Everyone depends upon dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification) and ultimately moksa (salvation), but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, due to His magnanimous character, can give more than salvation. Therefore in this verse the words hinarthadhika-sadhakam indicate that although by material estimation salvation is of a quality superior to the inferior interests of religiosity, economic development and sense gratification, above salvation there is the position of devotional service and transcendental love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the bestower of this great benediction. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, prema pum-artho mahan: "Love of Godhead is the ultimate benediction for all human beings." Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, the author of Caitanya-caritamrta, therefore first offers his respectful obeisances unto Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu before describing His magnanimity in bestowing love of Godhead.

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah

Taking advantage of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, many unscrupulous devotees manufacture a maha-mantra of their own. Sometimes they sing, bhaja nitai gaura radhe syama hare krsna hare rama or sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda hare krsna hare rama sri-radhe govinda. Actually, however, one should chant the names of the full Panca-tattva (sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda) and then the sixteen words Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, but these unscrupulous, less intelligent men confuse the entire process. Of course, since they are also devotees they can express their feelings in that way, but the method prescribed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pure devotees is to chant first the full Panca-tattva mantra and then chant the maha-mantra--Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

The Mayavadi philosophers, however, try to equate the minute living entities with the supreme living entity. Because they recognize no distinctions between them, their philosophy is called Advaita-vada, or monism. Factually, however, there is a distinction. This verse is especially meant to impart to the Mayavadi philosopher the understanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme controller. The supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead, is Krsna Himself, but as a transcendental pastime He has accepted the form of a devotee, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, when the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna comes to this planet exactly like a human being, some rascals consider Him to be one of the ordinary humans. One who thinks in that mistaken way is described as mudha, or foolish. Therefore one should not foolishly consider Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be an ordinary human being. He has accepted the ecstasy of a devotee, but He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since Caitanya Mahaprabhu, there have been many imitation incarnations of Krsna who cannot understand that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself and not an ordinary human being. Less intelligent men create their own "Gods" by advertising a human being as God. This is their mistake. Therefore here the words tanra suddha kalevara warn that Caitanya Mahaprabhu's body is not material but purely spiritual. One should not, therefore, accept Caitanya Mahaprabhu as an ordinary devotee, although He has assumed the form of a devotee. Yet one must certainly know that although Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because He accepted the ecstasy of a devotee one should not misunderstand His pastimes and place Him in exactly the same position as Krsna. It is for this reason only that when Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu was addressed as Krsna or Visnu He blocked His ears, not wanting to hear Himself addressed as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a class of devotees called Gauranga-nagari, who stage plays of Krsna's pastimes using a vigraha, or form, of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is a mistake that is technically called rasabhasa. While Caitanya Mahaprabhu is trying to enjoy as a devotee, one should not disturb Him by addressing Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

gauranga balite habe pulaka sarira
hari hari balite nayane ba'be nira

ara kabe nitaicanda karuna karibe
samsara-vasana mora kabe tuccha habe

visaya chadiya kabe suddha habe mana
kabe hama heraba sri-vrndavana

rupa-raghunatha-pade ha-ibe akuti
kabe hama bujhaba sri-yugala-piriti

By attachment to the devotional service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu one immediately comes to the ecstatic position. When he develops his love for Nityananda Prabhu he is freed from all attachment to the material world, and at that time he becomes eligible to understand the Lord's pastimes in Vrndavana. In that condition, when one develops his love for the six Gosvamis, he can understand the conjugal love between Radha and Krsna. These are the different stages of a pure devotee's promotion to conjugal love in the service of Radha and Krsna in an intimate relationship with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments in his Anubhasya that among the five tattvas, two are energies (sakti-tattva) and the three others are energetic (saktiman tattva). Unalloyed and internal devotees are both engaged in the favorable culture of Krsna consciousness untinged by philosophical speculation or fruitive activities. They are all understood to be pure devotees, and those among them who simply engage in conjugal love are called madhurya-bhaktas, or internal devotees. The loving services in parental love, fraternity and servitude are included in conjugal love of God. In conclusion, therefore, every confidential devotee is a pure devotee of the Lord.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu enjoys His pastimes with His immediate expansion Nityananda Prabhu. His pure devotees and His three purusa incarnations, namely, Karanodakasayi Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu, always accompany the Supreme Lord to propound the sankirtana movement.

Instead of being envious that Krsna consciousness is spreading all over the world by the grace of Lord Caitanya, those who are jealous should be happy, as indicated here by the words parama ullasa. But because they are kanistha-adhikaris or prakrta-bhaktas (materialistic devotees who are not advanced in spiritual knowledge), they are envious instead of happy, and they try to find faults in the Krsna consciousness movement. Yet Srimat Prabodhananda Sarasvati writes in his Caitanya-candramrta that when influenced by Lord Caitanya's Krsna consciousness movement, materialists become averse to talking about their wives and children, supposedly learned scholars give up their tedious studies of Vedic literature, yogis give up their impractical practices of mystic yoga, ascetics give up their austere activities of penance and austerity, and sannyasis give up their study of Sankhya philosophy. Thus they are all attracted by the bhakti-yoga practices of Lord Caitanya and cannot relish a mellow taste superior to that of Krsna consciousness.

avajananti mam mudha
manusim tanum asritam
param bhavam ajananto
mama bhuta-mahesvaram

There are also other unscrupulous persons who exploit the Lord's appearance by posing as incarnations to cheat the innocent public. An incarnation of God should pass the tests of the statements of the sastras and also perform uncommon activities. One should not accept a rascal as an incarnation of God but should test his ability to act as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For example, Krsna taught Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna also accepted Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but for our understanding Arjuna requested the Lord to manifest His universal form, thus testing whether He was actually the Supreme Lord. Similarly, one must test a so-called incarnation of Godhead according to the standard criteria. To avoid being misled by an exhibition of mystic powers, it is best to examine a so-called incarnation of God in the light of the statements of the sastras. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is described in the sastras as an incarnation of Krsna; therefore if one wants to imitate Lord Caitanya and claim to be an incarnation, he must show evidence from the sastras about his appearance to substantiate his claim.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has explained the term "Mayavadi" as follows: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the material conception of life. A Mayavadi is one who considers the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna to be made of maya and who also considers the abode of the Lord and the process of approaching Him, devotional service, to be maya. The Mayavadi considers all the paraphernalia of devotional service to be maya." Maya refers to material existence, which is characterized by the reactions of fruitive activities. Mayavadis consider devotional service to be among such fruitive activities. According to them, when bhagavatas (devotees) are purified by philosophical speculation, they will come to the real point of liberation. Those who speculate in this way regarding devotional service are called kutarkikas (false logicians), and those who consider devotional service to be fruitive activity are also called karma-nisthas. Those who criticize devotional service are called nindakas (blasphemers). Similarly, nondevotees who consider devotional activities to be material are also called pasandis, and scholars with a similar viewpoint are called adhama paduyas.

The kutarkikas, nindakas, pasandis and adhama paduyas all avoided the benefit of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement of developing love of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu felt compassion for them, and it is for this reason that He decided to accept the sannyasa order, for by seeing Him as a sannyasi they would offer Him respects. The sannyasa order is still respected in India. Indeed, the very dress of a sannyasi still commands respect from the Indian public. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa to facilitate preaching His devotional cult, although otherwise He had no need to accept the fourth order of spiritual life.

tasmat kenapy upayena
manah krsne nivesayet
sarve vidhi-nisedha syur
etayor eva kinkarah

In describing the Kasira Mayavadis, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has explained that persons who are bewildered by empiric knowledge or direct sensual perception, and who thus consider that even this limited material world can be gauged by their material estimations, conclude that anything that one can discern by direct sense perception is but maya, or illusion. They maintain that although the Absolute Truth is beyond the range of sense perception, it includes no spiritual variety or enjoyment. According to the Kasira Mayavadis, the spiritual world is simply void. They do not believe in the Personality of the Absolute Truth or in His varieties of activities in the spiritual world. Although they have their own arguments, which are not very strong, they have no conception of the variegated activities of the Absolute Truth. These impersonalists, who are followers of Sankaracarya, are generally known as Kasira Mayavadis.

Near Varanasi there is another group of impersonalists, who are known as Saranatha Mayavadis. Outside the city of Varanasi is a place known as Saranatha, where there is a big Buddhist stupa. Many followers of Buddhist philosophy live there, and they are known as Saranatha Mayavadis. The impersonalists of Saranatha differ from those of Varanasi, for the Varanasi impersonalists propagate the idea that the impersonal Brahman is truth whereas material varieties are false, but the Saranatha impersonalists do not even believe that the Absolute Truth or Brahman can be understood as the opposite of maya, or illusion. According to their vision, materialism is the only manifestation of the Absolute Truth.

Factually both the Kasira and Saranatha Mayavadis, as well as any other philosophers who have no knowledge of the spirit soul, are advocates of utter materialism. None of them have clear knowledge regarding the Absolute or the spiritual world. Philosophers like the Saranatha Mayavadis who do not believe in the spiritual existence of the Absolute Truth but consider material varieties to be everything do not believe that there are two kinds of nature, inferior (material) and superior (spiritual), as described in the Bhagavad-gita. Actually, neither the Varanasi nor Saranatha Mayavadis accept the principles of the Bhagavad-gita, due to a poor fund of knowledge.

Since these impersonalists who do not have perfect spiritual knowledge cannot understand the principles of bhakti-yoga, they must be classified among the nondevotees who are against the Krsna consciousness movement. We sometimes feel inconvenienced by the hindrances offered by these impersonalists, but we do not care about their so-called philosophy, for we are propagating our own philosophy as presented in Bhagavad-gita As It Is and getting successful results. Theorizing as if devotional service were subject to their mental speculation, both kinds of Mayavadi impersonalists conclude that the subject matter of bhakti-yoga is a creation of maya and that Krsna, devotional service and the devotee are also maya. Therefore, as stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, mayavadi krsne aparadhi. "All the Mayavadis are offenders to Lord Krsna." (Cc. Madhya 17.129) It is not possible for them to understand the Krsna consciousness movement; therefore we do not value their philosophical conclusions. However expert such quarrelsome impersonalists are in putting forward their so-called logic, we defeat them in every respect and go forward with our Krsna consciousness movement. Their imaginative mental speculation cannot deter the progress of the Krsna consciousness movement, which is completely spiritual and is never under the control of such Mayavadis.

Mayavadi sannyasis neither chant nor dance. Their technical objection is that this method of chanting and dancing is called tauryatrika, which indicates that a sannyasi should completely avoid such activities and engage his time in the study of Vedanta. Actually, such men do not understand what is meant by Vedanta. In the Bhagavad-gita (15.15) Krsna says, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham: "By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas." Lord Krsna is the actual compiler of Vedanta, and whatever He speaks is Vedanta philosophy. Although they are lacking the knowledge of Vedanta presented by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the transcendental form of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Mayavadis are very proud of their study. Foreseeing the bad effects of their presenting Vedanta philosophy in a perverted way, Srila Vyasadeva compiled Srimad-Bhagavatam as a commentary on the Vedanta-sutra. Srimad-Bhagavatam is bhasyo 'yam brahma-sutranam; in other words, all the Vedanta philosophy in the aphorisms of the Brahma-sutra is thoroughly described in the pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Thus the factual propounder of Vedanta philosophy is a Krsna conscious person who always engages in reading and understanding the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam and teaching the purport of these books to the entire world. The Mayavadis are very proud of having monopolized the Vedanta philosophy, but devotees have their own commentaries on Vedanta such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and others written by the acaryas. The commentary of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas is the Govinda-bhasya.

