So gṛhastha means to live with wife and children, and cultivating spiritual life. That is called gṛhastha. It doesn't matter, you live with your wife and children, or you live with brahmacārī, sannyāsī. Anything. It doesn't matter. Therefore there are so many divisions of life. Whichever status of life is suitable for you, you can accept. Brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa āśrama. Āśrama, when the word is added, āśrama, that means it has got reference with cultivation of spiritual life. So gṛhastha-āśrama. One can live at home with wife and children, but the business should be Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We don't accept the Māyāvādī sannyāsī because there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply by becoming sannyāsī... Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "This world is false. Brahman is truth. So I give up this world." That kind of sannyāsī we do not accept. Either you become gṛhastha or sannyāsī or brahmacārī, there must be Kṛṣṇa. Then it will be called āśrama. Gṛhastha-āśrama, sannyāsa-āśrama, brahmacārī-āśrama. Therefore this word is added, āśrama.
Mayavadi sannyasis (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"Mayavadi (impersonalist) sannyasis"
|"Mayavadi impersonalist sannyasis"
|"Mayavadi-sampradaya sannyasis"
|"mayavadi sannyasa"
|"mayavadi sannyasi"
|"mayavadi sannyasis"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Madhudviṣa: Prabhupāda, I think this is... Did Lord Caitanya take sannyāsa from a Māyāvādī sannyāsī?
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is a formality. That is not very important. Because Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they are also Vedic sannyāsīs. They are not outsiders. But their interpretation of Veda is different. But they follow the Vedic rules. So this acceptance of sannyāsa is following a principle of the Vedic rules. So the Māyāvādī sannyāsī may differ in his interpretation, but he's following the Vedic rules. So this acceptance of sannyāsa is following the Vedic rules. So you can accept sannyāsa even from Māyāvādī. It doesn't matter. But you have to transcend the limits of Vedic rules. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
That is the system. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was... In the beginning, He was accepted... That is the Māyāvādī system. One is accepted first of all as brahmacārī. So that, His name was Caitanya. But even after His acceptance of sannyāsa, He did not assume the title Bhāratī. That means actually He did not take sannyāsa. That was simply formality. Because Māyāvādī sannyāsī thinks that he is God; so how He can assume that title? He was preaching, He was going to preach that we are servant of God; therefore He did not assume that title. And besides that, when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was going to Lord..., see Jagannātha Purī, His rod was taken away by Nityānanda and it was broken and thrown away. So He, apparently He became very angry that "You have broken My rod, sannyāsa rod.
We like to remain mūḍha, and take education from Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not pose ourselves as very learned scholar and very erudite scholar—"We know everything." No.
We are... Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He also tried to remain a mūḍha. He, when He talked with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī... He was Māyāvādī sannyāsī. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was dancing and chanting. So these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were criticizing Him that "He is a sannyāsī, and He's simply chanting and dancing with some sentimental persons. What is this?" So a meeting was arranged between Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In that meeting Caitanya Mahāprabhu attended as a humble sannyāsī. So Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī questioned Him, "Sir, You are a sannyāsī. Your duty is to study Vedānta always.
No. It is fully based on Vedic knowledge. Bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā. Śruta means Veda. Bhakti after studying the Vedic knowledge—that is perfect bhakti. Vedānta-sūtra.
Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He talked on Vedānta-sūtra at Benares. And because the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they were criticizing Caitanya Mahāprabhu that "He is sentimental sannyāsī, devotee, He does not study Vedānta-sūtra..." The Lord was criticized like that. So some of His devotees requested that "We know that You do not mix with the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, but they are criticizing You. If you kindly meet them..." So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu met all the Vārāṇasī Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, he had sixty thousand disciples. So they asked.
Brahmānanda: When Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa, His guru offered Him one name, but He refused and preferred to keep the name Kṛṣṇa Caitanya which is a brahmacārī name. Why was this?
Prabhupāda: Because he took sannyāsa from a Māyāvādī sannyāsī, and Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they think of themselves that they have become Nārāyaṇa. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu refused to accept that theory, that He is Nārāyaṇa. He preferred to remain a brahmacārī than to become a false sannyāsī and claim to become Nārāyaṇa.
Devotees: Jaya.
Prabhupāda: Yes?
So therefore Bhagavān uvāca. We have to hear from Bhagavān, not from rascals. Then your knowledge is perfect. If you hear from rascals, then you become rascal. Don't hear from any rascal. Hear from Bhagavān and take it and accept it. Then, gradually, your existence will be purified. Just like if somebody comes... Recently it so happened. There is a big Māyāvādī sannyāsī in India. His name is Akshananda Swami. Perhaps you know. Did you know? No. Anyone? Anyway, he is a Māyāvādī sannyāsī. So Acyutānanda Swami went to sell some books in their camp. So his disciple requested him, "Why don't you ask some question from Swamiji?" So he said, "What I have to ask from him?" He was so convinced that "What this rascal can say to me? I know. I have heard from Kṛṣṇa." This is knowledge. So if you stick to Kṛṣṇa and hear from Him, you haven't got to hear from any rascal, any rascal. Then you will waste time. Don't hear from any rascal.
"Oh, it is very nice." And one who likes sweet things, he may say, "No, it is not so good. This is very nice, the sweet." But either the sour or the sweet thing is prepared by the same cook. You cannot say it is false. It is the energy of the same cook, so you cannot say it is false.
So it is a false... When the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs say that jagan mithyā, Jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8), "There is no God..." The Bauddha philosophers, they say that "This jagat, this world, has come into existence by combination of matter." The modern scientists also say. They say that "Chemical evolution, by combination of chemicals, everything has come out, but there is no creator." They will deny this. This is the symptom of the asura. So from this instruction you can understand who is a rascal and asura. As soon as they say that "There is no God. The world is created by chance. By chance..." Aparaspara-bhūtam. Aparaspara: "One thing mixed with another thing..."
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So what the result is? The result is āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Bhāgavata says. They labor hard. They undergo severe penances. Just like our sannyāsīs, they can sit down here although there are many women. So Māyāvādī sannyāsī will not sit down. Where there are women, they will not sit down. They are very strict. And if some, some of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, if, by chance, they touch one woman someway or other, then he has to undergo some penances. Of course, a sannyāsī should be very cautious about intermingling with woman. For a sannyāsī... Not for a sannyāsī; even for a person who is desiring to go back to home, back to Godhead...
If you think that this attachment and that attachment both may be made—no. That cannot go. That will be nice, not nice. Just like you ignite fire, at the same time pour water on it. Then what will be the result? The fire will not act. Similarly, if you want to renounce... Just like the Māyāvādī sannyāsī says that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "Renounce this world." They take a luṅgi,(?) a loincloth, and preach, "Who is your wife? Who is your children? Who is your country?" So many things, negative way. Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍhā mate. This is very good, to preach renouncement of this world. But side by side we must have attachment for something. Otherwise, it will be..., it will not stay. Therefore we see so many sannyāsīs, they say brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. They give up, take sannyāsa, but after taking sannyāsa, after a few days or few years, they come back again to this material world to open hospital, philanthropic work, school.
Suppose you have got something, one copper coin or silver coin. So if you dispossess, if you throw it away, then what is the gain. Whatever you had, gone. But if you throw the copper coin, or the silver coin, and if you accept a gold coin, then you are profited. Then it is profit. So niṣkiñcana, to simply become niṣkiñcana, renounced of everything... Just like Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. They do... Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Yes. But brahma satyam, they do not understand what is the actual satya-vastu. That satya-vastu is Bhagavān. They do not search after Bhagavān; simply the light, effulgence of Bhagavān, brahma-jyotir. They are satisfied. (yelling in background) (aside:) What is that, trouble? Stop them.
So there are so many versions about sat-saṅga and asat-saṅga. Caitanya Mahāprabhu advises niṣkiñcanasya pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣor bhava-sāgarasya sandarśanam atha yoṣitām. (yelling continues in background, louder) They're fighting? Or what...?
We are all ānandamaya, joyful. Therefore there must be varieties. Without varieties, there is no joy. Simply hackneyed, one thing, "Brahman, Brahman, Brahman," nobody likes it. They keep with "Brahman, Brahman," they fall down or they again come to the explanation of this Bhāgavatam. I have seen so many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. By "Brahman, Brahman," they could not attract audience. Then come to Bhāgavata reading and explains in nonsense way all the Bhāgavata, Māyāvādī. But they come to... Because Bhāgavata is full of varieties. But they explain in their own way. I have seen one big Māyāvādī sannyāsī, explaining Bhāgavata that "God became pleased..." in some stanza. "So if you become pleased, then God becomes pleased." This was his explanation. If I am pleased by drinking wine, then God is also pleased? This is his explanation. Yes. I'm a grand debauch. By debauchery I am pleased. So God is also pleased by my debauchery. Because God and I, the same. This is their explanation.
We simply teach people that utilize for Kṛṣṇa. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. We don't condemn. We don't say that don't manufacture this microphone. Yes. Microphone-use. But use it for declaring glories of the Lord. Then it is fully utilized. That is our process, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So we are not these so-called Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Why jagan mithyā? Mithyā means false. They say that jagan mithyā, this whole material world is false. We don't say false. We say it is temporary, and so long it is in use, you utilize it for Kṛṣṇa. That even this material world will be utilized for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this is our proposal. We don't reject anything. Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī: prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. A thing which can be used for the service of Hari, Kṛṣṇa, if it is given up as material, that vairāgya, that renunciation, is not very good. That renunciation...
Just like big, big newspaper, bunch of papers, full of rubbish news only, advertisement, cinema. But you won't find anything talking about the necessity of the... (break) So to become a gṛhastha is not bad. But to become unaware of the necessity of the soul, oh, that is bad. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they are sannyāsīs. They have also renounced gṛhastha life. But they have no idea what is the goal of life. They are simply thinking in negative way: "This life is very troublesome." That they have realized, that even in highest stage of life of the material relation, your country, President Nixon, he's the president of the most rich country, but there is no happiness. He is now embarrassed, so many attacks are upon him. And he does not know how to defend him, how to keep his position. He's embarrassed. So in this way, everyone is missing the point. Nobody sees that "Why I am embarrassed?
Because that kind of sannyāsa is not possible at the present age, therefore, generally, sannyāsa should not be accepted. They cannot follow the prohibit.
