180 Teachings of Lord Chaitanya

Srimad Bhagwatam. At present the followers of all the Acharyas have written
many books following the principles of Srimad Bhagwatam as the commentary
on the Vedanta. Sankara’s commentary on the Vedanta Sutra, known as
Sarirakabhasya is very much adored by the impersonalist class of scholars. But
commentary on the Vedanta from the materialistic point of view is completely
adverse to the transcendental loving position of devotional service to the Lord.
And, therefore, Lord Chaitanya said that the direct commentary of the
Upanishad and Vedanta Sutra is glorious, and anyone who follows the Sari-
rakabhasya of Sankaracharya without following the direct path is certainly
doomed.

Lord Chaitanya admitted that Sankaracharya was an incarnation of Lord
Shiva, and Lord Shiva is one of the greatest devotees, a Mahajan of the Bhagwat
school. There are twelve great authorities on devotional service, and Lord
Shiva is one of them. Then, why did he adopt the process of Mayavadi phi-
losophy? The answer is given in the Padma Purana, where there is a statement
by Lord Shiva as follows: “The Mayavadi philosophy is veiled Buddhist
philosophy.” In other words, the void philosophy of Buddha is more or less
repeated in the Mayavadi philosophy of impersonalism, althouth the Mayavadi
philosophy claims to be directed by the Vedic conclusions. Lord Shiva thus
admits that this philosophy was manufactured by him in the Age of Kali
as a Brahmin boy to mislead the atheist class of men: “Actually, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead has His transcendental Body, but I describe the
Supreme as impersonal. Similarly, I have explained the Vedanta Sutra also on
the same principles of Mayavadi philosophy.”

In the Shiva Puranam there is one statement by the Supreme Lord: “In
the beginning of the Dvapara Yuga, under My order, there will be many
sages who will bewilder the people in general by Mayavadi philosophy.”
In the Padma Purana, Lord Shiva personally says to Bhagavati Devi: “My
dear Devi, sometimes I speak Mayavadi philosophy for persons who are
engrossed in the modes of ignorance. But anyone in the modes of goodness
who happens to hear this Mayavadi philosophy falls. In the Mayavadi phi-
losophy I say that the living entity and the Supreme Lord are one and the
same.”

Sadanada Yogi, one of the greatest Mayavadi Acharyas, has written in
his book, Vedanta Sara, as follows: “Absolute Truth of eternity, knowledge
and bliss is Brahman. Ignorance and all products of ignorance are non-Brahman.
Any products out of the three modes of material Nature are covered by ignor-
ance, and all are different from the Supreme Cause and effect. This ignorance
