Why the daivi-maya, or illusory energy of Krsna, takes away the knowledge of the Mayavadi philosophers is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita by the use of the words asuram bhavam asritah, which refer to a person who does not agree to the existence of the Lord. The Mayavadis, who are not in agreement with the existence of the Lord, can be classified in two groups, exemplified by the impersonalist Sankarites of Varanasi and the Buddhists of Saranatha. Both groups are Mayavadis, and Krsna takes away their knowledge due to their atheistic philosophies. Neither group agrees to accept the existence of a personal God. The Buddhist philosophers clearly deny both the soul and God, and although the Sankarites do not openly deny God, they say that the Absolute is nirakara, or formless. Thus both the Buddhists and the Sankarites are avisuddha-buddhayah, or imperfect and unclean in their knowledge and intelligence.

The most prominent Mayavadi scholar, Sadananda Yogindra, has written a book called Vedanta-sara, in which he expounds the philosophy of Sankaracarya, and all the followers of Sankara's philosophy attribute great importance to his statements. In this Vedanta-sara Sadananda Yogindra defines Brahman as sac-cid-ananda combined with knowledge and without duality, and he defines ignorance (jada) as knowledge distinct from that of sat and asat. This is almost inconceivable, but it is a product of the three material qualities. Thus he considers anything other than pure knowledge to be material. The center of ignorance is considered to be sometimes all-pervading and sometimes individual. Thus according to his opinion both the all-pervading Visnu and the individual living entities are products of ignorance.

In simple language, it is the opinion of Sadananda Yogindra that since everything is nirakara (formless), the conception of Visnu and the conception of the individual soul are both products of ignorance. He also explains that the visuddha-sattva conception of the Vaisnavas is nothing but pradhana, or the chief principle of creation. He maintains that when all-pervading knowledge is contaminated by the visuddha-sattva, which consists of a transformation of the quality of goodness, there arises the conception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the omnipotent, omniscient supreme ruler, the Supersoul, the cause of all causes, the supreme isvara, etc. According to Sadananda Yogindra, because isvara, the Supreme Lord, is the reservoir of all ignorance, He may be called sarva-jna, or omniscient, but one who denies the existence of the omnipotent Supreme Personality of Godhead is more than isvara, or the Lord. His conclusion, therefore, is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead (isvara) is a transformation of material ignorance and that the living entity (jiva) is covered by ignorance. Thus he describes both collective and individual existence in darkness. According to Mayavadi philosophers, the Vaisnava conception of the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and of the jiva, or individual soul, as His eternal servant is a manifestation of ignorance. If we accept the judgment of Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita, however, the Mayavadis are to be considered mayayapahrta-jnana, or bereft of all knowledge, because they do not recognize the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or they claim that His existence is a product of the material conception (maya). These are characteristics of asuras, or demons.

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in His discourses with Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, said: