Rejection (CC)

Expressions researched:
"reject" |"rejectable" |"rejected" |"rejecting" |"rejection" |"rejections" |"rejects"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: reject* not "not reject" not "not rejecting" not "not rejected" not "not, therefore, reject" not "not have rejected" not " not be rejected" not "no rejection" not "not to reject" not "Don't reject" not "not to be rejected" not "do not reject" not "don't reject"

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Preface:

A pure devotee is a soul who is forever surrendered to the Lord, just as a child is surrendered to his parents or an animal to its master. In the surrendering process, one should (1) accept things favorable for discharging devotional service, (2) reject things unfavorable, (3) always believe firmly in the Lord's protection, (4) feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the Lord, (5) have no interest separate from the interest of the Lord, and (6) always feel oneself meek and humble.

The Lord demands that one surrender unto Him by following these six guidelines, but the unintelligent so-called scholars of the world misunderstand these demands and urge the general mass of people to reject them. At the conclusion of the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa directly orders, "Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me alone, and offer obeisances unto Me alone."

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.91, Translation:

"The great scripture Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, compiled by Mahā-muni Vyāsadeva from four original verses, describes the most elevated and kindhearted devotees and completely rejects the cheating ways of materially motivated religiosity. It propounds the highest principle of eternal religion, which can factually mitigate the threefold miseries of a living being and award the highest benediction of full prosperity and knowledge. Those willing to hear the message of this scripture in a submissive attitude of service can at once capture the Supreme Lord in their hearts. Therefore there is no need for any scripture other than Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam."

CC Adi 1.91, Purport:

Any process of religiosity based on sense gratification, gross or subtle, must be considered a pretentious religion because it is unable to give perpetual protection to its followers. The word projjhita is significant. Pra- means "complete," and ujjhita indicates rejection. Religiosity in the shape of fruitive work is directly a method of gross sense gratification, whereas the process of culturing spiritual knowledge with a view to becoming one with the Absolute is a method of subtle sense gratification. All such pretentious religiosity based on gross or subtle sense gratification is completely rejected in the process of bhāgavata-dharma, or the transcendental religion that is the eternal function of the living being.

CC Adi 1.93, Translation:

"The prefix "pra" (in the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam) indicates that the desire for liberation is completely rejected."

CC Adi 6.12, Purport:

All His activities and all the other activities of Viṣṇu are auspicious. Anyone who can view the all-auspiciousness in the pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu also becomes auspicious simultaneously. Therefore, since Lord Viṣṇu is the fountainhead of auspiciousness, anyone who is attracted by the devotional service of Lord Viṣṇu can render the greatest service to human society. Rejected persons of the material world who refuse to understand pure devotional service as the eternal function of the living entities, and as actual liberation of the living being from conditioned life, become bereft of all devotional service because of their poor fund of knowledge.

In the teachings of Advaita Prabhu there is no question of fruitive activities or impersonal liberation. Bewildered by the spell of the material energy, however, persons who could not understand that Advaita Prabhu is nondifferent from Viṣṇu wanted to follow Him with their impersonal conceptions. The attempt of Advaita Prabhu to punish them is also auspicious.

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

Our material experience lies within the boundaries of these three manifestations of happiness, distress and illusion. For example, a beautiful woman is certainly a cause of material happiness for one who possesses her as a wife, but the same beautiful woman is a cause of distress to a man whom she rejects or who is the cause of her anger, and if she leaves a man she becomes the cause of illusion.

“The two kinds of senses are the ten external senses and the one internal sense, the mind. Thus there are eleven senses. According to Kapila, material nature is eternal and all-powerful. Originally there is no spirit, and matter has no cause. Matter itself is the chief cause of everything. It is the all-pervading cause of all causes. The Sāṅkhya philosophy regards the total energy (mahat-tattva), the false ego and the five objects of sense perception as the seven diverse manifestations of material nature, which has two features, known as the material cause and efficient cause. The puruṣa, the enjoyer, is without transformation, whereas material nature is always subject to transformation.

CC Adi 7.43, Translation:

Hearing all this blasphemy, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu merely smiled to Himself, rejected all these accusations and did not talk with the Māyāvādīs.

CC Adi 7.45, Purport:

Thus the brāhmaṇas also became divided amongst themselves, and those who supported the suvarṇa-vaṇik class were rejected from the brāhmaṇa community. At the present day the same biases are still being followed.

There are many Vaiṣṇava families in Bengal whose members, although not actually born brāhmaṇas, act as ācāryas by initiating disciples and offering the sacred thread as enjoined in the Vaiṣṇava tantras. For example, in the families of Ṭhākura Raghunandana Ācārya, Ṭhākura Kṛṣṇadāsa, Navanī Hoḍa and Rasikānanda-deva (a disciple of Śyāmānanda Prabhu), the sacred thread ceremony is performed, as it is for the caste Gosvāmīs, and this system has continued for the past three to four hundred years. Accepting disciples born in brāhmaṇa families, they are bona fide spiritual masters who have the facility to worship the śālagrāma-śilā, which is worshiped with the Deity. As of this writing, śālagrāma-śilā worship has not yet been introduced in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, but soon it will be introduced in all our temples as an essential function of arcana-mārga (Deity worship).

CC Adi 7.84, Purport:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam teaches only how to develop one's dormant love of God. The Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and therefore it ends with the words sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ 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 sanātana. 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.

CC Adi 7.102, Purport:

A sincere devotee must, therefore, be prepared to hear the Vedic literature like the Upaniṣads, Vedānta-sūtra and other literatures left by the previous authorities, or Gosvāmīs, 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 śruti, smṛti, Purāṇa and Pañcarātra 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 samādhi.

CC Adi 7.110, Purport:

Therefore this imaginary meaning is gauṇa-vṛtti, whereas the direct meaning found in the dictionary is mukhya-vṛtti or abhidhā-vṛtti. This is the distinction between the two. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that one understand the Vedic literature in terms of abhidhā-vṛtti, and the gauṇa-vṛtti He rejects. Sometimes, however, as a matter of necessity, the Vedic literature is described in terms of the lakṣaṇā-vṛtti or gauṇa-vṛtti, but one should not accept such explanations as permanent truths.

The purpose of the discussions in the Upaniṣads and Vedānta-sūtra 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 lakṣaṇā-vṛtti, or indirect meanings. Thus instead of being tattva-vāda, or in search of the Absolute Truth, they become Māyāvāda, or illusioned by the material energy.

CC Adi 7.117, Purport:

Sometimes Māyāvādī philosophers do not accept the authority of the Bhagavad-gītā and the Purāṇas, and this is called ardha-kukkuṭī-nyāya, "the logic of half a hen" (See Ādi-līlā 5.176). If one believes in the Vedic literatures, one must accept all the Vedic literatures recognized by the great ācāryas, but the Māyāvādī philosophers accept only the nyāya-prasthāna and śruti-prasthāna, rejecting the smṛti-prasthāna. Here, however, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu cites evidence from the Gītā, Viṣṇu Purāṇa, etc., which are smṛti-prasthāna. No one can avoid the Personality of Godhead in the statements of the Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literatures such as the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas. Lord Caitanya therefore quotes a passage from the Bhagavad-gītā (7.5).

CC Adi 7.144, Purport:

"Completely rejecting all religions which are materially motivated, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the explanation of the Vedānta-sūtra, is meant for paramo nirmatsarāṇām, those who are completely aloof from jealousy. Māyāvādī philosophers are jealous of the existence of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra is not actually meant for them. They unnecessarily poke their noses into the Vedanta-sūtra, but they have no ability to understand it because, as the author of the Vedānta-sūtra writes in his commentary, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is meant for those who are pure in heart (paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2)). If one is envious of Kṛṣṇa, how can he understand the Vedānta-sūtra or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?

CC Adi 9.42, Purport:

This is also necessary; the Vedic civilization considers all aspects of human life, including dharma (religion), artha (economic development), kāma (sense gratification) and mokṣa (liberation). But humanity's first concern should be religion. To be religious, one must abide by the orders of God, but unfortunately people in this age have rejected religion, and they are busy in economic development. Therefore they will adopt any means to get money. For economic development one does not need to get money by hook or by crook; one needs only sufficient money to maintain his body and soul. However, because modern economic development is going on with no religious background, people have become lusty, greedy and mad after money. They are simply developing the qualities of rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance), neglecting the other quality of nature, sattva (goodness), and the brahminical qualifications. Therefore the entire society is in chaos.

CC Adi 12.1, Translation:

The followers of Śrī Advaita Prabhu were of two kinds. Some were real followers, and the others were false. Rejecting the false followers, I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Advaita Ācārya's real followers, whose life and soul was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 12.27, Purport:

The Sanskrit book Advaita-carita states that Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa were the fourth, fifth and sixth sons of Advaita Ācārya. Therefore Śrī Advaita Ācārya had six sons. Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa, being smārtas, or Māyāvādīs, were rejected by Vaiṣṇava society. Sometimes Māyāvādīs pose themselves as Vaiṣṇavas, or worshipers of Lord Viṣṇu, but actually they do not believe in Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they consider demigods like Lord Śiva, Durgā, the sun-god and Gaṇeśa equal to Him. They are generally known as pañcopāsaka-smārtas, and one should not count them among the Vaiṣṇavas.

Balarāma had three wives and nine sons. The youngest son of his first wife was known as Madhusūdana Gosvāmī. He took the title Bhaṭṭācārya and accepted the path of the smārta or Māyāvāda philosophy. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura notes that the son of Gosvāmī Bhaṭṭācārya, Śrī Rādhāramaṇa Gosvāmī Bhaṭṭācārya, refused the title gosvāmī because it is generally meant for sannyāsīs, those who have taken the renounced order of life.

CC Adi 12.36, Purport:

The bāuliyās, or bāulas, are one of thirteen unauthorized sects that pass as followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord ordered Govinda, His personal assistant, not to allow Kamalākānta Viśvāsa to come into His presence because he had become a bāuliyā. Thus although the bāula-sampradāya, āula-sampradāya and sahajiyā-sampradāya, as well as the smārtas, jāta-gosāñis, ativāḍīs, cūḍādhārīs and gaurāṅga-nāgarīs, claim to belong to the disciplic succession of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord actually rejected them.

CC Adi 14.73, Translation:

Although He is the maintainer of the entire universe, once the Lord sat upon some rejected pots in the pit where the remnants of food were thrown, after the pots had been used for cooking.

CC Adi 14.74, Translation:

When mother Śacī saw her boy sitting on the rejected pots, she protested, "Why have You touched these untouchable pots? You have now become impure. Go and bathe in the Ganges."

CC Adi 15.14, Purport:

It is recommended that one accept sannyāsa to dedicate his life for the service of the Lord, and everyone must take that kind of sannyāsa, for by accepting such sannyāsa one renders the best service to both his paternal and maternal families. But one should not accept the sannyāsa order of the Māyāvāda school, which has practically no meaning. We find many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs simply loitering in the street thinking themselves Brahman or Nārāyaṇa and spending all day and night begging so they can fill their hungry bellies. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs have become so degraded that there is a section of them who eat everything, just like hogs and dogs. It is such degraded sannyāsa that is prohibited in this age. Actually, Śrīla Śaṅkarācārya's principles for the acceptance of sannyāsa were very strict, but later the so-called Māyāvādī sannyāsīs became degraded because of their false philosophy, which propounds that by accepting sannyāsa one becomes Nārāyaṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected that kind of sannyāsa. But the acceptance of sannyāsa is one of the items of the varṇāśrama-dharma. How then can it be rejected?

CC Adi 17 Summary:

To understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s ecstatic love for Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is considered the superexcellent devotional mentality. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kṛṣṇa Himself assumed the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to taste Her ecstatic situation. No one else could do this.

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of the four-armed Nārāyaṇa, the gopīs showed their respect, but they were not very interested in Him. In the ecstatic love of the gopīs, all worshipable forms but Kṛṣṇa are rejected. Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has the highest ecstatic love. When Kṛṣṇa in His form of Nārāyaṇa saw Rādhārāṇī, He could not keep His position as Nārāyaṇa, and again He assumed the form of Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.218, Purport:

Envy and jealousy are manifested by mundane people, not by Vaiṣṇavas. Why should a Vaiṣṇava be envious of another Vaiṣṇava who is successful in spreading the holy name of the Lord? An actual Vaiṣṇava is very pleased to accept another Vaiṣṇava who is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the śāstra (upekṣā). The word upekṣā means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaiṣṇavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava.

CC Madhya 2.11, Purport:

The ecstatic transformations of the body described in such exalted literatures as the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu are practically not seen in this material world. However, these symptoms were perfectly present in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. These symptoms are indicative of mahābhāva, or the highest ecstasy. Sometimes sahajiyās artificially imitate these symptoms, but experienced devotees reject such imitations immediately. The author admits herein that these symptoms are not to be found anywhere but in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Madhya 3.85, Purport:

Advaita Ācārya said, "You are a reject paramahaṁsa, and You have accepted the renounced order of life just to fill up Your belly. I can understand that Your business is to give trouble to brāhmaṇas."

CC Madhya 3.85, Purport:

There is always a difference of opinion between a smārta-brāhmaṇa and a Vaiṣṇava gosvāmī. There are even smārta opinions and Vaiṣṇava gosvāmī opinions available in astrological and astronomical calculations. By calling Nityānanda Prabhu a bhraṣṭa avadhūta (a rejected paramahaṁsa), Advaita Ācārya Prabhu in a sense accepted Nityānanda Prabhu as a paramahaṁsa. In other words, Nityānanda Prabhu had nothing to do with the rules governing smārta-brāhmaṇas. Thus under pretense of condemning Him, Advaita Ācārya was actually praising Him. In the avadhūta stage, the paramahaṁsa stage, which is the supermost stage, one may appear to be viṣayī, on the platform of sense gratification, but in actuality he has nothing to do with sense gratification. At that stage, a person sometimes accepts the symbols and dress of a sannyāsī and sometimes does not. Sometimes he dresses like a householder.

