View source for There are twelve mahajanas, great authorities on devotional service, and Lord Siva is one of them. Why, then, did he adopt the process of Mayavada philosophy? The answer is given in the Siva Purana

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[[Category:There Are]]
[[Category:Twelve Authorities]]
[[Category:Mahajanas]]
[[Category:Greatest Authority]]
[[Category:Great Authorities in Devotional Service to God]]
[[Category:Siva Is A Mahajana]]
[[Category:One]]
[[Category:Why]]
[[Category:Did]]
[[Category:Adopt]]
[[Category:Process Of]]
[[Category:Mayavada Philosophy]]
[[Category:Answer]]
[[Category:Siva Purana]]
[[Category:Questions Posed by Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Give]]
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<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<div id="Teachings_of_Lord_Caitanya" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Teachings of Lord Caitanya"><h3>Teachings of Lord Caitanya</h3>
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<div id="TLC19_0" class="quote" parent="Teachings_of_Lord_Caitanya" book="OB" index="25" link="TLC 19" link_text="Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 19">
<div class="heading">Lord Caitanya admitted that Śaṅkarācārya was an incarnation of Lord Śiva, and it is known that Lord Śiva is one of the greatest devotees, a mahājana of the Bhāgavata school. There are twelve mahājanas, great authorities on devotional service, and Lord Śiva is one of them. Why, then, did he adopt the process of Māyāvāda philosophy? The answer is given in the Śiva Purāṇa.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:TLC 19|Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 19]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Lord Caitanya admitted that Śaṅkarācārya was an incarnation of Lord Śiva, and it is known that Lord Śiva is one of the greatest devotees, a mahājana of the Bhāgavata school. There are twelve mahājanas, great authorities on devotional service, and Lord Śiva is one of them. Why, then, did he adopt the process of Māyāvāda philosophy? The answer is given in the Śiva Purāṇa, where the Supreme Lord tells Śiva:</p>
:dvāparādau yuge bhūtvā   kalayā mānuṣādiṣu
:svāgamaiḥ kalpitais tvaṁ ca   janān mad-vimukhān kuru
<p>"In the beginning of Kali-yuga, by My order, bewilder the people in general with Māyāvāda philosophy." In the Padma Purāṇa, Lord Śiva tells his wife Bhagavatī Devī: </p>
:māyāvādam asac-chāstraṁ   pracchannaṁ bauddham ucyate
:mayaiva kalpitaṁ devi   kalau brāhmaṇa-rūpiṇā
:brahmaṇaś cāparaṁ rūpaṁ   nirguṇaṁ vakṣyate mayā
:sarva-svaṁ jagato ’py asya   mohanārthaṁ kalau yuge
:vedānte tu mahā-śāstre   māyāvādam avaidikam
:mayaiva vakṣyate devi   jagatāṁ nāśa-kāraṇāt
<p>"The Māyāvāda philosophy is veiled Buddhism. (In other words, the voidist philosophy of Buddha is more or less repeated in the Māyāvāda philosophy of impersonalism, although the Māyāvādīphilosophers claim to be directed by the Vedic conclusions.) As a brāhmaṇa boy, I manufacture this philosophy in the Age of Kali to mislead the atheists. Actually, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has His transcendental body, but I describe the Supreme as impersonal. I also explain the Vedānta-sūtra according to the same principles of Māyāvāda philosophy."</p>
<p>Lord Śiva continues speaking to Bhāgavatī Devī as follows:</p>
:śṛṇu devi pravakṣyāmi   tāmasāni yathā-kramam
:yeṣāṁśravaṇa-mātreṇa   pātityaṁ jñāninām api
:apārthaṁśruti-vākyānāṁ   darśayaḻ loka-garhitam
:karma-svarūpa-tyājyatvam   atra ca pratipadyate
:sarva-karma-paribhraṁśān   naiṣkarmyaṁ tatra cocyate
:parātma-jīvayor aikyaṁ   mayātra pratipadyate
<p>"My dear Devī, sometimes I teach Māyāvāda philosophy for those who are engrossed in the mode of ignorance. But anyone in the mode of goodness who happens to hear this Māyāvāda philosophy falls down, for when I teach Māyāvāda philosophy I say that the living entity and the Supreme Lord are one and the same."</p>
<p>Sadānanda Yogīndra, one of the greatest Māyāvādīācāryas, has written in his book Vedānta-sāra: "The Absolute Truth of eternity, knowledge and bliss is Brahman. Ignorance and all products of ignorance are non-Brahman. All products of the three modes of material nature are covered by ignorance, and all are different from the supreme cause and effect. This ignorance is manifested in a collective and individual sense. Collective ignorance is called viśuddha-sattva-pradhāna. When that viśuddha-sattva-pradhāna is manifested within the ignorance of material nature, it is called the Lord, and the Lord manifests all kinds of ignorance. Therefore He is known as sarvajña." Thus according to Māyāvāda philosophy, the Lord is a product of this material nature and the living entity is in the lowest stage of ignorance. That is the sum and substance of Māyāvāda philosophy.</p>
<p>If, however, we accept the import of the Upaniṣads directly, it is clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a person with unlimited potency. For example, in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad it is stated, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of everything, and He has multiple potencies. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the cosmic manifestation. He is the origin of all religion, the supreme deliverer, and the possessor of all opulences. I understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be just like the sun, profusely distributing His energies while situated beyond the cloud of this material cosmic manifestation. He is the master of masters, and He is the supreme of supremes. He is known as the greatest Lord, the Personality of Godhead. His multiple potencies are variously distributed." Also, the Ṛg Veda (1.22.20) states that Viṣṇu is the Supreme and that saintly persons are always anxious to see His lotus feet. And in the Aitareya Upaniṣad it is stated that the cosmic manifestation came about when the Lord glanced over material nature (1.1.1–2). This is confirmed by the Praśna Upaniṣad (6.3).</p>
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