The Mayavadis' accusation that devotees do not study Vedanta is false. They do not know that chanting, dancing and preaching the principles of Srimad-Bhagavatam, called bhagavata-dharma, are the same as studying Vedanta. Since they think that reading Vedanta philosophy is the only function of a sannyasi and they did not find Caitanya Mahaprabhu engaged in such direct study, they criticized the Lord. Sripada Sankaracarya has given special stress to the study of Vedanta philosophy: vedanta-vakyesu sada ramantah kaupinavantah khalu bhagyavantah. "A sannyasi, accepting the renounced order very strictly and wearing nothing more than a loincloth, should always enjoy the philosophical statements in the Vedanta-sutra. Such a person in the renounced order is to be considered very fortunate." The Mayavadis in Varanasi blasphemed Lord Caitanya because His behavior did not follow these principles. Lord Caitanya, however, bestowed His mercy upon these Mayavadi sannyasis and delivered them by means of His Vedanta discourses with Prakasananda Sarasvati and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya.

Before the time of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the suvarna-vanik class was condemned by Ballal Sen, who was then the King of Bengal, due to a personal grudge. In Bengal the suvarna-vanik class are always very rich, for they are bankers and dealers in gold and silver. Therefore, Ballal Sen used to borrow money from a suvarna-vanik banker. Ballal Sen's bankruptcy later obliged the suvarna-vanik banker to stop advancing money to him, and thus he became angry and condemned the entire suvarna-vanik society as belonging to the sudra community. Ballal Sen tried to induce the brahmanas not to accept the suvarna-vaniks as followers of the instructions of the Vedas under the brahminical directions, but although some brahmanas approved of Ballal Sen's actions, others did not. Thus the brahmanas also became divided amongst themselves, and those who supported the suvarna-vanik class were rejected from the brahmana community. At the present day the same biases are still being followed.

There are many Vaisnava families in Bengal whose members, although not actually born brahmanas, act as acaryas by initiating disciples and offering the sacred thread as enjoined in the Vaisnava tantras. For example, in the families of Thakura Raghunandana Acarya, Thakura Krsnadasa, Navani Hoda and Rasikananda-deva (a disciple of Syamananda Prabhu), the sacred thread ceremony is performed, as it is for the caste Gosvamis, and this system has continued for the past three to four hundred years. Accepting disciples born in brahmana families, they are bona fide spiritual masters who have the facility to worship the salagrama-sila, which is worshiped with the Deity. As of this writing, salagrama-sila worship has not yet been introduced in our Krsna consciousness movement, but soon it will be introduced in all our temples as an essential function of arcana-marga (Deity worship).

yatha kancanatam yati kamsyam rasa-vidhanatah
tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam

Sometimes those born in brahmana families protest this, but they have no strong arguments against this principle. By the grace of Krsna and His devotee, one's life can change. This is confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam by the words jahati bandham and sudhyanti. Jahati bandham indicates that a living entity is conditioned by a particular type of body. The body is certainly an impediment, but one who associates with a pure devotee and follows his instructions can avoid this impediment and become a regular brahmana by initiation under his strict guidance. Srila Jiva Gosvami states how a non-brahmana can be turned into a brahmana by the association of a pure devotee. Prabhavisnave namah: Lord Visnu is so powerful that He can do anything He likes. Therefore it is not difficult for Visnu to change the body of a devotee who is under the guidance of a pure devotee of the Lord.

One who is not taught by a bona fide spiritual master cannot understand the Vedic literature. To emphasize this point, Lord Krsna, while instructing Arjuna, clearly said that it was because Arjuna was His devotee and confidential friend that he could understand the mystery of the Bhagavad-gita. It is to be concluded, therefore, that one who wants to understand the mystery of revealed scriptures must approach a bona fide spiritual master, hear from him very submissively and render service to him. Then the import of the scriptures will be revealed. It is stated in the Vedas (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23):

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura advises, sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya, hrdaye kariya aikya. The meaning of this instruction is that one must consider the instructions of the sadhu, the revealed scriptures and the spiritual master in order to understand the real purpose of spiritual life. Neither a sadhu (saintly person or Vaisnava) nor a bona fide spiritual master says anything that is beyond the scope of the sanction of the revealed scriptures. Thus the statements of the revealed scriptures correspond to those of the bona fide spiritual master and saintly persons. One must therefore act with reference to these three important sources of understanding.

trnad api sunicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

Nevertheless, the author of these instructions, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, did not tolerate the misbehavior of Jagai and Madhai. When they harmed Lord Nityananda Prabhu, He immediately became angry and wanted to kill them, and it was only by the mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu that they were saved. One should be very meek and humble in his personal transactions, and if insulted a Vaisnava should be tolerant and not angry. But if there is blasphemy against one's guru or another Vaisnava, one should be as angry as fire. This was exhibited by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One should not tolerate blasphemy against a Vaisnava but should immediately take one of three actions. If someone blasphemes a Vaisnava, one should stop him with arguments and higher reason. If one is not expert enough to do this he should give up his life on the spot, and if he cannot do this, he must go away. While Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in Benares or Kasi, the Mayavadi sannyasis blasphemed Him in many ways because although He was a sannyasi He was indulging in chanting and dancing. Tapana Misra and Candrasekhara heard this criticism, and it was intolerable for them because they were great devotees of Lord Caitanya. They could not stop it, however, and therefore they appealed to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu because this blasphemy was so intolerable that they had decided to give up their lives.

Mayavadi sannyasis are very puffed up if they hold the elevated sannyasa title Tirtha, Asrama or Sarasvati. Even among Mayavadis, those who belong to other sampradayas and hold other titles, such as Vana, Aranya or Bharati, are considered to be lower-grade sannyasis. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa from the Bharati-sampradaya, and thus He considered Himself a lower sannyasi than Prakasananda Sarasvati. To remain distinct from Vaisnava sannyasis, the sannyasis of the Mayavadi-sampradaya always think themselves to be situated in a very elevated spiritual order, but Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in order to teach them how to become humble and meek, accepted Himself as belonging to a lower sampradaya of sannyasis. Thus He wanted to point out clearly that a sannyasi is one who is advanced in spiritual knowledge. One who is advanced in spiritual knowledge should be accepted as occupying a better position than those who lack such knowledge.

The Mayavadi-sampradaya sannyasis are generally known as Vedantis, as if Vedanta were their monopoly. Actually, however, Vedanti refers to a person who perfectly knows Krsna. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: "By all the Vedas it is Krsna who is to be known." (Bg. 15.15) The so-called Mayavadi Vedantis do not know who Krsna is; therefore their title of Vedanti, or "knower of Vedanta philosophy," is simply a pretension. Mayavadi sannyasis always think of themselves as real sannyasis and consider sannyasis of the Vaisnava order to be brahmacaris. A brahmacari is supposed to engage in the service of a sannyasi and accept him as his guru. Mayavadi sannyasis therefore declare themselves to be not only gurus but jagad-gurus, or the spiritual masters of the entire world, although, of course, they cannot see the entire world. Sometimes they dress gorgeously and travel on the backs of elephants in processions, and thus they are always puffed up, accepting themselves as jagad-gurus. Srila Rupa Gosvami, however, has explained that jagad-guru properly refers to one who is the controller of his tongue, mind, words, belly, genitals and anger. Prthivim sa sisyat: such a jagad-guru is completely fit to make disciples all over the world. Due to false prestige, Mayavadi sannyasis who do not have these qualifications sometimes harass and blaspheme a Vaisnava sannyasi who humbly engages in the service of the Lord.

According to Mayavadi sannyasis, only one who takes sannyasa in the disciplic succession from Sankaracarya is a Vedic sannyasi. Sometimes it is challenged that the sannyasis who are preaching in the Krsna consciousness movement are not genuine because they do not belong to brahmana families, for Mayavadis do not offer sannyasa to one who does not belong to a brahmana family by birth. Unfortunately, however, they do not know that at present everyone is born a sudra (kalau sudra-sambhavah). It is to be understood that there are no brahmanas in this age because those who claim to be brahmanas simply on the basis of birthright do not have the brahminical qualifications. However, even if one is born in a non-brahmana family, if he has the brahminical qualifications he should be accepted as a brahmana, as confirmed by Srila Narada Muni and the great saint Sridhara Svami. This is also stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Both Narada and Sridhara Svami completely agree that one cannot be a brahmana by birthright but must possess the qualities of a brahmana. Thus in our Krsna consciousness movement we never offer the sannyasa order to a person whom we do not find to be qualified in terms of the prescribed brahminical principles. Although it is a fact that unless one is a brahmana he cannot become a sannyasi, it is not a valid principle that an unqualified man who is born in a brahmana family is a brahmana whereas a brahminically qualified person born in a non-brahmana family cannot be accepted. The Krsna consciousness movement strictly follows the injunctions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, avoiding misleading heresy and manufactured conclusions.

trnad api sunicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

People in general in Kali-yuga are so fallen that it is not possible for them to obtain perfection simply by studying the Vedanta-sutra. One should therefore seriously take to the constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

Krsna is the origin of everything. Therefore when a person is fully Krsna conscious it is to be understood that his relationship with Krsna has been fully confirmed. Lacking Krsna consciousness, one is only partially related with Krsna and is therefore not in his constitutional position. Although Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna, the spiritual master of the entire universe, He nevertheless took the position of a disciple in order to teach by example how a devotee should strictly follow the orders of a spiritual master in executing the duty of always chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. One who is very much attracted to the study of Vedanta philosophy must take lessons from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In this age, no one is actually competent to study Vedanta, and therefore it is better that one chant the holy name of the Lord, which is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, as Krsna Himself confirms in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham

Only fools give up the service of the spiritual master and think themselves advanced in spiritual knowledge. In order to check such fools, Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself presented the perfect example of how to be a disciple. A spiritual master knows very well how to engage each disciple in a particular duty, but if a disciple, thinking himself more advanced than his spiritual master, gives up his orders and acts independently, he checks his own spiritual progress. Every disciple must consider himself completely unaware of the science of Krsna and must always be ready to carry out the orders of the spiritual master to become competent in Krsna consciousness. A disciple should always remain a fool before his spiritual master. Therefore sometimes pseudospiritualists accept a spiritual master who is not even fit to become a disciple because they want to keep him under their control. This is useless for spiritual realization.

One who imperfectly knows Krsna consciousness cannot know Vedanta philosophy. A showy display of Vedanta study without Krsna consciousness is a feature of the external energy, maya, and as long as one is attracted by the inebrieties of this ever-changing material energy, he deviates from devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. An actual follower of Vedanta philosophy is a devotee of Lord Visnu, who is the greatest of the great and the maintainer of the entire universe. Unless one surpasses the field of activities in service to the limited, one cannot reach the unlimited. Knowledge of the unlimited is actual brahma-jnana, or knowledge of the Supreme. Those who are addicted to fruitive activities and speculative knowledge cannot understand the value of holy name of Lord Krsna, which is always completely pure, eternally liberated and full of spiritual bliss. One who has taken shelter of the holy name of the Lord, which is identical with the Lord, does not have to study Vedanta philosophy, for he has already completed all such study.

One who is unfit to chant the holy name of Krsna but thinks that the holy name is different from Krsna and thus takes shelter of Vedanta study in order to understand Him must be considered a number one fool, as confirmed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu by His personal behavior, and philosophical speculators who want to make Vedanta philosophy an academic career are also considered to be within the material energy. A person who always chants the holy name of the Lord, however, is already beyond the ocean of nescience, and thus even a person born in a low family who engages in chanting the holy name of the Lord is considered to be beyond the study of Vedanta philosophy. In this connection Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.33.7) states:

Another quotation states:

Taking advantage of these verses, there are some sahajiyas who, taking everything very cheaply, consider themselves elevated Vaisnavas but do not care even to touch the Vedanta-sutra or Vedanta philosophy. A real Vaisnava should, however, study Vedanta philosophy, but if after studying Vedanta one does not adopt the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, he is no better than a Mayavadi. Therefore, one should not be a Mayavadi, yet one should not be unaware of the subject matter of Vedanta philosophy. Indeed, Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His knowledge of Vedanta in His discourses with Prakasananda Sarasvati. Thus it is to be understood that a Vaisnava should be completely conversant with Vedanta philosophy, yet he should not think that studying Vedanta is all in all and therefore be unattached to the chanting of the holy name. A devotee must know the importance of simultaneously understanding Vedanta philosophy and chanting the holy names. If by studying Vedanta one becomes an impersonalist, he has not been able to understand Vedanta. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15). Vedanta means "the end of knowledge." The ultimate end of knowledge is knowledge of Krsna, who is identical with His holy name. Cheap Vaisnavas (sahajiyas) do not care to study the Vedanta philosophy as commented upon by the four acaryas. In the Gaudiya-sampradaya there is a Vedanta commentary called the Govinda-bhasya, but the sahajiyas consider such commentaries to be untouchable philosophical speculation, and they consider the acaryas to be mixed devotees. Thus they clear their way to hell.

According to the Vedic principles, there are three stages of spiritual advancement, namely, sambandha-jnana, abhidheya and prayojana. Sambandha-jnana refers to establishing one's original relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, abhidheya refers to acting according to that constitutional relationship, and prayojana is the ultimate goal of life, which is to develop love of Godhead (prema pum-artho mahan). If one adheres to the regulative principles under the order of the spiritual master, he very easily achieves the ultimate goal of his life. A person who is addicted to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra very easily gets the opportunity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. There is no need for such a person to understand the grammatical jugglery in which Mayavadi sannyasis generally indulge. Sri Sankaracarya also stressed this point: na hi na hi raksati dukrn karane. "Simply by juggling grammatical suffixes and prefixes one cannot save himself from the clutches of death." The grammatical word jugglers cannot bewilder a devotee who engages in chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Simply addressing the energy of the Supreme Lord as Hare and the Lord Himself as Krsna very soon situates the Lord within the heart of the devotee. By thus addressing Radha and Krsna, one directly engages in His Lordship's service. The essence of all revealed scriptures and all knowledge is present when one addresses the Lord and His energy by the Hare Krsna mantra, for this transcendental vibration can completely liberate a conditioned soul and directly engage him in the service of the Lord.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented Himself as a grand fool, yet He maintained that all the words that He had heard from His spiritual master strictly followed the principles stated by Vyasadeva in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.6).

anarthopasamam saksad
bhakti-yogam adhoksaje
lokasyajanato vidvams
cakre satvata-samhitam

One can overcome all misconceptions and entanglement in the material world by practicing bhakti-yoga, and therefore Vyasadeva, acting on the instruction of Sri Narada, has very kindly introduced Srimad-Bhagavatam to relieve the conditioned souls from the clutches of maya. Lord Caitanya's spiritual master instructed Him, therefore, that one must read Srimad-Bhagavatam regularly and with scrutiny to gradually become attached to the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

The holy name and the Lord are identical. One who is completely free from the clutches of maya can understand this fact. This knowledge, which is achieved by the mercy of the spiritual master, places one on the supreme transcendental platform. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented Himself as a fool because prior to accepting the shelter of a spiritual master He could not understand that simply by chanting one can be relieved from all material conditions. But as soon as He became a faithful servant of His spiritual master and followed his instructions, He very easily saw the path of liberation. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra must be understood to be devoid of all offenses. The ten offenses against the holy name are as follows: (1) to blaspheme a devotee of the Lord, (2) to consider the Lord and the demigods to be on the same level or to think that there are many gods, (3) to neglect the orders of the spiritual master, (4) to minimize the authority of scriptures (Vedas), (5) to interpret the holy name of God, (6) to commit sins on the strength of chanting, (7) to instruct the glories of the Lord's name to the unfaithful, (8) to compare the chanting of the holy name with material piety, (9) to be inattentive while chanting the holy name, and (10) to be attached to material things in spite of chanting the holy name.

A name that represents an object of this material world may be subjected to arguments and experimental knowledge, but in the absolute world a name and its owner, the fame and the famous, are identical, and similarly the qualities, pastimes and everything else pertaining to the Absolute are also absolute. Although Mayavadis profess monism, they differentiate between the holy name of the Supreme Lord and the Lord Himself. For this offense of namaparadha they gradually glide down from their exalted position of brahma-jnana, as confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.2.32):

aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah

trayo vedah sad-angani
chandamsi vividhah surah
sarvam astaksarantahstham
yac canyad api van-mayam
sarva-vedanta-sararthah
samsararnava-taranah

Similarly, the Kali-santarana Upanisad states, "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are the only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to the chanting of the holy name." Similarly, Sri Madhvacarya, while commenting upon the Mundaka Upanisad, has said:

dvapariyair janair visnuh
pancaratrais tu kevalaih
kalau tu nama-matrena
pujyate bhagavan harih

In his Bhakti-sandarbha (verse 284), Srila Jiva Gosvami strongly emphasizes the chanting of the holy name of the Lord as follows:

nanu bhagavan-namatmaka eva mantrah, tatra visesena namah-sabdady-alankrtah sri-bhagavata srimad-rsibhis cahita-sakti-visesah, sri-bhagavata samam atma-sambandha-visesa-pratipadakas ca tatra kevalani sri-bhagavan-namany api nirapeksany eva parama-purusartha-phala-paryanta-dana-samarthani tato mantresu namato 'py adhika-samarthye labdhe katham diksady-apeksa. ucyate--yady api svarupato nasti, tathapi prayah svabhavato dehadi-sambandhena kadarya-silanam viksipta-cittanam jananam tat-sankoci-karanaya srimad-rsi-prabhrtibhir atrarcana-marge kvacit kvacit kacit kacin maryada sthapitasti.

To chant the holy name of the Lord, one need not depend upon other paraphernalia, for one can immediately get all the desired results of connecting or linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It may therefore be questioned why there is a necessity for initiation or further spiritual activities in devotional service for one who engages in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The answer is that although it is correct that one who fully engages in chanting the holy name need not depend upon the process of initiation, generally a devotee is addicted to many abominable material habits due to material contamination from his previous life. In order to get quick relief from all these contaminations, it is required that one engage in the worship of the Lord in the temple. The worship of the Deity in the temple is essential to reduce one's restlessness due to the contaminations of conditioned life. Thus Narada, in his pancaratriki-vidhi, and other great sages have sometimes stressed that since every conditioned soul has a bodily concept of life aimed at sense enjoyment, to restrict this sense enjoyment the rules and regulations for worshiping the Deity in the temple are essential. Srila Rupa Gosvami has described that the holy name of the Lord can be chanted by liberated souls, but almost all the souls we have to initiate are conditioned. It is advised that one chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses and according to the regulative principles, yet due to their past bad habits they violate these rules and regulations. Thus the regulative principles for worship of the Deity are also simultaneously essential.

ei ajna pana nama la-i anuksana
nama laite laite mora bhranta haila mana

yugayitam nimesena
caksusa pravrsayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me

It is the aspiration of a devotee that while he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra his eyes will fill with tears, his voice falter and his heart throb. These are good signs in chanting the holy name of the Lord. In ecstasy, one should feel the entire world to be vacant without the presence of Govinda. This is a sign of separation from Govinda. In material life we are all separated from Govinda and are absorbed in material sense gratification. Therefore, when one comes to his senses on the spiritual platform he becomes so eager to meet Govinda that without Govinda the entire world becomes a vacant place.

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

A neophyte disciple begins by hearing and chanting, associating with devotees and practicing the regulative principles, and thus he vanquishes all of his unwanted bad habits. In this way he develops attachment for Krsna and cannot forget Krsna even for a moment. Bhava is almost the successful stage of spiritual life. A sincere student aurally receives the holy name from the spiritual master, and after being initiated he follows the regulative principles given by the spiritual master. When the holy name is properly served in this way, automatically the spiritual nature of the holy name spreads; in other words, the devotee becomes qualified in offenselessly chanting the holy name.

When one is completely fit to chant the holy name in this way, he is eligible to make disciples all over the world, and he actually becomes jagad-guru. Then the entire world, under his influence, begins to chant the holy names of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Thus all the disciples of such a spiritual master increase in attachment for Krsna, and therefore he sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes dances and sometimes chants. These symptoms are very prominently manifest in the body of a pure devotee. Sometimes when our students of the Krsna consciousness movement chant and dance, even in India people are astonished to see how these foreigners have learned to chant and dance in this ecstatic fashion. As explained by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, actually this is not due to practice, for without extra endeavor these symptoms become manifest in anyone who sincerely chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

Many fools, not knowing the transcendental nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, sometimes impede our loudly chanting this mantra, yet one who is actually advanced in the fulfillment of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra induces others to chant also. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana; unless one receives special power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot preach the glories of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. As devotees propagate the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the general population of the entire world gets the opportunity to understand the glories of the holy name. While chanting and dancing or hearing the holy name of the Lord, one automatically remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because there is no difference between the holy name and Krsna, the chanter is immediately linked with Krsna. Thus connected, a devotee develops his original attitude of service to the Lord. In this attitude of constantly serving Krsna, which is called bhava, he always thinks of Krsna in many different ways. One who has attained this bhava stage is no longer under the clutches of the illusory energy. When other spiritual ingredients, such as trembling, perspiration and tears, are added to this bhava stage, the devotee gradually attains love of Krsna.

The holy name of Krsna is called the maha-mantra. Other mantras mentioned in the Narada-pancaratra are known simply as mantras, but the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is called the maha-mantra.

Dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification) and moksa (liberation) are the four principles of religion that pertain to the material world. Therefore in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it is declared, dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra: cheating religious systems in terms of these four material principles are completely discarded from Srimad-Bhagavatam, for Srimad-Bhagavatam teaches only how to develop one's dormant love of God. The Bhagavad-gita is the preliminary study of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and therefore it ends with the words, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me." (Bg. 18.66) To adopt this means, one should reject all ideas of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation and fully engage in the service of the Lord, which is transcendental to these four principles. Love of Godhead is the original function of the spirit soul, and it is as eternal as the soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This eternity is called sanatana. When a devotee revives his loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it should be understood that he has been successful in achieving the desired goal of his life. At that time everything is automatically done by the mercy of the holy name, and the devotee automatically advances in his spiritual progress.

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas
tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah
soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-
maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains in his Anubhasya, "A person who has attracted the attention of the spiritual master by his sincere service likes to dance and chant with similarly developed Krsna conscious devotees. The spiritual master authorizes such a devotee to deliver fallen souls in all parts of the world. Those who are not advanced prefer to chant the Hare Krsna mantra in a solitary place." Such activities constitute, in the language of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, a type of cheating process in the sense that they imitate the activities of exalted personalities like Haridasa Thakura. One should not attempt to imitate such exalted devotees. Rather, everyone should endeavor to preach the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in all parts of the world and thus become successful in spiritual life. One who is not very expert in preaching may chant in a secluded place, avoiding bad association, but for one who is actually advanced, preaching and meeting people who are not engaged in devotional service are not disadvantages. A devotee gives the nondevotees his association but is not affected by their misbehavior. Thus by the activities of a pure devotee even those who are bereft of love of Godhead get a chance to become devotees of the Lord one day. In this connection Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura advises that one discuss the verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam beginning naitat samacarej jatu manasapi hy anisvarah (10.33.30), and the following verse in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.255):

anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

This Vedic injunction is very important, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu supported it by His personal behavior. Believing in the words of His spiritual master, He introduced the sankirtana movement, just as the present Krsna consciousness movement was started with belief in the words of our spiritual master. He wanted to preach, we believed in his words and tried somehow or other to fulfill them, and now this movement has become successful all over the world. Therefore faith in the words of the spiritual master and in the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the secret of success. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu never disobeyed the orders of His spiritual master and stopped propagating the sankirtana movement. Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, at the time of his passing away, ordered all his disciples to work conjointly to preach the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world. Later, however, some self-interested, foolish disciples disobeyed his orders. Each one of them wanted to become head of the mission, and they fought in the courts, neglecting the order of the spiritual master, and the entire mission was defeated. We are not proud of this; however, the truth must be explained. We believed in the words of our spiritual master and started in a humble way--in a helpless way--but due to the spiritual force of the order of the supreme authority, this movement has become successful.

It is to be understood that when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced, He did so by the influence of the pleasure potency of the spiritual world. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu never considered the holy name of the Lord to be a material vibration, nor does any pure devotee mistake the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra to be a material musical manifestation. Lord Caitanya never tried to be the master of the holy name; rather He taught us how to be servants of the holy name. If one chants the holy name of the Lord just to make a show, not knowing the secret of success, he may increase his bile secretion, but he will never attain perfection in chanting the holy name. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented himself in this way: "I am a great fool and do not have knowledge of right and wrong. In order to understand the real meaning of the Vedanta-sutra, I never followed the explanation of the Sankara-sampradaya or Mayavadi sannyasis. I'm very much afraid of the illogical arguments of the Mayavadi philosophers. Therefore I think I have no authority regarding their explanations of the Vedanta-sutra. I firmly believe that simply chanting the holy name of the Lord can remove all misconceptions of the material world. I believe that simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. In this age of quarrel and disagreement, the chanting of the holy names is the only way to liberation from the material clutches.

"By chanting the holy name," Lord Caitanya continued, "I became almost mad. However, after inquiring from My spiritual master I have come to the conclusion that instead of striving for achievement in the four principles of religiosity [dharma], economic development [artha], sense gratification [kama] and liberation [moksa], it is better if somehow or other one develops transcendental love of Godhead. That is the greatest success in life. One who has attained love of Godhead chants and dances by his nature, not caring for the public." This stage of life is known as bhagavata-jivana, or the life of a devotee.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "I never chanted and danced to make an artificial show. I dance and chant because I firmly believe in the words of My spiritual master. Although the Mayavadi philosophers do not like this chanting and dancing, I nevertheless perform it on the strength of his words. Therefore it is to be concluded that I deserve very little credit for these activities of chanting and dancing, for they are being done automatically by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

brahmanando bhaved esa
cet parardha-guni-krtah
naiti bhakti-sukhambhodheh
paramanu-tulam api

na mam duskrtino mudhah
prapadyante naradhamah
mayayapahrta-jnana
asuram bhavam asritah

The Mayavadi sannyasis are asuram bhavam asritah, which means that they have taken the path of the asuras (demons), who do not believe in the existence of the form of the Lord. The Mayavadis say that the ultimate source of everything is impersonal, and in this way they deny the existence of God. Saying that there is no God is direct denial of God, and saying that God exists but has no head, legs or hands and cannot speak, hear or eat is a negative way of denying His existence. A person who cannot see is called blind, one who cannot walk can be called lame, one who has no hands can be called helpless, one who cannot speak can be called dumb, and one who cannot hear can be called deaf. The Mayavadis' proposition that God has no legs, no eyes, no ears and no hands is an indirect way of insulting Him by defining Him as blind, deaf, dumb, lame, helpless, etc. Therefore although they present themselves as great Vedantists, they are factually mayayapahrta-jnana; in other words, they seem to be very learned scholars, but the essence of their knowledge has been taken away.

Impersonalist Mayavadis always try to defy Vaisnavas because Vaisnavas accept the Supreme Personality as the supreme cause and want to serve Him, talk with Him and see Him, just as the Lord is also eager to see His devotees and talk, eat and dance with them. These personal exchanges of love do not appeal to the Mayavadi sannyasis. Therefore the original purpose of the Mayavadi sannyasis of Benares in meeting Caitanya Mahaprabhu was to defeat His personal conception of God. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, as a preacher, turned the minds of the Mayavadi sannyasis. They were melted by the sweet words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and thus became friendly and spoke to Him also in sweet words. Similarly, all preachers will have to meet opponents, but they should not make them more inimical. They are already enemies, and if we talk with them harshly or impolitely their enmity will merely increase. We should therefore follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu as far as possible and try to convince the opposition by quoting from the sastras and presenting the conclusion of the acaryas. It is in this way that we should try to defeat all the enemies of the Lord.

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
(Cc. Madhya 19.151)

The Vaisnavas are by far the greatest philosophers in the world, and the greatest among them was Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhu, whose philosophy was again presented less than four hundred years later by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Maharaja. Therefore one must know very well that Vaisnava philosophers are not sentimentalists or cheap devotees like the sahajiyas. All the Vaisnava acaryas were vastly learned scholars who understood Vedanta philosophy fully, for unless one knows Vedanta philosophy he cannot be an acarya. To be accepted as an acarya among Indian transcendentalists who follow the Vedic principles, one must become a vastly learned scholar in Vedanta philosophy, either by studying it or hearing it.

Bhakti develops in pursuance of Vedanta philosophy. This is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.12):

tac chraddadhana munayo
jnana-vairagya-yuktaya
pasyanty atmani catmanam
bhaktya sruta-grhitaya

sruti-smrti-puranadi-
pancaratra-vidhim vina
aikantiki harer bhaktir
utpatayaiva kalpate

There are different grades of Vaisnavas (kanistha-adhikari, madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari), but to be a madhyama-adhikari preacher one must be a learned scholar in the Vedanta-sutra and other Vedic literature because when bhakti-yoga develops on the basis of Vedanta philosophy it is factual and steady. In this connection we may quote the translation and purport of the verse mentioned above (Bhag. 1.2.12):

There are three classes of devotees, namely first, second and third class. The third-class devotees, or the neophytes, who have no knowledge and are not detached from material association, but who are simply attracted by the preliminary process of worshiping the Deity in the temple, are called material devotees. Material devotees are more attached to material benefit than transcendental profit. Therefore, one has to make definite progress from the position of material devotional service to the second-class devotional position. In the second-class position, the devotee can see four principles in the devotional line, namely the Personality of Godhead, His devotees, the ignorant and the envious. One has to raise himself at least to the stage of a second-class devotee and thus become eligible to know the Absolute Truth.

A third-class devotee, therefore, has to receive the instructions of devotional service from the authoritative sources of Bhagavata. The number one Bhagavata is the established personality of devotee, and the other Bhagavata is the message of Godhead. The third-class devotee therefore has to go to the personality of devotee in order to learn the instructions of devotional service. Such a personality of devotee is not a professional man who earns his livelihood by the business of the Bhagavatam. Such a devotee must be a representative of Sukadeva Gosvami, like Suta Gosvami, and must preach the cult of devotional service for the all-around benefit of all people. A neophyte devotee has very little taste for hearing from the authorities. Such a neophyte devotee makes a show of hearing from the professional man to satisfy his senses. This sort of hearing and chanting has spoiled the whole thing, so one should be very careful about the faulty process. The holy messages of Godhead, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-gita or in Srimad-Bhagavatam, are undoubtedly transcendental subjects, but even though they are so, such transcendental matters are not to be received from the professional man, who spoils them as the serpent spoils milk simply by the touch of his tongue.

A sincere devotee must, therefore, be prepared to hear the Vedic literature like the Upanisads, Vedanta-sutra and other literatures left by the previous authorities, or Gosvamis, for the benefit of his progress. Without hearing such literatures, one cannot make actual progress. And without hearing and following the instructions, the show of devotional service becomes worthless and therefore a sort of disturbance in the path of devotional service. Unless, therefore, devotional service is established on the principles of sruti, smrti, Purana and Pancaratra authorities, the make-show of devotional service should at once be rejected. An unauthorized devotee should never be recognized as a pure devotee. By assimilation of such messages from the Vedic literatures, one can see the all-pervading localized aspect of the Personality of Godhead within his own self constantly. This is called samadhi.

atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah

Here one can see the effect of the Mayavadi sannyasis' service toward Narayana. Because they offered a little respect to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and because they were pious and actually followed the austere rules and regulations of sannyasa, they had some understanding of Vedanta philosophy, and by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu they could appreciate that He was none other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is endowed with all six opulences. One of these opulences is His beauty. By His extraordinarily beautiful bodily features the Mayavadi sannyasis recognized Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Narayana Himself. He was not a farcical Narayana like the daridra-narayanas invented by so-called sannyasis.

Anyone familiar with such sutras must be aware of the Vedanta-sutra, which is well known among scholars by the following different names: (1) Brahma-sutra, (2) Sariraka, (3) Vyasa-sutra, (4) Badarayana-sutra, (5) Uttara-mimamsa and (6) Vedanta-darsana.

There are four chapters (adhyayas) in the Vedanta-sutra, and there are four divisions (padas) in each chapter. Therefore the Vedanta-sutra may be referred to as sodasa-pada, or sixteen divisions of aphorisms. The theme of each and every division is fully described in terms of five different subject matters (adhikaranas), which are technically called pratijna, hetu, udaharana, upanaya and nigamana. Every theme must necessarily be explained with reference to pratijna, or a solemn declaration of the purpose of the treatise. The solemn declaration given in the beginning of the Vedanta-sutra is athato brahma-jijnasa, which indicates that this book was written with the solemn declaration to inquire about the Absolute Truth. Similarly, reasons must be expressed (hetu), examples must be given in terms of various facts (udaharana), the theme must gradually be brought nearer for understanding (upanaya), and finally it must be supported by authoritative quotations from the Vedic sastras (nigamana).

According to the great dictionary compiler Hemacandra, also known as Kosakara, Vedanta refers to the purport of the Upanisads and the Brahmana portion of the Vedas. Professor Apte, in his dictionary, describes the Brahmana portion of the Vedas as that portion which states the rules for employment of hymns at various sacrifices and gives detailed explanations of their origin, sometimes with lengthy illustrations in the form of legends and stories. It is distinct from the mantra portion of the Vedas. Hemacandra said that the supplement of the Vedas is called the Vedanta-sutra. Veda means knowledge, and anta means the end. In other words, proper understanding of the ultimate purpose of the Vedas is called Vedanta knowledge. Such knowledge, as given in the aphorisms of the Vedanta-sutra, must be supported by the Upanisads.

According to learned scholars, there are three different sources of knowledge, which are called prasthana-traya. According to these scholars, Vedanta is one of such sources, for it presents Vedic knowledge on the basis of logic and sound arguments. In the Bhagavad-gita (13.5) the Lord says, brahma-sutra-padais caiva hetumadbhir viniscitaih: "Understanding of the ultimate goal of life is ascertained in the Brahma-sutra by legitimate logic and argument concerning cause and effect." Therefore the Vedanta-sutra is known as nyaya-prasthana, the Upanisads are known as sruti-prasthana, and the Gita, Mahabharata and Puranas are known as smrti-prasthana. All scientific knowledge of transcendence must be supported by sruti, smrti and a sound logical basis.

It is said that both the Vedic knowledge and the supplement of the Vedas called the Satvata-pancaratra emanated from the breathing of Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedanta-sutra aphorisms were compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, a powerful incarnation of Sri Narayana, although it is sometimes said that they were compiled by a great sage named Apantaratama. Both the Pancaratra and Vedanta-sutra, however, express the same opinions. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore confirms that there is no difference in opinion between the two, and He declares that because the Vedanta-sutra was compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, it may be understood to have emanated from the breathing of Sri Narayana. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that while Vyasadeva was compiling the Vedanta-sutra, seven of his great saintly contemporaries were also engaged in similar work. These saints were Atreya Rsi, Asmarathya, Audulomi, Karsnajini, Kasakrtsna, Jaimini and Badari. In addition, it is stated that Parasari and Karmandi-bhiksu also discussed the Vedanta-sutra aphorisms before Vyasadeva.

The Vedanta-sutra consists of four chapters. The first two chapters discuss the relationship of the living entity with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is known as sambandha-jnana, or knowledge of the relationship. The third chapter describes how one can act in his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called abhidheya-jnana. The relationship of the living entity with the Supreme Lord is described by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: jivera 'svarupa' haya krsnera 'nitya-dasa'. "The living entity is an eternal servant of Krsna, the Supreme God." (Cc. Madhya 20.108) Therefore, to act in that relationship one must perform sadhana-bhakti, or the prescribed duties of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called abhidheya-jnana. The fourth chapter describes the result of such devotional service (prayojana-jnana). This ultimate goal of life is to go back home, back to Godhead. The words anavrttih sabdat in the Vedanta-sutra indicate this ultimate goal.

Srila Vyasadeva, a powerful incarnation of Narayana, compiled the Vedanta-sutra, and in order to protect it from unauthorized commentaries, he personally composed Srimad-Bhagavatam on the instruction of his spiritual master, Narada Muni, as the original commentary on the Vedanta-sutra. Besides Srimad-Bhagavatam, there are commentaries on the Vedanta-sutra composed by all the major Vaisnava acaryas, and in each of them devotional service to the Lord is described very explicitly. Only those who follow Sankara's commentary have described the Vedanta-sutra in an impersonal way, without reference to visnu-bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord, Visnu. Generally people very much appreciate this Sariraka-bhasya, or impersonal description of the Vedanta-sutra, but all commentaries that are devoid of devotional service to Lord Visnu must be considered to differ in purpose from the original Vedanta-sutra. In other words, Lord Caitanya definitely confirmed that the commentaries, or bhasyas, written by the Vaisnava acaryas on the basis of devotional service to Lord Visnu, and not the Sariraka-bhasya of Sankaracarya, give the actual explanation of the Vedanta-sutra.

Regarding the Upanisads, the following eleven Upanisads are considered to be the topmost: Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, Brhad-aranyaka and Svetasvatara. However, in the Muktikopanisad, verses 30-39, there is a description of 108 Upanisads. They are as follows: (1) Isopanisad, (2) Kenopanisad, (3) Kathopanisad, (4) Prasnopanisad, (5) Mundakopanisad, (6) Mandukyopanisad, (7) Taittiriyopanisad, (8) Aitareyopanisad, (9) Chandogyopanisad, (10) Brhad-aranyakopanisad, (11) Brahmopanisad, (12) Kaivalyopanisad, (13) Jabalopanisad, (14) Svetasvataropanisad, (15) Hamsopanisad, (16) Aruneyopanisad, (17) Garbhopanisad, (18) Narayanopanisad, (19) Paramahamsopanisad, (20) Amrta-bindupanisad, (21) Nada-bindupanisad, (22) Siropanisad, (23) Atharva-sikhopanisad, (24) Maitrayany-upanisad, (25) Kausitaky-upanisad, (26) Brhaj-jabalopanisad, (27) Nrsimha-tapaniyopanisad, (28) Kalagni-rudropanisad, (29) Maitreyy-upanisad, (30) Subalopanisad, (31) Ksurikopanisad, (32) Mantrikopanisad, (33) Sarva-saropanisad, (34) Niralambopanisad, (35) Suka-rahasyopanisad, (36) Vajra-sucikopanisad, (37) Tejo-bindupanisad, (38) Nada-bindupanisad, (39) Dhyana-bindupanisad, (40) Brahma-vidyopanisad, (41) Yoga-tattvopanisad, (42), Atma-bodhopanisad, (43) Narada-parivrajakopanisad, (44) Trisikhy-upanisad, (45) Sitopanisad, (46) Yoga-cudamany-upanisad, (47) Nirvanopanisad, (48) Mandala-brahmanopanisad, (49) Daksina-murty-upanisad, (50) Sarabhopanisad, (51) Skandopanisad, (52) Mahanarayanopanisad, (53) Advaya-tarakopanisad, (54) Rama-rahasyopanisad, (55) Rama-tapany-upanisad, (56) Vasudevopanisad, (57) Mudgalopanisad, (58) Sandilyopanisad, (59) Paingalopanisad, (60) Bhiksupanisad, (61) Mahad-upanisad, (62) Sarirakopanisad, (63) Yoga-sikhopanisad, (64) Turiyatitopanisad, (65) Sannyasopanisad, (66) Paramahamsa-parivrajakopanisad, (67) Malikopanisad, (68) Avyaktopanisad, (69) Ekaksaropanisad, (70) Purnopanisad, (71) Suryopanisad, (72) Aksy-upanisad, (73) Adhyatmopanisad, (74) Kundikopanisad, (75) Savitry-upanisad, (76) Atmopanisad, (77) Pasupatopanisad, (78) Param-brahmopanisad, (79) Avadhutopanisad, (80) Tripuratapanopanisad, (81) Devy-upanisad, (82) Tripuropanisad, (83) Katha-rudropanisad, (84) Bhavanopanisad, (85) Hrdayopanisad, (86) Yoga-kundaliny-upanisad, (87) Bhasmopanisad, (88) Rudraksopanisad, (89) Ganopanisad, (90) Darsanopanisad, (91) Tara-saropanisad, (92) Maha-vakyopanisad, (93) Panca-brahmopanisad, (94) Pranagni-hotropanisad, (95) Gopala-tapany-upanisad, (96) Krsnopanisad, (97) Yajnavalkyopanisad, (98) Varahopanisad, (99) Satyayany-upanisad, (100) Hayagrivopanisad, (101) Dattatreyopanisad, (102) Garudopanisad, (103) Kaly-upanisad, (104) Jabaly-upanisad, (105) Saubhagyopanisad, (106) Sarasvati-rahasyopanisad, (107) Bahvrcopanisad and (108) Muktikopanisad. Thus there are 108 generally accepted Upanisads, of which eleven are the most important, as previously stated.

One should not, therefore, attribute very much importance to the Sariraka-bhasya. In order to understand Vedanta philosophy, one must study Srimad-Bhagavatam, which begins with the words om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah sva-rat: "I offer my obeisances unto Lord Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, who is the Supreme All-pervading Personality of Godhead. I meditate upon Him, 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." (Bhag. 1.1.1) Srimad-Bhagavatam is the real commentary on the Vedanta-sutra. Unfortunately, if one is attracted to Sri Sankaracarya's commentary, Sariraka-bhasya, his spiritual life is doomed.

One may argue that since Sankaracarya is an incarnation of Lord Siva, how is it that he cheated people in this way? The answer is that he did so on the order of his master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in the Padma Purana in the words of Lord Siva himself:

mayavadam asac chastram
pracchannam bauddham ucyate
mayaiva kalpitam devi
kalau brahmana-rupina

brahmanas caparam rupam
nirgunam vaksyate maya
sarva-svam jagato'py asya
mohanartham kalau yuge

vedante tu maha-sastre
mayavadam avaidikam
mayaiva vaksyate devi
jagatam nasa-karanat

dvaparadau yuge bhutva
kalaya manusadisu
svagamaih kalpitais tvam ca
janan mad-vimukhan kuru

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that mukhya-vrtti ("the direct meaning") is abhidha-vrtti, or the meaning that one can understand immediately from the statements of dictionaries, whereas gauna-vrtti ("the indirect meaning") is a meaning that one imagines without consulting the dictionary. For example, one politician has said that Kuruksetra refers to the body, but in the dictionary there is no such definition. Therefore this imaginary meaning is gauna-vrtti, whereas the direct meaning found in the dictionary is mukhya-vrtti or abhidha-vrtti. This is the distinction between the two. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommends that one understand the Vedic literature in terms of abhidha-vrtti, and the gauna-vrtti He rejects. Sometimes, however, as a matter of necessity, the Vedic literature is described in terms of the laksana-vrtti or gauna-vrtti, but one should not accept such explanations as permanent truths.

The purpose of the discussions in the Upanisads and Vedanta-sutra is to philosophically establish the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. The impersonalists, however, in order to establish their philosophy, accept these discussions in terms of laksana-vrtti, or indirect meanings. Thus instead of being tattva-vada, or in search of the Absolute Truth, they become Mayavada, or illusioned by the material energy. When Sri Visnusvami, one of the four acaryas of the Vaisnava cult, presented his thesis on the subject matter of suddhadvaita-vada, immediately the Mayavadis took advantage of this philosophy and tried to establish their advaita-vada or kevaladvaita-vada. To defeat this kevaladvaita-vada, Sri Ramanujacarya presented his philosophy as visistadvaita-vada, and Sri Madhvacarya presented his philosophy of tattva-vada, both of which are stumbling blocks to the Mayavadis because they defeat their philosophy in scrupulous detail. Students of Vedic philosophy know very well how strongly Sri Ramanujacarya's visistadvaita-vada and Sri Madhvacarya's tattva-vada contest the impersonal Mayavada philosophy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, accepted the direct meaning of the Vedanta philosophy and thus defeated the Mayavada philosophy immediately. He opined in this connection that anyone who follows the principles of the Sariraka-bhasya is doomed. This is confirmed in the Padma Purana, where Lord Siva tells Parvati:

srnu devi pravaksyami
tamasani yatha-kramam
yesam sravana-matrena
patityam jnaninam api

apartham sruti-vakyanam
darsayal loka-garhitam
karma-svarupa-tyajyatvam
atra ca pratipadyate

sarva-karma-paribhramsan
naiskarmyam tatra cocyate
paratma-jivayor aikyam
mayatra pratipadyate

How the Mayavada philosophy was condemned by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers is described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Second Chapter, verses 94 through 99, where Svarupa-damodara Gosvami says that anyone who is eager to understand the Mayavada philosophy must be considered insane. This especially applies to a Vaisnava who reads the Sariraka-bhasya and considers himself to be one with God. The Mayavadi philosophers have presented their arguments in such attractive, flowery language that hearing Mayavada philosophy may sometimes change the mind of even a maha-bhagavata, or very advanced devotee. An actual Vaisnava cannot tolerate any philosophy that claims God and the living being to be one and the same.

'brahma'-sabde mukhya arthe kahe----'bhagavan'
cid-aisvarya-paripurna, anurdhva-samana

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

The Absolute Truth is ultimately understood as Bhagavan, partially understood as Paramatma and vaguely understood as the impersonal Brahman. Bhagavan, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is opulent in all excellence; no one can be equal to or greater than Him. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (7.7), where the Lord says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: "O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no truth superior to Me." There are many other verses which prove that the Absolute Truth in the ultimate sense is understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.