CC Madhya 5.22, Purport:

These are symptoms of pious activities performed in one's past life. In India it is still current for an aristocratic family never to consider a marriage with a common family. Though the caste may be the same, to maintain the aristocracy such marriages are rejected. No poor man will dare marry the daughter of a rich man. Because of this, when the elderly brāhmaṇa offered the young brāhmaṇa his daughter, the young brāhmaṇa did not believe that it would be possible to marry her. Therefore he asked the elderly brāhmaṇa why he was proposing something unprecedented (asambhava). It was unheard of for an aristocratic person to offer his daughter to a person who was both uneducated and poor.

CC Madhya 6.150, Translation:

“The Vedic "apāṇi-pāda" mantra rejects material hands and legs, yet it states that the Lord goes very fast and accepts everything offered to Him.

CC Madhya 6.152, Purport:

If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is formless, how can He be said to walk very fast and accept everything offered to Him? Rejecting the direct meaning of the Vedic mantras, the Māyāvādī philosophers interpret them and try to establish the Absolute Truth as formless. Actually, the Supreme Lord has an eternal personal form full of all opulence. The Māyāvādī philosophers try to interpret the Absolute Truth as being without potency. However, in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) it is clearly said, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate: (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport) "The Absolute Truth has multipotencies."

CC Madhya 6.168, Purport:

Vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda means "agnosticism under the shelter of Vedic culture" and refers to the monistic philosophy of the Māyāvādīs. Lord Buddha abandoned the authority of the Vedic literature and therefore rejected the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the Vedas. His nirvāṇa philosophy means stopping all material activities. Lord Buddha did not recognize the presence of transcendental forms and spiritual activities beyond the material world. He simply described voidism beyond this material existence. The Māyāvādī philosophers offer lip service to Vedic authority but try to escape the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They concoct some idea of a transcendental position and call themselves Nārāyaṇa, or God. However, God's position is completely different from their concoction. Such Māyāvādī philosophers consider themselves above the influence of karma-kāṇḍa (fruitive activities and their reactions). For them, the spiritual world is equated with the Buddhist voidism.

CC Madhya 6.268, Purport:

Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī has sung, kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. The impersonalist's conception of becoming one with the effulgence of the Lord is exactly like hell. Therefore, of the five types of liberation, the first four (sālokya, sāmīpya, sārūpya and sārṣṭi) are not so undesirable because they can be avenues of service to the Lord. Nonetheless, a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa rejects even these types of liberation; he aspires only to serve Kṛṣṇa birth after birth. He is not very interested in stopping the repetition of birth, for he simply desires to serve the Lord, even in hellish circumstances. Consequently the pure devotee hates and fears sāyujya-mukti, merging into the effulgence of the Lord. This merging is due to an offense committed against the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and therefore it is not at all desirable for a pure devotee.

CC Madhya 8.64, Translation:

After hearing Rāmānanda Rāya speak in this way, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again rejected his statement and said, "Go ahead and say something more."

Rāmānanda Rāya then replied, "Devotional service mixed with empiric knowledge is the essence of perfection."

CC Madhya 8.64, Purport:

Between the two creations—the material creation and the spiritual creation—is a river known as Virajā, as well as a place known as Brahmaloka. Virajā-nadī and Brahmaloka are shelters for living entities disgusted with material life and inclined to impersonal existence by way of denying material variegatedness. Since these places are not situated in the Vaikunṭḥalokas, or the spiritual world, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu proclaims them to be external. In the Brahmaloka and Virajā-nadī, one cannot conceive of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. Brahmaloka and Virajā-nadī are also attained after difficult austerities, but in these realms there is no understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His transcendental loving service. Without such spiritual knowledge, simple detachment from material conditions is but another side of material existence. From the spiritual point of view, it is all external. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected this proposal, Rāmānanda Rāya suggested that devotional service based on philosophy and logic is a more advanced position. He therefore quoted the following verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54).

CC Madhya 8.66, Translation:

After hearing this, the Lord, as usual, rejected it, considering it to be external devotional service. He again asked Rāmānanda Rāya to speak further, and Rāmānanda Rāya replied, "Pure devotional service without any touch of speculative knowledge is the essence of perfection."

CC Madhya 8.90, Purport:

"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Śrī Vyāsadeva, is sufficient in itself for God realization. As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, he becomes attached to the Supreme Lord."

Those who aspire after liberation attempt to merge into the impersonal Brahman. To this end they execute ritualistic religious ceremonies, but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam considers this a cheating process. Indeed, such people can never dream of returning home, back to Godhead. There is a gulf of difference between the goal of dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa and the goal of devotional service.

CC Madhya 8.103, Translation:

"If Lord Kṛṣṇa rejected the company of the other gopīs for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, we can understand that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa has intense affection for Her."

CC Madhya 8.166, Purport:

Her transcendental breasts are covered by Her sari in the form of affection and anger toward Kṛṣṇa. She has a stringed instrument known as a kacchapī-vīṇā, which is the fame and fortune that actually dries up the faces and breasts of the other gopīs. She always keeps Her hands on the shoulder of Her gopī friend, who represents Her youthful beauty, and although She is highly qualified with so many spiritual assets, She is nonetheless affected by the Cupid known as Kṛṣṇa. Thus She is defeated. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī offers his respectful obeisances to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, taking a straw in his mouth. Indeed, he prays, "O Gāndharvikā, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, just as Lord Kṛṣṇa never rejects a surrendered soul, please don"t reject me.’” This is a summary translation of the Premāmbhoja-maranda, which Kavirāja Gosvāmī quotes.

CC Madhya 9.49, Purport:

According to the Buddhists' fifth principle, Lord Buddha is the only source for the attainment of knowledge. We cannot accept this, for Lord Buddha rejected the principles of Vedic knowledge. One must accept a principle of standard knowledge because one cannot attain the Absolute Truth simply by intellectual speculation. If everyone is an authority, or if everyone accepts his own intelligence as the ultimate criterion—as is presently fashionable—the scriptures will be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone will claim that his own philosophy is supreme. This has become a very great problem, and everyone is interpreting scripture in his own way and setting up his own basis of authority. Yata mata tata patha. Now everybody and anybody is trying to establish his own theory as the ultimate truth.

CC Madhya 9.261, Purport:

"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Śrī Vyāsadeva, is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart." This verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam rejects as cheating processes all religious activities that aim at achieving materialistic goals, including dharma, artha, kāma and even mokṣa, or liberation.

According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, the material conception of success (mokṣa, or liberation) is desired by those in material existence. Devotees, however, not being situated in material existence, have no desire for liberation.

CC Madhya 9.267, Translation:

“Pure devotees reject the five kinds of liberation; indeed, for them liberation is very insignificant because they see it as hellish.

CC Madhya 9.268, Translation:

“"Pure devotees always reject the five kinds of liberation, which include living in the spiritual Vaikuṇṭha planets, possessing the same opulences as those possessed by the Supreme Lord, having the same bodily features as the Lord"s, associating with the Lord and merging into the body of the Lord. The pure devotees do not accept these benedictions without the service of the Lord.’

CC Madhya 9.271, Translation:

“Both liberation and fruitive activity are rejected by devotees. You are trying to establish these things as life's goal and the process for attaining it.”

CC Madhya 9.360, Purport:

Not understanding the process of disciplic succession, so-called logicians put forward the theory of pañcopāsanā, in which a person worships one of five deities—namely Viṣṇu, Śiva, Durgā, the sun-god or Ganeśa. In this conception the impersonalists imagine one of these five deities as supreme and reject the others. Such philosophical speculation, which is certainly idol worship, is not accepted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or by Vaiṣṇavas. This imaginary deity worship has recently been transformed into Māyāvāda impersonalism. For want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, people are victimized by the Māyāvāda philosophy, and consequently they sometimes become staunch atheists. However, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu established the process of self-realization by His own personal behavior. As stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Madhya 8.274):

CC Madhya 10.65, Purport:

Even though a person may associate with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he can be allured by māyā and leave the Lord's company due to his slight independence. Only one who is overwhelmed by māyā can be so unfortunate as to leave Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's company, yet unless one is very conscientious, the influence of māyā can drag one away, even though he be the personal assistant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And what to speak of others? The Bhaṭṭathāris used to increase their numbers by using women to allure outsiders. This is factual evidence showing that it is possible at any time to fall down from the Lord's association. One need only misuse his little independence. Once fallen and separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead's association, one becomes a candidate for suffering in the material world. Although rejected by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa was given another chance, as the following verses relate.

CC Madhya 10.66, Translation:

Hearing the Lord reject him, Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa began to cry. However, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, not caring for him, immediately left to take His noon lunch.

CC Madhya 10.67, Purport:

Even though a person is rejected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotees of the Lord do not reject him; therefore the Lord's devotees are more merciful than the Lord Himself. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura thus sings, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: one cannot be relieved from the material clutches without engaging in the service of pure devotees. The Lord Himself may sometimes be very hard, but the devotees are always kind. Thus Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa received the mercy of the four devotees mentioned above.

CC Madhya 10.70, Purport:

Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected him, Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa became very, very sorry and began to cry. Therefore the Lord's devotees took compassion upon him, gave him assurance and encouraged him to continue to engage in the Lord's service.

CC Madhya 11.4, Translation:

The Lord gave the Bhaṭṭācārya assurance that he could speak without fear, but added that if his statement were suitable He would accept it, and if it were not, He would reject it.

CC Madhya 11.46, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is thus described by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra/ mo-sama patita prabhu nā pāibe āra. If Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu descended to reclaim sinners, then one who is the most sinful and lowborn is the first candidate for the Lord's consideration. Mahārāja Pratāparudra considered himself a most fallen soul because he had to deal with material things constantly and enjoy material profits. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's business was the deliverance of the most fallen. How, then, could He reject the King? The more fallen a person is, the more he has the right to be delivered by the Lord—provided, of course, he surrenders unto the Lord. Mahārāja Pratāparudra was a fully surrendered soul; therefore the Lord could not refuse him on the grounds that he was a worldly pounds-shillings man.

