Why we criticize Mayavadis?
Many people write to us asking why Srila Prabhupada criticizes Mayavadis and impersonalists. Often they appear to accept the Mayavadi ideas that currently flood the world.
Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to Caitanya-caritamrta Adi. 10.84: “Obeisances are therefore offered to the spiritual master as sarasvata-deva, or a member of the Sarasvata family (namas te sarasvate deve), whose mission is to broadcast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (gaura-varni-pracarine) and to fight with impersonalists and voidists (nirvisesa-sunyavrdi-pascitya-desa-tariae). This was also the occupational duty of Sanatana Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami and Anupama Gosvam?.”
So Prabhupada clearly defines his mission as “Broadcasting the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and fighting with the impersonalists and voidists“.
Prabhupada has made it clear in so many places that it is also our mission as his disciples to defeat the attacks of the Mayavadis:
“The unfortunate Mayavadi cannot chant. They criticize, “This chanting is sentimentalism.” Even Caitanya Mahaprabhu was criticized at Benares when He was chanting. You know the story. Prakasananda Sarasvati, a great Mayavada sannyasi, he used to criticize that “This sannyasi is sentimental. Sannyasi’s business is reading Vedanta, but this sannyasi is chanting and dancing.” So there was strong criticism. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu was arranged to meet this Mayavada sannyasi, and He talked on Vedanta and He defeated him. And the sannyasi , along with his 60,000 disciples, became His followers. So you should not be simply chanting and dancing. Along with, you must know philosophy. There are so many Mayavadis; you have to defeat them. It is not that we are cowards. We are Krsna’s soldiers. So as soon as there is Mayavadi attack, you must immediately defeat them. That is wanted. Therefore so many books are being written. Jnanam ca yad ahaitukam.” (SB 2.3.20 Lecture June 16 1972)
The Mayavadi philosophy is very attractive, and once one has heard it his chances of becoming a devotee are practically destroyed:
“So Caitanya Mahaprabhu warns that mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa. Anyone who listens to the commentary of the Mayavadi philosopher, then his fate is doomed. He is finished. He will never be able to understand bhakti philosophy. It is so poisonous. Therefore Sanatana Gosvami has warned not to hear from avaisnava about Krsna.”
“Reading the Mayavadi commentaries on Vedanta-sutra is always dangerous. The chief danger is that through these commentaries one may come to consider the living entity to be equal to the Supreme Lord. It is easy for a conditioned living entity to be falsely directed in this way, and once he is so directed he can never come to his actual position or enjoy his eternal activity in bhakti yoga. In other words, the Mayavadi philosophy has rendered the greatest disservice to humanity by promoting the impersonal view of the Supreme Lord. Thus Mayavadi philosophers deprive human society of the real message of Vedanta-sutra.”
“Mayavadi means mayayapahrta-jnana: “Their knowledge has been taken away by maya.” Fools. Either you call them fool or call them lowest of the mankind or the most sinful, whatever way you can call, they are like that. All good qualifications. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has warned, mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa: [Cc. Madhya 6.169] “If you hear from Mayavadi, then your spiritual life is finished.” It’s so dangerous.”
“Lord Caitanya immediately informed Prakasananda that in the modern age people in general are more or less bereft of all spiritual intellect. When such people come under the influence of Sankaracarya’s Mayavadi (impersonalist) philosophy before beginning the most confidential Vedanta-sutras, their natural tendency toward obedience to the Supreme is checked. The supreme source of everything is naturally respected by everyone, but this natural tendency is hampered when one takes to the impersonalist conceptions of Sankara. Thus the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya suggested that it is better that one not study the Sariraka-bhasya of Sankaracarya, for it is very harmful to people in general. Indeed, the common man does not even have the intelligence to penetrate into the jugglery of words. He is better advised to chant the maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In this quarrelsome age of Kali there is no alternative for self-realization.”
We could compile dozens of books from the teachings of Srila Prabhupada on the dangers of hearing from Mayavadis and the prime necessity of defeating and exposing the Mayavadis as they pose the greatest danger to the people of this world.
Recently someone asked in the comments section of www.Krishna.org “Why Prabhupada challenges the impersonalists instead of allowing them to follow what they want.” This is a very typical question we are getting these days from the ‘devotees.’ I answered this point but he was not convinced and came back with: “Is it not possible for Krishna to be both Personal & Impersonal; with form & formless? If yes as Lord can do anything then …What is the need of thinking to defeat someone who thinks about Buddhism and impersonalism?”
So these ‘devotees’ are now very, very common and very stubbornly rejecting the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. Because they are Mayavadis, they are not devotees at all…
The Mayavadi philosophy is so dangerous. It is the Mayavadi philosophy that has created the godless materialism than now floods the world. Because the Mayavadis replace the transcendental beauty and attractiveness of Krishna and His pastimes with a void the people no longer find any attraction in spiritual life when it is described by the Mayavadis. So they have no alternative to increasing material sense gratification.
In a 1957 letter Srila Prabhupada wrote: “The Mayavadi philosophy having killed the spiritual variegatedness of the Supreme Being—the people are generally attracted in the variegatedness of material existence. In the vedanta sutras, we have direct information of how a spiritual entity is joyful—full of spiritual bliss. This idea of enjoyment is focused through a material vision and as such the spiritual focus is reflected in a perverted manner. The attention of the people in general is attracted by the cinemas in place of temples, because the Mayavadi philosophy—impersonality of Godhead has created a void in the spiritual realm. But in fact the spiritual realm is not at all void. It is full of variegatedness of spiritual mellows. If you create a void in the Spirit unnecessarily, you have to create necessarily a fill-up in the material existence and that is the cause why temples are being replaced by vulgar cinemas.”
So we can practically see how materialism has flourished in the void created by the Mayavada philosophy. There is no way we can establish Krishna consciousness without defeating the Mayavadis and impersonalists and to a lesser degree the Buddhists. This is Lord Caitanya’s mission, it is mission of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, it is Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s mission, it is Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s mission, it is the mission of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and therefore it must be the mission of any true follower of Srila Prabhupada.
“Sunyavadi, they say, “There is no God, and there is nothing, fact. Everything is combination of some illusory things.” This is sunyavadi. And the Mayavadi, they say, “Yes, there is God, but He has no form.” Therefore we have to kill both of them. Nirvisesa-sunyavad-pascatya-desa-tarine. The whole Western world are filled up with these sunyavadi and impersonalists. India is also nowadays, but there are, still there are devotees in the acarya-sampradaya. They are fighting against sunyavada and nirvisesa.” (Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk Conversation December 3, 1975)
About the Author
Madhudvisa dasa My first contact with a Hare Krishna was a most merciful Mataji in Oxford Street, London who sold me a "Higher Taste" cook book in 1984 while I was on holidays there. I started seriously reading Srila Prabhupada's books in Australia 1985 and by 1986 Srila Prabhupada had convinced me "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead" and "we should surrender to Krishna." I joined the Hare Krishnas in Perth, Western Australia in 1986. Since then I have been chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, reading and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and preaching as much as I can. That's my life and full-time occupation now really. I like it more than anything I've ever experienced before. Srila Prabhupada's books are so amazing... Even after reading them all many times they're still fresh and new. They are truly transcendental! That's it really. Now I'm just hankering to once again see the world chant Hare Krishna, dance and feast and float away in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement as it did in Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Let the whole world drown in the ecstatic flood of love of Krishna!
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I say live and let live. Why so much antagonism against the so-called mayavadis??
Because Mayavadis are poisoning everyone they speak to. It is Prabhupada’s mission, therefore it is our mission, to destroy these philosophies of impersonalism and voidism by establishing pure devotional service, love of Krishna as the accepted spiritual system in the world.
Can’t someone follow both – dvaitvad and advaitvad – at the same time? Is not possible to bhakti of Krishna or Rama, and also keep exploring about the ultimate realtiy?
If no, why? If yes, why?
No. You can not be a Mayavadi and a Bhakta at the same time although the bhkatas also appreciate and realize the other aspects of the Lord and His energy, so bhaktas are aware of the impersonal energy of the Lord. So bhakti includes everything. The impersonalists, Mayavadis, that is only a partial realization, because it does not include the realization of the personal aspect of the Lord.
However these are mutually exclusive positions. Even though the bhakta realizes and appreciates the impersonal energy of the Lord, he does not see the impersonal energy. Everywhere the bhakta sees Krishna. Srila Prabhupada explains this as just like a parent, when he sees the toys and cloths of his child, he remembers his child. So not that he sees the toy of the child and thinks of the toy. No. He sees, “There is my child’s toy, and he remembers his child.”
So this is the difference between the bhakta’s realization of the impersonal energy of the Lord and the Mayavadi’s realization. Whenever the bhakta sees anything he understands it in relationship with Krishna. As the father is seeing, “Here is my child’s toy,” and remembers his child, so the bhakta, whatever he sees he understands its relationship with Krishna and remembers Krsihna. So the Bhakta realizes the personal form of Krishna in everything and renders practical devotional service to the person Krishna.
Mayavadis, on the other hand, have only the partial realization of the impersonal energy that is emanating from Krishna but they are ignorant of the source of this energy, the Personality of Godhead, Krishna.
So you can understand that bhakti, devotional service, Krishna consciousness, that is the complete realization of everything, so it includes any realizations that the impersonalists have also, but the bhaktas see the personal form of Krishna, even in His impersonal energy.
Hare Krishna Prabhu
I did a great blunder. Some of my college students were following a man called – Sadhguru. I was curious what this man was teaching. And then I ended up seeing many of his videos.
It was very late until I realised that he is a Mayavadi. He was talking of Krishna. But he said that it is not surprising that Krishna told that he is God for many other persons had said that in the past.
Now I am losing my faith in Krishna. I don’t know what to do. My consciousness is dwindling now. What should I do Prabhu? How can I regain my faith? Please help me!
Read Prabhupada’s books, don’t read anyone else’s books. It is very, very hard to find a bona fide spiritual master. Now they are practically not available. But we have Prabhupada. Thousands of recorded classes and almost a hundred books. So why are you listening to other’s classes and reading other’s books. This is the problem. Prabhupada has given us so much but we are not interested. So we have to become seriously interested in hearing from Srila Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krishna, following the regulative principles, etc. It is a scientific process. It will work if you follow it properly. So follow it and it will work for you. Read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day, chant the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day and strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam….( The Śikṣāṣṭaka Prayers) We have to chant Hare Krishna. That purifies our heart. The association of mayavadis can ruin our bhakti. It is on us if we chose light or darkness.
If you read some books from Prabhupadabooks.com i cannot believe that you will lose faith in Sri Krishna. When i have no taste for chanting Hare Krishna, then i hear some lecture from Srila Prabhupada and it helps immediately.
We need to stick together, so if you like, you can add me on facebook. Filip Ratka. Hare Krishna Prabhu.
Some of the greatest arguments Srila Prabhupada put forth from the scriptures against the Mayavadi philosophy is by illustrating how the Mayavadis contradict themselves every time.
For example, [let me paraphrase] God the Supreme is said to be infallible, yet the Mayavadi claims each and everyone of us is “God”. So the question arise, how do the infallible God even fell in the first place?
Also, if God is above Maya, how in the world did He came under Maya? Furthermore, how do an eternally separated, spiritual units could ever “merge” into the Supreme Soul to become “One with the Supreme” contradicting the “eternally separated”?
The cases of demon soul “merging” into the body of Krishna, such as Kamsa, is compared to birds perching in a tree branch. The ego, individuality and separateness is never lost. The birds do not, at any point in time, becomes the tree.
The problem with such “merging”, however, is that there is high chances of again falling down since the ego of that particular soul was never purified to begin with through proper path realization.
It’s no brainer to understand that the sun, sunlight and the heat are same yet different aspects of the sun. If it were so each of us can claim to have landed on the sun itself right now by standing on its rays.
Likewise, just because each of us is a part and parcel of God, similar in quality but jarringly limited in quantity, do not in any way can we claim ourselves to be God.
Mayavadis often take the analogy of rivers and oceans. The property of water seemingly entertains their idea of wanting to be God. But it is known today that the property of water sourced from each differing rivers never loses its identity. For example, each river water carries with it minerals and other contaminants unique to it. When it floods the ocean, the part of the ocean where these rivers dominate retain their identity different from the whole ocean itself.
Similarly, with rain, each rain cloud are unique in the sense that they carry the water properties correlating to the topography of that area and, therefore, the rain water also retain their own unique identity even though it is still water, in that particular area.
It’s like the fingerprint each of us has which at first glance appears identical but astronomically different at a closer look.
The variety & separateness is a universally exhibited feature everywhere right before our senses if we are not dull enough to look at it.
Ego maniacs such as the Mayavadis tries to employ tautology and dozens of other logical fallacy to mislead a sincere but gullible public by preying on their false ego and a weakened intellect.
If you thought, Nietzsche or his followers (aka materialists/nihilists) you see everywhere today were ego maniacs, think again. They are egotistical but their inflated ego is nowhere near the mayavadis.
The underlying cause for the Mayavadi philosophy is to guard and feed the unquenchable false ego and also to deliberately and knowingly challenge God by trying to undo His greatest desire to uplift fallen souls towards Him. That’s it!
If you are still not convinced about Mayavadis claiming themselves to be God by implicitly stating “…many other persons also claim to be God”…then, go no further than the litmus test of “lifting-the-Govardhana-with-their-pinky-challenge.” Just cordially ask those so called “sadhus” or their “gurus” to prove their “God-ness”.
Also, checked if these so called “yogis” or “became-God” possess unparalleled beauty [unlimitedly] to begin with. Just take a look at them. Also, checked if they possess unlimited fame, wealth, knowledge & renunciation. Ask them what are you thinking right now. Seriously, ask!
Another, simple fact from the life of Lord Sri Krishna (The Supreme Personality of Godhead) you can refer to when anybody claim that he/she is “God” is to see if they exhibit Supreme powers of baby Krishna – Gopal Dev, when they were an infant.
If Krishna ever “became God”, how exactly did He began to exhibit all those mind boggling powers at such an early age without even faintest hint of “kundalini yoga” or “tapasya” etc?
For argument’s sake let us say “it is because Krishna has already achieved siddhis in His past life” but everytime Krishna appears in His previous avatars and countless other avatars that even the Vedas for this Universe couldn’t cover, why did each and every one of those avatars exhibited those extraordinarily God awesome powers without any effort, every single time without much delay, if any at all?
And why did those seemingly countless “blunders” [which of course He planned and enacted to flavor His past times] of Krishna [such as numerous rule breakings and bendings, which sometimes are outright “sinful” from our mundane perspective] did not in any way affected the merit of His siddhis?
There are numerous examples which proves that Lord Sri Krishna was the One and the only Supreme Personality of Godhead, The Bhagavan, if you carefully study the past times of Lord Sri Krishna.
In conclusion, Mayavadis are the reason why humility and purity is greatly emphasized in Bhakti Yoga.
We may begin to clue in why the Supreme Lord was harsh with ‘Romaharsa Suta’ or ‘Chota Haridas’. It’s because when the potential spiritual gatekeepers became corrupt it deprives infinite souls with their right to be in communion with God Supreme, Sri Krishna. It is the worst crime!
Just chant the Maha mantra.
I, like so many,investigated many spiritual paths before deciding to ground my soul in Krsna consciousness and with the understanding that at the end of my life I will be prepared to “let go” of everything that my consciousness has created but there will be one thing that does not let go of this personality that will be the real thing causing my insatiable desire for sentience
Very Good Article against Impersonalism & Voidism.
How about addressing what the difference is between Brahmavadi and Mayavadi? You can’t falsely label everyone who doesn’t conform to Caitanyas philosophy as Mayavadis. Advaita is not Mayavada. Impersonalism is not Mayavada. The jig is up praboo.
“Either the seeker of the Brahman, either the seeker of the supreme soul, Supersoul, or the seeker of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all transcendentalists. They are not in the material world. They are tattva-vit” |”either the Brahmavadi or Paramatmavadi or the bhakta, they are all tattva-vit. They are all transcendentalists. There is no difference” Srila Prabhupada
Hare Krishna Isvaraji
These days almost everyone is a Mayavadi. Even most of the people posing as Bhaktas these days, they are Mayavadis. The Mayavadi philosophy has spread so much unfortunately.
Mayavadi is our name for them, they don’t call themselves Mayavadi. They may call themselves Bhaktas, Yogis, Brahamavadis, but they are almost all Mayavadis.
The simple definition of mayavadi is one who thinks that when Krishna appears in the material world He accepts a material body. They think that when Krishna appears in the material world He is in maya. They think the pastimes of Krisha are maya. It is coming from envy. The Mayavadis do not want to accept that there is any person superior to them. They do not want to bow down to and surrender to any person. So they do not want to bow down to and surrender to Krishna. The want to become the master themselves. It is maya.
We are all servants eternally. But the mayavadis want to become the master. They don’t want to surrender, they don’t want to accept their real constitutional position as servants.
Of course obviously Srila Prabhupada is describing that there is no difference in the true bhaktas [seekers of the Supreme Personality of Godhead], the jnanis [the seeker of Brahman] and the yogis [the seekers of the supersoul]. This is because brahman, the supersoul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna are all the same. But it is a progression. The example Srila Prabhupada gives, if you would continue to listen to the class that you have given this quote from, is of the sun. The Brahman effulgence is like the sunlight. It is coming from the sun, so it is not different from the sun. It is this brahman effulgence that is the subject of study for the brahmavadis. So they are studying the same Krishna, it is the same subject, but it is a progression. They should progress to understand supersoul and then to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And this path has been followed by so many brahmavadis in the past. Actual progressive Brahmavadi will become a bhakta. We have so many examples. Even Sukadeva Goswami was Brahmavadi in the beginning but later, on hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam became a pure devotee of Krishna.
So this is the way. Studying the sunlight is studying the sun. The sunlight is the same as the sun. No one can argue this. But at the same time knowledge of the sunlight without knowledge of the sun is not the complete understanding.
So yes. Actual bhaktas, jnanis and yogis are all tattva-vit, all are studying the same thing, Krishna, but there is a progression, a development, and the highest development is to understand the source of Paramatma and Brahman which is Krishna.
But as I already mentioned it is very difficult to find real bhaktas, real yogis or real brahmavadis at the present time. Almost everyone presenting themselves as a transcendentalist is a mayavadi. Mayavadi is worst. Even demon is better than Mayavadi. Because Mayavadi chants Sanskrit slokas and pretends to be preaching on the strength of the Vedas. But he does not believe that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, rather he is envious of Krishna, and will do everything possible to eliminate Krishna from the Vedas… Buddhist is better. Buddhist comes out openly and decries the Vedas. But these Mayavadis claim to be scholars of the Vedas, claim that the Vedas is their authority, but at the same time the deride the conclusion of the Vedas, that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna has kept the worst hellish planet for these Mayavadis and you can read about that in Sri Isopanisad.
Prabhupada clearly answers your question in the questions from this class. Prabhupada complained the questioner that he did not hear the class attentively. Why didn’t you hear Prabhupada’s class attentively before writing to me? Then your quesiton would have already been directly answered by Srila Prabhupada? Why not listen to the whole class before you take a small quote out of it without understand it?
“Just like Sukadeva Gosvami. He was in the Brahman conception, but by his further development, he became a devotee. He became a devotee. There are many instances. The Sanaka-Sanatana sages, they were in Brahman conception [then they became devotees].” So the actual progressive brahmavadi becomes a devotee. There are so many examples. No devotee has every become a brahmavadi…
Questioner: The jnani is also seeker?
Prabhupada: He is also seeker. You did not hear. The Absolute Truth is being manifested in three phases—as Paramatma, as Bhagavan and as Brahman. Those who are after Brahman, they are called jnanis; those who are after Paramatma, they are called yogi; and those who are after the Personality of Godhead, they are called bhaktas. And all of them are seeking the Absolute Truth but in different phases. You understand? They are not differentiated. They are not in the material field. Either the seeker of the Brahman, either the seeker of the supreme soul, Supersoul, or the seeker of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all transcendentalists. They are not in the material world. They are tattva-vit. Tattva-vit means they are in the field of transcendental transaction. But there are degrees.
Just like I have given this example already—you did not hear attentively—that the sunshine, the sun disc, and within the sun. The subject matter is same, but still, the subject matter of studying sunshine and subject matter of studying the sun disc and subject matter of studying what is within the sun, there are differences, although the whole subject matter is the sun. The Absolute Truth is also, in the same way, manifested in three phases: Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. So either of these three, we have to find out; then gradually we make further promotion.
Those who are in the Brahman conception… Just like Sukadeva Gosvami. He was in the Brahman conception, but by his further development, he became a devotee. He became a devotee. There are many instances. The Sanaka-Sanatana sages, they were in Brahman conception. So to… As it is stated in totee(?). There are many instances. The Sanaka-Sanatana sages, they were in Brahman conception. So to… As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate… [Bg. 7.19]. This mam means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So anyone who comes to that Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is in the highest perfection of knowledge. [break]
I just now found this website for I am trying to convince some Krsna devotees that true Buddhism is not Mayavadin not sunyavadin philosophy. But I do run with the teaching that Buddha is an incarnation of Vishnu but I get the feedback that Siddartha Gautama is not the real Buddha. It’s like Jews saying Jesus is not the Christ. I wonder why the Hell this even troubles me. But it is true what Prabhupada says that these philosophies that veil themselves as Buddhist are seriously screwing with the advancement of human spiritual evolution. Prabhupada is quoted as saying “Krsna is God” which of course comes across as merely more religious dogma. Some spiritual philosophers like myself are trying to put a bigger picture together of how all religions are going to come together to deliver the prophesy of the second coming which will redeem even Neitzche’s “Ugliest man”. If I have but one life to live -let me dream
Buddhists are sunyavadis, that means nihilists. It means that Buddhists believe individuality, personality, activities, everything are ultimately sources of trouble and suffering and their answer is to negate everything and cease to exist so when the don’t exist anymore then there is no more suffering for them. Buddhists do not believe in an eternal soul, they do not believe in God. Yes. Certainly Lord Buddha is an incarnation of Krishna but he appeared to cheat the atheists. He appeared as Lord Buddha and told the godless atheists that “There is no god.” and the atheists were very happy to hear this from him and they started to worship Lord Buddha. In this way Lord Buddha tricked the atheists into worshiping Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.
So the Buddhist philosophy is not real, not correct, it is just made up to trick the atheists, that’s all.
The only way you can unite the world is by preaching Krishna consciousness, there is no other way.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Is it not possible for Krishna to be both Personal & Impersonal; with form & formless?
As I understand God, He is omnipotent. He is beyond the dualistic framework that we attempt to comprehend Him with.
A pure devotee is not perturbed by such things apparently. The hypocrisy and dissent characteristic of this age of Kali Yuga is also present within the actions and words of pure devotees it would seem.
As the bible states, better that we remove the beam from our own eyes before picking at the splinter in the eyes of another.
Peace will not emerge from dissent. Peace will emerge from compassion and forgiving ourselves and each other, for the fools we all are.
Hare Krishna Mandi
No, Krishna has form. Krishna is a person. Krishna is not formless. That is and incorrect idea.
Krishna has an effulgence, the brahmajoyti, like the sun has an effulgence, the sunshine. So the Mayavadis are blinded by the effulgence of Krishna so they can not see the form of Krishna. They can only see His effulgence, the brahmajoyti. So that is the imperfect vision of the Mayavadis. Yes. The brahmajoyti is the energy emanating from Krishna, so it is not different from Krishna. But Krishna is the cause of the brahmajoyti and the Mayavadis do not know this therefore they are in ignorance.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
The Supreme Personality of Godhead can do whatever He wants, so he can be also formless, right?
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not formless. Personality means form.
He is a person. But He mainfests Himself to His devotees according to the way they want to see Him. So if someone wants to see His impersonal energy, of course Krishna has His impersonal effulgence, the brahmajyoti, so they can see the brahmajyoti. And that is the impersonal effulgence. But this is not very advanced. It is like the sun, the sun god living in the sun planet and the sunshine. If one only sees the sunshine and thinks the sunshine is all there is, but knows nothing about the sun planet or the sun god living in the sun, then he does have some knowledge about the sunshine, but his knowledge is not complete.
So it is with the impersonalists. They do have some knowledge of the supreme but it is not complete knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krishna and He is a person. The impersonalists do not know this, they are ignorant, their knowledge is not complete.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
AMEN! I am no longer a religionists but I do continue to believe that the world is a better place with it than it would be without it. One thing I feel is of primary importance and something all believers in the personal perspective of God should accept is ‘No one tells God what he can or cannot do’ Jew or Abrahamins say God cannot have a personality (ego). Well, this is what the philosophy of the Supreme Personality is about He is every person who is still struggling with the ego which is an illusion that must be nihilated before the end of the 4 miseries can be had
Dear Madhudvisa Dasa,
Hare Krsna, and , offerings, of my utmost deepest love for Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you for your emails.
It was very interesting to read what I had written in reply to you, here, a long time ago, about the topic of Mayavadi philosophers. Since then, I have continued to study Prabhupada’s books intently, every single day, for hours on end, because, to be honest, I do want to read anything else, (other than, the Bible, and the kind guidance of Lord Jesus, who attempted to teach humanity about our constitutional position relatice to God, and the higher purpose of our human existence, as recorded by his disciples :))
Of course, there are discrepancies in the cosmologies, and, I am honestly inclined to be reading Prabhupada’s books for better understanding of the Absolute Truth of reality , as it is given, by God Himself, in the Bhagavad Gita.
After reading many of Prabhupada’s books, inclusive of the Srimad Bhagavatum, I have had so many realisations that I have been changed, in myself. I no longer suffer unnecessarily, from the darkness of ignorance that permeated my whole being with chronic dis- ease. I am calm, blissful, and imperturbable, in almost every situation that may confront me. I say, almost, because, I am not totally perfected in being God conscious, yet. 🙂 But, it is my goal, to be so, always.
I understand now, after daily disciplined study and conscious practice, exactly what you are attempting to explain to all people, and , that is why I am buying Prabhupada’s books and handing them out to people who are receptive to receiving them. Every day, I exist only to serve God, and chant Hare Krsna through my days and nights to stay close to God, always. I thank you for your kind guidance for assisting in elevating the level of consciousness, to where i am today, and, in all honesty, have even found myself chanting your name, Madhudvisa Dasa. :)) It just rolls off my tongue quite effortlessly, as well as rotating in my mind quite happily of it’s own accord, like a needle stuck in the groove of a record. 🙂 it is a very pleasant groove to be stuck in 🙂
Truly, your efforts to deliver Krsna Consciousness to the fallen souls of this age of Kali Yuga, are being successful, as now, there are numerous people in my little world of interactions, who are reading Prabhupada’s books, chanting the Maha Mantra, and reading the emails I have received from you, with Transcendental instruction. So I urge you to continue enthusiastically, to remain constantly inspired in your service to Krsna, as you are helping so many fallen souls by doing so. I am testifying to that fact right here, now.
Thank you for helping to drag me out of the darkness of ignorance of my self. I have complete understanding of the higher purpose of human existence now, and am now, utterly relishing the Divine vibrations of Lord Caitanya Caritamrita’s literary incarnation for this age of Kali. Every day, there are opportunities for me to share the knowledge and insights that I have been blessedly benedicted with by the universal energies, that are God, and there is much respite given to the people I meet, who are openly grateful for my being in their little worlds, because of my committed sharing of God Consciousness , in word as well as deed. This exposure is inclusive, of Mayavadi philosophers, The Buddhists, whom I am sometimes , forced to associate with, due to social interactions. It is always a surprise to them, when I reveal that Lord Buddha was actually a prophesied incarnation of Lord Krsna, whose intent was to trick the atheists into evolving, to a higher level of God consciousness. In a similar way, I could claim quite honestly, that the self-declared Antichrist, Friedrich Nietzsche, only helped me come closer to God.
I cannot express how deeply i have fallen, in love ,with Krsna. Words are not adequate.
So all i can do is thank you again, from the depths of my heart, Madhudvisa Dasa, and chant Hare Krsna! And, offer all glory, to our beautiful spiritual teacher Srila Prabhupada, who also, resides in my big heart always.
Yours sincerely, Mandi B.
Hare Krishna Mandi!
Not all are fools. Only we non-devotees are fools. Pure devotees are the most intelligent. We need to take shelter of them and not argue with them.
Madhudvisa Prabhu, I read Ramcharitmanas in its original language Awadhi. Is it good for developing Krishna consciousness if I chant 16 rounds of mala, follow 4 regulative principles and read Srila Prabhupada’s books 1-2 hours a day?
Hare Krishna Aman
Actually Valmiki Ramayana is real authorized Ramayana. Ramcaritamanas is not approved as standard. It has nice devotional feeling but it is not accepted as authorized and standard. But you have read it, that is nice. You do not need to read it again.
