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One can find the oft quoted statement from Chaitanya Charitamrita, "listening to mayavadi(advaitic) commentary will lead to ruin" and the same preceded by "those who preach or believe in the doctrine will be punished by Yamaraja" and so on.

The point of concern is that the position and characteristics of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are completely antagonistic to such statements, it is highly unlikely that any realised saint/avatar would resort to hurling such abuses merely for a difference in beliefs (it is another question that no primary source of what Chaitanya's philosophy actually was exists, except the ideals of extreme Bhakti).

Then we again come to Bhagvatamrita (of Sanatana) where liberation or moksha is said to be worthless because even demons can attain it. This is a huge thorn as it effectively refutes and maligns the entire Vedic and Upanishadic (Shruti) corpus as well as the views of Rishis (including Vyas himself).

What is going on here?

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  • There's no hate. Mayavadis are criticized by the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas and not the Brahmavadis who meditate on the impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth and do not outright reject the personal aspect. All other mentions are that the happiness of kaivalya is insignificant compared to that of Bhakti or devotional service. It is a fact that demons killed by Krishna attain oneness (sometimes bhakti too like in the case of Putana).
    – Harihara
    Commented Jul 19 at 13:15
  • What is the difference? There is no school of astika philosophy as far as I know which is technically Mayavadi. (I know Shankara's Advaita will be targetted but it's strictly not so). There cannot be complete gyan/end of the quest unless Brahma is realised (after that what you want to do, is the wish of the realised soul). It is going contradictory to the intuition of the Upanishads and Vedic corpus, hence the question. The biggest challenge is that Chaitanya left no work except the Shikshashtakam which has no mention of his philosophy. Everything we have comes from secondary sources. Commented Jul 19 at 14:42
  • Hearing Shankara's philosophy from the mouths of those who commit offenses unto the form of the Lord due to not having attained Brahman realization is warned against. It's possible to present Advaita without minimizing bhakti.
    – Harihara
    Commented Jul 19 at 15:03
  • Actually there's one more prayer written by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which is known as Shivashtakam.
    – Harihara
    Commented Jul 19 at 15:06
  • Interestingly, I discovered that the term Mayavada or condemnation of Mayavadi is found nowhere except the Chaitanyacharitamrita. Other texts and biographies have no mention of such recitals of Chaitanya. Commented Jul 20 at 10:19

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The condemnation is because adhering strictly only to Advaita and minimizing Dvaita (which is termed as Mayavada) means spiritual suicide due to sacrificing one's eternal spiritual idenitity.

Loss of identity equates to sarva-nāśa due to losing the opportunity that was given for service unto Bhagavan and His bhaktas. Hence it is said: māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa.

Here's another verse from the Chaitanya Chandramrta composed by Prabhodananda Sarasvati who was previously a Tridandi Sanyasi in Sri Rangakshetra and later accepted Gaudiya Vaishnavism after meeting Lord Chaitanya personally.

kaivalyam narakāyate tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalīm protkhāṭa-damṣṭrāyate viśvam pūrṇa-sukhāyate vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate yat-kāruṇya-kaṭākṣa-vaibhavavatām tam ga

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If we look at the above verse, it may seem that the Devas all the way up to Brahma who're worshipable to humans have been condemned as tiny insects by material calculation. However this is not so because a recipient of Gauranga's mercy has become situated in His eternal position as a servant of the Lord, cannot be compared even to Indra, Brahma and other Devas which are temporary positions and no better than an illusory dream or phantasmagoria.

Below is an example from the Sankarpa Nirakaranam in Tamil (verse 254) by the Shaiva saint Umapati Shivacharya from the 13th century which also specifically condemns Mayavada.

maya vaada peya unakku devaril oruvar untaka mevarum narakam vituttalo arite

One who has sworn by mayavada will be punished even if there is one Deva left and all the rest are dead, and sent to Hell.”

He is said to have criticized the philosophies of Mayavada, Aikyavada, Pashanavada, Bhedavada, Shivasamavada, Isvara ayikiyavada, Nimitta Karana parinamavada, and Shaivavada in his work.