CC Madhya 12.180, Purport:

These transcendental considerations are out of the ordinary Vedic scholar's jurisdiction. Most Vedic scholars are called Vedāntists. These so-called followers of Vedānta philosophy consider the Absolute Truth to be impersonal. They also believe that a person born in a particular caste cannot change his caste until he dies and takes rebirth. The smārta-brāhmaṇas also reject the fact that mahā-prasādam (food offered to the Deity) is transcendental and materially uncontaminated. Originally, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was subjected to all the rules and regulations of the Vedic principles on the mundane platform. Now Gopīnātha Ācārya pointed out how Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya had been converted by the causeless mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Being converted, Sārvabhauma partook of prasādam with the Vaiṣṇavas. Indeed, he sat by the side of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Madhya 13.137, Purport:

The mind's activities are thinking, feeling and willing, by which the mind accepts materially favorable things and rejects the unfavorable. This is the consciousness of people in general. But when one's mind does not accept and reject but simply becomes fixed on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then one's mind becomes as good as Vṛndāvana. Wherever Kṛṣṇa is, there also are Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs, the cowherd boys and all the other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. Thus as soon as one fixes Kṛṣṇa in his mind, his mind becomes identical with Vṛndāvana. In other words, when one's mind is completely free from all material desires and is engaged only in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then one always lives in Vṛndāvana, and nowhere else.

CC Madhya 14.18, Purport:

The greatest achievement for a devotee is to become a servant of the servants of the Lord. Actually, no one should desire to become the direct servant of the Lord. That is not a very good idea. When Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered a benediction by Nṛsiṁha-deva, Prahlāda rejected all kinds of material benedictions, but he prayed to become the servant of the servants of the Lord. When Dhruva Mahārāja was offered a benediction by Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods, Dhruva could have asked for unlimited material opulence, but he simply asked for the benediction of becoming the servant of the servants of the Lord. Kholāvecā Śrīdhara was a very poor man, but when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to give him a benediction, he also prayed to the Lord to be allowed to remain a servant of the servants of the Lord. The conclusion is that being the servant of the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the highest benediction one can desire.

CC Madhya 14.146, Translation:

“The sober heroine is very simple in her behavior. She keeps her jealous anger within her heart, but with mild words and smiles she rejects the advances of her lover.

CC Madhya 15.263, Translation:

“Instead, I shall never see the face of that blasphemer. I reject him and give up my relationship with him. I shall never even speak his name.

CC Madhya 16.72, Purport:

"The intermediate Vaiṣṇava has to love God, make friends with the devotees, instruct the innocent and reject jealous people. These are the four functions of the Vaiṣṇava in the intermediate stage." In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Madhya 22.64) Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī is taught:

śraddhāvān jana haya bhakti-adhikārī

"uttama", "madhyama", "kaniṣṭha"—śraddhā-anusārī

“One who is faithful is a proper candidate for devotional service. In terms of one's degree of faith in devotional service, one is a first-class, second-class or neophyte Vaiṣṇava.”

CC Madhya 16.238, Purport:

"When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking them to be material, their renunciation is called incomplete." Whatever is favorable for the rendering of service to the Lord should be accepted and should not be rejected as a material thing. Yukta-vairāgya, or befitting renunciation, is thus explained:

anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ

nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

“Things should be accepted for the Lord's service and not for one's personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kṛṣṇa, one's renunciation is called yukta-vairāgya.” Since Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth, whatever is accepted for His service is also the Absolute Truth.

CC Madhya 19.132, Purport:

Whenever they are asked to hear a recitation of Vedic literature, they refuse, saying, "What business do we have reading or hearing transcendental literatures? They are meant for neophytes." They pose themselves as too elevated to exert energy for reading, writing and hearing. However, pure devotees under the guidance of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī reject this sahajiyā philosophy. It is certainly not good to write literature for money or reputation, but to write books and publish them for the enlightenment of the general populace is real service to the Lord. That was Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī’s opinion, and he specifically told his disciples to write books. He actually preferred to publish books rather than establish temples. Temple construction is meant for the general populace and neophyte devotees, but the business of advanced and empowered devotees is to write books, publish them and distribute them widely.

CC Madhya 19.157, Purport:

“One's devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required, (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to attain, (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters, (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically, (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.”

CC Madhya 20.275, Purport:

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.5.26). This verse tells how the living entities come in contact with material nature. Just as a woman cannot beget children without uniting with a man, material nature cannot beget living entities without being in union with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a history of how the Absolute Lord becomes the father of all living entities. In every system of religion, it is accepted that God is the supreme father of all living entities. According to Christianity, the supreme father, God, provides the living entities with all of life's necessities. Therefore they pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Any religion that does not accept the Supreme Lord as the absolute father is called kaitava-dharma, or a cheating religion. Such religious systems are rejected in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2): dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra. Only an atheist does not accept the omnipotent supreme father. If one accepts the omnipotent supreme father, he abides by His orders and becomes a religious person.

CC Madhya 22.100, Translation and Purport:

“"The six divisions of surrender are the acceptance of those things favorable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavorable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as one"s guardian or master, full self-surrender, and humility.

One who is fully surrendered is qualified with the six following characteristics: (1) The devotee has to accept everything that is favorable for the rendering of transcendental loving service to the Lord. (2) He must reject everything unfavorable to the Lord's service. This is also called renunciation. (3) A devotee must be firmly convinced that Kṛṣṇa will give him protection. No one else can actually give one protection, and being firmly convinced of this is called faith.

CC Madhya 23.105, Purport:

We should not introduce anything whimsically, without the sanction of the bona fide spiritual master. In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments on these points by quoting two verses by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255–256).

anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ

nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ

mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate

"When one is not attached to anything but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Kṛṣṇa, one is rightly situated above possessiveness. On the other hand, one who rejects everything without knowledge of its relationship to Kṛṣṇa is not as complete in his renunciation." To preach the bhakti cult, one should seriously consider these verses.

CC Madhya 23.109, Purport:

“‘A devotee who is not dependent on others but is dependent solely on Me, who is clean inwardly and outwardly, who is expert, indifferent to material things, without cares and free from all pains, and who rejects all pious and impious activities is very dear to Me.

CC Madhya 24.100, Translation:

“"The great scripture Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, compiled by Mahāmuni Vyāsadeva from four original verses, describes the most elevated and kindhearted devotees and completely rejects the cheating ways of materially motivated religiosity. It propounds the highest principle of eternal religion, which can factually mitigate the threefold miseries of a living being and award the highest benediction of full prosperity and knowledge. Those willing to hear the message of this scripture in a submissive attitude of service can at once capture the Supreme Lord in their hearts. Therefore there is no need for any scripture other than Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam."

CC Madhya 24.159, Translation:

“‘For those saintly persons who wish to rise to the platform of yogic perfection, the means consists of practicing the yoga system by strictly following its regulative principles and practicing the yoga postures and breathing exercises. And for those who are already elevated to this platform, the means consists of maintaining mental equilibrium (śama) by rejecting all material activity and practicing meditation to keep the mind on the Supreme Lord.

CC Madhya 24.296, Translation:

“In this way, one can repeat the word "ātmārāmāḥ" with "ca" for each of the fifty-eight meanings. By following the rule previously stated and rejecting all but the last, we retain that which represents all the meanings.

CC Madhya 25.56, Purport:

All five of these philosophies completely reject the predominance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and strive to establish their own philosophical theories. However, Śrīla Vyāsadeva wrote the Vedānta-sūtra and, taking the essence of all Vedic literature, established the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All five kinds of philosophers mentioned above understand that impersonal Brahman is without material qualities, and they believe that when the Personality of Godhead appears, He is contaminated and covered by the material qualities. The technical term used is saguṇa. They speak of saguṇa Brahman and nirguṇa Brahman. For them, nirguṇa Brahman means "the impersonal Absolute Truth without any material qualities" and saguṇa Brahman means "the Absolute Truth that accepts the contamination of material qualities." More or less, this kind of philosophical speculation is called Māyāvāda philosophy.

CC Madhya 25.149, Translation:

“"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva (in his maturity), is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart."

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 2 Summary:

Nevertheless, his brother, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Ācārya, discoursed upon the commentary of impersonalism (Māyāvāda). Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, the secretary of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, forbid Bhagavān Ācārya to indulge in hearing that commentary. Later, when Junior Haridāsa, following the order of Bhagavān Ācārya, went to collect alms from Mādhavīdevī, he committed an offense by talking intimately with a woman although he was in the renounced order. Because of this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected Junior Haridāsa, and despite all the requests of the Lord's stalwart devotees, the Lord did not accept him again. One year after this incident, Junior Haridāsa went to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā and committed suicide. In his spiritual body, however, he continued to sing devotional songs, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard them. When the Vaiṣṇavas of Bengal went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, these incidents became known to Svarūpa Dāmodara and others.

CC Antya 4.179, Purport:

A Vaiṣṇava, a sannyāsī or a learned person has no conception of the material world; in other words, he has no conception of anything materially important. He has no desire to use sandalwood pulp for sense gratification, nor does sense gratification make him hate mud. Acceptance or rejection of material things is not the concern of a sannyāsī, a Vaiṣṇava or a learned person. An advanced devotee has no desire to enjoy or reject anything. His only duty is to accept whatever is favorable for the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A Vaiṣṇava should be indifferent to material enjoyment and renunciation and should always hanker for the spiritual life of rendering service to the Lord.

