Introduction 27

of the Vedas. Sripada Sankaracarya has given more stress on the side word
tattvamasi than on the primeval principle omkara.”

The Lord thus spoke on the Veddnta-siitra and defied all the propaganda
of the Mayavada school* The Bhattacarya tried to defend himself and his
Mayavada school by jugglery of logic and grammar, but the Lord was able
to defeat him by His forceful arguments. He affirmed that we are all
related with the Personality of Godhead eternally and that devotional
service is our eternal function to exchange the dealings of our relations.
And the result of such exchanges is to attain prema or love of Godhead.
When love of Godhead is attained, love for all other beings automatically
follows because the Lord is the sum total of all living beings.

The Lord said that but for these three items—namely, eternal relation
with God, exchange of dealings with Him and the attainment of love for
Him —all that is instructed in tne Vedas is superfluous and concocted.

The Lord further added that the Mayavada philosophy taught by
Sripada Sarikaracarya is an imaginary explanation of the Vedas, but it had
to be taught by him (Sarikaracarya) because he was ordered to teach it by
the Personality of Godhead. In the Padma Purana it is stated that the
Personality of Godhead ordered His Lordship Siva to deviate the human
race from Him (the Personality of Godhead.) The Personality of Godhead
was to be so covered so that people would be encouraged to generate more
and more population. His Lordship Siva said to Devi: ‘In the Kali-yuga,
I shall preach the Mayavada philosophy, which is nothing but clouded
Buddhism, in the garb of a brahmana.”

After hearing all these speeches of the Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the
Bhattacarya was struck with wonder and awe and regarded Him in dead
silence. The Lord then encouraged him with assurance that there was no
cause to wonder. “I say that devotional service unto the Personality of
Godhead is the highest goal of human life.” He then quoted a sloka from
the Bhagavatam and assured him that even the liberated souls who are
absorbed in the spirit and spiritual realization also take to the devotional
service of the Lord Hari because the Personality of Godhead has such
transcendental qualities that He attracts the heart of the liberated soul too.

Then the Bhattacarya desired to listen to the explanation of the
“atmarama”’ sloka from the Bhagavatam (1.7.10). The Lord first of all
asked Bhattacarya to explain it, and after that He would explain it. The
Bhattacarya then scholarly explained the sloka with special reference to

*In our Teachings of Lord Caitanya we have more elaborately explained all these
philosophical intricacies. Srimad-Bhdgavatam clarifies them all.