Now make a determined program to read ALL of Srila Prabhupada’s books. All small books, Bhagavad-gita, Nectar of Devotion, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Nectar of Instruction, Sri Isopanisad, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, etc, etc.
And read them aloud including chanting aloud the Sanskrit and Bengali verses. The verses have great spiritual power. Krishna consciousness is not achieved by thinking in the mind, it is primarily achieved by hearing and chanting. So read Prabhupada’s books aloud, that is chanting, and hear what you read with your ears, that is hearing. And that will have so much more potency and be so much more effective than just reading the books silently.
Why is Lord Krishna a He? Why not a She?
Because He is parama-purusa, the Supreme male, the Supreme enjoyed. Woman is prakrti, enjoyed, male is purusa, the enjoyer, Krishna is parama-purusa, the Supreme Enjoyer, the supreme male.
Hare Krishna prabhu Ji
I am your daily page visitor. I want to ask a question. I want to become a devotee of lord radha and Krishna and I also chant the holy name of lord. But problem is sometimes I have flow some sex desire in my heart thereafter I masturbate. I know that it is wrong in Krishna devotion. I want to become a pure devotee of lord but my this act I can’t be. So suggest me and guide me. I want to stop masturbate but I can not control myself. I tried many times to control but I was not successful. Please help me prabhu Ji. Guide me for my devotion to lord.
Pls help me
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna Pradeep
Srila Prabhupada is teaching us a very practical way to control our senses. Our senses can only be controlled with positive engagement. It means we have to engage our senses fully in serving Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. Without this full engagement it will not be possible to control our senses.
It is a great battle and you are not alone in this struggle. Krishna consciousness means we have to transcend the pushings of the senses. Because we have a material body we have the material senses and they will push us to act. But we have to resist this. In the beginning we have to resist like that but as we make advancement in Krishna consciousness we will experience a transcendental pleasure that is far greater than any so-called pleasure we could get from sex. So once we are actually experiencing this higher, spiritual taste then we will no longer be attracted to the animalistic material sense gratification.
The thing is you are not seriously practicing Krishna consciousness so you can not expect to be able to control your senses. The minimum points are we must chant at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, we must strictly follow the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication and we must read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day. We have to do these things sincerely and without fail every day otherwise how can we expect to control our senses and become Krishna conscious? It is not possible.
Also as far as sense control is concerned it is very important to first control the tongue. The tongue has two business: vibrating and tasting. So we have to control the tongue by only allowing it to vibrate the Hare Krishna mantra and Krishna katha [talks about Krishna]. And we have to limit the tongue to tasting only Krishna prasadam. So it is very important to control the tongue by only vibrating about Krishna and only tasting Krishna prasadam. Without this control of the tongue it will not be possible to control the other senses.
Sri Krsna is Supreme Personality. Sri Krsna is Absolute Truth. 16 rounds a day at least, Maha. I’m still not there yet…
Hare krishna…
Dear guruji Thank you for this wonderful message.From this message I’m cleared with some of my doubts.But when ever i watch a debate the impersonalists give the refferance of vedas and upanishads quoting that the spreme god is formless and impersonel and they also give refferances stating idol worship is sinful.how can we reject the concepts of vedas and upanishads.I’m follower of my guru srila prabhupada but only these refferances make me defeated in front of impersonalists.My humble request to answer my doubt.
Hare krishna.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna Jaisimha
The conclusion of all the Vedas is that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Mayavadis and impersonalists, using world-jugglery and faulty logic pervert the real meaning of the Vedas and quote verses out of context to ‘prove’ things that are actually totally opposite to the actual meaning of the Vedas.
There is no point in debating impersonalists. Krishna consciousness can not be transmitted in a debate. It has to be transmitted from a pure devotee to a submissive inquirer. One has to approach the bona fide spiritual master with respect and with the mood of being prepared to accept the answer he gives without argument. Then real spiritual knowledge can flow.
Hearing the perverted explanations of the Mayavadis of the Vedas is poison. We should never hear them. Otherwise we will become poisoned and will never be able to understand Krishna consciousness.
So stay away from the Mayavadis. Do not hear from them. Instead read Srila Prabhupada’s books and chant Hare Krishna and you will be safe and happy in Krishna consciousness.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
I’m curious how you reconcile your denunciation of “impersonalist” vedanta with chapter 12 in the Gita where Krishna acknowledges that the worship of his formless aspect is a valid, albeit problematic, path to know him. One is in scriptural error to denounce those who follow a valid path to Krishna. Not just that but it’s rather unfriendly in my opinion.
Hare Krishna
There is a difference between impersonalist and mayavadi.
We do not denounce the impersonal aspect of the Supreme. In fact Lord Caitanya’s philosophy is acintyabedabeda tattva. Simultaneously one and different inconceivably.
So if someone has an appreciation of the impersonal aspect of the Supreme Lord then that is better than no realization at all. It is like the sun and the sunshine and entering the sun planet and meeting the sun god. So Krishna consciousness is entering the sun planet and meeting the sun god which includes appreciation and knowledge of the sun planet and the sunshine. But the impressionists only appreciate the sunshine and have no idea about the source of the sunshine. They are not aware of the sun planet and do not know that there is a personality on the sun planet, the sun god who is predominating and controlling the sun.
So the impressionists are also appreciating Krishna but not in a very complete way.
Mayavadis are something complete different. Mayavadis are demons. They take the Vedas, like Vedanta Sutra for example, which very clearly and unambiguously describes the personal aspect of the Supreme and describes Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and with illogical word jugglery and ‘logic’ they attempt to proved that the absolute truth is impersonal and Krishna is maya. That is why we call them Mayavadis, because they say everything, including Krishna, is Maya.
So we are very much against the Mayavadis. We criticize them very strongly. In fact our mission is nivisesa sunyavadi pasyata desa tarani. We are going to completely eradicate these bogus philosophies of the Mayavadis and the voidism of the Buddhists. These philosophies have caused so much trouble to the people of the world have have ushered in the current godless hedonistic civilization. So to reestablish real spiritual life the Mayavadis in particular have to be totally defeated.
So we completely denounce the Mayavadis and Voidists. Both these philosophies are completely incorrect and have nothing to do with the impersonal appreciation of the Supreme Lord you mention.
Your writings are truly inspiring and inspired.
Hari Hari
Hi great comments always thought there’s more to material thinking and desires but very hard to free our selfs from craveing. Think all religions have the basics of reconnecting our selfs and values. Hari Bol
Hare Krishna,
Thank you so much for your wonderful emails. I am learning so much and look forward to them!
Hare Bol!
Nicole Poirier
PRABHU,
As I understand a Mayavadi is a copy of Buddhism, that means that we have to fight them because they do not believe in the Supreme Personality of God Head. Am I right?.
I guess that one reason is because:
b.Gita chapter 5, Verse 12:
The steadily devoted soul attains unadultered Peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me, whereas a person who is not in Union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labot, becomes entangled.
And in the contrary Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verse 17 says:
When one’s intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete Knowledge and thous proceeds stesight on the path of liberation.
Chapter 5, Verse 18:
The humble ssgr, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana. A cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog eater (outcaste).
Hari bol!
Hare Krishna!
You are correct in that there is very little difference between the philosophy of the Buddhists and the philosophy of the Mayavadis. But the Mayavadis are worse than the Buddhists. The reason is the Buddhists will openly declare that there is no God. They will openly say they are voidists. Their whole philosophy culminated in nirvana which means nothingness. So Buddhists believe that everything is ultimately only a cause of suffering so they try to give up everything and if they succeed they will cease to exist, they will become nothing. And that is their idea of success.
