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TEXT 127
prakrta-vastute yadi acintya-sakti haya
isvarera acintya-sakti,--ithe ki vismaya
SYNONYMS
prakrta-vastutein material things; yadiif; acintyainconceivable; saktipotency; hayabecomes possible; isvareraof the Supreme Lord; acintyainconceivable; saktipotency; ithein this; kiwhat; vismayawonderful.
TRANSLATION
"If there is such inconceivable potency in material objects, why should we not believe in the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?
PURPORT
The argument of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu described in this verse can be very easily understood even by a common man if he simply thinks of the activities of the sun, which has been giving off unlimited amounts of heat and light since time immemorial and yet has not even slightly decreased in power. Modern science believes that it is by sunshine that the entire cosmic manifestation is maintained, and actually one can see how the actions and reactions of sunshine maintain order throughout the universe. The growth of vegetables and even the rotation of the planets take place due to the heat and light of the sun. Sometimes, therefore, modern scientists consider the sun to be the original cause of creation, not knowing that the sun is only a medium, for it is also created by the supreme energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Aside from the sun and the touchstone, there are many other material things that transform their energy in different ways and yet remain as they are. It is not necessary, therefore, for the original cause, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to change due to the changes or transformations of His different energies.
The falsity of Sripada Sankaracarya's explanation of vivarta-vada and parinama-vada has been detected by the Vaisnava acaryas, especially Jiva Gosvami, whose opinion is that actually Sankara did not understand the Vedanta-sutra. In Sankara's explanation of one sutra, ananda-mayo 'bhyasat, he has interpreted the affix mayat with such word jugglery that this very explanation proves that he had little knowledge of the Vedanta-sutra but simply wanted to support his impersonalism through the aphorisms of the Vedanta philosophy. Actually, however, he failed to do so because he could not put forward strong arguments. In this connection, Srila Jiva Gosvami cites the phrase brahma puccham pratistha (Taittiriya Upanisad 2.5), which gives Vedic evidence that Brahman is the origin of everything. In explaining this verse, Sripada Sankaracarya interpreted various Sanskrit words in such a way that he implied, according to Jiva Gosvami, that Vyasadeva had very little knowledge of higher logic. Such unscrupulous deviation from the real meaning of the Vedanta-sutra has created a class of men who by word jugglery try to derive various indirect meanings from the Vedic literatures, especially the Bhagavad-gita. One of them has even explained that the word kuruksetra refers to the body. Such interpretations imply, however, that neither Lord Krsna nor Vyasadeva had a proper sense of word usage or etymological adjustment. They lead one to assume that since Lord Krsna could not personally sense the meaning of what He was speaking and Vyasadeva did not know the meaning of what he was writing, Lord Krsna left His book to be explained later by the Mayavadis. Such interpretations merely prove, however, that their proponents have very little philosophical sense.
Instead of wasting one's time falsely deriving such indirect meanings from the Vedanta-sutra and other Vedic scriptures, one should accept the words of these books as they are. In presenting the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, therefore, we have not changed the meaning of the original words. Similarly, if one studies the Vedanta-sutra as it is, without whimsical and capricious adulteration, one can understand the Vedanta-sutra very easily. Srila Vyasadeva therefore explains the Vedanta-sutra, beginning from the first sutra, janmady asya yatah, in his Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1):
janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah sva-rat
"I meditate upon Him [Lord Sri Krsna], the transcendent reality, who is the primeval cause of all causes, from whom all manifested universes arise, in whom they dwell, and by whom they are destroyed. I meditate upon that eternally effulgent Lord, who is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations and yet is fully independent." The Supreme Personality of Godhead knows very well how to do everything perfectly. He is abhijna, always fully conscious. The Lord therefore says in the Bhagavad-gita (7.26) that He knows everything, past, present and future, but that no one but a devotee knows Him as He is. Therefore, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is at least partially understood by devotees of the Lord, but the Mayavadi philosophers, who unnecessarily speculate to understand the Absolute Truth, simply waste their time.
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