Transcription made by: H.G. Aishani mataji, H.G. Keertana mataji, H.G. Ananya mataji
Srimad Gour Govinda Swami: “Śiva, is faultless because he is a servant carrying out the orders of the Lord. But those who follow his Māyāvādī philosophy are doomed. They will lose all their advancement in spiritual knowledge.
Purport by Srila Prabhupada Māyāvādī philosophers are very proud of exhibiting their Vedānta knowledge through grammatical jugglery, but in the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa certifies that they are māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, bereft of real knowledge due to māyā. Māyā has two potencies with which to execute her two functions — the prakṣepātmikā-śakti, the power to throw the living entity into the ocean of material existence, and āvaraṇātmikā-śakti, the power to cover the knowledge of the living entity. The function of the āvaraṇātmikā-śakti is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā by the word māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ.
Why the daivī-māyā, or illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa, takes away the knowledge of the Māyāvādī philosophers is also explained in the Bhagavad-gīta by the use of the words āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ, which refer to a person who does not agree to the existence of the Lord. The Māyāvādīs, who are not in agreement with the existence of the Lord, can be classified in two groups, exemplified by the impersonalist Śaṅkarites of Vārāṇasī and the Buddhists of Saranātha. Both groups are Māyāvādīs, and Kṛṣṇa 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 Śaṅkarites do not openly deny God, they say that the Absolute is nirākāra, or formless. Thus both the Buddhists and the Śaṅkarites are aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ, or imperfect and unclean in their knowledge and intelligence. The most prominent Māyāvādī scholar, Sadānanda Yogīndra, has written a book called Vedānta-sāra, in which he expounds the philosophy of Śaṅkarācārya, and all the followers of Śaṅkara’s philosophy attribute great importance to his statements.
In this Vedānta-sāra Sadānanda Yogīndra defines Brahman as sac-cid-ānanda combined with knowledge and without duality, and he defines ignorance (jaḍa) 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 Viṣṇu and the individual living entities are products of ignorance.
In simple language, it is the opinion of Sadānanda Yogīndra that since everything is nirākāra (formless), the conception of Viṣṇu and the conception of the individual soul are both products of ignorance. He also explains that the viśuddha-sattva conception of the Vaiṣṇavas is nothing but pradhāna, or the chief principle of creation. He maintains that when all-pervading knowledge is contaminated by the viśuddha-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 īśvara, etc.
According to Sadānanda Yogīndra, because īśvara, the Supreme Lord, is the reservoir of all ignorance, He may be called sarva-jña, or omniscient, but one who denies the existence of the omnipotent Supreme Personality of Godhead is more than īśvara, or the Lord. His conclusion, therefore, is that the Supreme Personality of Godhead (īśvara) is a transformation of material ignorance and that the living entity (jīva) is covered by ignorance. Thus he describes both collective and individual existence in darkness.
According to Māyāvādī philosophers, the Vaiṣṇava conception of the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and of the jīva, or individual soul, as His eternal servant is a manifestation of ignorance. If we accept the judgment of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā, however, the Māyāvādīs are to be considered māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, 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 (māyā). These are characteristics of asuras, or demons.
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in His discourses with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, said: jīvera nistāra lāgi’ sūtra kaila vyāsa, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa (CC. Madhya 6.169). Vyāsadeva composed the Vedānta-sūtra to deliver the conditioned souls from this material world, but Śaṅkarācārya, by presenting the Vedānta-sūtra in his own way, has clearly done a great disservice to human society, for one who follows his Māyāvāda philosophy is doomed.
In the Vedanta-sūtra, devotional service is clearly indicated, but the Māyāvādī philosophers refuse to accept the spiritual body of the Supreme Absolute Person and refuse to accept that the living entity has an individual existence separate from that of the Supreme Lord. Thus they have created atheistic havoc all over the world, for such a conclusion is against the very nature of the transcendental process of pure devotional service.
The Māyāvādī philosophers’ unrealizable ambition to become one with the Supreme through denying the existence of the Personality of Godhead results in a most calamitous misrepresentation of spiritual knowledge, and one who follows this philosophy is doomed to remain perpetually in this material world. Therefore the Māyāvādīs are called aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ, or unclean in knowledge. Because they are unclean in knowledge, all their austerities and penances end in frustration.
Thus although they may be honored at first as very learned scholars, ultimately they descend to physical activities of politics, social work, etc. Instead of becoming one with the Supreme Lord, they again become one with these material activities. This is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32): āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ, patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ.
In actuality the Māyāvādī philosophers very strictly follow the austerities and penances of spiritual life and in this way are elevated to the impersonal Brahman platform, but due to their negligence of the lotus feet of the Lord they again fall down to material existence. tāṅra doṣa nāhi, teṅho ājñā-kārī dāsa, āra yei śune tāra haya sarva-nāśa [CC Ādi 7.114].
Who is an incarnation of Śiva, compiles this, Māyāvāda philosophy, which is not bonafide philosophy of Vedānta-sūtra, commentary of Vedānta-sūtra. Why he did so? Hmm. It's a kṛtrima-bhāṣya. Hmm. The akṛtrima-bhāṣya, natural bhāṣya of Vedānta-sūtra is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Vyāsadeva is the compiler of Vedānta-sūtra, and he himself has given the commentary. Vyāsadeva has given commentary.
The real commentary, the natural commentary, bonafide commentary of Vedānta-sūtra is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You understand? But Śaṅkarācārya didn't speak about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because if he speaks about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then his purpose will not be fulfilled. He has been ordered by Bhagavān Viṣṇu, to cover Him up, and to build up the people of Kali-yuga.
When Srila that means Śaṅkarācārya came, Śaṅkarācārya is an incarnation of Śaṅkara, Śivajī, Śivajī. Do you understand? Śivajī is a Vaiṣṇava. Śivajī is a Mahājana. Why he did so?
Because he only obeyed the order of Lord Viṣṇu, his master. Ajñākārī bhṛtyaḥ. He is a order carrier. He has no fault. Mahāprabhu said this thing, ‘tāṅra nāhi doṣa’.
He has no fault. He is faultless. He is just order carrier. Lord Viṣṇu orders this thing.
Why He orders? And that is a need at that time. That is need at that time, tatkālika, it is not sarvakālika. This need is not now. It is not needed now.
At that time it was needed because Veda was going to be lost by the propagation of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhist philosophy is atheistic philosophy. Veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta’ nāstika. The Buddhists are atheists. They don't accept Veda.
So, Veda is going to be lost, but it cannot be lost because it's eternal. Veda comes out from the breathing of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is eternal, so Veda is eternal. How can it be lost? It cannot be lost.
So it should be, um, ah, what do you say? Again re-established, should be established. It cannot be lost. So Nārāyaṇa Viṣṇu ordered Śivajī, "You go as an ācārya and establish Veda". You understand?
And Śivajī is very powerful. tam mahābāho, it is stated. Mahābāho is very powerful. Śivajī is very powerful because he could drink the ocean-like poison and protected the whole world. Otherwise, the whole world would have been destroyed.
So powerful personality, Śivajī. Mm. Mahābhuja, it's stated here. Mahābhuja, ādityān, vidyutān, daśarājaḥ mahābhujaḥ tvam ca rudra mahābāho. He's very powerful. "You're very powerful, you can do it. You go and do it. That's it".
Lord Nārāyaṇa, Vishnu says, "Just cover Me up. Just cover Me up. You give a, I would say, just imaginative commentary of Vedānta-sūtra”. You understand? Imaginative. Uh, it's not real commentary.
Real commentary is Srimad Bhagavatam, “You just give this thing”. As the whole human society will be bewildered, will be deluded. Delude them, they will be, what you say, away from Me.
At first, you see, the Vedas have different divisions. Karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, upāsanā-kāṇḍa divisions are there. In Vedas everything is there. So, Lord Śiva was advised to just establish this karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa portion. Karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa portion of Vedas, not the bhakti portion or upāsanā-kāṇḍa.
Do you understand? He has not. That is the gauṇa portion, what you say, gauṇa means secondary, it is not chief, just establish that thing. Mm.
In that portion of Veda, jñāna-kāṇḍa, karma-kāṇḍa, you see, Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura says viṣayera bhāṇḍa, is like a poisonous pot, you understand? It’s a poisonous pot, jñāna-kāṇḍa, karma-kāṇḍa portion of Vedas like poisonous pot. Do you understand? Hmm?
That is the gauṇa portion, secondary portion of the Vedas, not chief portion. vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo [Bhagavad Gita 15.15]. In Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa said – ‘In all the Vedas, I am to be known’. sarvair ca vedair aham eva vedyaḥ, in all the vedas I am to be known. Do you understand?
The one who knows Kṛṣṇa, he knows vedas and veda comes out from breathing of Kṛṣṇa. You understand? So Kṛṣṇa is the source of veda, understand. Veda means pure knowledge and the māyā, these māyāvādīs are aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ, impure knowledge, impure intelligence because they don’t accept the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they don’t accept the surrendering concept, they don’t accept, in other words we say bhakti, there is, you see, self-explanatory it is, Śrīla Prabhupāda's explanation in his purport is just purport.
Very clearly he has stated all that Sadānanda Yogīndra has given in his book, you see, has described contradictory thing, it is not that great. Therefore, Mahāprabhu says this thing like — jīvera nistāra lāgi’ sūtra kaila vyāsa, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa [CC Madhya 6.169]. Vyāsadeva himself has given commentary of Vedānta-sūtra—that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Bhakti-śāstra. Bhakti-tattva has been said there.
If someone will hear the philosophy of Māyāvādīs, he will be doomed because bhakti is the ātmā-vṛtti. What is this ātmā-vṛtti? The dharma of the soul is to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa, surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and render service unto His lotus feet. jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ [CC Madhya 20.108].
That the real identity of the jīva, he is eternal servant of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. He has to surrender. He has to render service.
But in Māyāvāda philosophy, this is not there. No question of surrender, no question of rendering service. Rather, as for the Sadānanda Yogīndra's opinion, the living entity, jīva, one who, never accepts the existence of the Supreme Īśvara, is more than the Lord, he says is more than the Lord. He becomes Īśvara, more than the Lord. Īśvara is covered up by ignorance, he says.
It's quite fallacious. You see. Therefore, Mahāprabhu says: māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa [CC Madhya 6.169]. "One will be doomed if you listen to Māyāvādī bhāṣya, Māyāvādī commentary, because he will never surrender. He'll think himself one with the God.
I am more. I am Supreme Lord". Do you understand? So the real nature, real dharma of the soul is lost at all. Is lost at all.
Therefore, it has been said, so one should not listen to it. And when Mahāprabhu talked with Rāya Rāmānanda, during his South India visit pracāra, preaching He asked Raya Ramananda, bubhukṣu mumukṣur gati, what is the destination of bubhukṣu and mumukṣu? Bubhukṣu means one who runs after this material enjoyment is bubhukṣu. And mumukṣu is one who runs after liberation to merge into the brahman effulgence, mukti - mumukṣu.
What is that destination? Rāya Rāmānanda answered – sthāvara-deha, deva-deha kāhāṅ duṅhāra gati?’ [CC Madhya 8.257]. Do you understand? deva-deha sthāvara-deha that means the mumukṣu, one who runs after the material enjoyment, he may ultimately be elevated to heavenly planets and he get a demigod’s body and enjoy there for a long period for one kalpa.
And mumukṣu, those who are after this liberation, merging into the brahman effulgence, they will fall and be born in the species of sthāvara that means trees or mountains. It is covered consciousness, āvṛta-cetana. So degraded, they will be so degraded. That is their destination.
Their consciousness is āvṛta-cetana - lowest of consciousness. The five levels of consciousness I will speak and the lowest level is āvṛta-cetana, the consciousness of trees and mountains is covered consciousness. So their destination is such. You see.
Therefore, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva nāśa - one will listen to māyāvādī bhāṣya, he will be doomed. One should not. Māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī, they are great offenders at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Next verse says, prākṛta kariyā māne viṣṇu-kalevara, viṣṇu-nindā āra nāhi ihāra upara [CC Ādi 7.115].
They think the body of Lord Viṣṇu is material. This is such a great offence they commit. Great offenders, māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī, if someone will associate with offenders he will become offender. So Mahāprabhu gave lesson.
Don't associate, don't listen. Still Mahāprabhu accepted Śaṅkarācārya as an ācārya. śaṅkaraḥ śaṅkaraḥ svayam. Śaṅkara is ācārya. He has helped us.
How here? Yes, because he established Veda and Vedas is going to be lost. You understand? He just presented the gauṇa portion of veda and establishes, because these people who are less intelligent and inferior consciousness.
You understand? The lower level of consciousness—saṅkucita-cetanā-sthara, what you say, shrunken consciousness they cannot understand the real theme of vedas, the consciousness must be elevated, then they can understand otherwise they cannot. Therefore, Buddha denied veda, "I don't accept veda throw that out," they cannot understand it. That is also tatkālika.
That is at that time needed, so when Śaṅkara came he did same thing what is needed at that time veda, first should be established, first gauṇa portion should be established then one can go upto mukhya. Otherwise mukhya cannot be established. One must proceed from gauṇa to mukhya. This process.
So Rudra, Śivajī did that. That means in other words you may say he just laid the plinth level. Plinth level, do you understand? Plinth level.
Then that mansion will be built if there is strong plinth otherwise it cannot be built. After that Mahāprabhu came, who built this great mansion of bhakti-saudhaḥ. You understand? Built the bhakti-saudhaḥ.
Because Rudra or Śivajī has already laid the foundation. So, he helped us. So Mahāprabhu said, he helped us otherwise I could not have built that great bhakti- saudhaḥ, bhakti mansion. I cannot, I couldn’t have built.
He helped us and that was needed at that time. Now, great mansion’s already built, no need of lying the plinth now. Such great mansion is there, saudhaḥ is there. No need at all now.
It was needed at that time, tatkālika. So, no need of again going back to the plinth level. It’s very nice palace is there come and rest here. Why are you demolishing the palace and again going to the plinth?
Such ignorance of the unintelligent, foolishness, do you understand? So Mahāprabhu says, how Rudra-ji is not at all at fault, he is faultless, he just carries out the order. Whatever he says is all imaginative, he was ordered so he did it and that was a need. But he is a vaiṣṇava.
vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ [ŚB 12.13.16]. So, he has said bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate bhaja govindaṁ. He has said that. Bhaja Govinda, he has said that.
Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda-jī Mahārāja kī jaya! Jaya samaveta Gaura bhakta-vṛnda kī jaya! Jaya ananta koṭi Vaiṣṇava vṛnda kī jaya! Nitāi Gaura premānande!