The Mayavadi philosophy was introduced into India by Sripad Sankacharaya. Sankacharaya is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, and Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaisnava. But in his appearance as Sankacharaya Lord Shiva covered the actual meaning of the Vedas and presented a convoluted commentary on the Vedas that established that the ultimate was an impersonal all pervasive energy and that the perfection of life was to loose our individuality and to merge with and become one with this all pervasive impersonal energy which is called brahman.
So you see both the Mayavadis and the Buddhists have ceasing to exist as an individual as their ultimate goal. But we know from Bhagavad-gita, you can find the verse, that Krishna states to Arjuna that all these kings are existing now as persons, they existed in the past as persons and the will continue to exist in the future also as persons.
So our individual personal existence will continue eternally. It is not possible for us to cease to exist as the Buddhists want, nor is is possible for us to merge with and become one with the brahman as the Mayavadis want. Both things are impossible. The Mayavadis may be able to, after great difficulty, merge into the brahman effulgence but they will not be able to stay there. Because they will not actually merge or become one. We are all individual spirit souls. So the example is given that if a green bird flys into a green tree it appears that the bird has become one with the tree. But that is not true. The bird is sitting on a branch of the tree. He has not lost his individuality or his personalty. And if you keep watching that tree after some time you will see the green bird will again fly out of the tree. So the Mayavadis may be able to enter the brahman effulgence but they do not merge, they remain the same tiny spirit soul, and they still have all their desires and there is no facility in the brahman effulgence to act or to express their individuality and personality. So they soon become frustrated with this brahmanananda and they again fall back down to the material world to again try to enjoy on the gross bodily platform.
The devotees hate both the Mayavadi and the Buddhist philosophies and that is because both of them deny the existence of Krishna as a person in the ultimate issue. Mayavadis are worse as I already said because they do not deny the existence of God or Krishna. No they say they believe in Krishna, these days most of them are chanting Hare Krishna and living in ISKCON temples because they like the spiritual process. They like performing austerities and following the Vedic rituals. They are attached to all these ‘spiritual’ things. And they believe in Krishna. They may be worshiping Krishna also. But ultimately they think that Krishna is just a temporary manifestation of the eternal all pervasive impersonal brahman energy.
The reason people become Mayavadis is they do not want to surrender to Krishna, they do not want to surrender to anyone. So they can not tolerate that there is an authority above them. So they like spiritual life, they chant Hare Krishna, they follow the Vedic regulative principles, they like performing austerities. But they want people to worship them. They do not want to surrender to Krishna…
So the Mayavadis are particularly nasty and they have contaminated every temple and so-called spiritual organization on the planet. So yes it is our mission, following in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada, to destroy them.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
12 Aug. 2015
Hare Krishna Prubhu
Dear Sirs: Namaskarams.
I believe Mayawadi philosophy and their attacks on believers is not good. It is merely not a sentiment of chanting Lord Krishna;s devotees because while chanting Krishna Nama and their spiritual songs, they are entirely concentrating their mind in devotion of Krishna and getting the benefit of relieving themselves from the evil body influence such as Kama, Krodha, etc and inculcate themselves a good practical life, and help themselves not to commit mistakes of harming fellow human beings because devotional chanting of Lord Krishna caution them and guide them to happiness.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna Prabhu.
Hare Krishna prabhu….
thanks for nice article..on these impersonalists….. last night i read Krishna Book..ch prayers by presonified veda…i have read their arguments which they give and what is the facts and counter arguments given by Srila Prabhupada….. just see the arrangement mada by Krishna…that yesterday i read that and today you have given so nice regarding this….All golries to Srila Prabhupada….once again thanks for nice article….please always give your blessing to me by giving these articles which are under the guidance of SRILA PRABHUPADA….
Bolo Prabhujis!!
This thoughts come to my mind from remebering lectures I heard.
Yes Sri Krishna Knews everything about our lifes BECAUSE HE KNOWS OUR PERSONALITY PERFECTLY AND ALSO KNEW ALL THE SITUATIONS WE WILL BE MEETING AND BECAUSE
HE KNEWS OUR PERSONALITY HE KNOWS WHAT OUR FREE WILL OF CHOICES WE WILL MAKE IN THOOSE SITUATIONS AND ALSOTHE CONSEQUENCES OF THOOSE CHOICES. HE
THEREFORE CETAINLY KNEWS OUR FUTURE .
Just because I knew that a carrot seed will become a carrot doesnt mean I controll the carrots life.
Yes Prabhu I think you understand the point well. Krishna knows what we will do because He knows our nature but that does not mean Krishna is forcing us to act in that way. We have a little independence and we can choose to act within that little independence. That is our choice and we are responsible for our choice. It is not Krishna’s fault, what we choose to do. But Krishna, knowing our nature, will have a good idea what we are going to choose…
Hare Krishna Prabhu,
Today in the internet there are many social networking sites and youtube where the mayawadis preach and sometime misrepresent the scriptures. Is it actually worth it to comment against them and enter into unnecessary debate almost to the level of mud slinging. Or is it better to preach them in person?
It is best to totally avoid the Mayavadis both in person and on the internet. Better to preach to the innocent.
Mayavadis are envious of Krishna.
Actually ‘preaching’ is not effective unless the person is first already purified by hearing the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra from the lips of pure devotees and by accepting Krishna prasadam. So to preach first you have to become a pure devotee of Krishna and then you have to go out and chant Hare Krishna so the people can hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra from the lips of a pure devotee then you have to cook and offer it to Krishna and feed the people with Krishna Prasadam. Then only they may be a little receptive for your preaching.
So preaching means Kirtan, prasadam distribution and the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Really The Bhagbat Gita is our heart of life. I give my thank to Saint Madhuri I and his continuous email. I want to be a decibel of Iskon
Thanks Prabhu ji.It is very well explained about the dangers of mayavadi theory, which will take the person away from devotion and creates a kind of voidness in the life which degrades and demoralises the person and his life is totally wasted and meaningless. A fortunate person enjoys krishna as a supreme person with all his associates, pastimes, activities in goloka vrindavana. Hare krishna prabhu.
Hare Krishna Prabhu.Nice article
I just want your opion on Paramahasa Yogananda?
He is a Mayavadi, impersonalist.
Sorry, I don’t know where else to post this.
How does a person with intoxication addictions take to Krishna consciousness if they are still addicted to substances and can’t immediately follow the regulative principles?
Thanks
David
Hare Krishna David
It is not possible for a person addicted to intoxication to take to Krishna consciousness. That is why it is a prerequisite that one who wants to take to Krishna consciosuness has to strictly follow the four regulative principles and that includes “NO INTOXICATION”.
If one whats to take to Krishna consciousness he has to develop the determination to follow the four regulative principles. If he can not follow the four regulative principles that will stop his advancement in Krishna consciousness.
So we at least have to have the determination to follow the four regulative principles. Realistically anyone can stop taking intoxication. And we have to have that determination. Yes. Of course we may be addicted to something, but we have to become addicted to Krishna consciousness and we can not become addicted to Krishna consciousness unless and until we give up our other addictions. So we have to give up our other addictions to become Krishna conscious.
