Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya-lila Chapter 6 Verse 169

Madhya-līlā | Chapter 6: The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 6.169

jīvera nistāra lāgi' sūtra kaila vyāsa

māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa

SYNONYMS

jīvera — of the living entities; nistāra — deliverance; lāgi' — for the matter of; sūtra — the Vedānta-sūtra; kaila — made; vyāsa — Śrīla Vyāsadeva; māyāvādi — of the impersonalists; bhāṣya — commentary; śunile — if hearing; haya — becomes; sarva-nāśa — all destruction.

TRANSLATION

"Śrīla Vyāsadeva presented the Vedānta philosophy for the deliverance of conditioned souls, but if one hears the commentary of Śańkarācārya, everything is spoiled.

PURPORT

Factually, the devotional service of the Lord is described in the Vedānta-sūtra, but the Māyāvādī philosophers, the Śańkarites, prepared a commentary known as Śārīraka-bhāṣya, in which the transcendental form of the Lord is denied. The Māyāvādī philosophers think that the living entity is identical with the Supreme Soul, Brahman. Their commentaries on the Vedānta-sūtra are completely opposed to the principle of devotional service. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore warns us to avoid these commentaries. If one indulges in hearing the Śańkarite Śārīraka-bhāṣya, he will certainly be bereft of all real knowledge.

The ambitious Māyāvādī philosophers desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, and this may be accepted as sāyujya-mukti. However, this form of mukti means denying one's individual existence. In other words, it is a kind of spiritual suicide. This is absolutely opposed to the philosophy of bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga offers immortality to the individual conditioned soul. If one follows the Māyāvādī philosophy, he misses his opportunity to become immortal after giving up the material body. The immortality of the individual person is the highest perfectional stage a living entity can attain.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness