The exchange of devotional service is the subject, and Kṛṣṇa is the object. His transcendental qualities are the causes of excitement. This means that a devotee who becomes enamored by the transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa becomes excited to serve Him. The impersonal (Māyāvādī) philosophers say that the Absolute Truth is nirguṇa, "without qualities," but the Vaiṣṇava philosophers say that the Absolute Truth is described as nirguṇa because He has no material qualities. This is not to say that He has no spiritual qualities. Indeed, the Lord's spiritual qualities are so great and so enchanting that even liberated persons become attracted to Him. This is explained in the ātmārāma verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.10), where it is said that those who are already situated on the platform of self-realization are attracted by the transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa. This means that Kṛṣṇa's qualities are not material but are pure and transcendental.
Vaisnava philosophers
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
One can attain direct contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness and revive one's eternal relationship with Him as lover, as Supreme Soul, as son, as friend or as master. One can reestablish the transcendental loving relationship with the Supreme Lord in so many ways, and that feeling is true oneness. The oneness of the Māyāvādī philosophers and the oneness of Vaiṣṇava philosophers are different. The Māyāvādī and Vaiṣṇava philosophers both want to merge into the Supreme, but the Vaiṣṇavas do not lose their identities. They want to keep the identity of lover, parent, friend or servant.
Therefore sensory knowledge is divided in different categories, although actually everything is one as a manifestation of the energy of the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the energies of fire are heat and illumination, and by these two energies fire can display itself in many varieties, or in diversified sense perception. Māyāvādī philosophers declare this diversity to be false. But Vaiṣṇava philosophers do not accept the different manifestations as false; they accept them as nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead because they are a display of His diverse energies.
The philosophy that the Absolute is true and this creation is false (brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā) is not accepted by Vaiṣṇava philosophers. The example is given that although all that glitters is not gold, this does not mean that a glittering object is false. For example, an oyster shell appears to be golden. This appearance of golden hue is due only to the perception of the eyes, but that does not mean that the oyster shell is false. Similarly, by seeing the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa one cannot understand what He actually is, but this does not mean that He is false. The form of Kṛṣṇa has to be understood as it is described in the books of knowledge such as Brahma-saṁhitā. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1): Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has an eternal, blissful spiritual body.
SB Canto 4
Therefore Vaiṣṇava philosophers do not accept sāyujya-mukti to be within the category of mukti. According to them, mukti means transferal to the loving service of the Lord from one's position of serving māyā. Lord Caitanya also says in this connection that the constitutional position of a living entity is to render service to the Lord. That is real mukti. When one is situated in his original position, giving up artificial positions, he is called mukta, or liberated. In the Bhagavad-gītā this is confirmed: anyone who engages in rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord is considered to be mukta, or brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20).
Because the Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand this, they want to be relieved from the material energy. However, because a Vaiṣṇava philosopher is in full knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he finds no disturbance even in the material energy. This is because he knows how to utilize the material energy for the service of the Lord. In the government, the criminal department and civil department may appear different in the eyes of the citizens, but in the eyes of the government both departments are one and the same. The criminal department is troublesome for the criminal but not for the obedient citizen. Similarly, this material energy is troublesome for the conditioned soul, but it has nothing to do with the liberated souls who are engaged in the service of the Lord.
The followers of Buddha do not recognize that there is anything beyond the body; the followers of Śaṅkara conclude that there is no separate existence of the Paramātmā, the Supersoul. The Śaṅkarites believe that the individual soul is identical with the Paramātmā in the ultimate analysis. But the Vaiṣṇava philosopher, who is perfect in knowledge, knows that the body is made of the external energy and that the Supersoul, the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is sitting with the individual soul and is distinct from him. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (13.3):
Those in ignorance, however, perceive that there are many small suns reflected in each and every pot. As far as the brilliance is concerned, there is brilliance both in the original sun and in the reflections, but the reflections are small, whereas the original sun is very large. Vaiṣṇava philosophers conclude that the living entity is simply a small sample of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Qualitatively, God and the living entities are one, but quantitatively the living entities are small fragments of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is full, powerful and opulent. In the previous verse, the Lord says, "My dear friend, you and I are not different." This nondifference refers to qualitative oneness, for it was not necessary for the Paramātmā, the Supreme Personality, to remind the conditioned soul that he is not one in quantity.
SB Canto 5
This is a discussion on impersonal Māyāvāda philosophy and the practical philosophy of Vaiṣṇavas. The Māyāvāda philosophy explains this phenomenal world to be false, but Vaiṣṇava philosophers do not agree. They know that the phenomenal world is a temporary manifestation, but it is not false. A dream that we see at night is certainly false, but a horrible dream certainly affects the person seeing it. The soul's fatigue is not factual, but as long as one is immersed in the illusory bodily conception, one is affected by such false dreams. When dreaming, it is not possible to avoid the actual facts, and the conditioned soul is forced to suffer due to his dream. A waterpot is made of earth and is temporary. Actually there is no waterpot; there is simply earth. However, as long as the waterpot can contain water, we can use it in that way. It cannot be said to be absolutely false.
SB Canto 8
This śloka explains that in relation to the material body even the factual truth cannot exist without a touch of untruth. The Māyāvādīs say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "The spirit soul is truth, and the external energy is untruth." The Vaiṣṇava philosophers, however, do not agree with the Māyāvāda philosophy. Even if for the sake of argument the material world is accepted as untruth, the living entity entangled in the illusory energy cannot come out of it without the help of the body. Without the help of the body, one cannot follow a system of religion, nor can one speculate on philosophical perfection. Therefore, the flower and fruit (puṣpa-phalam) have to be obtained as a result of the body. Without the help of the body, that fruit cannot be gained. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy therefore recommends yukta-vairāgya.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
As long as materialistic scientists and philosophers do not come to the right conclusion, certainly they will hover above the material field, bereft of proper understanding of the Absolute Truth.
The great Vaiṣṇava philosopher Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has very nicely explained the materialistic conclusion in his Govinda-bhāṣya, a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. He writes as follows:
“The Sāṅkhya philosopher Kapila has connected the different elementary truths according to his own opinion. Material nature, according to him, consists of the equilibrium of the three material qualities—goodness, passion and ignorance. Material nature produces the material energy, known as mahat, and mahat produces the false ego.
Thus Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, on account of his piety, could understand that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was not an ordinary person but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sākṣāt nārāyaṇa: he considered Him to be Nārāyaṇa Himself. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs address one another as Nārāyaṇa because they think that they are all going to be Nārāyaṇa or merge with Nārāyaṇa in the next life. Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī appreciated that Caitanya Mahāprabhu had already directly become Nārāyaṇa and did not need to wait until His next life. One difference between the Vaiṣṇava and Māyāvādī philosophies is that Māyāvādī philosophers think that after giving up their bodies they are going to become Nārāyaṇa by merging with His body, whereas Vaiṣṇava philosophers understand that after the body dies they are going to have a transcendental, spiritual body in which to associate with Nārāyaṇa.
The Vaiṣṇavas are by far the greatest philosophers in the world, and the greatest among them was Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhu, whose philosophy was again presented less than four hundred years later by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Mahārāja. Therefore one must know very well that Vaiṣṇava philosophers are not sentimentalists or cheap devotees like the sahajiyās. All the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas were vastly learned scholars who understood Vedānta philosophy fully, for unless one knows Vedānta philosophy he cannot be an ācārya. To be accepted as an ācārya among Indian transcendentalists who follow the Vedic principles, one must become a vastly learned scholar in Vedānta philosophy, either by studying it or hearing it.
He maintains that the material cosmic manifestation is mithyā, or false, but this is a great blunder. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a fact, how can His creation be false? Even in ordinary dealings, one cannot think the material cosmic manifestation to be false. Therefore Vaiṣṇava philosophers say that the cosmic creation is not false but temporary. It is separated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but since it is wonderfully created by the energy of the Lord, to say that it is false is blasphemous.
Nondevotees factually appreciate the wonderful creation of material nature, but they cannot appreciate the intelligence and energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is behind this material creation. Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya, however, refers to a sūtra from the Aitareya Upaniṣad (1.1.1), ātmā vā idam agra āsīt, which points out that the supreme ātmā, the Absolute Truth, existed before the creation.
Therefore if at the time of death one simply remembers oṁkāra, he remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is therefore immediately transferred to the spiritual world. Oṁkāra is the basic principle of all Vedic mantras, for it is a representation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, understanding of whom is the ultimate goal of the Vedas, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15)). Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand these simple facts explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, and yet they are very proud of being Vedāntīs. Sometimes, therefore, we refer to the Vedāntī philosophers as Vidantīs, those who have no teeth (vi means "without," and dantī means "possessing teeth"). The statements of the Śaṅkara philosophy, which are the teeth of the Māyāvādī philosopher, are always broken by the strong arguments of Vaiṣṇava philosophers such as the great ācāryas, especially Rāmānujācārya. Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya break the teeth of the Māyāvādī philosophers, who can therefore be called Vidantīs, "toothless."