Of course it would be unrealistic to think that we would be able to instantly give up all our addictions and never fall down and never fail. It may be, in fact it is very likely, that we may fail, we may, due to our bad habits, fall down, fail, break the regulative principles at some time. But if this happens we have to recommit ourselves and again become determined to strictly follow the four regulative principles.
There is no question of thinking that we can’t follow the regulative principles. Anyone can follow the regulative principles. If you are saying that you can’t follow the regulative principles you are really saying that you don’t want to follow the regulative principles and if this is the case Krishna consciousness will be impossible for you. You will never be able to understand what Krishna consciousness is.
Anyone can follow the regulative principles. It is not difficult. Of course occasionally there maybe fall-down. But if we don’t see our love for Krishna increasing and our attraction to material sense gratification decreasing we can know we are not doing something correctly, that we are not becoming Krishna conscious. If we are actually progressing in Krishna consciousness our love for Krishna will be increasing and our attachment to material sense gratification will be decreasing.
Of course no matter what, no matter how fallen we are and how many regulative principles we are breaking we must keep on chanting the Hare Krishna mantra at least 16 rounds a day and that will save us in the end, if we truly do actually keep on chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day…
But you have to know there is no question of Krishna consciousness without following the regulative principles. If you want to become Krishna conscious you have to surrender to following the regulative principles. There is no other way. There is no alternative.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
If this Mayavadis philosophy has already indirectly spread throughout the world and it is poisonous and most spiritual teachers online etc are preaching this philosophy not knowing the consequences, will they ever have a chance of taking to krishna consciousness, attaining the ultimate goal in spiritual life after death returning back to the Supreme personality of Godhead Krishna and if not what happens to all these soul’s if they are eternal?
What are the symptoms of being poisoned by this philosophy and how does one know if he has been poisoned or listened to these Mayavadis?
If one has been bought up ignorant since birth due to karma and during many years tries to find how to get back to God/Krishna, finally finds and takes the only direct way with the Krishna Conscious movement, along the way stumbles upon people on a online radio station, utube etc speaking about for example “ye are light, ye are gods” quote’s from Jesus from the bible, astrology, ufo’s etc is this a Mayavadis? If one has unknowingly listened to these type of people, is his spiritual life destroyed and not able to be a devotee even if does the four regulative principles, chant 16 rounds and reads Prabhupada’s books 1-2 hours a day and develop love for Krishna and return to Krishna after he dies?
Hare Krishna
Andrew
Hare Krishna Andrew
Practically everyone is contaminated by the Mayavadi philosophy to some degree. But we can wash off that contamination by surrendering to Srila Prabhupada, hearing from him, reading his books and chanting Hare Krishna.
So do not worry. We have all heard the Mayavadis to some extent and have all become poisoned to some extent. But now we have to become aware of the danger and avoid hearing from them in the future and wash off the poison with chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.
The problem with the Mayavadi philosophy is that it is very attractive to the conditioned souls. To the demons. They love it. Because the Mayavadi philosophy says that there is no God, no Krishna, in the ultimate issue. They say everything is one, we are all one, we are all God… So this is maya. They convince themselves that they are god, there is no Krishna and there is no need to surrender to Krishna. It is just maya.
But the problem is the Mayavadis establish their maya by quoting from the Vedas and they also can be very attached to the Vedic rituals and may be very austere and apparently very attached to spritual activities. So they are a great trap.
But if you become aware of the trap and avoid them then whatever contamination you have got can be washed off by hearing from Srila Prabhupada, surrendering to Srila Prabhupada, offering obeisances to Srila Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krishna, etc. These are unlimitedly powerful activities which can purify us of any contamination if we actually seriously practice them.
The symptom of being poisoned by the Mayavadi philosophy is that you will have no taste for chanting Hare Krishna, you will have no desire to serve Krishna, you will not be surrendered but you will be wanting others to surrender to you.
The thing is in the neophyte stage of devotional service it is not possible to tell who is a devotee and who is a demon. This is only possible for a devotee who has reached the Madhyama platform, the middle platform of devotional service. So the only way you can really tell who is who is to advance in Krishna consciousness at least to this platform of Madhyama-adhakri.
So do it. Surrender to Srila Prabhupada fully and seriously follow all his instructions and go out and distribute his books and become a pure devotee of Krishna and then automatically you will be able to see who is a demon and who is a devotee. This is the preaching platform, distinguishing demons from devotees, avoiding the demons and associating with the devotees and preaching to the innocent. Of course a devotee on the topmost platform does not see like this. He sees everyone, except himself, engaged in the service of Krishna. But that is not the preaching platform. You can not preach on that platform. So the devotees on the topmost platform come down to the Madhyama platform to preach…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krsna!
I will do whatever I can to help Srila Prabhupada’s mission. Even if that includes fighting mayavadis!
Gopinath das
hari, it takes special beings to really recieve his divine grace ,prabhupada.his message is the simplest,and one of the most profound to have embrace this modern times.a person has to be extremly simple to grasp his message and put it in action, and if one does . its because of karmic grace.out of his mouth flew the keys to the mysterys of todays problems.their are words used in the vedic literature which are vehicles to free ones soul from the imprisionment of maya,they are vehicles used by the vedic superbeings to manifest who krishnan is. and to restore their constitutional position .and to be a vehicular transport to vikunta.but one has to be in the right position of thought word and deeds.and surrender unto the spiritual masters of the bonified field of this life.kreshne matya astu
Hare krishna Prabhu Ji ,
“Guru kahe so kare. Kare, so na kare. “ (Meaning: Do whatever one’s guru tells. Never do whatever one’s guru does) .
Chaitanya mahaprabhu defeated mayavadis and prohibited to read mayavadi books. Certainly, one must do as directed by chaitanya mahaprabhu for achieving progress in bhakti .
I think the vaishnav acharya never told the mayavadians to drop mayavad ; let them live in the bhram jyoti. Vaishnav acharyas conveyed people that one cannot achieve the pleasure of bhakti by studying and following the mayavadi literature. And one can never reach Krishna dham. This is the warning that one is trying to reach the destination by catching a wrong train.
Hare Krishna .
Vaisnava Acaryas defeat the bogus Mayavadi philosophy. Mayavadis are offenders to Krishna. They are demons. They do the greatest damage by poisoning the general public against surrendering to Krishna. Because of their offensive nature Mayavadis do not get liberated to the brahmajoti at all, or if they do, they soon fall down again into this material world. So the Vaisnava acarayas defeat the bogus Mayavadis. That is what Lord Caitanya did, of course he defeated them and they surrendered to Him and became Vaisnavas. So that is the best thing. Get the Mayavadis to wake up and surrender to Krishna.
The whole world has been converted into hell because of this Mayavadi philosophy. This godless, hedonistic, sense-gratification society that we see today in India and all over the world is a direct result of the preaching of the Mayavadis. Because the Mayavadis preaching negates any transcendental pleasure and any personal god then the only option the people have is to vainly try for materialistic pleasure. The Mayavadis all ultimately fall back down to the material platform. In the beginning they say brahma satyam jagat mithya, “Brahman is truth, this world is false.” But because they can find no pleasure or activities or satisfaction in their impersonal concept of brahman they are force to come back into the world they previously rejected as false and engage in some sort of social welfare work, making schools, hospitals, etc, or even just falling down to gross sense gratification in a hopeless effort to try and get some sanctification or pleasure. Which of course the Mayavadis never achieve.
