Adi-lila, Chapter 7 83
Lord executed by devotees is also maya. They consider such devotional service to
be an aspect of fruitive activities (karma-kanda). According to their view, bhakti
consists of mental speculation or sometimes meditation. This is the difference be-
tween the Mayavadi and Vaisnava philosophies.
TEXT 102
OS Sf Zifh aig afer aa |
Bert al Tae aly, aha frcawa i 502 i
eta Suni’ hasi’ prabhu balila vacana
duhkha na manaha yadi, kari nivedana
SYNONYMS
eta—thus; suni’—hearing; hasi’—smiling; prabhu— Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
balila—said; vacana—His words; dupkha—unhappy; n@—do not; manaha—take it;
yadi—if; kari—\ say; nivedana—something unto you.
TRANSLATION
After hearing the Mayavadi sannyasis speak in that way, Lord Caitanya Maha-
prabhu smiled slightly and said, ‘My dear sirs, if you don’t mind | can say some-
thing to you regarding Vedanta philosophy.”
PURPORT
The Mayavadi sannyasis, appreciating Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, inquired from
Him why He did not discuss Vedanta philosophy. Actually, however, the entire
system of Vaisnava activities is based on Vedanta philosophy. Vaisnavas do not
neglect Vedanta, but they do not care to understand Vedanta on the basis of the
Sariraka-bhasya commentary. Therefore, to clarify the situation, Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, with the permission of the Mayavadi sannyasis, wanted to speak
regarding Vedanta philosophy. The Vaisnavas are by far the greatest philosophers
in the world, and the greatest among them was Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhu, whose
philosophy was again presented less than four hundred years later by Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Maharaja. Therefore one must know very well
that Vaisnava philosophers are not sentimentalists or cheap devotees like the
sahajiyas. All the Vaisnava acaryas were vastly learned scholars who understood
Vedanta philosophy fully, for unless one knows Vedanta philosophy he cannot be
an acarya. To be accepted as an acarya among Indian transcendentalists who follow
the Vedic principles, one must become a vastly learned scholar in Vedanta philoso-
phy, either by studying it or hearing it. :
Bhakti develops in pursuance of Vedanta philosophy. This is stated in Srimad-
Bhagavatam (1.2.12):
tac chraddadhana munayo
jnana-vairagya-yuktaya
