Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7
83
Lord executed by devotees is also  māyā . They consider such devotional service to be an aspect of fruitive activities ( karma-kāṇḍa ). According to their view,  bhakti  consists of mental speculation or sometimes meditation. This is the difference between the Māyāvādī and Vaiṣṇava philosophies.
TEXT 102
এত শুনি’ হাসি’ প্রভু বলিলা বচন ।  
 দুঃখ না মানহ যদি, করি নিবেদন ॥ ১০২ ॥
eta śuni’ hāsi’ prabhu balilā vacana  
 duḥkha nā mānaha yadi, kari nivedana
SYNONYMS
eta —thus;  śuni —hearing;  hāsi —smiling;  prabhu —Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu;  balilā —said;  vacana —His words;  duḥkha —unhappy;  nā —do not;  mānaha —take it;  yadi —if;  kari —I say;  nivedana —something unto you.
TRANSLATION
After hearing the Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs  speak in that way, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu smiled slightly and said, “My dear sirs, if you don’t mind I can say something to you regarding Vedānta philosophy.”
PURPORT
The Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs , appreciating Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, inquired from Him why He did not discuss Vedānta philosophy. Actually, however, the entire system of Vaiṣṇava activities is based on Vedānta philosophy. Vaiṣṇavas do not neglect Vedānta, but they do not care to understand Vedānta on the basis of the  Śārīraka-bhāṣya  commentary. Therefore, to clarify the situation, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, with the permission of the Māyāvādī  sannyāsīs , wanted to speak regarding Vedānta philosophy. 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 Thākura 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.
Bhakti  develops in pursuance of Vedānta philosophy. This is stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (1.2.12):
tac chraddadhānā munayo  
 jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā