56 Sr¥-Caitanya-caritamrta

of this ever changing material energy, he deviates from devotion to the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. An actual follower of Vedanta philosophy is a devotee of
Lord Visnu, who is the greatest of the great and the maintainer of the entire universe.
Unless one surpasses the field of activities in service to the limited, one cannot reach
the unlimited. Knowledge of the unlimited is actual brahma jfiana, or knowledge of
the Supreme. Those who are addicted to fruitive activities and speculative knowledge
cannot understand the value of the holy name of the Lord, Krsna, who is always
completely pure, eternally liberated and full of spiritual bliss. One who has
taken shelter of the holy name of the Lord, which is identical with the Lord,
does not have to study Vedanta philosophy, for he has already completed all
such study.

One who is unfit to chant the holy name of Krsna but thinks that the holy name
is different from Krsna and thus takes shelter of Vedanta study in order to under-
stand Him must be considered a number one fool, as confirmed by Caitanya
Mahaprabhu by His personal behavior, and philosophical speculators who want to
make Vedanta philosophy an academic career are also considered to be within the
material energy. A person who always chants the holy name of the Lord, however,
is already beyond the ocean of nescience, and thus even a person born in a low
family who engages in chanting the holy name of the Lord is considered to be be-
yond the study of Vedanta philosophy. In this connection the Srimad-Bhagavatam
states:

aho bata svapaco’to gariyan
yaj jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
brahmanucur nama grnanti ye te
“If a person born in a family of dog-eaters takes to the chanting of the holy name
of Krsna, it is to be understood that in his previous life he must have executed all
kinds of austerities and penances and performed all the Vedic yajnas.”’ (Bhag. 3.33.7)
Another quotation states:
rg-vedo ‘tha yajur-vedah sama-vedo ‘py atharvanah
adhitas tena yenoktam harir ity aksara-dvayam
‘A person who chants the two syllables Ha-ri has already studied the four Vedas—
Sama, Rk, Yajuh and Atharva.”

Taking advantage of these verses, there are some sahajiyas who, taking everything
very cheaply, consider themselves elevated Vaisnavas but do not care even to touch
the Vedanta-sutras or Vedanta philosophy. A real Vaisnava should, however, study
Vedanta philosophy, but if after studying Vedanta one does not adopt the chanting
of the holy name of the Lord, he is no better than a Mayavadi. Therefore, one
should not be a Mayavadi, yet one should not be unaware of the subject matter of
Vedanta philosophy. Indeed, Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited His knowledge of
Vedanta in His discourses with Prakasananda Sarasvati. Thus it is to be understood