Māyāvādī philosophers are satisfied simply to understand Brahman to be the sum total of knowledge, but Vaiṣṇava philosophers not only know in detail about the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also know how to approach Him directly. The method for this is described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as nine kinds of devotional service, beginning with hearing:
- śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
- arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
- (SB 7.5.23)
The nine kinds of devotional service are hearing about Kṛṣṇa, chanting about Him, remembering Him, offering service to His lotus feet, offering Him worship in the temple, offering prayers to Him, working as His servant, making friendship with Him and unreservedly surrendering to Him.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
All the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas in these schools have written commentaries on the Vedānta-sūtra, but the Māyāvādī philosophers do not recognize them. The Māyāvādīs distinguish between Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's body, and therefore they do not recognize the worship of Kṛṣṇa by the Vaiṣṇava philosophers. Thus when the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs asked Lord Caitanya why He did not study the Vedānta-sūtra, the Lord replied, "Dear sirs, you have asked why I do not study the Vedānta, and in answer to this I could speak something, but I am afraid you would be sorry to hear it."
All the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs replied, "We shall be very much pleased to hear You because we see that You are just like Nārāyaṇa and Your speeches are so nice that we are taking great pleasure in them. We are very much obliged to see and hear You. Therefore we shall be very glad to hear patiently and accept whatever You say."
Because the impersonalist experiences material activity as miserable, he wants to establish spiritual life without activity. He cannot understand the activities of devotional service. Indeed, spiritual activity in devotional service is unintelligible to the voidist philosophers and impersonalists. The Vaiṣṇava philosophers know perfectly well that the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can never be impersonal or void, because He possesses innumerable potencies. Through His innumerable energies, He can present Himself in multiple forms and still remain the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus despite expanding Himself in multiple forms and diffusing His innumerable energies, He can maintain His transcendental position.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Therefore the Vaiṣṇavas do not take this cosmic manifestation to be false. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead has entered this cosmic manifestation in the form of His plenary expansion and caused the creation, the Vaiṣṇava philosophers see everything in this material world in relationship with the Supreme Lord.
This conception of the material world is very nicely explained by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who says that when persons renounce the material world as illusory or false without knowing that the material world is a manifestation of the Supreme Lord, their renunciation is of no value. The Vaiṣṇavas, however, are free of attachment to this world because although the material world is generally accepted as an object of sense gratification, the Vaiṣṇavas are not in favor of sense gratification and are therefore not attached to material activities.
The example may be given that when a person is angry he does things which are different from his normal condition of life, but the fact that the mood of anger appears and disappears does not mean that the energy of anger is false. Therefore, the argument of the Māyāvādī philosophers that this world is false is not accepted by the Vaiṣṇava philosophers. The Lord Himself confirms that the view that there is no supreme cause of this material manifestation, that there is no God, and that everything is only the creation of the interaction of matter is a view of the asuras.
The Māyāvādī philosophers sometimes put forward the argument of the snake and the rope. In the dark of evening, a curled-up rope is sometimes, due to ignorance, taken for a snake. But mistaking the rope for a snake does not mean that the rope or the snake is false, and therefore this example, used by the Māyāvādīs to illustrate the falsity of the material world, is not valid.
When a thing is taken as fact but actually has no existence at all, it is called false. But if something is mistaken for something else that exists, that does not mean it is false. The Vaiṣṇava philosophers use a very appropriate example, comparing this material world to an earthen pot. When we see an earthen pot, it does not at once disappear and turn into something else. It may be temporary, but the earthen pot is taken into use for bringing water, and we continue to see it as an earthen pot. Therefore, although the earthen pot is temporary and different from the original earth, we cannot say that it is false. We should therefore conclude that the earthen pot and the entire earth are both truths because one is the product of the other. We understand from the Bhagavad-gītā that after the dissolution of this cosmic manifestation, the material energy enters into the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is ever-existing with His varied energies. Because the material creation is an emanation from Him, we cannot say that this cosmic manifestation is a product of something void. Kṛṣṇa is not void.
Sometimes the Māyāvādī philosophers push forward the argument that if this material world is truth, then why are householders advised to give up their connection with this material world and take sannyāsa? But the Vaiṣṇava philosophers' view of sannyāsa is not that because the world is false one must therefore give up material activities. The purpose of Vaiṣṇava sannyāsa is to utilize things as they are intended to be utilized. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has given transcendentalists two formulas for dealing with this material world. When a Vaiṣṇava renounces the materialistic way of life and takes to sannyāsa, it is not on the conception of the falsity of the material world but to devote himself fully to engaging everything in the service of the Lord. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore gives this formula: “One should be unattached to the material world because material attachment is meaningless.
Since the source of its manifestation is truth, the manifestation is also truth, but one must know how to utilize it. The example of the earthen pot may be cited again: the earthen pot produced from the whole earth is temporary, but when used for a proper purpose the earthen pot is not false. The Vaiṣṇava philosophers know how to utilize the temporary construction of this material world, just as a sane man knows how to utilize the temporary construction of the earthen pot. When the earthen pot is used for a wrong purpose, that is false. Similarly, the human body or the material world, when used for sense gratification, is false. But if the human body and the material creation are used for the service of the Supreme Lord, their activities are never false. It is therefore confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that even slightly using the body and the material world for the service of the Lord can deliver a person from the gravest danger. When properly utilized, neither the superior nor inferior energies emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead are false.
Similarly, although this material world may be false, just like the paper, it has its proper beneficial utilization. Because the currency notes, although paper, are issued by the government, they have full value. Similarly, this material world may be false or temporary, but because it is an emanation from the Supreme Lord, it has its full value. The Vaiṣṇava philosophers acknowledge the full value of this material world and know how to utilize it properly, whereas the Māyāvādī philosophers fail to do so, just as those who mistake a currency note for ordinary paper discard it and cannot utilize the money. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī therefore declares that if one rejects this material world as false, not considering the importance of this material world as a means to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, such renunciation has very little value. A person who knows the intrinsic value of this material world for the service of the Lord, who is not attached to the material world, and who renounces the material world by not accepting it for sense gratification is situated in real renunciation.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Just like the same example, that the small sky within the pitcher. When the pitcher is broken, the small sky within the pitcher mixes with the big sky. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher says that the small sky is individual. It mixes with the big sky, but it keeps its individuality. The example is given in this connection: just like a green bird entering a green tree. So when the bird enters the tree, nobody can find out where is the bird because the leaves of the tree are green and the bird is also green. Nobody can trace out. But that does not mean the bird has lost its individuality. The individuality is there. Just like you see one airplane is flying in the air, and when it goes too far, it appears that it has disappeared. It seems to us that there is no more that airplane. It has mixed with the sky. But actually it is not. It is still there, individual existence. It is my ignorance that I see that it is no more separate, it has mixed with the sky. Just like in the daytime we don't find any star in the sky. Due to the dazzling sunshine, we cannot see any stars. At night, we can see millions of stars, there are. Similarly, that is the impersonalism and personalism.
Arjuna is always with Kṛṣṇa as friend. This is called sāmīpya.
So there are different kinds of liberation. Now, any one, any of these five kinds of liberations you can have. But out of the five, the sāyujya-mukti, or the liberation by becoming merged into the existence of the Supreme, is not accepted by the Vaiṣṇava philosophers. We belong to the Vaiṣṇava philosophical school, Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means we want to worship God as He is, and we keep our separate identity eternally to serve Him. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. And the Māyāvāda philosophy and impersonalist philosophy is that they want to close their individual identity and merge into the existence of the Supreme.
We belong to the Vaiṣṇava philosophical school, Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means we want to worship God as He is, and we keep our separate identity eternally to serve Him. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. And the Māyāvāda philosophy and impersonalist philosophy is that they want to close their individual identity and merge into the existence of the Supreme.
Now, here Lord Kṛṣṇa does not advise you... That is a suicidal policy. That policy is neither recommended by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in the Bhagavad-gītā, neither the Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they accept it, to merge. They don't wish to close their individuality. They...Lord Caitanya, the stalwart amongst the Vaiṣṇava philosophers, He said that, He prayed that
- na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
- kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye
- mama janmani janmanīśvare
- bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi
(Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4)
The pure Vaiṣṇava, unadulterated devotee of the Lord, they do not want even liberation. They don't want. They don't care for liberation also. What they want? Just like in this prayer, Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir
ahaitukī: "I may remain Your pure devotee birth after birth."
What is the purpose of becoming educated, learned scholar, very charitable and all these pious activities? What is the end? Ask them. Somebody will say, those who believe next life—that is also fact—that "Next life also, I will get opulence, properly situated." That is also fact.
But we Vaiṣṇava philosopher, Krishnites, we do not think in that terms. Suppose in next life I become some demigod like Lord Brahmā or the Moon or the Sun. They are all demigods. Or Vāyu, Varuṇa. The Vaiṣṇava says, "No, we don't want this." Because either you become Rockefeller or Ford in this life and next life the king of Moon planet or Sun planet or in any way, up to the Brahmā planet, Brahmaloka, Lord Brahmā, Kṛṣṇa says, ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna: (BG 8.16)
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
The whole Vedic literature, Vedic knowledge is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). The purpose of studying Veda means to understand Kṛṣṇa. And vedānta-vit. Because people are very much proud, especially Māyāvādī philosophers, they're very much proud of becoming vedāntī. So the Vaiṣṇava philosophers... (aside:) Stop that. ...Everyone is vedāntī. Śrī Rāmānujācārya, he is also vedāntī. Madhvācārya, he is also vedāntī. Nimbārka, he is also vedāntī. Without understanding Vedānta, where is the question of spiritual advancement? So Vedānta does not mean it is the monopoly of a certain class of philosopher. No. Actually Vedānta, this vedānta-bhāṣya understanding of Vedānta, it is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣya brahma-sutrani. And this bhāṣya, this commentary, is given by the author Himself. The purpose of Vedānta is known to the author.
You cannot say it is something else. So yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante. That is the Vedic instruction. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So Supreme Absolute Truth is that from whom, or from which, everything has emanated. So if everything has emanated from the Absolute Truth, it cannot be untruth. How it can be untruth? It may be temporary. Therefore we Vaiṣṇava philosophers, we do not accept this jagat as the Māyāvādī philosopher says, jagan mithyā. No, we don't say mithyā. We say jagat is also satyam. Because the jagat has emanated from the Supreme, therefore it is not mithyā, but it is temporary. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. The material nature is temporary. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It comes into existence and stays for some time. Then it is again annihilated. But it is not mithyā. We don't say mithyā. And it can be utilized for the Supreme Truth. This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. Our Vaiṣṇava philosophy is we don't take anything as mithyā. We take it as truth, but we don't use it for purpose of which is not truth.
The Buddha philosophy teaches nirvāṇa, devoid of all material desires, that much. He does not give any more. Śaṅkarācārya gives further, more, that brahma-nirvāṇa, that "You become desireless of this material world, but you enter, merge into Brahman." That is called brahma-nirvāṇa. And the Vaiṣṇava philosopher says that "You make null and void all your material desires, enter into Brahman and be engaged in the service of the Lord." This is called bhakti. So brahma-nirvāṇa is also siddhi, but more than that siddhi is to be engaged in the service, Brahman service.
That service is not ordinary service. The service to the Lord is not to be calculated as equal to this material service. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they cannot understand it. But Kṛṣṇa says personally that this devotional service is in the transcendental platform, Brahman service. Therefore He says, māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate (BG 14.26).
Sometimes the Māyāvādī philosophers, they also take the living entities within this material world as līlā. That is not līlā. Līlā refers to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Never... Nobody says that the living entity has come in this material world for līlā. At least, the Vaiṣṇava philosophers do not agree that. It is contradictory. Kṛṣṇa said that "When I come..."
There was no idea, but they have sex. They give this example. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, Sixteenth Chapter. There is no aim, and that puruṣa becomes subdued by the prakṛti, and the manifestation comes. But this Kapiladeva, you will find, and we Vaiṣṇava philosophers, we do not admit this, that "without any aim." There is aim. Why Kṛṣṇa says that this material world, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19)? Bhūtvā bhūtvā. There is aim. The manifestation of prakṛti, cosmic manifestation, is there to give the living entities another chance for liberation. One chance is given. Just like we have got. Śrī Prakṛti is now manifested, and we are living entities. We are here, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4), in many varieties. So what is the aim? The aim is God realization. By evolutionary process, gradually, we come to the human form of life. Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva jīva-jātiṣu, jīva-jāti. Jīva, under different species of life, they are evolving.
That you have got experience. You have big fire in one place. The fire does not move, but you can feel the existence of fire by heat and light. Similarly, Bhagavān does not move. He has got immense power. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). He moves by His energy. That is the difference between the Māyāvāda philosopher and Vaiṣṇava philosopher. Vaiṣṇava philosopher says the Bhagavān is staying in one place. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37). He is staying. In the śāstra we understand that Kṛṣṇa... Vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya na padam ekaṁ gacchati: "Kṛṣṇa does not leave even by a step Vṛndāvana." He always remains there. So in the Brahma-saṁhitā also, it is stated that goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ. He is always living in Goloka Vṛndāvana. He does not require to move. That is His inconceivable potency. Suppose I am sitting here. Suppose I have got to do something in my apartment. So unless I go there, that business cannot be performed. This is my position.
