Bhattacharya Is Converted 235

transcendental position in spite of His becoming expanded in multiple Forms
and diffused by His innumerable multiple Forms of energy.

Thus Lord Chaitanya showed many defects in the Mayavadi philosophy,
and although Bhattacharya wanted to establish himself with various juggleries
of words and logic, Lord Chaitanya was able to maintain Himself from such
attacks, and He established that the Vedic literature is meant for three things:
to understand our relationship with the Absolute Supreme Personality of
Godhead, to act according to that understanding, and at the end to achieve
the highest perfection of life, love of Godhead. Anybody who wants to prove
something other than the above-mentioned three purposes must be the victim
of his own imagination.

The Lord then quoted some verses from the Puranas, by which He wanted
to establish that Sankaracharya was meant to do his teaching by the Supreme
order of the Personality of Godhead. He quoted a verse from Padma Purana
in which it is stated that the Lord ordered Mahadeva Lord Shiva to present
some imaginary interpretation of the Vedic literature, and thus try to distract
persons from the actual position of the Veda. “By such activity you try to
make them atheists, and after that they can be engaged in producing more
population.” In the same Padma Purana it is also said that Lord Shiva explained
to his wife, Parvati, that in the Age of Kali, in the form of a Brahmin, he
would preach the imperfect explanation of the Veda, known as Mayavadi,
which is actually a second edition of the atheist philosophy of Buddha.

By such explanations of Lord Chaitanya, Bhattacharya was overwhelmed.
And, hearing the explanation of Mayavadi philosophy from Lord Chaitanya,
he could not speak, and simply remained silent for some time. Lord Chaitanya
asked him, “My dear Bhattacharya, don’t be hampered with this explanation.
Please take it from Me that the devotional service of the Supreme Lord is the
highest perfectional stage of human understanding. Devotional service of the
Lord is so attractive that even persons who are already liberated become
devotees of the Lord by the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.” There are many instances of this in the Vedic literature, such
as in the Srimad Bhagwatam, First Canto, Seventh Chapter: therein is the famous
Atmarama verse for persons who are attached to self-realization, and liberated
from all material attachment. Such liberated impersonalist sages become
attracted to devotional service by the various activities of Lord Krishna. That
is the transcendental Quality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Actually, the pure consciousness of the living entity is to understand
