36 Srimad-Bhagavatam

produces a transcendental emotion that is a rare manifestation. It is the
sign of love of God, which is the ultimate end of life. Love of God is
transcendental to liberation [mukti], and thus it is called the fifth stage
of spiritual realization, above the stage of liberation. By chanting the holy
name of Krsna one attains the stage of love of God, and it was good that
fortunately | was favored with the blessing.””

On hearing this statement from the Lord, the Mayavadi sannyasi asked
the Lord what was the harm in studying the Vedanta along with chanting
the holy name. Prakasananda Sarasvati knew well that the Lord was
formerly known as Nimai Pandit, a very learned scholar of Navadvipa, and
His posing as a great fool was certainly to some purpose. Hearing this
inquiry by the sannyasi, the Lord smiled and said, “‘My dear sir, if you do
not mind, | will answer your inquiry.”

All the sannyasis there were very much pleased with the Lord for His
honest dealings, and they unanimously replied that they would not be
offended by whatever He replied. The Lord then spoke as follows:

“Vedanta-siitra is comprised of transcendental words or sounds uttered
by the transcendental Personality of Godhead. As such, in the Vedanta
there cannot be any human deficiencies like mistake, illusion cheating or
inefficiency. The message of the Upanisads is expressed in the Vedanta-
sitra, and what is said there directly is certainly glorified. Whatever inter-
pretations have been given by Sankaracarya have no direct bearing on the
sitra, and therefore such commentation spoils everything.

“The word Brahman indicates the greatest of all, which is full with
transcendental opulences, superior to all. Brahman is ultimately the Per-
sonality of Godhead, and He is covered by indirect interpretations and
established as impersonal. Everything that is in the spiritual world is full
of transcendental bliss, including the form, body, place and paraphernalia
of the Lord. All are eternally cognizant and blissful. It is not the fault of
the Acarya Sankara that he has so interpreted Vedanta, but if someone
accepts it, then certainly he is doomed. Anyone who accepts the tran-
scendental body of the Personality of Godhead as something mundane
certainly commits the greatest blasphemy.”

The Lord thus spoke to the sannyasi almost in the same way that He
spoke to the Bhattacarya of Puri, and by forceful arguments He nullified
the Mayavada interpretations of the Veddnta-siitra. All the sannydsis
there claimed that the Lord was the personified Vedas and the Personality
of Godhead. All the sannyasis were converted to the cult of bhakti, and
all of them accepted the holy name of the Lord Sri Krsna, and they dined
together with the Lord in the midst of them. After this conversion of the