Mayavadi philosophers do not know how it is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is formless. The Supreme Lord does not have a form like ours but has a spiritual form. Not knowing this, Mayavadi philosophers simply advocate the onesided view that the Supreme Godhead, or Brahman, is formless (nirakara). In this connection Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura offers many quotes from the Vedic literature. If one accepts the real or direct meaning of these Vedic statements, one can understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has a spiritual body (sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah).

In the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad (5.1.1) it is said, purnam adah purnam idam purnat purnam udacyate. This indicates that the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is spiritual, for even though He expands in many ways, He remains the same. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.8) the Lord says, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate: "I am the origin of all. Everything emanates from Me." Mayavadi philosophers materialistically think that if the Supreme Truth expands Himself in everything, He must lose His original form. Thus they think that there cannot be any form other than the expansive gigantic body of the Lord. But the Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad confirms, purnam idam purnat purnam udacyate: "Although He expands in many ways, He keeps His original personality. His original spiritual body remains as it is." Similarly, elsewhere it is stated, vicitra-saktih purusah puranah: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original person [purusa], has multifarious energies." And the Svetasvatara Upanisad declares, sa vrksa-kalakrtibhih paro 'nyo yasmat prapancah parivartate 'yam dharmavaham papanudam bhagesam: "He is the origin of material creation, and it is due to Him only that everything changes. He is the protector of religion and annihilator of all sinful activities. He is the master of all opulences." (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.6) Vedaham etam purusam mahantam aditya-varnam tamasah parastat: "Now I understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be the greatest of the great. He is effulgent like the sun and is beyond this material world." (Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.8) Patim patinam paramam parastat: "He is the master of all masters, the superior of all superiors." (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.7) Mahan prabhur vai purusah: "He is the supreme master and supreme person." (Svetasvatara Upanisad 3.12) Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate: "We can understand His opulences in different ways." (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.8) These are all statements of the Svetasvatara Upanisad. Similarly, in the Rg Veda it is stated, tad visnoh paramam padam sada pasyanti surayah: "Visnu is the Supreme, and those who are actually learned think only of His lotus feet." In the Prasna Upanisad it is said, sa iksam cakre: "He glanced over the material creation." (6.3) In the Aitareya Upanisad it is said, sa aiksata--"He glanced over the material creation"--and sa imal lokan asrjata--"He created this entire material world." (1.1.1-2)

Thus many verses can be quoted from the Upanisads and Vedas which prove that the Supreme Godhead is not impersonal. In the Katha Upanisad (2.2.13) it is also said, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman: "He is the supreme eternally conscious person who maintains all other living entities." From all these Vedic references one can understand that the Absolute Truth is a person, although no one can equal or excel Him. Although there are many foolish Mayavadi philosophers who think that they are even greater than Krsna, Krsna is asamaurdhva: no one is equal to or above Him.

As stated in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (3.19), apani-pado javano grahita. This verse describes the Absolute Truth as having no legs or hands. Although this is an impersonal description, however, it does not mean that the Absolute Personality of Godhead has no form. He has a spiritual form that is distinct from the forms of matter. In this verse Caitanya Mahaprabhu clarifies this distinction.

ye 'nye 'ravindaksa vimukta-maninas
tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, therefore, explains in this verse that Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the Absolute Truth, has a spiritual body that is distinct from material bodies, and thus His name, abode, entourage and qualities are all spiritual. The material mode of goodness has nothing to do with spiritual varieties. Mayavadi philosophers, however, cannot clearly understand spiritual varieties; therefore they imagine a negation of the material world to be the spiritual world. The material qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance cannot act in the spiritual world, which is therefore called nirguna, as clearly indicated in the Bhagavad-gita (trai-gunya-visaya veda nistrai-gunyo bhavarjuna). The material world is a manifestation of the three modes of material nature, but one has to become free from these modes to come to the spiritual world, where their influence is completely absent. Now Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will disassociate Lord Siva from Mayavada philosophy in the following verse.

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:

jivera nistara lagi' sutra kaila vyasa
mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa
(Cc. Madhya 6.169)

aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah

Lord Visnu cannot be placed within the category of the demigods. Those who are actually bewildered by the Mayavada philosophy and are still in the darkness of ignorance consider Lord Visnu to be a demigod, in defiance of the Rg-vedic mantra om tad visnoh paramam padam ("Visnu is always in a superior position"). This mantra is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita: mattah parataram nanyat--there is no truth superior to Lord Krsna, or Visnu. Thus only those whose knowledge has been bewildered consider Lord Visnu to be a demigod and therefore suggest that one may worship either Lord Visnu, the goddess Kali ( Durga) or whomever one likes and achieve the same result. This is an ignorant conclusion that is not accepted in the Bhagavad-gita, which distinctly says, yanti deva-vrata devan . . . yanti mad-yajino'pi mam: "The worshipers of the demigods will be promoted to the respective planets of the demigods, but devotees of the Supreme Lord will go back home, back to Godhead." (Bg. 9.25) Lord Krsna explains very clearly in the Bhagavad-gita that His material energy is very difficult to overcome: daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya. Maya's influence is so strong that even learned scholars and spiritualists are also covered by maya and think themselves to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually, however, to free oneself from the influence of maya one must surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as Krsna also states in the Bhagavad-gita: mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te. It is to be concluded, therefore, that Lord Visnu does not belong to this material creation but to the spiritual world. To misconceive Lord Visnu to have a material body or to equate Him with the demigods is the most offensive blasphemy against Lord Visnu, and offenders against the lotus feet of Lord Visnu cannot advance in spiritual knowledge. They are called mayayapahrta-jnana, or those whose knowledge has been stolen by the influence of illusion.

One who thinks that there is a difference between Lord Visnu's body and His soul dwells in the darkest region of ignorance. There is no difference between Lord Visnu's body and Visnu's soul, for they are advaya-jnana, one knowledge. In this world there is a difference between the material body and the spiritual soul, but in the spiritual world everything is spiritual, and there are no such differences. The greatest offense of the Mayavadi philosophers is to consider Lord Visnu and the living entities to be one and the same. In this connection the Padma Purana states, arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih: "One who considers the arca-murti, the worshipable Deity of Lord Visnu, to be stone, the spiritual master to be an ordinary human being, and a Vaisnava to belong to a particular caste or creed, is possessed of hellish intelligence." One who follows such conclusions is doomed.

Someone may argue, "Why is there a need to create the spiritual sparks?" The answer can be given in this way: Since the Absolute Personality of Godhead is omnipotent, He has both unlimited and limited potencies. This is the meaning of omnipotent. To be omnipotent, He must have not only unlimited potencies but limited potencies also. Thus to exhibit His omnipotency He displays both. The living entities are endowed with limited potency although they are part of the Lord. The Lord displays the spiritual world by His unlimited potencies, whereas by His limited potencies the material world is displayed. In the Bhagavad-gita (7.5) the Lord says:

apareyam itas tv anyam
prakrtim viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho
yayedam dharyate jagat

If the Personality of Godhead did not possess both limited and unlimited energies, He could not be called omnipotent. Anor aniyan mahato mahiyan: '. "The Lord is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest." He is smaller than the smallest in the form of the living entities and greater than the greatest in His form of Krsna. If there were no one to control, there would be no meaning to the conception of the supreme controller (isvara), just as there is no meaning to a king without his subjects. If all the subjects became king, there would be no distinction between the king and an ordinary citizen. Thus for the Lord to be the supreme controller there must be a creation to control. The basic principle for the existence of the living entities is called cid-vilasa, or spiritual pleasure. The omnipotent Lord displays His pleasure potency as the living entities. The Lord is described in the Vedanta-sutra (1.1.12) as ananda-mayo 'bhyasat. He is by nature the reservoir of all pleasures, and because He wants to enjoy pleasure, there must be energies to give Him pleasure or supply Him the impetus for pleasure. This is the perfect philosophical understanding of the Absolute Truth.

The supreme cause is Krsna (janmady asya yatah), who is the origin of all energies, which work variously. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has both inferior and superior energies, and the difference between them is that the superior energy is factual whereas the inferior energy is a reflection of the superior. A reflection of the sun in a mirror or on water appears to be the sun but is not. Similarly, the material world is but a reflection of the spiritual world. Although it appears to be factual, it is not; it is only a temporary reflection, whereas the spiritual world is a factual reality. The material world, with its gross and subtle forms, is merely a reflection of the spiritual world.

The living entity is not a product of the material energy; he is spiritual energy, but in contact with matter he forgets his identity. Thus the living entity identifies himself with matter and enthusiastically engages in material activities in the guises of a technologist, scientist, philosopher, etc. He does not know that he is not at all a material product but is spiritual. His real identity thus being lost, he struggles very hard in the material world, and the Hare Krsna movement, or Krsna consciousness movement, tries to revive his original consciousness. His activities in manufacturing big skyscrapers are evidence of intelligence, but this kind of intelligence is not at all advanced. One should know that his only real concern is how to get free from material contact, for by absorbing his mind in material activities he takes material bodies again and again, and although he falsely claims to be very intelligent, in material consciousness he is not at all intelligent. When we speak about the Krsna consciousness movement, which is meant to make people intelligent, the conditioned living entity therefore misunderstands it. He is so engrossed in the material concept of life that he does not think that there can be any activities that are actually based on intelligence beyond the construction of skyscrapers and big roads and the manufacturing of cars. This is proof of mayayapahrta-jnana, or loss of all intelligence due to the influence of maya. When a living entity is freed from such misconceptions, he is called liberated. When one is actually liberated he no longer identifies with the material world. The symptom of mukti (liberation) is that one engages in spiritual activities instead of falsely engaging in material activities.

Transcendental loving devotional service is the spiritual activity of the spirit soul. Mayavadi philosophers confuse such spiritual activity with material activity, but the Bhagavad-gita (14.26) confirms:

mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

In the previous verse, quoted from the Bhagavad-gita, it has been established that the living entities are to be categorized among the Lord's potencies. The Lord is potent, and there are varieties of potencies (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate). Now, in this quotation from the Visnu Purana, this is further confirmed. There are varieties of potencies, and they have been divided into three categories--namely, spiritual, marginal and external.

The spiritual potency is manifested in the spiritual world. Krsna's form, qualities, activities and entourage are all spiritual. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (4.5):

ajo 'pi sann avyayatma
bhutanam isvaro 'pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
sambhavamy atma-mayaya

The material potency is the energy of darkness, or complete ignorance of spiritual activities. In the material potency, the living entity engages himself in fruitive activities, thinking that he can be happy through expansion in terms of material energy. This fact is prominently manifest in this Age of Kali because human society, not understanding the spiritual nature, is busily expanding in material activities. The men of the present day are almost unaware of their spiritual identity. They think that they are products of the elements of the material world and that everything will end with the annihilation of the body. Therefore they conclude that as long as one has a material body consisting of material senses, one should enjoy the senses as much as possible. Since they are atheists, they do not care whether there is a next life. Such activities are described in this verse as avidya-karma-samjnanya.

The material energy is separated from the spiritual energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus although it is originally created by the Supreme Lord, He is not actually present within it. The Lord also confirms in the Bhagavad-gita (9.4), mat-sthani sarva-bhutani: "Everything is resting on Me." This indicates that everything is resting on His own energy. For example, the planets are resting within outer space, which is the separated energy of Krsna. The Lord explains in the Bhagavad-gita (7.4):

bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha

The separated energy can be understood from a practical example. I compose books by speaking into a dictaphone, and when the dictaphone is replayed, it appears that I am speaking personally, but actually I am not. I spoke personally, but then the dictaphone tape, which is separate from me, acts exactly like me. Similarly, the material energy originally emanates from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but it acts separately, although the energy is supplied by the Lord. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita (9.10): mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram. "This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings." Under the guidance or superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the material energy works as if independent, although it is not actually independent.

