
LESSON 3  SIX DARSANS

FOUR SAMPRADAYAS

CC Madhya-lila, Chapter 25

TEXT 49

yei grantha-karta cahe  sva-mata sthapite
sastrera sahaja artha  nahe tanha haite

TRANSLATION:
"Anyone who wants to establish his own opinion or philosophy certainly cannot
explain any scripture according to the principle of direct interpretation."

TEXT 50

mimamsaka kahe--isvara  haya karmera anga
sankhya kahe--jagatera  prakrti karana-prasanga

TRANSLATION:
"The Mimamsaka philosophers conclude that if there is a God, He is subjected to
our fruitive activities. Similarly, the Sankhya philosophers who analyze
the cosmic manifestation say that the cause of the cosmos is material nature."

TEXT 51

nyaya kahe--paramanu  haite visva haya
mayavadi nirvisesa  brahme hetu kaya

TRANSLATION:
"The followers of nyaya, the philosophy of logic, maintain that the atom is the
cause of the cosmic manifestation, and the Mayavadi philosophers maintain that
the impersonal Brahman effulgence is the cause of the cosmic manifestation."

TEXT 52

patanjala kahe--isvara  haya svarupa-jnana
veda-mate kahe--tanre  svayam-bhagavan

TRANSLATION:
"The Patanjala philosophers say that when one is self-realized, he understands
the Lord. Similarly, according to the Vedas and Vedic principles, the original
cause is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

TEXT 53

chayera chaya mata vyasa  kaila avartana
sei saba sutra lana  vedanta-varnana

TRANSLATION:
"After studying the six philosophical theses, Vyasadeva completely summarized
them all in the codes of Vedanta philosophy."

TEXT 54

vedanta-mate--brahma  sakara nirupana
nirguna vyatireke tinho  haya ta saguna

TRANSLATION:
"According to Vedanta philosophy, the Absolute Truth is a person. When the
word nirguna [without qualities] is used, it is to be understood that the Lord
has attributes that are totally spiritual."

TEXT 55

parama karana isvara  keha nahi mane
sva-sva-mata sthape  para-matera khandane

TRANSLATION:
"Of the philosophers mentioned, none really cares for the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, the cause of all causes. They are always busy refuting
the philosophical theories of others and establishing their own."

TEXT 56

tate chaya darsana haite  tattva nahi jani
mahajana yei kahe  sei satya mani

TRANSLATION:
"By studying the six philosophical theories, one cannot reach the Absolute
Truth. It is therefore our duty to follow the path of the mahajanas, the
authorities. Whatever they say should be accepted as the Supreme Truth."

PURPORT:
In his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives the following
summary of the six philosophical porcesses. Prakasananda admitted that Sripad
Sankaracarya, being very eager to establish his philosophy of monism, took
shelter of the Vedanta philosophy and tried to explain it in his own way.
The fact is, however, that if one accepts the existence of God, he certainly
cannot establish the theory of monism. For this reason Sankaracarya refuted all
kinds of Vedic literature that establishes the supremacy of the Personality of
Godhead. In various ways, Sankaracarya has tried to refute Vedic literature.
Throughout the world, ninety-nine percent of the philosophers following in
the footsteps of Sankaracarya refuse to accept the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Instead they try to establish their own opinions. It is typical of
mundane philosophers to want to establish their own opinions and refute those
of others.
Therefore: (1) The Mimamsaka philosophers, following the principles of Jaimini,
stress fruitive activity and say that if there is a God, He must be under
the laws of fruitive activity. In other words, if one performs his duties very
nicely in the material world, God is obliged to give one the desired result.
According to these philosophers, there is no need to become a devotee of God.
If one strictly follows moral principles, one will be recognized by the Lord,
who will give the desired reward. Such philosophers do not accept the Vedic
principle of bhakti-yoga. Instead, they give stress to following one's
prescribed duty.
(2) Atheistic Sankhya philosophers like Kapila analyze the material elements
very scrutinizingly and thereby come to the conclusion that material nature is
the cause of everything. They do not accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead
as the cause of all causes.
(3) Nyaya philosophers like Gautama and Kanada have accepted a combination of
atoms as the original cause of the creation.
(4) Mayavadi philosophers say that everything is an illusion. Headed by
philosophers like Astavakra, they stress the impersonal Brahman effulgence as
the cause of everything.
(5) Philosophers following the precepts of Patanjali practice raja-yoga. They
imagine a form of the Absolute Truth within many forms. That is their process
of self-realization.
All five of these philosophies completely reject the predominance of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead and strive to establish their own philosophical theories.
However, Srila Vyasadeva wrote the Vedanta-sutra and, taking the essence of all
Vedic literature, established the supremacy of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. All five of the philosophers mentioned above understand that
impersonal Brahman is without material qualities, and they believe that when
the Personality of Godhead appears, He is contaminated and covered by
the material qualities. The technical term used is "saguna." They say, "saguna
Brahman" and "nirguna Brahman". Nirguna Brahman means impersonal, and saguna
Brahman means "accepting material contamination." More or less, this kind of
philosophical speculation is called Mayavada philosophy. The fact is, however,
that the Absolute Truth has nothing to do with material qualities because He is
transcendental. He is always complete with full spiritual qualities. The five
philosophers mentioned above do not accept Lord Visnu as the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, but they are very busy refuting the philosophy of other schools.
There are six kinds of philosophical processes in India. Because Vyasadeva is
the Vedic authority, he is known as Vedavyasa. His philosophical explanation of
the Vedanta-sutra is accepted by the devotees. As Krsna confirms in
Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto  mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo  vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham

