The Goal of Vedanta Study
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is manifested in a collective and individual sense. Collective ignorance is called  Visuddhasatvapradhana . When that  Visuddhasatvapradhana  becomes manifested within the ignorance of material Nature it is called the Lord, and the Lord manifests all kinds of ignorance. Therefore Hs is known as  Sarvajna .” According to the Mayavadi philosophy the Lord is the product of this material Nature, and the living entity is in the lowest grade of ignorance. That is the sum and substance of the Mayavadi philosophy.
If, however, we accept directly the import of the  Upanishads , it is clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a Person with unlimited Potency. For example, in the  Brihadarnyak  it is stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Origin of everything, and He has multiple different potencies: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead is transcendental to the cosmic manifestation of His time through His material energy, and He is the Origin of all religiousness, and He is the Supreme Deliverer, and He is Possesser of all opulences. Let me understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Who is just like the Sun, profusely distributing His different energies, while beyond the cloud of this material cosmic manifestation. He is the Master of masters, and He is the Supreme of the supremes. He is known as the Greatest Lord, the Personality of Godhead. His energies and potencies are multiple, variously distributed.” It is stated that Vishnu is the Supreme, and those who are saintly persons are always anxious to see the Lotus Feet of Vishnu. In the  Aitariya Upanishad  also it is stated that the Lord glanced over the material Nature, and thus the cosmic manifestation came about. This is also stated in the  Prasna Upanishad .
When there is a negative description of the Lord in the Vedic literature, just like  Apani Pada , such a Mantra indicates that the Lord has no material body, and that He has no material Form. But He has His Spiritual Body, He has His transcendental Body, and He has His transcendental Form. The Mayavadi philosophers misunderstand this transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord, and explain the Supreme Lord as impersonal. The Lord, His Name, Form, Quality, Entourage and Abode all being in the transcendental world—how can He be a transformation of this material Nature? Everything connected with the Supreme Lord is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge.
So, in effect, Sankaracharya delivered this Mayavadi philosophy to bewilder a certain class of atheistic people. Actually, he never meant that the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is impersonal, with no Body or no Form. Therefore, the intelligent persons should not attend any lecture on Mayavadi philosophy. We should understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead