converting mayavadis / impersonalists

After talking in this way, both Prakasananda Saraswati and Lord Chaitanya sat together and Prakasananda Saraswati began to enquire from the Lord as follows: "Whatever You have said in pointing out discrepancies in the Mayavadi philosophy is known to us also, because we know that all the commentaries on Vedic Scriptures by Mayavadi philosophers are in error by interpretation-especially those by Sankaracharya, whose interpretation of Vedanta Sutra is all his own imagination. You have not explained the codes of Vedanta Sutra and Upanishad by Your imagination, but You have explained them as they are, and by hearing Your explanation, all of us are very pleased. Such explanations of the codes of Vedanta Sutra or Upanishads could not be given by anyone else except the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You have all the potencies. Kindly explain further about the Vedanta Sutra, so that I may be benefitted."    (More...)

Prakasananda Saraswati replied, "Previously I spoke ill of You many times. Therefore, in order to free myself from the result of my offense, I fall down at Your Feet." He quoted in this connection a verse of Vedic literature in which it is stated that when even a liberated soul commits offense to the Supreme Lord he becomes again a victim of the material contamination. He quoted another verse from Srimad Bhagwatam, from the Tenth Canto, Thirty-fourth Chapter [10.34.9], in connection with Nanda Maharaj and the attack of a serpent who was previously Vidyadhavarehita. This serpent, being touched by the Lotus Feet of Krishna, regained his previous body and thus he was freed from the reaction of his sinful activities.    (More...)

The Supreme Lord who is the Absolute Personality of Godhead is not knowable even by the greatest philosopher simply by mental speculation. He can be known by His devotees only by His mercy. In the Brahma Samhita it is said that the nondevotee philosopher who can go ahead in the speed of the mind or that of the velocity of the air and that also covering a space for hundred and crores of years will find the Absolute still far and far away from him. As described in the Upanishads the Absolute Personality of Godhead has His transcendental abode known as the Krishna loka where the Personality of Godhead is fixed up with His Pastimes. But by His inconceivable potency He can simultaneously reach in every part of the creative energy. In the Vishnu Puran the potency is compared with the light and heat of the fire. The fire can distribute its light and heat from one place and similarly the Absolute Personality of Godhead although fixed up in His transcendental abode, He diffuses His different energies. Such energies are innumerable but principally they are classified into three namely the internal potency, the marginal potency and the external potency. And in each and every one of them, there are hundreds and crores of sub-headings. The dominating demigods who are empowered to have a control over the administration of the natural phenomenon such as distribution of air, light, rains etc. all of them are classified in the marginal potency of the Absolute Person. The living beings or the human being are also products of the marginal potency of the Lord. The material world is the creation of the external potency of the Lord and the spiritual sky where the kingdom of God is situated is the manifestation of His internal potency. As such everywhere the different energies of the Supreme Lord is represented by His different potencies. Although there is no difference between Him and His energies, still one should not mistake energy as the Supreme Truth. So the Supreme Lord expands Himself by His different energies and one should not wrongly conclude that the Supreme Lord being thus distributed everywhere His very Personal existence has turned into Impersonal Brahma. Men are accustomed to conclude in the way of their own capacity of understanding. But the Supreme Lord is not subjected to such limited capacity of understanding. It is for this reason that the Upanishads warn us that nobody can approach the Lord by his limited potency. In the Bhagwat Geeta the Lord says that nobody even the great Rishis and Suras can know Him and what to speak of the Asuras who are already disqualified to understand the ways of the Lord. All these words mentioned in the 4th Mantra of the Ishopanisad suggest very clearly that the Absolute Truth is ultimately the Absolute Person otherwise there would have been no necessity of mentioning so many varied things in support of His Personal features. Individual parts and parcels of the potencies of the Lord although have all the symptoms of the Lord such parts and parcels have got limited spheres of activities and therefore they are all limited. The parts and parcels are never equal to the whole. Therefore the parts and parcel of the Lord cannot appreciate the full potency of the Lord. Foolish and ignorant living being who are parts and parcels of the Lord, under the influence of the material energy do try to make a conjecture in the transcendental position of the Lord. The Ishopanishad warns them not make any mental speculation to about the identity of the Lord. Try to know the Transcendence from the Superior source of the Vedas who is already in the know of the Transcendence. Every part is endowed with some particular energy to act accordingly and forgetfulness of this particular part of one's activities is called Maya. The Ishopanishad has therefore from the very beginning warned us that we should be careful to play the part designated by the Lord. This however does not mean the individual soul has no initiative of his own. Because he is the part and parcel of the Lord he must have the initiative part of the Lord. Proper use of the initiative part with good conscience to understand that everything is but the potency of the Lord Who is the Supreme of all other entities can lead one to the revival of his lost consciousness originated on account of his association with Maya or the external energy. The power is obtained from the Lord and therefore such particular power must be utilized to execute the will of the Lord and not otherwise. The Lord can be known in such submissive service attitude and perfect knowledge means to know the Lord in all His features, to know about His potencies and how such potencies are working by His will. These things are exclusively described by the Lord in the Bhagwat Geeta the essence of all the Upanishad.    (More...)