"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and
forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known; indeed, I am the compiler
of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."

The ultimate goal of studying all Vedic literature is the acceptance of Krsna
as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Krsna consciousness movement is
propagating the philosophical conclusion of Srila Vyasadeva and following other
great acaryas like Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnusvami, Nimbarka and Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself.

TEXT 57

tarko 'pratisthah srutayo vibhinna  nasav rsir yasya matam na bhinnam
dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam  mahajano yena gatah sa panthah

TRANSLATION:
"Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not
differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas,
which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious
principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in
the heart of an unadulterated self-realized person. Consequently, as the sastras
confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahajanas advocate."

PURPORT:
This is a verse spoken by Yudhisthira Maharaja in the Mahabharata, Vana-parva
(313.117).

TEXT 58

sri-krsna-caitanya-vani  amrtera dhara
tinho ye kahaye vastu  sei tattva sara

TRANSLATION:
"The words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are a shower of nectar. Whatever He
concludes to be the ultimate truth is indeed the summum bonum of all spiritual
knowledge."

TEXT 92

tanra sutrera artha kona  jiva nahi jane
ataeva apane sutrartha  kariyache vyakhyane

TRANSLATION:
"The purpose of the Vedanta-sutra is very difficult for an ordinary person
to understand, but Vyasadeva, out of his causeless mercy, has personally
explained the meaning."

TEXT 93

yei sutra-karta, se yadi karaye vyakhyana
tabe sutrera mula artha lokera haya jnana

TRANSLATION:
"If the Vedanta-sutra is explained by Vyasadeva himself, who has written it,
its original meaning can be understood by the people in general."

TEXT 94

pranavera yei artha  gayatrite se haya
sei artha catuh-slokite  vivariya kaya

TRANSLATION:
"The meaning of the sound vibration omkara is present in the Gayatri mantra.
The same is elaborately explained in the four slokas of Srimad-Bhagavatam known
as catuh-sloki."

TEXT 95

brahmare isvara  catuh-sloki ye kahila
brahma narade sei  upadesa kaila

TRANSLATION:
"Whatever was spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to Lord Brahma in
the four verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam, was also explained to Narada by Lord
Brahma."

TEXT 96
narada sei artha  vyasere kahila
suni veda-vyasa mane  vicara karila

TRANSLATION:
"Whatever Lord Brahma told Narada Muni was again explained by Narada Muni
to Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva later considered these instructions in his mind."

TEXT 97

ei artha amara  sutrera vyakhyanurupa
bhagavata klariba  sutrera bhasya-svarupa

TRANSLATION:
"Srila Vyasadeva considered that whatever he had received from Narada Muni as
an explanation of omkara he would elaborately explain in his book
Srimad-Bhagavatam as a commentary on Brahma-sutra."

TEXT 98

cari-veda-upanisade  yata kichu haya
tara artha lana vyas  karila sancaya

TRANSLATION:
"Vyasadeva collected whatever Vedic conclusions were in the four Vedas and
108 Upanisads and placed them in the codes of the Vedanta-sutra."

TEXT 99

yei sutre yei rk  visay-vacana
bhagavate sei rk  sloke nibandhana

TRANSLATION:

"In Vedanta-sutra, the purpose of all Vedic knowledge is explained, and in
Srimad-Bhagavatam the same purpose has been explained in eighteen thousand
verses."

TEXT 100

ataeva brahma-sutrera bhasya  sr-bhagavata
bhagavata-sloka upanisat  kahe eka mata


TRANSLATION:
"That which is explained in the verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam and in the Upanisads
serves the same purpose."

TEXT 34

sruti-purana kahe  krsnera cic-chakti-vilasa
taha nahi mani pandita  kare upahasa

TRANSLATION:
"Vedic literatures, the Upanisads, the Brahma-sutra and the Puranas all describe
the activities of the spiritual potency of the Lord. If one cannot accept
the personal activities of the Lord, he jokes foolishly and gives an impersonal
description."

TEXT 35

cid-ananda krsna-vigraha  mayika kari mani
ei bada papa satya  caitanyera vani

TRANSLATION:
"The Mayavadis do not recognize the personal form of the Lord as spiritual
and full of bliss. This is a great sin. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's statements
are actually factual."

PURPORT:
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement especially aims at defeating the Mayavada
conclusion about the Absolute Truth. Since the memebers of the Mayavada school
cannot understand the spiritual form of the Lord, they incorrectly think
the Lord's form is also made of material energy. They think that He is covered
by a material body just like other living beings. Due to this offensive
understanding, they cannot recognize that Sri Krsna's personal form is
transcendental, not material. Their conclusion is a great offense at the lotus
feet of the Lord. As explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Krsna has His
eternal, blissful form that is full of knowledge, and all Vaisnava acaryas
accept this. That is the proper understanding of the Absolute Truth.

TEXT 41

sutrera parinama-vada  taha na maniya
vivarta-vada sthape vyasa  bhranta baliya

TRANSLATION:
"Not accepting the transformation of energy, Sripad Sankaracarya has tried
to establish the theory of illusion under the plea that Vyasadeva has made
a mistake."


CC Adi, Chapter 7

TEXT 106

prabhu kahe, vedanta-sutra  isvara-vacana
vyasa-rupe kaila yaha  sri-narayana

PURPORT:
Srila Vyasadeva, the powerful incarnation of Narayana, compiled Vedanta-sutra,
and in order to protect it from unauthorized commentaries, he personally
composed Srimad-Bhagavatam on the instruction of his spiritual master, Narada
Muni, as athe original commentary on Vedanta-sutra. Besides Srimad-Bhagavatam,
there are commentaries on the Vedanta-sutra composed by all the major Vaisnava
acaryas, and in each of them devotional service to the Lord is described very
explicitly. Only those who follow Sankara's commentary have described
Vedanta-sutra in an impersonal way, without reference to Visnu-bhakti, or
devotional service to the Lord, Visnu. Generally people very much appreciate
this Sariraka-bhasya or impersonal description of the Vedanta-sutra, but all
commentaries which are devoid of devotional service to Lord Visnu must be
considered to differ in purpose from the original Vedanta-sutra. In other words,
Lord Caitanya definitely confirmed that the commentaries or bhasyas written by
the Vaisnava acaryas on the basis of devotional service to Lord Visnu, and not
the Sariraka-bhasya of Sankaracarya, give the actual explanation of
Vedanta-sutra.

TEXT 110

tanhara nahika dosa  isvara-ajna pana
gaunartha karila mukhya  artha acchadiya

TRANSLATION:
"Sankaracarya is not at fault, for he has thus covered the real purpose of
the Vedas under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

PURPORT:
The purpose of the discussion in the Upanisads and Vedantasutra is to
philosopically establish the personal feature of the Aboslute Truth.
The impersonalists, however, in order to establish their philosophy, accept
these discussions in terms of laksana-vrtti, or indirect meanings. Thus instead
of being tattva-vada, or in search of the Absolute Truth, they become Mayavada,
or illusioned by the material energy. When Sri Visnusvami, one of the four
acaryas of the Vaisnava cult, presented his thesis on the subject matter of
suddhadvaita-vada, immediately the Mayavadis took advantage of this philosophy
and tried to establish their advaita-vada or kevaladvaita-vada. To defeat this
kevaladvaita-vada Sri Ramanujacarya presented his philosophy as
visistadvaita-vada, and Sri Madhvacarya presented his philosophy of tattva-vada,
both of which are stumbling blocks to the Mayavadis because they defeat their
philosophy in scrupulous detail. Students of Vedic philosophy know very well how
strongly Sri Ramanujacarya's visistadvaita-vada and Sri Madhvacarya's
tattva-vada contest the impersonal Mayavada philosophy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
however, accepted the direct meaning of the Vedanta philosophy and thus defeated
the Mayavada philosophy immediately. He opined in this connection that anyone
who follows the principles of the Sariraka-bhasya is doomed.

