Text 168]
The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya
291
TEXT 1688
বেদ না মানিয়া বৌদ্ধ হয় ত’ নাস্তিক । বেদাশ্রয় নাস্তিক্য-বাদ বৌদ্ধকে অধিক ॥ ১৬৮ ॥
veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta’ nāstika vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda bauddhake adhika
SYNONYMS
veda —the Vedic literature;  nā —not;  māniyā —accepting;  bauddha —the Buddhists;  haya —are;  ta’ —indeed;  nāstika —agnostics;  veda-āśraya —taking shelter of Vedic civilization;  nāstikya-vāda —agnosticism;  bauddhake —even Buddhists;  adhika —surpassing.
TRANSLATION
“The Buddhists do not recognize the authority of the Vedas; therefore they are considered agnostics. However, those who have taken shelter of the Vedic scriptures yet preach agnosticism in accordance with the Māyāvāda philosophy are certainly more dangerous than the Buddhists.
PURPORT
Although the Buddhists are directly opposed to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, it can easily be understood that the Śaṅkarites are more dangerous because they accept the authority of the  Vedas  yet act contrary to Vedic instruction.  Vedāśraya nāstikya-vāda  means “agnosticism under the shelter of Vedic culture” and refers to the monistic philosophy of the Māyāvādīs. Lord Buddha abandoned the authority of the Vedic literature and therefore rejected the ritualistic ceremonies and sacrifices recommended in the  Vedas . His  nirvāṇa  philosophy means stopping all material activities. Lord Buddha did not recognize the presence of transcendental forms and spiritual activities beyond the material world. He simply described voidism beyond this material existence. The Māyāvādī philosophers offer lip service to Vedic authority but try to escape the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They concoct some idea of a transcendental position and call themselves Nārāyaṇa, or God. However, God’s position is completely different from their concoction. Such Māyāvādī philosophers consider themselves above the influence of  karma-kāṇḍa  (fruitive activities and their reactions). For them, the spiritual world is equated with the Buddhist voidism. There is very little difference between impersonalism and voidism. Voidism can be directly understood, but the impersonalism enunciated by Māyāvādī philosophers is not very easily understandable. Of course, Māyāvādī philosophers accept a spiritual existence, but they do not know about the spiritual world and spiritual beings. According to  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (10.2.32):