TAMALA KRSNA GOSVAMĪ: At that time, I remember-it was about three or four months after we came to India-Prabhupada was searching for land in Mayapur. "I came to get land in Mayapur." [Sridhama Mayapur is the birthplace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the original father of the Krsna consciousness movement.] We had tried to go to Mayapur to look for land when we first came to Calcutta, but we couldn't; the flood waters stopped us from crossing the Ganges to go. So Prabhupada was thinking, "Maybe Lord Caitanya doesn't want me to establish a temple in Mayapur." So he sent me to Vrndavana, but we didn't get any land in Vrndavana either. He kept saying to us, "You have to establish yourselves and do something tangible. It will not do if you are simply known as dancing white elephants. 'They came, sang, danced-and left.' You must do something substantial so that they will say, 'The Westerners have come, and this is what they have done.' " So Prabhupada was trying for some land, and somehow we finally got this land in Mayapur and began construction. Then again someone gave us land here in Vrndavana, so we began constructing a temple here also. Then we got land in Bombay. The land in Mayapur is in the best location. You've seen it now. It's centrally located on the main road, between all the temples. The land in Vrndavana is on the main road, bordering on three different roads, and it's in the most serene and respected area of spiritual importance, where all the asramas are located. It's the best location. The land in Bombay is now said to be worth four times what we paid for it. It's said that this area will become like the Miami Beach of India, visited by millions of people, and we have five acres. In Hyderabad we were donated land directly in the center of the city, like Times Square and 42nd Street. And at least 1,000 to 2,000 people come to the daily noontime service, without any advertising.    (More...)

A summary study of the Sixth Chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya as follows: When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu entered the temple of Jagannatha, He immediately fainted. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya then took Him to his home. Meanwhile, Gopinatha Acarya, the brother-in-law of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, met Mukunda Datta and talked to him about Caitanya Mahaprabhu's acceptance of sannyasa and His journey to Jagannatha Puri. After hearing about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's fainting and His being carried to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, people crowded there to see the Lord. Srila Nityananda Prabhu and other devotees then visited the Jagannatha temple, and when they came back to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned to external consciousness. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya received everyone and distributed maha-prasada with great care. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya then became acquainted with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and arranged accommodations at his aunt's house. His brother-in-law, Gopinatha Acarya, established that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Krsna Himself, but Sarvabhauma and his many disciples could not accept this. However, Gopinatha Acarya convinced Sarvabhauma that no one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead without being favored by Him. He proved by sastric quotation, quotations from the revealed scriptures, that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Krsna Himself in person. Still, Sarvabhauma did not take these statements very seriously. Hearing all these arguments, Caitanya Mahaprabhu told His devotees that Sarvabhauma was His spiritual master and that whatever he said out of affection was for everyone's benefit.    (More...)

After this incident, Lord Chaitanya returned to His place, and Bhattacharya became a pure devotee without any faults. Since he was formerly an academic scholar, this conversion of Bhattacharya was possible only by the causeless mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. From that day forward he never explained any Vedic literature without an explanation of devotional service. Gopinath Acharya, his brother-in-law, was very much pleased to see the condition of Bhattacharya, and he began to dance in ecstasy, vibrating the transcendental sound, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.    (More...)

Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was eager to hear Lord Caitanya's explanation of the atmarama verse, but the Lord said, "First you explain it, and then I will explain it." Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya then explained the verse in nine different ways, using his method of logic and grammar. Lord Caitanya thanked him for his scholarly presentation, and then He explained the same verse in sixty-four different ways, never even touching upon the nine explanations of the Bhattacarya. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was stunned, for he realized that no earthly creature could possibly give such explanations. Previously his brother-in-law Gopinatha Acarya had been unable to convince him that Lord Caitanya was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but now the Bhattacarya was unable to avoid the conclusion that Lord Caitanya was indeed the Supreme Lord. He began to think himself very offensive for not having admitted the identity of the Lord, and he fell at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya in full surrender. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very pleased that such a great scholar had humbly surrendered in this way, and therefore, out of His causeless mercy, He revealed Himself to Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya as the Supreme Lord. He first revealed His four-handed form as the opulent Narayana, the ruler of the spiritual Vaikuntha planets; then He revealed a wonderful six-armed form called saḍbhuja-mūrti and ultimately His beautiful two-handed form as Krsna with a flute in His hands. Lord Caitanya personally manifested these forms before Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya.    (More...)

The original name of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was Vasudeva Bhattacarya. His place of birth, which is known as Vidyanagara, is about two and a half miles away from the Navadvipa railway station, or Cahpahati railway station. His father was a very celebrated man of the name Mahesvara Visarada. It is said that Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was the greatest logician of his time in India. At Mithila in Bihar he became a student of a great professor named Paksadhara Misra, who did not allow any student to note down his explanations of logic. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was so talented, however, that he learned the explanations by heart, and when he later returned to Navadvipa he established a school for the study of logic, thus diminishing the importance of Mithila. Students from various parts of India still come to Navadvipa to study logic. According to some authoritative opinions, the celebrated logician Raghunatha Siromani was also a student of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. In effect, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya became the leader of all students of logic. Although he was a grhastha (householder), he even taught many sannyasis in the knowledge of logic. He started a school at Jagannatha Puri for the study of Vedanta philosophy, of which he was a great scholar. When Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he advised the Lord to learn Vedanta philosophy from him, but later he became a student of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu to understand the real meaning of Vedanta. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was so fortunate as to see the six-armed form of Lord Caitanya known as Saḍbhuja. A Saḍbhuja Deity is still situated at one end of the Jagannatha temple. Daily sahkirtana performances take place in this part of the temple. The meeting of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya with Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is vividly described in the Madhya-lila, Chapter Six. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya wrote a book named Caitanya-sataka. Of the 100 verses of this book, two verses, beginning with the words vairagya-vidya-nijabhaktiyoga, are very famous among Gauḍiya Vaisnavas. The Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (119) states that Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was an incarnation of Brhaspati, the learned scholar from the celestial planets.    (More...)

Then the Lord replied, "My dear sir, so far as the Vedanta Sutra or the codes of the Vedanta are concerned, I can understand the meaning very nicely, but the explanation which you are promoting is not understandable by Me. There is nothing difficult about the meaning of the original codes of Vedanta Sutra. But the way you were explaining them appears to be obscuring the real meaning of the codes. You do not elucidate the direct meaning of the Vedanta Sutra, but you imagine something and hide the true meaning. I think you have a particular doctrine, and you are trying to expound it through the codes."    (More...)

When Lord Caitanya was on His way to Vrndavana, He never made His headquarters anywhere but in Jagannatha Puri. But He stopped at Benares and resided with Candrasekhara and took prasadam with Tapana Misra. His only propaganda was Hare Krsna, and when He passed on the road all the people joined Him. Even when insignificant people saw Him they liked to chant, and He drew crowds. In three or four days He became famous. The propaganda of the young sannyasi reached the Mayavadis, who indulged in backbiting. "Here is a sannyasi, and He is dancing." Dancing and singing were strictly forbidden to Mayavadi sannyasis. (It appears, however, that kirtana, chanting, is recommended in the Bible, and today even Mayavadis are taking to it.) They said of Lord Caitanya: "Here is a sannyasi dancing and singing. He doesn't give attention to studying Vedanta." Sometimes Krsna conscious devotees are considered foolish because they have no stock but chanting. People want to talk of philosophy, but simply by chanting all is complete. Criticism was going on: "There are other sentimentalists who are also foolish and ignorant; therefore they are following this sannyasi." When Lord Caitanya was criticized in that way, He smiled. "What can I do?" He said. He was very grave: "Let them criticize, and let Me continue My activities. That's all." Because He was anxious to visit Vrndavana, He did not care. He left Benares after three or four days. Although He was criticized, He did not challenge, but went to Vrndavana.    (More...)

Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied: "Yes, you are right, my dear Prakasananda Sarasvati, but there is a reason why I do it. Now I can explain to you. When I took sannyasa from My spiritual master, he found Me a rascal, a number one fool, and therefore he chastised Me. He called Me foolish, uneducated and illiterate. 'It is not possible for You to understand Vedanta. Therefore, You simply chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. That will make You all right.' " Now here is the point: Was Caitanya Mahaprabhu a foolish person? No, He was not. In His childhood He was known as Nimai Pandit. He was greatly learned; even when He was sixteen years old He defeated a very reputable scholar from Kashmir. Prakasananda Sarasvati also knew that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a teacher of logic in His householder life and was a very learned man. They all knew it. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "My spiritual master found Me a fool. Therefore he said, 'You have no chance to understand Vedanta. You just take to this principle: simply chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare.' " What was His purpose in presenting Himself as a fool and a rascal? The idea is that in this age, 99.9% of the people are fools and rascals. Therefore it is very difficult for them to understand what is the purpose of Vedanta. Lord Caitanya represented Himself as one of them. According to Caitanya Mahaprabhu the so-called learned scholars of Vedanta are not actually Vedanta scholars; they are all fools. Vedanta-sutra is very difficult to understand. The author of Vedanta-sūtra is Vyasadeva, and he himself thought it wise to write a commentation on Vedanta-sūtra so that in the future people would not misunderstand and misuse it.    (More...)

On hearing this statement from the Lord, the Mayavadi sannyasi asked the Lord what was the harm in studying the Vedanta along with chanting the holy name. Prakasananda Sarasvati knew well that the Lord was formerly known as Nimai Panḍit, a very learned scholar of Navadvipa, and His posing as a great fool was certainly to some purpose. Hearing this inquiry by the sannyasi, the Lord smiled and said, "My dear sir, if you do not mind, I will answer your inquiry."    (More...)

"At the last stage of his life Sri Madhavendra Puri became an invalid and was completely unable to move, and Īsvara Puri so completely engaged himself in his service that he personally cleaned up his stool and urine. Always chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and reminding Sri Madhavendra Puri about the pastimes of Lord Krsna in the last stage of his life, Īsvara Puri gave the best service among his disciples. Thus Madhavendra Puri, being very pleased with him, blessed him, saying, 'My dear boy, I can only pray to Krsna that He will be pleased with you.' Thus Īsvara Puri, by the grace of his spiritual master, Sri Madhavendra Puri, became a great devotee in the ocean of love of Godhead." Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti states in his Gurvastaka prayer, yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatiḥ kuto 'pi: "By the mercy of the spiritual master one is benedicted by the mercy of Krsna. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement." It is by the mercy of the spiritual master that one becomes perfect, as vividly exemplified here. A Vaisnava is always protected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if he appears to be an invalid, this gives a chance to his disciples to serve him. Īsvara Puri pleased his spiritual master by service, and by the blessings of his spiritual master he became such a great personality that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him as His spiritual master.    (More...)