In this verse from the Visnu Purana the total energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is classified in three divisions--namely, the spiritual or internal potency of the Lord, the marginal potency, or ksetra-jna (the living entity), and the material potency, which is separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and appears to act independently. When Srila Vyasadeva, by meditation and self-realization, saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he also saw the separated energy of the Lord standing behind Him (apasyat purusam purnam mayam ca tad-apasrayam). Vyasadeva also realized that it is this separated energy of the Lord, the material energy, that covers the knowledge of the living entities (yaya sammohito jiva atmanam tri-gunatmakam). The separated, material energy bewilders the living entities (jivas), and thus they work very hard under its influence, not knowing that they are not fulfilling their mission in life. Unfortunately, most of them think that they are the body and should therefore enjoy the material senses irresponsibly, since when death comes everything will be finished. This atheistic philosophy also flourished in India, where it was sometimes propagated by Carvaka Muni, who said:

rnam krtva ghrtam pibet
yavaj jivet sukham jivet
bhasmi-bhutasya dehasya kutah
punar agamano bhavet

In order to dissipate the ignorance of the human beings who work under the material energy, which is separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord comes down to revive their original nature of spiritual activities (yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata). As soon as they deviate from their original nature, the Lord comes to teach them, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: "My dear living entities, give up all material activities and simply surrender unto Me for protection." (Bg. 18.66)

It is the statement of Carvaka Muni that one should beg, borrow or steal money to purchase ghee and enjoy life (rnam krtva ghrtam pibet). Thus even the greatest atheist of India recommends that one eat ghee, not meat. No one could conceive of human beings' eating meat like tigers and dogs, but men have become so degraded that they are just like animals and can no longer claim to have a human civilization.

In the Vedanta-sutra, Vyasadeva has described that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is potent and that everything, material or spiritual, is but an emanation of His energy. The Lord, the Supreme Brahman, is the origin or source of everything (janmady asya yatah), and all other manifestations are emanations of different energies of the Lord. This is also confirmed in the Visnu Purana:

ekadesa-sthitasyagner
jyotsna vistarini yatha
parasya brahmanah saktis
tathedam akhilam jagat

Unfortunately, the Mayavada philosophy, misguiding people by claiming the living entity to be the Lord, has created havoc throughout the entire world and led almost everyone to godlessness. By thus covering the glories of the Supreme Lord, the Mayavadi philosophers have done the greatest disservice to human society. It is to counteract these most abominable activities of the Mayavadi philosophers that Lord Caitanya has introduced the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

In the Brahma-sutra, Second Chapter, the first quote is as follows: tad-ananyatvam arambhana-sabdadibhyah. Commenting on this sutra in his Sariraka-bhasya, Sankaracarya has introduced the statement vacarambhanam vikaro namadheyam from the Chandogya Upanisad (6.1.4) to try to prove that acceptance of the transformation of the energy of the Supreme Lord is faulty. He has tried to defy this transformation of energy in a misguided way, which will be explained later. Since his conception of God is impersonal, he does not believe that the entire cosmic manifestation is a transformation of the energies of the Lord, for as soon as one accepts the various energies of the Absolute Truth, one must immediately accept the Absolute Truth to be personal, not impersonal. A person can create many things by the transformation of his energy. For example, a businessman transforms his energy by establishing many big factories or business organizations, yet he remains a person although his energy has been transformed into these many factories or business concerns. The Mayavadi philosophers do not understand this simple fact. Their tiny brains and poor fund of knowledge cannot afford them sufficient enlightenment to realize that when a man's energy is transformed, the man himself is not transformed but remains the same person.

Not believing in the fact that the energy of the Absolute Truth is transformed, Sankaracarya has propounded his theory of illusion. This theory states that although the Absolute Truth is never transformed, we think that it is transformed, which is an illusion. Sankaracarya does not believe in the transformation of the energy of the Absolute Truth, for he claims that everything is one and that the living entity is therefore also one with the Supreme. This is the Mayavada theory.

Srila Vyasadeva has explained that the Absolute Truth is a person who has different potencies. Merely by His desire that there be creation and by His glance (sa aiksata), He created this material world (sa asrjata). After creation, He remains the same person; He is not transformed into everything. One should accept that the Lord has inconceivable energies and that it is by His order and will that varieties of manifestation have come into existence. In the Vedic literature it is said, sa-tattvato 'nyatha-buddhir vikara ity udahrtah. This mantra indicates that from one fact another fact is generated. For example, a father is one fact, and a son generated from the father is a second fact. Thus both of them are truths, although one is generated from the other. This generation of a second, independent truth from a first truth is called vikara, or transformation resulting in a by-product. The Supreme Brahman is the Absolute Truth, and the energies that have emanated from Him and are existing separately, such as the living entities and the cosmic manifestation, are also truths. This is an example of transformation, which is called vikara or parinama. To give another example of vikara, milk is a truth, but the same milk may be transformed into yogurt. Thus yogurt is a transformation of milk, although the ingredients of yogurt and milk are the same.

In the Chandogya Upanisad there is the following mantra: aitad-atmyam idam sarvam. This mantra indicates without a doubt that the entire world is Brahman. The Absolute Truth has inconceivable energies, as confirmed in the Svetasvatara Upanisad (parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate), and the entire cosmic manifestation is evidence of these different energies of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is a fact, and therefore whatever is created by the Supreme Lord is also factual. Everything is true and complete (purnam), but the original purnam, the complete Absolute Truth, always remains the same. Purnat purnam udacyate purnasya purnam adaya. The Absolute Truth is so perfect that although innumerable energies emanate from Him and manifest creations which appear to be different from Him, He nevertheless maintains His personality. He never deteriorates under any circumstances.

It is to be concluded that the entire cosmic manifestation is a transformation of the energy of the Supreme Lord, not of the Supreme Lord or Absolute Truth Himself, who always remains the same. The material world and the living entities are transformations of the energy of the Lord, the Absolute Truth or Brahman, who is the original source. In other words, the Absolute Truth, Brahman, is the original ingredient, and the other manifestations are transformations of this ingredient. This is also confirmed in the Taittiriya Upanisad (3.1): yato va imani bhutani jayante. "This entire cosmic manifestation is made possible by the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." In this verse it is indicated that Brahman, the Absolute Truth, is the original cause and that the living entities (jivas) and the cosmic manifestation are effects of this cause. The cause being a fact, the effects are also factual. They are not illusion. Sankaracarya has inconsistently tried to prove that acceptance of the material world and the jivas to be by-products of the Supreme Lord is an illusion because in this conception the existence of the material world and the jivas is different and separate from that of the Absolute Truth. With this jugglery of understanding, Mayavadi philosophers have propagated the slogan brahma satyam jagan mithya, which declares that the Absolute Truth is fact but the cosmic manifestation and the living entities are simply illusions, or that all of them are in fact the Absolute Truth and that the material world and living entities do not separately exist.

It is therefore to be concluded that Sankaracarya, in order to present the Supreme Lord, the living entities and the material nature as indivisible and ignorant, tries to cover the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He maintains that the material cosmic manifestation is mithya, or false, but this is a great blunder. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a fact, how can His creation be false? Even in ordinary dealings, one cannot think the material cosmic manifestation to be false. Therefore Vaisnava philosophers say that the cosmic creation is not false but temporary. It is separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but since it is wonderfully created by the energy of the Lord, to say that it is false is blasphemous.

Nondevotees factually appreciate the wonderful creation of material nature, but they cannot appreciate the intelligence and energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is behind this material creation. Sripada Ramanujacarya, however, refers to a sutra from the Aitareya Upanisad (1.1.1), atma va idam agra asit, which points out that the supreme atma, the Absolute Truth, existed before the creation. One may argue, "If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely spiritual, how is it possible for Him to be the origin of creation and have within Himself both material and spiritual energies?" To answer this challenge, Sripada Ramanujacarya quotes a mantra from the Taittiriya Upanisad (3.1) that states:

yato va imani bhutani jayante yena jatani jivanti yat prayanty abhisamvisanti

Sripada Sankaracarya has tried to mislead the readers of the Vedanta-sutra by misinterpreting the words ananda-mayo 'bhyasat, and he has even tried to find fault with Vyasadeva. All the aphorisms of the Vedanta-sutra need not be examined here, however, since we intend to present the Vedanta-sutra in a separate volume.

The example of misunderstanding a rope to be a snake is mentioned in the Mandukya Upanisad, but it is meant to explain the error of identifying the body with the soul. Since the soul is actually a spiritual particle, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (mamaivamso jiva-loke), it is due to illusion (vivarta-vada) that a human being, like an animal, identifies the body with the self. This is a proper example of vivarta, or illusion. The verse atattvato 'nyatha-buddhir vivarta ity udahrtah describes such an illusion. To not know actual facts and thus to mistake one thing for another (as, for example, to accept the body as oneself) is called vivarta-vada. Every conditioned living entity who considers the body to be the soul is deluded by this vivarta-vada. One can be attacked by this vivarta-vada philosophy when he forgets the inconceivable power of the omnipotent Personality of Godhead.

How the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as He is, never changing, is explained in the Isopanisad: purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate. God is complete. Even if a complete manifestation is taken away from Him, He continues to be complete. The material creation is manifested by the energy of the Lord, but He is still the same person. His form, entourage, qualities and so on never deteriorate. Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Paramatma-sandarbha, comments regarding the vivarta-vada as follows: "Under the spell of vivarta-vada one imagines the separate entities, namely, the cosmic manifestation and the living entities, to be one with Brahman. This is due to complete ignorance regarding the actual fact. The Absolute Truth, or Parabrahman, is always one and always the same. He is completely free from all other conceptions of existence. He is completely free from false ego, for He is the full spiritual identity. It is absolutely impossible for Him to be subjected to ignorance and fall under the spell of a misconception (vivarta-vada). The Absolute Truth is beyond our conception. One must admit that He has unblemished qualities that He does not share with every living entity. He is never tainted in the slightest degree by the flaws of ordinary living beings. Everyone must therefore understand the Absolute Truth to possess inconceivable potencies."

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

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.

'pranava' se mahavakya----vedera nidana
isvara-svarupa pranava sarva-visva-dhama

om ity ekaksaram brahma
vyaharan mam anusmaran
yah prayati tyajan deham
sa yati paramam gatim

om ity ekaksaram brahma
vyaharan mam anusmaran
yah prayati tyajan deham
sa yati paramam gatim

If one actually understands that omkara is the sound representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether he chants omkara or the Hare Krsna mantra, the result is certainly the same.

The transcendental vibration of omkara is further explained in the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter Nine, verse seventeen:

pitaham asya jagato
mata dhata pitamahah
vedyam pavitram omkara
rk sama yajur eva ca

Similarly, the transcendental sound om is further explained in the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter Seventeen, verse twenty-three:

om tat sad iti nirdeso
brahmanas tri-vidhah smrtah
brahmanas tena vedas ca
yajnas ca vihitah pura

Throughout all the Vedic scriptures the glories of omkara are specifically mentioned. Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his thesis Bhagavat-sandarbha, says that in the Vedic literature omkara is considered to be the sound vibration of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Only this vibration of transcendental sound can deliver a conditioned soul from the clutches of maya. Sometimes omkara is also called the deliverer (tara). Srimad-Bhagavatam begins with the omkara vibration: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Therefore omkara has been described by the great commentator Sridhara Svami as tarankura, the seed of deliverance from the material world. Since the Supreme Godhead is absolute, His holy name and His sound vibration omkara are as good as He Himself. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that the holy name, or omkara, the transcendental representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has all the potencies of the Personality of Godhead.

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah

On the basis of all the Upanisads, Srila Jiva Gosvami says that omkara is the Supreme Absolute Truth and is accepted as such by all the acaryas and authorities. Omkara is beginningless, changeless, supreme and free from deterioration and external contamination. Omkara is the origin, middle and end of everything, and any living entity who thus understands omkara attains the perfection of spiritual identity in omkara. Omkara, being situated in everyone's heart, is isvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (18.61): isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati. Omkara is as good as Visnu because omkara is as all-pervasive as Visnu. One who knows omkara and Lord Visnu to be identical no longer has to lament or hanker. One who chants omkara no longer remains a sudra but immediately comes to the position of a brahmana. Simply by chanting omkara one can understand the whole creation to be one unit, or an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord: idam hi visvam bhagavan ivetaro yato jagat-sthana-nirodha-sambhavah. "The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is Himself this cosmos, and still He is aloof from it. From Him only this cosmic manifestation has emanated, in Him it rests, and unto Him it enters after annihilation." (Bhag. 1.5.20) Although one who does not understand concludes otherwise, Srimad-Bhagavatam states that the entire cosmic manifestation is but an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Lord. Realization of this is possible simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, omkara.

One should not, however, foolishly conclude that because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is omnipotent, we have manufactured a combination of letters--a, u and m--to represent Him. Factually the transcendental sound omkara, although a combination of the three letters a, u and m, has transcendental potency, and one who chants omkara will very soon realize omkara and Lord Visnu to be nondifferent. Krsna declares, pranavah sarva-vedesu: "I am the syllable om in the Vedic mantras." (Bg. 7.8) One should therefore conclude that among the many incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, omkara is the sound incarnation. All the Vedas accept this thesis. One should always remember that the holy name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are always identical (abhinnatvan nama-naminoh). Since omkara is the basic principle of all Vedic knowledge, it is uttered before one begins to chant any Vedic hymn. Without omkara, no Vedic mantra is successful. The Gosvamis therefore declare that pranava (omkara) is the complete representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they have analyzed omkara in terms of its alphabetical constituents as follows:

a-karenocyate krsnah
sarva-lokaika-nayakah
u-karenocyate radha
ma-karo jiva-vacakah

The Mayavadi philosophers consider many Vedic mantras to be the maha-vakya, or principal Vedic mantra, such as tat tvam asi (Chandogya Upanisad 6.8.7), idam sarvam yad ayam atma and brahmedam sarvam (Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 2.5.1), atmaivedam sarvam (Chandogya Upanisad 7.25.2) and neha nanasti kincana (Katha Upanisad 2.1.11). That is a great mistake. Only omkara is the maha-vakya. All these other mantras that the Mayavadis accept as the maha-vakya are only incidental. They cannot be taken as the maha-vakya, or maha-mantra. The mantra tat tvam asi indicates only a partial understanding of the Vedas, unlike omkara, which represents the full understanding of the Vedas. Therefore the transcendental sound that includes all Vedic knowledge is omkara (pranava).

Aside from omkara, none of the words uttered by the followers of Sankaracarya can be considered the maha-vakya. They are merely passing remarks. Sankaracarya, however, has never stressed chanting of the maha-vakya omkara; he has accepted only tat tvam asi as the maha-vakya. Imagining the living entity to be God, he has misrepresented all the mantras of the Vedanta-sutra with the motive of proving that there is no separate existence of the living entities and the Supreme Absolute Truth. This is similar to the politician's attempt to prove nonviolence from the Bhagavad-gita. Krsna is violent to demons, and to attempt to prove that Krsna is not violent is ultimately to deny Krsna. As such explanations of the Bhagavad-gita are absurd, so also is Sankaracarya's explanation of the Vedanta-sutra, and no sane and reasonable man will accept it. At present, however, the Vedanta-sutra is misrepresented not only by the so-called Vedantis but also by other unscrupulous persons who are so degraded that they even recommend that sannyasis eat meat, fish and eggs. In this way Sankara's so-called followers, the impersonalist Mayavadis, are sinking lower and lower. How can these degraded men explain the Vedanta-sutra, which is the essence of all Vedic literature?

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has declared, mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa: "Anyone who hears commentary on the Vedanta-sutra from the Mayavada school is completely doomed." As explained in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15), vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah: all Vedic literature aims to understand Krsna. Mayavada philosophy, however, has deviated everyone from Krsna. Therefore there is a great need for the Krsna consciousness movement all over the world to save the world from degradation. Every intelligent and sane man must abandon the philosophical explanation of the Mayavadis and accept the explanation of Vaisnava acaryas. One should read Bhagavad-gita As It Is to try to understand the real purpose of the Vedas.

tan aham dvisatah kruran
samsaresu naradhaman
ksipamy ajasram asubhan
asurisv eva yonisu

vede ramayane caiva
purane bharate tatha
adav ante ca madhye ca
harih sarvatra giyate

om purnam adah purnam idam
purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya
purnam evavasisyate

In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord is also addressed as Parabrahman. Mayavadis and others sometimes misunderstand Brahman because every living entity is also Brahman. Therefore Krsna is referred to as Parabrahman (the Supreme Brahman). In the Vedic literature, whenever the words Brahman or Parabrahman are used, they are to be understood to refer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. This is their real meaning. Since the entire Vedic literature deals with the subject of Brahman, Krsna is therefore the ultimate goal of Vedic understanding. The impersonal brahmajyoti rests on the personal form of the Lord. Therefore although the impersonal effulgence, the brahmajyoti, is the first realization, one must enter into it, as mentioned in the Isopanisad, to find the Supreme Person, and then one's knowledge is perfect. The Bhagavad-gita (7.19) also confirms this: bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. One's search for the Absolute Truth by dint of speculative knowledge is complete when one comes to the point of understanding Krsna and surrenders unto Him. That is the real point of perfectional knowledge.

Partial realization of the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman denies the complete opulences of the Lord. This is a hazardous understanding of the Absolute Truth. Unless one accepts all the features of the Absolute Truth--namely, impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma and ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead--his knowledge is imperfect. Sripada Ramanujacarya, in his Vedartha-sangraha, says: jnanena dharmena svarupam api nirupitam, na tu jnana-matram brahmeti katham idam avagamyate. He thus indicates that the real absolute identity must be understood in terms of both His knowledge and His characteristics. Simply to understand the Absolute Truth to be full of knowledge is not sufficient. In the Vedic literature (Mundaka Upanisad 1.1.9) we find the statement yah sarva-jnah sarva-vit, which means that the Absolute Truth knows everything perfectly, but we also learn from the Vedic description parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate that not only does He know everything, but He also acts accordingly by utilizing His different energies. Thus to understand that Brahman, the Supreme, is conscious is not sufficient. One must know how He consciously acts through His different energies. Mayavada philosophy simply informs us of the consciousness of the Absolute Truth but does not give us information of how He acts with His consciousness. That is the defect of that philosophy.

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
(Bhag. 7.5.23)

aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah
(Bhag. 10.2.32)

The most elevated Mayavadi philosopher can rise to the platform of liberation, but krsna-bhakti, devotional service to Krsna, is transcendental to such liberation. Srila Vyasadeva explains this fact in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.2):

dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam
vedyam vastavam atra vastu siva-dam tapa-trayonmulanam

Srimad-Bhagavatam, the explanation of the Vedanta-sutra, is meant for paramo nirmatsaranam, those who are completely aloof from jealousy. Mayavadi philosophers are jealous of the existence of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Vedanta-sutra is not actually meant for them. They unnecessarily poke their noses into the Vedanta-sutra, but they have no ability to understand it because the author of the Vedanta-sutra writes in his commentary, Srimad-Bhagavatam, that it is meant for those who are pure in heart (paramo nirmatsaranam). If one is envious of Krsna, how can he understand the Vedanta-sutra or Srimad-Bhagavatam? The Mayavadis' primary occupation is to offend the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. For example, although Krsna demands our surrender in the Bhagavad-gita, the greatest scholar and so-called philosopher in India has protested that it is "not to Krsna" that we have to surrender. Therefore, he is envious. Since Mayavadis of all different descriptions are envious of Krsna, they have no scope to understand the meaning of the Vedanta-sutra. Even if they were on the liberated platform, as they falsely claim, here Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami repeats the statement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that love of Krsna is beyond the state of liberation.

parabhavas tavad abodha-jato
yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam

dharmah svanusthitah pumsam
visvaksena-kathasu yah
notpadayed yadi ratim
srama eva hi kevalam

In the Brahma-samhita there are mantras offering obeisances to Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, the sun-god and Lord Ganesa, as well as Lord Visnu, all of whom are worshiped by the impersonalists as pancopasana. In their temples impersonalists also install deities of Lord Visnu, Lord Siva, the sun-god, Goddess Durga and sometimes Lord Brahma also, and this system is continuing at present in India under the guise of the Hindu religion. Vaisnavas can also worship all these demigods, but only on the principles of the Brahma-samhita, which is recommended by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We may note in this connection the mantras for worshiping Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, Goddess Durga, the sun-god and Ganesa, as described in the Brahma-samhita.

srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka
chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga
icchanurupam api yasya ca cestate sa
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

ksiram yatha dadhi vikara-visesa-yogat
sanjayate na hi tatah prthag asti hetoh
yah sambhutam api tatha samupaiti karyad
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

bhasvan yathasma-sakalesu nijesu tejah
sviyam kiyat prakatayaty api tadvad atra
brahma ya esa jagad-anda-vidhana-karta
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

(Brahma-samhita 5.49)

yat-pada-pallava-yugam vinidhaya kumbha-
dvandve pranama-samaye sa ganadhirajah
vighnan vihantum alam asya jagat-trayasya
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

yac caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

All the demigods are servants of Krsna; they are not equal with Krsna. Therefore even if one goes to a temple of the pancopasana, as mentioned above, one should not accept the deities as they are accepted by the impersonalists. All of them are to be accepted as personal demigods, but they all serve the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sankaracarya, for example, is understood to be an incarnation of Lord Siva, as described in the Padma Purana. He propagated the Mayavada philosophy under the order of the Supreme Lord. We have already discussed this point in text 114 of this chapter: tanra dosa nahi, tenho ajna-kari dasa. "Sankaracarya is not at fault, for he has thus covered the real purpose of the Vedas under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Although Lord Siva, in the form of a brahmana (Sankaracarya), preached the false philosophy of Mayavada, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu nevertheless said that since he did it on the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there was no fault on his part (tanra dosa nahi).

We must offer proper respects to all the demigods. If one can offer respects even to an ant, why not to the demigods? One must always know, however, that no demigod is equal to or above the Supreme Lord. Ekale isvara krsna, ara saba bhrtya: "Only Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all others, including the demigods such as Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, Goddess Durga and Ganesa, are His servants." Everyone serves the purpose of the Supreme Godhead, and what to speak of such small and insignificant living entities as ourselves? We are surely eternal servants of the Lord. The Mayavada philosophy maintains that the demigods, the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are all equal. It is therefore a most foolish misrepresentation of Vedic knowledge.

bahu tuli' prabhu bale,----bala hari hari
hari-dhvani kare loka svarga-martya bhari'

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Seventh Chapter, describing Lord Caitanya in five features.

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