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Kasira Mayavadis

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 7.39, Translation and Purport:

All were converted into devotees of Lord Caitanya, even the mlecchas and yavanas. Only the impersonalist followers of Śaṅkarācārya evaded Him.

In this verse it is clearly indicated that although Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu converted Muslims and other mlecchas into devotees, the impersonalist followers of Śaṅkarācārya could not be converted. After accepting the renounced order of life, Caitanya Mahāprabhu converted many karma-niṣṭhas who were addicted to fruitive activities, many great logicians like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, nindakas (blasphemers) like Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, pāṣaṇḍīs (nondevotees) like Jagāi and Mādhāi, and adhama paḍuyās (degraded students) like Mukunda and his friends. All of them gradually became devotees of the Lord, even the Pāṭhāns (Muslims), but the worst offenders, the impersonalists, were extremely difficult to convert, for they very tactfully escaped the devices of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

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

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

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

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

Lectures

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.39-47 -- San Francisco, February 1, 1967:

Just like in Christian religion, those who do not follow the Bible, they are called heathens. Similarly, in Muslim, those who do not follow the Koran, they are called kafirs. Similarly, those who do not follow the Vedic principles, they are called nāstika or mlecchas. Nāstika means those who do not believe in the Vedic principles, they are called nāstika, atheist. And those whose behavior is not very clean, they are called mlecchas. So in comparison to Hindu mode of living and others in the world, there is very great difference, social sanctity and personal sanctity. So therefore, formerly the mlecchas means the Muhammadans, because they are meat-eaters, they do not take bath daily and there are so many things. 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. So this is materialist. And above this, there are mental speculators. They are also materialists because mind is matter. So the sense gratifiers and the mental speculationists, and those who are trying to reach spiritual perfection by bodily exercise... Because body is not at all spirit; it is matter. But by intellectually, by making proper adjustment... Just the only benefit of such exercises is to concentrate the mind. The mind is very disturbed. So that is also materialist. That means jñānī, yogi and karmī. Karmī means those who are working very hard day and night simply for sense gratification. That's all. They are called karmīs. And jñānī means they are finding out solution by mental speculation. And yogi means they are trying to find out spiritual salvation by bodily exercises. They are all, in strict sense, they are all materialist. There is no question of spiritualist. Spiritualism (means) there where one understands that what is the constitutional position of spirit and act according to that. Therefore bhakti, this devotional service, is only spiritualism because those who are devotees, they know that they are eternally part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and therefore to be engaged in transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord is spiritualism.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, Dr. Suneson -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Professor: If you could read some of the Bengali part. Of course, in the beginning there are some Sanskrit.

Prabhupāda: Only one verse.

Professor: Some Sanskrit.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Professor: But the pure Bengali.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

jaya jaya mahāprabhu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
tāṅhāra caraṇāśrita, sei baḍa dhanya
(CC Adi 7.2)

You understand Bengali?

Professor: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Or shall I explain?

Professor: Oh, well, I understand.

Prabhupāda: All right.

Professor: Yes.

Prabhupāda: (Chants many verses from Ādi 1.7 in Bengali) ...kāśīra māyāvādī. You know kāśīra māyāvādī?

Professor: Yes. Yes, a little.

Prabhupāda: Vṛndāvana yāite prabhu... (continues chanting) ...vasilā sei sthāne. You want to hear more?

Professor: No, thank you.

Prabhupāda: So, in this way, we have given Sanskrit, here, the transliteration. Just like

āra dine gelā prabhu se vipra-bhavane
dekhilena, vasiyāchena sannyāsīra gaṇe

Here is the transliteration. Āra, dine, gelā, prabhu, se, vipra, bhavane, dekhilena, vasiyāchena, sannyāsīra, gaṇe.

Professor: Hm. How many volumes is this one, when it's complete?

Prabhupāda: This is only one chapter.

Professor: Yes.

Prabhupāda: And you know how many chapters there are. How many chapters?

Pradyumna: Seventeen in the first part, about twenty something in the second part...

Professor: Second part.

Pradyumna: Thirty something in Third Part.

Professor: Yes, about sixty altogether. A little more than sixty.

Prabhupāda: So how many, all...? Sixty.

Page Title:Kasira Mayavadis
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:27 of Jul, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=1, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:3