This is my insufficient knowledge. The snake is fact, and the rope is fact. But when we take the rope as snake, that is ignorance, or the snake as rope, that is ignorance. The Māyāvādī philosopher says that "We are accepting snake..., er, rope as a snake. But there is no snake." But we, Vaiṣṇava philosopher, we say, "No, there is snake, and there is rope. But when we accept the rope as snake, that is māyā." Similarly, there is spiritual world and there is material world. But when we accept the material world as everything, that is māyā. That is illusion.
There is spiritual world. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ: (BG 8.20) "There is another bhāva, nature." What is the nature? Sarveṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati: "When the material world, this cosmic manifestation, the phenomenal world, will be finished, that will stay. That will not be finished."
So aṁśa, particle, that is also sanātana. Not that, as the Māyāvādī philosophers say, that because we are now under the illusion, therefore we are thinking as different; otherwise, God and we are the same. This Vaiṣṇava philosophy, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy, acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. There are other Vaiṣṇava philosophers also—viśuddha-dvaita, dvaitādvaita, advaita, like that. So many philosophies are there. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the latest ācārya who appeared five thousand years ago, er, five hundred years ago, I'm sorry, He preached this acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Means that jīva, simultaneously one and different, one in quality and different in quantity. This is very reasonable. And it is confirmed in the Vedas, Upaniṣad. Just like in Kaṭhopaniṣad it is said:
So each planet has got a different particular type of feature. Vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam.
So this is the creation. Sarvam idam. Therefore the Vedic injunction, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. There is nothing except Brahman. But the Māyāvādī philosophers, they do not accept the varieties. They accept varieties as false. But we Vaiṣṇava philosophers, we don't accept varieties as false, but it is temporary. That is the difference. Actually it is so. Just like your body. Now if I say, "Your body is false. Let me kill you," will you agree? Then why should you call it is false? If it is false, then don't mind whether it is killed or it is left. No, it is not false. The theory of the Māyāvādī, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā... Jagat, this material world, they say it is false. We don't say it is false. It is temporary. That is the real termination, or terminology, that it is not false. So because it is temporary, so we have to make the best use of this temporary body. Don't take it as false. Just like a train... You have no experience in your country.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
We have seen many big, big sannyāsī. they give up this world as brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, false. But after some time, when they cannot actually realize Brahman, they again come to this jagat for humanitarian work, for welfare activities. If jagat is mithyā, then why do they come again to this welfare activity? So jagat is not mithyā, but it is temporary. We do not say mithyā. Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they do not accept the jagat as mithyā. Why? If it is emanation from the Absolute Truth, it must be true. It is not mithyā, but we accept it as temporary. We do not accept as permanent. The permanent jagat is the spiritual world. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another spiritual world; that is sanātana, that is permanent. This world is not permanent. So even though it is not permanent, it can be utilized for the service of the Lord. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. That is our philosophy. We don't take the jagat as mithyā; we take it as fact, because it is emanation from the supreme fact.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lord Buddha did not accept Vedic authority. He did not accept Vedic authority. But according to Hindu culture, if somebody does not accept the Vedic authority, then he's not a authority. Vedānta philosophy, there are different parties in India. The Māyā... Generally, two parties: the Māyāvāda philosophers and the Vaiṣṇava philosophers, or the impersonalists and the personalists. Otherwise, there is no difference. Ultimately, the Māyāvādī philosophers they say that God, the Supreme Absolute Truth, is impersonal, and the Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they say in the ultimate end, the Absolute Truth is Person and He is, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). This is little difference, and they stick to their position and they fight. Fight means by philosophical arguments. That is going on since a very long time. But both of them belong to the sanātana Hindu dharma because both of them will talk on the Vedānta philosophy.
Festival Lectures
And the Vaiṣṇava ācārya said, "Yes, spirit is the basic principle. Matter is false. That's all right. But that spirit is not void. There is spiritual construction. As in the material world there is material construction, in the spiritual world there is spiritual construction." So that spiritual construction is not known to other philosophers than the Vaiṣṇava philosophers. So Lord Caitanya's philosophy, that is the greatest contribution to the world, that these living entities who are hankering after happiness by different process... By material process, by philosophical process, by mental concoction or mental process, they are trying, and Lord Kṛṣṇa also said—they are trying—but that happiness is available when your senses or consciousness are pure. The same philosophy is also Lord Caitanya's philosophy. He says that jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). What is the pure consciousness? Kṛṣṇa said that happiness can be achieved in pure consciousness, or when your senses are transcendental. He gave hint. Not only hint, He practically suggested also that "You simply surrender unto Me."
We Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's sampradāya, our process is little different. Although we have nothing to do with this material world, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu's sampradāya gives facility that we can make the best use of this material world. That is the difference between the Śaṅkara philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Śaṅkara philosophy says that this world is false. We Vaiṣṇava philosophers, we say no. This world is not false because it is emanation from the real, the absolute real. How it can be false? It has got its proper use. One who does not know its proper use, for them it is false. They are after something false. But those who know the value of this world... Hari-sambhandhi-vastunaḥ. Everything has got some connection with the Supreme Lord. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything is in connection or has relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is our philosophy. We don't say that this speaker, microphone, is false. Why it is false?
Wedding Ceremonies
This world is called relative world. It is not Absolute. Relative. Difference, two, duality. We cannot understand a man without knowing a woman. We cannot understand father without understanding a son or a mother. Relativity. But in Absolute world, everything is one. So this love between male and female, conjugal love, we Vaiṣṇava philosophers... Because everyone, according to Vedic system, everyone has to follow the Vedānta-sūtra. There are two section of philosophers in India, approved; not, I mean to say, manufactured philosopher, mental speculators, but actually those who are counted valuable. There are two classes of philosophers, namely the impersonalist and personalist. The Vaiṣṇava, they accept that the Absolute Truth is person, and the Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that Absolute Truth is impersonal. That is the difference. Otherwise their process of other paraphernalia, execution of understanding, is almost the same. Now our Vaiṣṇava philosopher's argument is that how the Absolute Truth can be impersonal?
General Lectures
Prabhupāda: Yes. Illusion, illusion in this way, that what you take it as a fact, but it is something else. It is not fact. Māyā. Māyā means mā-yā: "It is not this." Just like you are thinking that you'll be happy in this material world by adjustment, but you'll never be. That is called māyā. So whatever you are struggling for, that is illusion.
Guest (4): If this is an illusion, then why is it here? What's it doing here?
Prabhupāda: Illusion is a temporary existence. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It comes into existence, just like cloud. Of course, we Vaiṣṇava philosopher, we do not say actually illusion. We say temporary. Actually we say temporary. Anitya. Anitya. The exact word is anitya. Anitya means... Nitya means eternal, and anitya means temporary. So we say this material world...
"This is good, this is bad, this is nice, this is not nice," they are simply mental speculation because in this world nothing is nice. Everything is bad because it is not eternal. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya said, jagan mithyā, brahma satya. That's a fact. These, anything, the varieties of this world: temporary. That is the right word. It is not mithyā; it is temporary fact. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher says that this world is not false, but temporary, anitya. Anitya saṁsāra moha janmāile (?).
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, jaḍa-vidyā saba māyāra vaibhava: "Advancement of material science is increasing the illusion of māyā." We are already illusioned, and if we go on increasing the illusion more and more, then we become more and more entangled. That is the nature. And so long we are illusioned, we shall put forward different theories, different philosophies, and different arguments. Therefore śāstra says, tarko apratiṣṭhaḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Simply by argument and reasoning, you cannot make any spiritual advancement.
Anything you take, it has got its creation, it stays for some time, it produces some by-products, then it grows, and then it dwindles, and then it vanishes. Anything you take. Just like our body. It is produced at a certain time by combination of the semina of father and mother, and then it grows, it stays for some time and it produces some by-products, then becomes older and older, and then vanishes. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes of material world. So although it is temporary, we cannot say it is false. It is not false. That is the difference between Māyāvāda philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher takes the temporary thing, although temporary. They know how to make the best use of a bad bargain. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate.
We are thinking like master, but actually we are all servants—anyone—either you are servant of your family or you are servant of your country or you are servant of your senses. Everyone, at the present moment, we are servant of the senses, servant of this body. And gradually our illusion expands. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). This material world, it is explained by Vaiṣṇava philosopher:
- kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare
- pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
Māyā is nothing but an illusion which is covering my Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is called māyā. I am... Kṛṣṇa says that mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ: (BG 15.7) "All these living entities, they are My parts and parcels, sanātana, not that they have now become servant of Me by material contact, but they are eternally servant."