But so far our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is there, we are not like that māyāvādī-sannyāsa. Our sannyāsīs completely devote life for serving Kṛṣṇa. Sannyāsa. Sannyāsa means sat, nyāsa. Nyāsa means to give up. And sat, oṁ tat sat, the Absolute Truth. So for the service of the Absolute, Kṛṣṇa, we give up all family life. Family life means to give up the whole world, because people are struggling hard just to maintain the family.
He is a sannyāsī, He does not read Vedānta-sūtra, and in sentimental moods He chants and dances. Don't talk about Him. Better don't go there." So that devotee became very sorry, and he arranged a meeting between this Māyāvādī sannyāsī and Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Then, in the meeting... Caitanya Mahāprabhu was beautiful, very beautiful in His bodily features. So... It is summary I am speaking. So the Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī inquired from Him that "You are a sannyāsī. You do not engage Yourself in studying Vedānta-sūtra, but in sentiment, with some foolish devotees, You some chant and dance. What is this?" So Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, "My dear sir, My Guru Mahārāja saw Me a great fool number one." Guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsana (CC Adi 7.71). "Therefore He has chastised Me." "What is that?"
So to remain in the Brahman effulgence is not ānanda. It is eternity only. It is not ānanda. Therefore on account of absence of ānanda, they come down again to enjoy this material ānanda. We have got many experience of persons. The Māyāvādī sannyāsī, they take sannyāsa, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, but after some time they come to take parts in politics. Why? Is (If) jagan mithyā, why you are taking to politics? Because they could not get ānanda. Nirviśeṣa, nirākāra—simply philosophizing, but there was no ānanda. "Therefore let me go to the jail by political activities. There is ānanda." (laughter) Yes, they do practically, yes. So they will take ānanda in the jail, not with Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore, śāstra says, āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). This class of men, although after severe penance and austerities, āruhya kṛcchreṇa, very severe penance and austerities performing... The Māyāvādī sannyāsī, those who are really following the principles, their life is very strict, stricter than the Vaiṣṇavas'. So in spite of such strict observance of rules and regulation and rising up to the Brahman effulgence, because they do not get ānanda... Ānanda is there with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇaloka. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37). Kṛṣṇa is enjoying in the Goloka Vṛndāvana, expanding Himself in so many gopīs, so many cowherds boys, so many trees, plants, water, land—everything Kṛṣṇa's expands. Here also it is Kṛṣṇa's expansion, this material world.
If one is not Vaiṣṇava, don't be liberal, that "Oh, what is the wrong? He is talking Bhāgavatam." But he does not know who can speak Bhāgavatam. Here in Vṛndāvana there is a big Māyāvādī sannyāsī. He speaks on Bhāgavatam and speaks all nonsense, but there is a big crowd go to hear him. Yes.
So Māyāvādīs are attractive. They are very educated. They can put things in jugglery of words. That capacity they have got. So people become amazed, and almost everyone... So therefore they are not very much pleased with this movement, that "Kṛṣṇa is God." We are preaching, and all full of Māyāvādīs, they are thinking, "What this nonsense is doing? Kṛṣṇa..." They think Kṛṣṇa is māyā. Viṣṇu-kalevara māyā. Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā manuṣīṁ tanum āśritaḥ (BG 9.11).
Anta means the last word. So that anta knowledge, or the last word in knowledge, is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Vidyā bhāgavatāvadhiḥ, they say. Knowledge, expansion of knowledge, the last word is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So it is the explanation of Vedānta. Bhāṣyaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām **. Vedānta's another name is Brahma-sūtra. In India there are Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. They advertise themselves as the Vedāntists, "one who knows Vedānta." But actually they do not know Vedānta. Real Vedānta is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, because this is commentary. Bhāṣya ayaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām. Brahma-sūtra is Vedānta.
So Vedānta, what is that Vedānta? That is explained by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam: (BG 15.15) "Vedas means to understand Me." That is Veda. If one does not understand Kṛṣṇa, his so-called Vedic knowledge or Vedānta knowledge is useless, śrama eva hi kevalam, simply labor.
Simply understanding that "I am not this material body; I am spirit soul," is not sufficient because unless you come to the point to understand Kṛṣṇa, this will not stand.
Therefore many sannyāsīs, they give up the brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. I mean to... Māyāvādī sannyāsī. Again they fall down in this mithyā jagat. They come for political work, they come for social work, daridra-nārāyaṇa-seva and this and that. That's all. Because they are not pure. If jagat is mithyā, why you again so much anxious for serving the jagat? This misconception is going on. Everyone asks us that, "Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, why not serve the suffering humanity?" They say always. And what you can do? You are... Simply like a madman you are thinking that you can serve the humanity. You cannot serve the humanity.
Dharma, the principle of religion, that is diminishing. This is calculated. Therefore brahma-jijñāsā.
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was questioned by Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī at Benares, follower of Śaṅkara philosophy, that... There was meeting between Caitanya Mahāprabhu... Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like to meet the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. He used to live alone. But sometimes these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they were criticizing Him that "This Bengali sannyāsī comes from Bengal, and He does not indulge in reading Brahma-sutra or Vedānta-sūtra. He dances and chants with some ecstatic people. What kind of sannyāsī He is? A sannyāsī is meant for studying Vedānta-sūtra, Sāṅkhya philosophy." Some of them were very learned scholars. There's no doubt about it. But when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was inquired by Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, "Sir, I learned that in your previous life..." He was a learned scholar. He was known as Nimāi Paṇḍita. "And You have taken sannyāsa.
"Because they do not care for Your lotus feet."
That has been practically experienced. In our country many many, very, very big swamis, they attain perfection and realize that he is Brahman. But after a time again comes down to this material field of worker, opening hospital, schools. So these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they say that the world is false. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. So if the world is false, then why they come down to open schools and colleges and hospitals? That means they could not stay in the Brahman atmosphere for want of activity. Therefore this devotional service is Brahman activity. One can stay. Without this Brahman activity, even one is elevated to the Brahman position, he falls down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32).
Their intelligence is not yet pure. It is impure, again material. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32).
Therefore you will find the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs—they come again to serve humanity, to serve animals, to serve, this, that, country, society. This is Māyāvāda. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. He could not stay in the exalted post of being servitor and the served. The Supreme Lord is served and we are servant. Because we could not get to that position, therefore... My position is to serve. I did not like to serve Kṛṣṇa. I wanted to become one with him. Therefore my position is not clear. Therefore, instead of serving Kṛṣṇa, I come back again to serve humanity, community, nation, and so on, so on, so on. The service cannot be rejected.
So both of them are zero, advocate of zero. But one directly says, "No, there is no God. Everything is zero." And these Māyāvādīs, nirviśeṣa-vādi, they say the same thing—zero—but in a different way. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that these Māyāvādīs, zero-vādis, they are more dangerous than the bauddha. Vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda. All these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they are very learned, but they'll never accept that God has form. They say it is kalpanā, it is imagination. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has designated them very, very dangerous, these Māyāvādīs. He has therefore strictly forbidden, māyāvādī-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa: (CC Madhya 6.169) If you hear this Māyāvādī speaking, then your future is doomed. You are finished. Because as soon as you have become infected with the Māyāvāda philosophy, it will take millions of years to come to the platform of devotional service. It is so dangerous. Māyāvādī-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa.
Tri-daṇḍa means "I am accepting, my Lord, three kinds of chastisement from You, that I dedicate my body, my mind and my vaca, my words." This is called tri-daṇḍa. You should understand, those who are sannyāsīs, tri-daṇḍa-sannyāsī. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they take one daṇḍa. Eka brahma dvitīya nāsti. That is their philosophy, that "Only Brahman is there, and nothing else. So I am Brahman; you are Brahman"—one, monism. That is their philosophy. Of course, that is our philosophy also, because everything is Kṛṣṇa. There is nothing except Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad..., mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: "Everything I am." But their mistake is that because everything is Kṛṣṇa, er, Kṛṣṇa is everything, therefore everything is Kṛṣṇa. No, that is mistake.
He is considered to be incarnation of Bṛhaspati, the learned scholar of heaven. And still, when he argued with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu about Vedānta-sūtra, he was defeated. He was defeated and then he became His disciple. Similarly, Caitanya Mahāprabhu had talks with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, another Māyāvādī sannyāsī scholar. So He also explained Vedānta-sūtra.
So it is not that this devotional line, disciplic succession, they are necessarily very poor in knowledge. They are full in knowledge. One many not be personally very learned, but because we follow the disciplic succession, the conclusion given by the learned scholars like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, therefore, we follow the conclusion, therefore we are also learned.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Then, after working for some time, they again take to political activities, philanthropic activities. They see that "The people are suffering for want of education, for want of food. So let me engage in providing food, shelter, education." But this education, food problem is there in the material world. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, if they think that this world is false, why he is agitated by the sufferings of the world? It is false. But the thing is that in the spiritual field, because they have no engagement, advanced engagement... (aside:) Come this side. Or do it in this. From the back. (Hindi)
Śāstra says that āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). To go to that paraṁ padam, that is also not very easy. Kṛcchreṇa. Severe austerities and penances, one has to undergo to merge into the Brahman effulgence. Therefore you'll find, the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, their stricture is very rigid. They must take bath thrice in, in a day and lie down underneath a tree and... Their renunciation is very rigid. Of course, those who are strictly following. In our Brahmā, Vaiṣṇava sannyāsa, there is little leniency. Because they live in Kṛṣṇa, so there is no need of very strict, rigid following. Although it is stated that they should live like this. But there is leniency. But Māyāvāda, they are very rigid in their principles of sannyāsa life. That is called āruhya kṛcchreṇa. Kṛcchreṇa, with great difficulty, they merge into the Brahman effulgence. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32).
In this way, the point is that pure devotee does not give very much value to so-called liberation. Because so-called liberation, so-called... It is in this sense that we have seen many so-called liberated persons, muk..., vimukta-māninaḥ. They considered that... Vimukta-māninaḥ. Now, you'll be pleased to hear that one of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs in India, very well known, his disciples came to me to invite me because they are now seeing that their Māyāvāda philosophy has not been so much effective as devotional service. Practically. So they are now taking gradually to devotional service. They are trying to read Bhāgavata, although they are habituated to malinterpret. But they have no other. They have finished their job. Now they are gradually coming to bhakti-mārga.
Because actually these rasas are there in the spiritual world. This is only reflection. Ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākha. And because in the spiritual world it is a fact, we are taking these false things as fact, these temporary things as fact. Actually it is not fact. Go on.
Pradyumna: "There are many instances, especially in India, where these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs descend to the material platform again. But a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness will never return to any sort of material platform. However alluring and attracting they may be, he always knows that no material welfare activities can be compared with the spiritual activity of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The mystic perfections achieved by actually successful yogis are eight in number.
Mumukṣubhiḥ, those who are after liberation, nirbheda brahmānusandhana, their giving up this world, becoming sannyāsī, Māyāvādī sannyāsī, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā... Rūpa Gosvāmī says, phalgu vairāgya. Why phalgu? Phalgu means insignificant, and phalgu means there is a river, Phalgu, in the Gayā. Those who have gone to Gayā... There is a river. The Gayā city is situated on the river Phalgu. This river is got Phalgu because on the bed you'll find only sand. But if you push your hand within the sand, you'll find water. Similarly phalgu vairāgya means the so-called sannyāsīs, they have taken the dress of renounced order, but within the heart they have got all desires to fulfill. Within the heart.
Within the heart. If you push your hand within his heart, you'll find he has got all desires for material enjoyment. That is called phalgu vairāgya. On the surface there is no water; sand. But within, oh, there is flow of water, going on. So this phalgu vairāgya wallas, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs... Jagan mithyā. They give up this world, so many sannyāsīs. But at heart there is the desire: "I shall become God. I shall become God." Just see. We are trying... The karmīs are trying to become minister, and he's trying to become God. So how much great desire he has got. And outwardly he appears to be renounced.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So even those persons who were delivered by Lord Caitanya, but the author says that He could not deliver the Māyāvādīs, the impersonalist sannyāsīs. That means it was easier for Him to deliver the mlecchas, but it was difficult for Him to deliver the Māyāvādīs. In other words, the author is trying to place the position of the Māyāvādī sannyāsī less than the mlecchas. Less than the mlecchas.
So, sabe eḍāila mātra kāśīra māyāvādī. Māyāvādī means materialist. Māyā means this matter, and vādī means those who stick to this principle of material... There are different kinds of materialists. Because we should always know that up to the point of intelligence, it is matter. First point is the senses, the gross. The grossest type of materialist is that they are addicted to sense gratification.
"Oh, from Bengal, nice sannyāsī, beautiful sannyāsī, a young sannyāsī has come, and He is come," and they were chanting and dancing, and people were very much attached to Him. In this way there was some propaganda in the city.
But the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they could not tolerate. They were, I mean to say, backbiting. What they were saying? "Oh, here is a sannyāsī, and He's dancing." According to Māyāvāda sannyāsa, this dancing and singing is forbidden, forbidden. In Muhammadan religion also, dancing and singing is forbidden. I do not know what is there in the Bible, but I understand in the Bible there is saṅkīrtana allowed. I have asked our Kīrtanānanda to write some article, "Saṅkīrtana and Bible," because he is, he knows Bible very well than other members.
The Muhammadan Koran, they do not... In some of their sections, there is saṅkīrtana, not within the mosque, but without. Anyway... So similarly, these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they also do not like singing and dancing. Of course, now they are stopping, finish. They are also taking now to this process of singing and dancing in India. So formerly they used to, I mean to say, decry. So sannyāsī ha-iyā kare nācana gāyana: "Oh, here is a sannyāsī. He is dancing and singing." Nā kare vedānta-śravaṇa: "He does not give His attention for studying Vedānta," kare saṅkīrtana, "and always engaged in Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." Mūrkha sannyāsī: "That means He has (no) knowledge. He has not studied all this Vedānta philosophy, and He's a nonsense. What He can do?" Sometimes we are considered a nonsense because we have no other stock except chanting.
And actually, we have no stock except chanting. But why do we talk of philosophy? Because the fools want to talk of philosophy. Otherwise, there is no need of talking philosophy. Simply by chanting, everything is complete. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was showing this example, and other Māyāvādī sannyāsīs criticizing Him, "Oh, here is a, a foolish, is a," mean, "a illiterate sann..." Because there were many illiterate sannyāsīs also in India. "Illiterate sannyāsī. He does not know how to execute..." (aside:) Oh, I have forgotten. (break) "...how to execute the sannyāsa life. Therefore He's chanting and dancing." This sort of criticism was going on. Bhāvuka ha-iyā phere bhāvukera sane: "And there are other sentimentalists who are also equally foolish and ignorant. So therefore they are following this sannyāsī."
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while He was staying at Benares, He was not very enthusiastic to mix with this Māyāvādī class of sannyāsīs. Therefore this man who invited all the sannyāsīs for a dinner, he also came to Caitanya Mahāprabhu and asked Him that "I know that You do not associate Yourself with the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. Still, I have come to invite You. Please accept my request."
- nā yāha sannyāsī-goṣṭhī ihā āmijāni
- more anugraha kara nimantraṇa māni'
"I know that You avoid the association. Still, I am requesting You. If You kindly accept this request."
Now there were two incidences. One incidences, one incident is that His two devotees were very sorry because the other party was criticizing Him. And the meantime, another brāhmaṇa came to invite Him. So it was coincidence. Caitanya Mahāprabhu thought that this is an opportunity to meet the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and to talk with him, to talk with them, how they criticized the personalists.
