pūja homages to Srila Prabhupada, I would like to churn a little of the ocean of Prabhupada nectar. Why? Because it is a great transcendental happiness. Because we love him and because those who do not know will derive the greatest benefit. To remember and glorify the Vaisnava is to glorify Krsna Himself.
(More...) Śaṅkarācārya was deputed to teach by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord then quoted some verses from the Puranas, by which He wanted to establish that Sankaracharya was meant to do his teaching by the Supreme order of the Personality of Godhead. He quoted a verse from Padma Purana in which it is stated that the Lord ordered Mahadeva Lord Shiva to present some imaginary interpretation of the Vedic literature, and thus try to distract persons from the actual position of the Veda. "By such activity you try to make them atheists, and after that they can be engaged in producing more population." In the same Padma Purana it is also said that Lord Shiva explained to his wife, Parvati, that in the Age of Kali, in the form of a Brahmin, he would preach the imperfect explanation of the Veda, known as Mayavadi, which is actually a second edition of the atheist philosophy of Buddha.
(More...) Because Śaṅkarācārya wanted to establish the doctrine of monism, he had no alternative but to interpret the Vedānta-sūtra in a different way. After thus explaining his position, that particular student of Prakasananda Saraswati engaged himself in the chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Prakasananda Saraswati saw that his chief student was engaged in chanting Hare Krishna, and he too admitted the fault of Sankaracharya, and spoke as follows: "Acharya Sankara wanted to establish the doctrine of monism, and therefore he had no other alternative than to interpret the Vedanta Sutra in a different way. If he accepts the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then the doctrine of monism cannot be established. Therefore, by his illusory scholarship, he has tried to cover the actual meaning of the Vedanta Sutra. Not only Sankara, but any author who wants to give his own views must curtail and misinterpret the Vedanta Sutra."
(More...) Imported quote 13955 Since Lord Siva does not incarnate himself unless there is some special reason, it is very difficult for an ordinary person to contact him. However, Lord Siva does descend on a special occasion when he is ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this regard, it is stated in the Padma Purana that Lord Siva appeared as a brahmana in the age of Kali to preach the Mayavada philosophy, which is nothing but a type of Buddhist philosophy. It is stated in Padma Purana:
(More...) Lord Siva, speaking to Parvati-devi, foretold that he would spread the Mayavada philosophy in the guise of a sannyasi brahmana just to eradicate Buddhist philosophy. This sannyasi was Sripada Sahkaracarya. In order to overcome the effects of Buddhist philosophy and spread Vedanta philosophy, Sripada Sahkaracarya had to make some compromise with the Buddhist philosophy, and as such he preached the philosophy of monism, for it was required at that time. Otherwise there was no need for his preaching Mayavada philosophy. At the present moment there is no need for Mayavada philosophy nor Buddhist philosophy, and Lord Caitanya rejected both of them. This Krsna consciousness movement is spreading the philosophy of Lord Caitanya and rejecting the philosophy of both classes of Mayavada. Strictly speaking, both Buddhist philosophy and Sahkara's philosophy are but different types of Mayavada dealing on the platform of material existence. Neither of these philosophies has spiritual significance. There is spiritual significance only after one accepts the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, which culminates in surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally people worship Lord Siva for some material benefit, and although they cannot see him personally, they nonetheless derive great material profit by worshiping him.
(More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?qg=1762
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