Śiśupāla, and many demons—they also merged into the existence of Kṛṣṇa. The enemies also given the liberation to merge into the existence of Kṛṣṇa. That is not very difficult job. But to keep your individuality and serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is your actual position, constitutional position. That mukti... The Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they want that mukti. They want to keep... Nitya-yukta upāsate. Nitya-yukta. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, nitya-yukta upāsata. The upāsana, the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead—man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65)—this is not stopped after liberation. The same business goes on. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava, even if he is offered mukti... Dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti. Even if he's offered that "You take mukti," they do not accept it.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: Yes, the denial, both the... There are two kinds of sects: this Māyāvādī and the Vaiṣṇava. So both of them know that this material world is flickering, and sometimes they say it is false, unreal. So there is another life; that is spiritual world. So the Māyāvādī philosopher, their spiritual life means to merge into the Brahman effulgence, and the Vaiṣṇava philosopher to go back to Goloka Vṛndāvana, Vaikuṇṭha, where God is situated, and become His associate person. So both the ideas, spiritual ideas, that is attained after death. What does he say that is good about Hindus? He says that denial...
Hayagrīva: He sees it basically as a denial of the will.
Śyāmasundara: Well, he opposes these philosophers by saying that there cannot be existence without essence.
Prabhupāda: That is our view also. Essence... Just like Śaṅkarācārya says, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. The existence is mithyā. He says mithyā. But we, Vaiṣṇava philosopher, we say not mithyā, not false, but temporary. But temporary. So mithyā we cannot say, because anything coming from God, it cannot be false, but it is temporary. He can change it as He likes; therefore it is temporary.
Śyāmasundara: So he says that existence is the coming into being of the essence.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Śyāmasundara: The inbetween stage he calls becoming.
Prabhupāda: That is Vedānta. We are studying what I am. That is Vedānta philosophy, to study what I am. And the answer is given by us, Vaiṣṇava philosophers, that you are eternal servant of God. This is Vedānta. Everyone is searching what I am, we are giving the answer: "You are eternal servant of God." Now let them refute this that he's not servant, he's absolute(?). Our answer is there. Athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman, the spirit soul. What is this spirit soul, what I am. What is the supreme. So, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's answer is already there, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). The real identity of the living entity is that he's eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Their idea, in one sense, is right, that how these nonsensical things can exist in the spiritual world? Therefore they make it altogether minus. No variety. Impersonal. That is less intelligence. They cannot understand that photograph is the reflection of the actual person. There is everything in detail. A movie. Actually, the same man is laughing, walking, dress, everything, but it is all false. That they cannot understand. Therefore the Vaiṣṇavas say they are less intelligent. The real understanding should be that if in the real person all these features are not present, how they can be reflected in the photograph? The Māyāvādī says, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Brahman, the Absolute Truth, is real truth, and this world is mithyā. Then mithyā means it is a reflection or shadow. Mithyā does not mean that it has no existence. The shadow is also existence. Therefore Vaiṣṇava philosophers say that mithyā means temporary. Now you have got this body. This is temporary. That's the real understanding. And if I say it is mithyā, then if I kill you, then why I am punished?
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is wanted. The māyāvādī philosophers, they are taking because the senses are creating so much trouble, material existence, finish this-śūnyavādi. But that will not solve the problem. Problem will be solved that you keep your eyes. You don't require to finish it, but cure it. Just like you medical man. If one is blind out of cataract, you don't say that you pluck it, the eye, and throw it. No. "Please cure it and you'll be able to see." This is the difference between māyāvādī philosopher and Vaiṣṇava philosopher. They want to pluck it out, make it zero, śūnyavāda.
Dr. Patel: Śūnyavāda.
Prabhupāda: No, no. This is the philosophy. Śūnyavādī means they want to make it zero. Your are troubling, you have got so much trouble with your eyes: don't bother, pluck it out! This is their philosophy. And our philosophy is, "No, there is no need of plucking out. Just cure it and you'll see." That is...
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
Tattvam asi means you are that. You are that, means you are also Brahman. That means qualitatively you are one with the Supreme Absolute. The Mayavadi philosophers interpret this Tattvam asi that the living entity is the same Supreme Absolute Truth. They do not make any difference of quality and quantity, but Vaisnava philosophers are very accurate in their estimation of the Absolute Truth. Therefore, we interpret this Vedic verse as Tattvam asi means that the living entity is qualitatively one, as much as a particle of gold is also gold.
| Page Title: | Vaisnava philosophers |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 22 of Jun, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=9, CC=6, OB=9, Lec=26, Con=2, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 53 |