The following summary study of this chapter is given by Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya. When Srila Sanatana Gosvami was imprisoned by Nawab Hussain Shah, he received news from Rūpa Gosvami that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had gone to Mathura. Sanatana Gosvami thereafter satisfied the superintendent of the jail by sweet solicitations and bribery. After giving the jailer seven thousand gold coins, Sanatana Gosvami was released. He then crossed the Ganges and fled. One of his servants, Īsana, followed him, carrying eight gold coins. Sanatana Gosvami and his servant then spent the night in a small hotel on the way to Benares. The hotel owner knew that Sanatana Gosvami and his servant had eight gold coins, and he decided to kill them and take the money. Making plans in this way, the hotel owner received them as honorable guests. Sanatana Gosvami, however, asked his servant how much money he had, and, taking seven of the gold coins, Sanatana offered them to the hotel owner. Thus the owner helped them reach the hilly tract toward Varanasi. On the way, Sanatana Gosvami met his brother-in-law, Srikanta, at Hajipura, and Srikanta helped him after he had heard about all Sanatana's troubles. Thus Sanatana Gosvami finally arrived at Varanasi and stood before the door of Candrasekhara. Caitanya Mahaprabhu called him in and ordered him to change his dress so that he could look like a gentleman. For his garment, he used an old cloth of Tapana Misra's. Later, he exchanged his valuable blanket for a torn quilt. At this time Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very pleased with him, and thus Sri Sanatana Gosvami received knowledge of the Absolute Truth from the Lord Himself.    (More...)

According to the principles of the Mayavadi Sannyasis, singing, dancing, and playing on musical instruments are strictly prohibited; they are called three kinds of sinful activities. The Mayavadi Sannyasi is supposed to engage his valuable time simply in the matter of Vedanta study. When the Mayavadi Sannyasis in Benares saw that Lord Chaitanya was indulging in singing, dancing and playing musical instruments, and was always chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Ranta, Hare Hare, they concluded that this Sannyasi was not educated, and, out of sentiment, He was misleading some of the followers. Sankaracharya has said that a Sannyasi should always be engaged in studying Vedanta, and should be satisfied simply having one cloth and nothing more. Lord Chaitanya was neither studying Vedanta in formality, nor did He cease from singing and dancing, and so He was criticized by all the Sannyasis at Benares, as well as by their householder followers.    (More...)

They informed Lord Chaitanya: "We have been mortified by hearing unfavorable criticism from the Mayavadi Sannyasis against You. It has become intolerable for us." They requested He do something so that these criticisms would be stopped.    (More...)

The Lord took this opportunity and accepted the invitation of the Brahmin, in order to meet the Mayavadi Sannyasis. It was, practically, an arrangement made by the Lord Himself The Brahmin who invited Him knew that Lord Chaitanya did not accept any invitations, but still he was very eager to invite Him.    (More...)

He said, "My dear sir, why are You sitting in that filthy place? Please come and sit with us."    (More...)

Lord Chaitanya replied: "Oh, I belong to an inferior sect of Sannyasis. Therefore I think I should not sit with you. Let Me sit down here."    (More...)

Prakasananda Saraswati was surprised to hear such a thing from such a learned man, and he actually took His hand and requested Him to please come and sit down with him. Lord Chaitanya was seated, and Prakasananda Saraswati enquired, "I think Your name is Sri Krishna Chaitanya, and I understand that You belong to our Mayavadi sect because You have taken Your Sannyasa from Keshav Bharati, who belongs to the Sankara Sampradaya."    (More...)

According to the Sankara sect, there are ten different names for Sannyasi. Out of them, the three names, Tirtha, Asram and Saraswati, are considered to be the most enlightened and cultured among the Sannyasis. Lord Chaitanya was a Vaishnava, and therefore naturally He was humble and meek, and He wanted to give the better place to Prakasananda, who belonged to the Saraswati Sampradaya. According to Sankara principles, a disciple of the Bharatic school is called Chaitanya. But Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, although He took Sannyasa, kept His Brahmachary name, without the title Bharati.    (More...)

The next day the Lord went to the house of the brahmana, and He saw that there were many other Mayavadi sannyasis sitting together. Just see the behavior of Lord Caitanya. Although Caitanya Mahaprabhu was not in agreement with them, because they were sannyasis in the renounced order of life, He offered his respects by bowing down before them. According to the customs of the Vedic system, it is the duty of everyone to at once offer his respect as soon as he sees a sannyasi. If he does not do so, then it is enjoined that he should fast for a day as punishment. He should not eat. "I saw a sannyasi, but I did not offer my respect. Therefore the penance should be that I should fast for a day." This is the injunction. Although Caitanya Mahaprabhu was God Himself, His behavior and etiquette were excellent. As soon as He saw the sannyasis, He offered His respects.    (More...)