- prabhu hāsi' nimantraṇa kaila aṅgīkāra
- sannyāsīre kṛpā lāgi' e bhaṅgī tāṅhāra
So although previously He did not associate with the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, still, to please His devotees, who were very sorry to hear the criticism, He accepted the invitation so that He could meet them and talk with them.
"The next day the Lord went to the house of that person who invited, that brāhmaṇa, and He saw there were many other Māyāvādī sannyāsīs sitting together."
- sabā namaskari' gelā pāda-prakṣālane
- pāda prakṣālana kari vasilā sei sthāne
Now, just see the behavior of Lord Caitanya. Although He was not in agreement with the other party, still, because they were sannyāsīs, renounced order of life, Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered His respect by bowing down before them. It is the duty of everyone, not only between the sannyāsī and sannyāsī. It is the custom of Vedic system. As soon as one would see a sannyāsī, at once he should offer his respect. If he does not offer his respect, then it is enjoined that he should fast one day as punishment. He should not eat.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, although He took sannyāsa, He did not change His brahmacārī name. That is also very significant. Because in the Māyāvādī sannyāsa, as soon as they take sannyāsa, they think that, "I have become Nārāyaṇa." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, although He was regularly a sannyāsī, He did not change His name of brahmacārī. That means brahmacārī's meant for serving the spiritual master. So He continued to be a servitor. That is the significance. So Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī's asking that "You are a sannyāsī of our sampradāya because You have accepted renounced order from Bharati. So what is the reason that You do not mix with us?" That is his first question. "And another complaint is that You are a sannyāsī. You should devote Your time in discussing philosophy, Sāṅkhya philosophy, and Vedānta-sūtra. You should learn. You should understand.
Why You have taken sannyāsa? And what is this, that You are simply dancing and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare?" This was his first question. Yes. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu was simply dancing and chanting. This is the specific contribution of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because, amongst the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, dancing and chanting is considered to be material. So that is also, they take, it is also one kind of sense gratification. So sannyāsa means they should stop sense gratification. So this is also, according to them, sense gratification, because they took it as ordinary singing.
.Māyāvādī sannyāsīs why He was not engaged in reading Vedānta-sūtra, and why He was indulging in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, that in this age, Kali-yuga, Vedānta-sūtra, to study Vedānta-sūtra and to understand the purport of Vedānta-sūtra, is very difficult. It requires a very good Sanskrit scholarship. Although it is not very difficult to understand if it is taken by the paramparā system, but because people try to understand Vedānta-sūtra by scholastic demeanor (?), therefore it becomes difficult. It was discussed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. He was a very learned scholar. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya... (aside, about fan:) Make little curved.
So the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs everywhere, they are very proud of their Sanskrit education. Sometimes people ask our students whether you have learned Sanskrit. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness understanding does not depend on Sanskrit scholarship. That is the teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He said to the Māyāvādī sannyāsī Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī that "My Guru Mahārāja studied Me as a great fool." Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, presenting Himself. He was a learned scholar, undoubtedly, very learned scholar. In His youthful age He was known as Nimāi Paṇḍita. This paṇḍita title, especially the brāhmaṇas are given this paṇḍita title. But He was specifically known as Paṇḍita, Nimāi Paṇḍita, very good scholar. And He defeated the Keśava Kashmiri, a great, renowned scholar of Kashmir. The Kashmir country is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also. It is a very old country. And there were many learned scholars.
.Māyāvādī sannyāsīs of Benares. There are two kinds of Māyāvādīs. The word Māyāvādī is very significant. I saw yesterday in your iṣṭagoṣṭhī you have tried to understand what is this Māyāvādī. Māyāvādī means materialist. Māyā, this matter, the external energy, the inferior energy, and those who want to stick to this inferior energy, never mind what class of philosopher, what section of philosophers they belong, if their idea is only within the boundary of this material energy, they are called Māyāvādī. They have no information of the spiritual energy. They are called Māyāvādī. So chiefly the impersonalists and the void philosophers, they are called Māyāvādī, because they have no other information. They want to simply negate, nullify, but they have no positive information, so they are called Māyāvādī. So the Śaṅkarites... Śaṅkarites, of course, they give positive information. Brahma satya jagan mithyā. They say that this world is false and Brahman is reality.
So after taking prasādam, He came back to His place. And for Him it was a great victory that He conquered the mind of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs by explanation of Vedānta-sūtra. So His, I mean to say, friend, Candraśekhara... Candraśekhara and Tapana Miśra and Sanātana Gosvāmī, they were very much pleased. Caitanya Mahāprabhu had only three or four followers at Benares. Of course, when He was on the street, hundreds and thousands of people gathered round Him. But actually, in His residence there were three, four followers only: Tapana Miśra, Candraśekhara Ācārya, Sanātana Gosvāmī, and one Maharastrian brāhmaṇa. They were very much pleased, naturally. Their Lord was victorious in that great assembly of sannyāsīs. And naturally, they were very much pleased.
Naturally, He attracted the attention of many other sannyāsīs, and they began to come and see Him and offer their respects. And throughout the whole city of Benares His name was immediately advertised: "Oh, such a great sannyāsī has come. He has explained Vedānta-sūtra in a different way, which has captured the mind of all other Māyāvādī sannyāsīs."