CC Antya 4.180, Translation:

"For this reason, I cannot reject you. If I hated you, I would deviate from My occupational duty."

CC Antya 6 Summary:

Therefore another name for Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī is Svarūpera Raghu, or the Raghunātha of Svarūpa Dāmodara. For five days Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī took prasādam at the temple, but later he would stand at the Siṁha-dvāra gate and eat only whatever he could gather by alms. Later he lived by taking alms from various chatras, or food distributing centers. When Raghunātha's father received news of this, he sent some men and money, but Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī refused to accept the money. Understanding that Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was living by begging from the chatras, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented him with His own guñjā-mālā and a stone from Govardhana Hill. Thereafter, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī used to eat rejected food that he had collected and washed. This renounced life greatly pleased both Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took by force some of the same food, thus blessing Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī for his renunciation.

CC Antya 8 Summary:

This chapter describes the history of the Lord's dealings with Rāmacandra Purī. Although Rāmacandra Purī was one of the disciples of Mādhavendra Purī, he was influenced by dry Māyāvādīs, and therefore he criticized Mādhavendra Purī. Therefore Mādhavendra Purī accused him of being an offender and rejected him. Because Rāmacandra Purī had been rejected by his spiritual master, he became concerned only with finding faults in others and advising them according to dry Māyāvāda philosophy. For this reason he was not very respectful to the Vaiṣṇavas, and later he became so fallen that he began criticizing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for His eating. Hearing his criticisms, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu reduced His eating, but after Rāmacandra Purī left Jagannātha Purī, the Lord resumed His usual behavior.

CC Antya 8.77, Translation:

“The two kinds of activities rejected in the revealed scriptures constitute his daily affairs.

CC Antya 8.99, Translation:

If one's spiritual master rejects him, one becomes so fallen that he, like Rāmacandra Purī, commits offenses even to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

CC Antya 12.108, Purport:

"One who smears oil on his body while observing a vow in conjunction with a ritual, while bathing in the morning, while performing the śrāddha ceremony, or on dvādaśī day may as well pour wine over his body. Therefore, oil should be rejected." This word vrata (vow) is sometimes understood to refer to the sannyāsa-vrata. Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācārya has also said in his book Tithi-tattva:

ghṛtaṁ ca sārṣapaṁ tailaṁ yat tailaṁ puṣpa-vāsitam

aduṣṭaṁ pakva-tailaṁ ca tailābhyaṅge ca nityaśaḥ

This means that clarified butter (ghee), mustard oil, floral oil and boiled oil may be used only by gṛhasthas, householders.

CC Antya 14.7, Purport:

This certainly indicates their ignorance concerning Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's pastimes. In the opinion of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, such worship is a product of the imagination. Many other methods of worshiping Caitanya Mahāprabhu have also been introduced, but they have all been rejected by stalwart devotees like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. The groups practicing such unauthorized worship have been listed by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura:

āula, bāula, kartābhajā, neḍā, daraveśa, sāṅi,

sahajiyā, sakhībhekī, smārta, jāta-gosāñi,

ativāḍī, cūḍādhārī, gaurāṅga-nāgarī

Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī witnessed Caitanya Mahāprabhu's activities firsthand and recorded them in two notebooks. Therefore, without reference to these notebooks one cannot understand the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Anyone inventing some new method for worshiping Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is certainly unable to understand the Lord's pastimes, for he is bereft of the real process of approaching the Lord.

CC Antya 19.107, Purport:

Since you are the messenger of such a person as He, what is the use of your presence here? Certainly Kṛṣṇa would be ashamed of your presence in this assembly.”

How has Kṛṣṇa offended the gopīs so that they want to reject Him from their minds? The answer is given as follows:

sakṛd adhara-sudhāṁ svāṁ mohinīṁ pāyayitvā

sumanasa iva sadyas tatyaje ‘smān bhavādṛk

paricarati kathaṁ tat-pāda-padmaṁ tu padmā

hy api bata hṛta-cetā uttama-śloka-jalpaiḥ

“Kṛṣṇa no longer gives us the enchanting nectar of His lips; instead, He now gives that nectar to the women of Mathurā. Kṛṣṇa directly attracts our minds, yet He resembles a bumblebee like you because He gives up the association of a beautiful flower and goes to a flower that is inferior. That is the way Kṛṣṇa has treated us. I do not know why the goddess of fortune continues to serve His lotus feet instead of leaving them aside. Apparently she believes in Kṛṣṇa's false words. We gopīs, however, are not unintelligent like Lakṣmī.”

CC Antya 20.111, Translation:

That chapter also describes how Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī rejected the drama of a poet from Bengal and established the glories of the Deity.