The realization that the divine form of the Lord is superior to impersonal liberation is also accepted by Satyavrata Muni during a conversation with Sri Narada and Saunaka.

varam deva moksham na mokshavadhim va na canyam vrine ’ham vareshad apiha idam te vapur natha gopala-balam sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih

O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon [which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti]. O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrindavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this? (Damodarashtakam verse 4).

As per the Bhagavata Purana, Sri Vedavyasa himself was dissatisfied even after compiling the Vedas, Mahabharata, and other shastras with perfect logic as He did not glorify the personality of Godhead.

श्रीनारद उवाच भवतानुदितप्रायं यशो भगवतोऽमलम् । येनैवासौ न तुष्येत मन्ये तद्दर्शनं खिलम् ॥ ८ ॥

Śrī Nārada said: You have not actually broadcast the sublime and spotless glories of the Personality of Godhead. That philosophy which does not satisfy the transcendental senses of the Lord is considered worthless.

न यद्वचश्चित्रपदं हरेर्यशो जगत्पवित्रं प्रगृणीत कर्हिचित् । तद्वायसं तीर्थमुशन्ति मानसा न यत्र हंसा निरमन्त्युशिक्क्षया: ॥ १० ॥

Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows. Since the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any pleasure there.

तद्वाग्विसर्गो जनताघविप्लवो यस्मिन् प्रतिश्लोकमबद्धवत्यपि । नामान्यनन्तस्य यशोऽङ्कितानि यत् श‍ृण्वन्ति गायन्ति गृणन्ति साधव: ॥ ११ ॥

On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.

tato ’nyathā kiñcana yad vivakṣataḥ pṛthag dṛśas tat-kṛta-rūpa-nāmabhiḥ na karhicit kvāpi ca duḥsthitā matir labheta vātāhata-naur ivāspadam

Whatever you desire to describe that is separate in vision from the Lord simply reacts, with different forms, names and results, to agitate the mind, as the wind agitates a boat which has no resting place.

So condemnation of Mayavada where the Bheda aspect of Parabrahman (which is Achintya Bheda-Abheda) is minimized, is not uncommon. It's just that we have easier access to Gaudiya literature over other texts.

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  • Now, Chaitanya Bhagwata, which happens to be the first biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has no mention of any debate with Sarvabhauma, atleast the kind of depicted in Charitamrita. The episode narrated in the Bhagwata only mentions Sarvabhauma questioning the sanyasa of Chaitanya, Chaitanya explaining to him the meaning of atmaram verse and then showing his six armed form. Also, Krishnadas Kaviraj gave a second hand account of what he heard or read from other accounts and CC is not a first hand account. (Although, Kaviraj did definitely write everything with right intentions as per his Bhava) Commented Jul 21 at 1:42
  • I can fully agree and appreciate the fact that a Bhakta/Acharya in devotional mode rejects any other thing than seva to his chosen lord. Infact that is the pinnacle of the practice of Bhakti. The question and objection is "Were these the words of Chaitanya or attributed to him by Krishnadas Kaviraj". The question arises because attribution is very common in biographies and also that no other biography of Chaitanya mentions it. There is another debate also raging on the Madhava Sampradaya connection of Chaitanya which occurs in very late texts and absent in all earlier biographies. Commented Jul 21 at 1:51
  • A) Of course not, there's no question of untouchability or sending anyone to hell resulting from anger or envy. B) Krishnadas Kaviraj humbly presented the Chaitanya Charitamrta based on the Sanskrit notes (karca) of Svarupa Damodar.
    – Harihara
    Commented Jul 21 at 2:31
  • Though I am an insignificant living being, through the blessings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu I have summarized in writing everything that Svarupa Damodar recorded in his notes about the Lord’s pastimes, as well as everything that I heard from the mouth of Raghunath Das. (Chaitanya Charitamrita 3.3.269-70)
    – Harihara
    Commented Jul 21 at 2:32
  • On the basis of Krishnadas Kaviraj and Raghunath das Goswami's saintly character, I am willing to vouch for the authenticity of the Chaitanya Charitamrta.
    – Harihara
    Commented Jul 21 at 2:46

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