So because Benares is a city of pilgrimage, it is not ordinary city, mostly the person who reside in Benares, they are retired life for cultivating spiritual consciousness, but they are almost cent percent impersonalists.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited this city of Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. By His mercy all of them became glorified.
- lakṣa lakṣa loka āise prabhuke dekhite
- mahā-bhiḍa haila dvāre, nāre praveśite
So many thousands of people gathered before His house, and they wanted to see Him, but due to the crowd, some of them could not enter into the house. Then,
- prabhu yabe yā'na viśveśvara-daraśane
- lakṣa lakṣa loka āsi' mile sei sthāne
But Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to go to the temple of Viśveśvara. At Benares, the most famous temple is Viśveśvara, Lord Śiva's temple. Because this place, Benares, is the place of Lord Śiva. Just like Vṛndāvana is the place of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Ayodhyā is the place of Lord Rāma, so there are different places in India.
Just see. After so much severe austerities, performing, they rise themselves to the brahma-pada, but they again fall down. For example, you know, many learned Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, very learned scholars, they suppose... They are supposed to have realized Brahman, but after few days they come to politics. You have... Perhaps you know. So many sannyāsīs, they go to fail for political affairs. Why? If you have realized Brahman, brahma satya jagan mithyā, why you are mingling matters here in the material world? That means he has not. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa. He has come to the position of Brahman realization, but because he has no information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nirākāra-vādī, he falls down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32).
Formerly, the Hindu society was very strict. Brāhmaṇas would not accept anyone's service. So Sanātana Gosvāmī, after joining Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he left Bengal. And when Śrīla Caitanya Mahāprabhu was residing in Benares to deliver the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, at that time, his bavarṇasee (?) ... So after he was clean-shaved... This is one of the items of our movement. If one wants to be initiated, he must be clean-shaved. So Sanātana Gosvāmī was clean-shaved. And after becoming a regular Vaiṣṇava, then he is asking like this:
- tabe sanātana prabhura caraṇe dhariyā
- dainya vinati kare dante tṛṇa lañā
So he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu in a very humble manner. That is the way of approaching a guru.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu to the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. They were convinced with the arguments and presentation of Lord Caitanya. And from that day, not only the sannyāsīs, but also the people in general, they also became very much admirer of Lord Caitanya. So,
- lokera saṅghaṭṭa āise prabhure dekhite
- nānā śāstre paṇḍita āise śāstra vicārite
And because He defeated the Māyāvādī philosophers, many other scholars also began to meet Him personally and talk with Him, argue with Him.
So this was going on naturally. Whenever a man becomes prominent, so many others, they come to challenge him. That is natural sequence.
Festival Lectures
If somebody says the Vedānta is describing impersonal Brahman, but Kṛṣṇa says that "How it can do?" Vedānta-vid, "I am the actual knower of Vedānta, I am actual composer of Vedānta. So I am the Supreme." So these Māyāvādī philosophers, they cannot understand. They think that Vedānta...
In India the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are known as Vedāntī. Therefore my society, Vaiṣṇava society, has particularly given me this title, Bhaktivedanta. Vedānta means bhakti. It is a challenge to the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. This particular title was given after due consideration that my humble self should be awarded this title. It is new title amongst the Vaiṣṇava society. So the Māyāvādī philosophers they are sometimes surprised that "How Swamijī is Vedanti, at the same time bhakti?" But actually they do not know Vedānta means bhakti. Real Vedānta commentary is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣyaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām **.
This is called tapasya. So Kṛṣṇa says, yajña-dāna-tapaḥ, kāryaṁ na tyājyam. You can give up your family life, but you cannot give up this yajña-dāna-tapaḥ. That you cannot, at any circumstances. These things must be continued. Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat. Kāryam means "must," "you must perform." The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, karma-tyāgī, they do not work. Their principle is always study Vedānta philosophy, and whatever they require, a little, they will beg, taking alms from gṛhasthas, and live and follow the strictly the principles of austerity. They are very strict. Those who are really Māyāvādī sannyāsī, not false, they follow strictly three times taking bathing. Even in severest cold they must. They lie down on the floor and always read Vedānta and Sāṅkhya philosophy. But in spite of all these austerities, they do not approve the worship of Deity, the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they are impersonalist, they do not worship.
So śāstra says that ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ: (SB 10.2.32) "So these people, although they are thinking of themself as liberated, they have become liberated..." The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs address amongst themselves: namo nārāyaṇa. "Namo nārāyaṇa" means every one of them has become a Nārāyaṇa. This is their philosophy. And from this namo nārāyaṇa principle, Vivekananda Swami has manufactured the word "daridra-nārāyaṇa." So Nārāyaṇa has become very cheap thing for them. Everyone has become Nārāyaṇa; everyone has become God. Just like the rascal God is now in the hospital. God is under operation. (laughter) A "guruji" God. So they have no shame even that "If I am God, I cannot cure my bodily pains, what kind of God I am?" But these rascals will proclaim that they are God, and there is set of rascals, they will accept, "Oh, here is God." Vivekananda also said that "Why you are finding out God? Don't you see, so many gods are loitering in the street?"
Initiation Lectures
This tridaṇḍa sannyāsa is accepted therefore as standard. Lord Caitanya accepts Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the supreme authority. Under these circumstances, persons who accept Lord Caitanya as ekaṇḍi sannyāsī are mistaken. So following the footsteps of Lord Caitanya still the tridaṇḍi sannyāsīs are in existence. Keeping the sacred thread and śikhā intact, distinct from the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, Māyāvādī ekaṇḍi sannyāsīs, who give up the sacred thread and śikhā. They have no inclination to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being very much disgusted by the materialistic way of life, they do not understand the purpose of the sannyāsa order. But those who are strictly followers of the Vaiṣṇava principles, they do not accept the Māyāvādī way of sannyāsa. In the sect of Lord Caitanya, the most venerable learned scholar known as Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī accepted this tridaṇḍi sannyāsa order and he offered this facility to his disciple known as Śrī Madhva-upādhyāya. This Madhvācārya is the origin of the Vallabhācārya sect.
Prabhupāda: Our, this daṇḍa, there are four sticks. One stick is representing the jīva soul, another stick is representing body, another stick is mind, and another stick, speech. Kaya mana vākya. So the jīva engages himself with his body, mind, and words for preaching work. Go on. So there is another sect of sannyāsī, Māyāvādī sannyāsī. They take one stick, eka.
Kīrtanānanda: "They misunderstand the purpose of tridaṇḍa, and by such deviation..." (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Śiva Swami? What is that?
Kīrtanānanda: S-i-v-a?
Prabhupāda: Śiva Swami. All right.
Prabhupāda: The ekadaṇḍī sannyāsī and Māyāvādī sannyāsī, they think that accepting sannyāsa, they become one with Nārāyaṇa or the Supreme Lord. But our process is different. Our process is that we give up everything material and simply engage ourself in Kṛṣṇa's service with body, mind, and speeches, and as I am, soul. This is the difference. So we should not mix up this ekadaṇḍī sannyāsī and tridaṇḍī sannyāsī.
Kīrtanānanda: "They have no inclination to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being very much disgusted with the materialistic way of life, they do not understand the purpose of the sannyāsa order. But those who are strictly followers of the Vaiṣṇava principles, they do not accept Māyāvādī way of sannyāsa. In the sect of Lord Caitanya..." (indistinct)
Later, Viṣṇu Svāmī considered that accepting the dress of a tridaṇḍa was parātma-niṣṭhā. Therefore sincere devotees add another daṇḍa, the jīva daṇḍa, to the three existing daṇḍas. The Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī is known as tridaṇḍī-sannyāsī. The Māyāvādī sannyāsī accepts only one daṇḍa, not understanding the purpose of tridaṇḍa. Later, many persons in the community of Śiva Swami gave up the ātma-niṣṭhā, devotional service of the Lord, and followed the paths of Śaṅkarācārya. Instead of accepting 108 names, those in the Śiva Swami sampradāya follow the path of Śaṅkarācārya and accept the ten names of sannyāsa. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the then existing order of sannyāsa, namely ekadaṇḍa, He still recited from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa accepted by the brāhmaṇa of Avantīpura. Indirectly He declared that within the ekadaṇḍa, one daṇḍa, four daṇḍas existed as one.
Because the ekadaṇḍī-sannyāsīs of the Māyāvāda school are not devoted to the service of Kṛṣṇa, they try to merge into the Brahman effulgence, which is a marginal position between material and spiritual existence. They accept this impersonal position as liberation. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, not knowing that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was a tridaṇḍī, think of Caitanya Mahāprabhu as an ekadaṇḍī sannyāsī. This is due to their vivarta, bewilderment. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is no such thing as ekadaṇḍī sannyāsī. Indeed, the tridaṇḍī-sannyāsī is accepted as the symbolic representation of the sannyāsa order. By citing this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the sannyāsa order recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, who are enamored of the external energy of the Lord, cannot understand the mind of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
General Lectures
So this movement is not like that is a sentimental movement. Don't think that these boys are dancing in some religious sentiment or fanaticism. No. We have background. We have background, highest philosophical and theosophical. Whatever you like. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while He was preaching, He went to Benares. So Benares is the seat of Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. The followers of Śaṅkarācārya, they are mostly seen in Benares, Vārāṇasī. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was there, He was chanting and dancing. So some of the people, they became very much appreciative of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's dancing and chanting, and there was a big sannyāsī, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, leader of many thousands of Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. So somebody went to him and said, "Oh, from Bengal one young sannyāsī has come. Oh, He is so nicely chanting and dancing." So Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, he was a great Vedāntist.
Purports to Songs
Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, "Such devotee, it doesn't matter whether he's in the renounced order of life or whether he is a householder." Gṛha. Gṛha means householder. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement does not say that one has to become a renounced order, sannyāsī. Just like Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, impersonalists, Śaṅkarācārya, they first, they put the first condition that "You take up the renounced order of life first, and then talk of spiritual advancement." So in Śaṅkara sampradāya nobody is accepted as bona fide impersonalist unless he has accepted the renounced order of life. But here, in Caitanya's movement, there is no such restriction. Advaita Prabhu, He was a householder. Nityānanda, He was householder. Gadādhara, He was also householder. And Śrīvāsa, he was also householder. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu also married twice.
| Page Title: | Mayavadi sannyasis (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 04 of Apr, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=61, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 61 |