So the Mayavadis and the Mayavadi philosophy have to be completely defeated by the Vaisnvas. That will be a great relief to the people of the world.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Even as a small child I understood the magnificent creator to be a person.Although I didnt know HIS name I confided in HIM and had my first spiritual experience at age eight.Shortly after this incredible happening I was informed that humankind was made in HIS image.In those days the information was given that HE was GOD the father.I obey the basic rules and confide in my LORD NARAYANA before,during and after chanting each day.Thankyou my LORD for showing this unworthy soul the way.
I greet all devotees of Krishna. The diets are originally designed to help lessen anger, the fact of not drinking , no drugs and no smoking helps the mind to keep serene, the fact of no illect sex prevents resentments and fighting . One parter is advised. One to be married to.
And then “no moves” no flirting, no fighting
and the time awareness of being good and doing right. doing right things , cleaning the areas ,taking care of the surroundings and practice beng nice, if you have a difficult time, then ask The Lord to help you, It is always OK to ask for help from the Lord.
Where do I post a question if it is not related to the this email from you?
On another related article on Krishna.org.
Shankararcarya wrote the Govinda bhasja also, its full with the worship of Govinda, nothing impersonal in it. Maybe people make the wrong conclusion, with the part going up in Krishna, the comment from AC Bhaktivedanta Swami about that sloka that the bhakta dont want to go up in Krishna, to be one, and to loose his personality. But when everything is in Krishna, we are already in him, the unwanted particles, striving to purifiyng themself to go back to the place before creation.Going in again
Dear Pi,
Hare Krishna! I am not sure of what you are saying about “…striving to purifiyng themself to go back to the place before creation.Going in again…” Yes, we are striving to go back to Krishna. But we do not want to go back without our spiritual personality. We want to go back so that we can have a loving realtionship with Krishna, for ever! We want to go back so that we can dance with Krishna, sing with Krishna, so many different activities. We want to “go in again” as you say, but not to go into oblivion, into the nothingness of becoming merged into brahman. We want to “go in” where the real action is – loving relationship with Krishna.
Material world exists because of the existence of the spiritual abode and does not come all by itself , but a reflected perishable version , just like a human and his shadow.
Material world exists because of the existence of the spiritual abode and does not come all by itself , but a reflected perishable version , just like a human and his shadow.
I don’t know very much about it. All I know is ever since I heard the name of Krishna, someting sparked. Then I went to the hare krishna temple.
It was / is gradual , gardually meeting Krishna. Yet always feel safe with Krishna.
I know too that “believing in Jesus, will bring us great happiness too, and eternal joy back in Godhead” they are both the same, Jesus is the Son of God,Our Father of Light , born of Mary + The Holy Spirit , and Krishna is God, a person , human form of God. Jesus symbolic death is a “saving message” for all souls that “whom so ever believes in me ,will be saved”. Fine. And Krishna is Supreme Personality of GodHead. Jesus, today would be the first one to say “chant hare krishna and be happy” thus relief from the suffering in this world.
If you see suffering, try to help the suffering ones, helping the suffering ones will make you liked and loved, ask Krishna how you can help ease the suffering. And if you become rich , and krishna can make you rich, then become happy by chanting Hare krishna, then help more people , and just being nice and pleasent and keeping clean and keeping a clean living space is serving Krishna, and most of all , know that Krishna loves you, it isn’t the nice car, it isn’t the expensive things, it is the friendship and LOVE of Krishna , and healing and the JOY of the Lord. And Jesus and Krishna ,they work together with all the personalities of God, Light, to serve humanity and all of life, to make a world better.
The best thing I see is suffering , so now I have this great opportunity to help ease the suffering. Always remember there is Mercy in the Lord, Krishna understands , and He is quite compassionate. Krishna is goodness,
so as devotee’s we practice being good. This practice reduces suffering.
May The Good Lord bless all souls, and bring happiness and peace, always
and “we” today are so very fortunite to have Krishna.com and so great a opportunity to stay close to Krishna in reading, music , chanting and all portions of life, with KRISHNA , Our Creator and friend and Lord.
this is my view, but you may have your own view. Hare Krishna and many blessings to you all, and all of you.
Hare Krishna Prabhu ji,
Why there is so much suffering in this world?
Shashank.
The wold is created for suffering only. That is the purpose of the material world. We come here because we have rejected Krishna and we try to be happy without Krishna but that is not possible so we suffer. And we keep suffering birth after birth until eventually we realize that this material world is suffering only and if we are fortunate enough to get the association of a pure devotee of Krishna, a bona fide spiritual master, we can get the seed of the plant of bhakti, the bhakti-lata-bija, and then take to Krishna consciousness and remember Krishna at the time of death and go back home back to Godhead where we can be happy with Krishna and Krishna’s devotees in the spiritual world. We can be happy in the spiritual world, but in the material world there is only suffering.
Thank you Prabhuji for your enlightening answer. I want to know what about people who does not follow Krishna Consciousness and follow other religion like muslim, sikh or christian. Do they not go to Godhead by following their religion properly?
Hare Krishna Shashank
The problem is no one is following their religion properly these days so it is not working for them. Anyhow Muslims, Sikh’s and Christians can not go back to Godhead because they do not even know who God is. They do not even know where He lives or what He does… So these religions are giving some basic preliminary spiritual training and knowledge. But for anyone who wants to make an advanced study of spiritual life the place to do that is in the Vedic texts which culminate in the Srimad-Bhagavatam which is the principal text of the Hare Krishna movement.
People may become pious by following these religious principles and that is very good. Going back to Godhead is not a very simple thing and not possible without even knowing what the Godhead is…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
maya means that which is not exist but appears to be, similarly,mawad philosophy is that which is nor but appears to be a great phylosophy
Haribolo!!!kEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND SUCCESS IS GARANTIED!!!
Hare Krishna prabhu Iike the comments about the mayavadis who are they and why are causing
causing problems hari bhol
Hare Krishna Prabhu
Most so-called spiritualists and devotees today are Mayavadis. The Mayavadi philosophy was introduced by Sri Sankacharaya and it is ‘covered Buddhism.’ It is the same godless philosophy preached by the Buddhists but it is presented as ‘Vedanta’ using the Vedanta Sutra as the authority. In Sankacharaya’s commentary on the Vedanta Sutra he uses word jugglery and perverted logic to establish that ultimately there is no Supreme Lord and that the ultimate destination is the impersonal brahman.
So for the Mayavadis there is no God to surrender to, rather they like to think of themselves as god and they want to get others to surrender to them…
This is what the materialists want, ‘religion’ or spirituality without God…
But the Mayavadis are very dangerous. They will say they believe in Krishna, they will chant Hare Krishna even, but ultimately they have no interest in actually surrendering to and serving Krishna. They do not want to be a servant. They want to be the master.
It is very hard to find a devotee actually these days. Most of the so-called ‘devotees’ are actually Mayavadis pretending to be devotees so they can get disciples and become a master and lord over them…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Dear Madhudvisa Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. This was a very good continuation of the previous newsletter. Certainly, Mayawada have to eradicated by the Vaisnava preachers and dedicated servants of Srila Prabhupada.
Dandawats
If Mayadis say bramhan is
1) Nirakar meaning -bramhan does not have a brain and if he is
2) Niskriya- inactive obviously it means he cannot act.
then the act of imagining is also an activity , then even the mayawadis must agree that on one point at least they are wrong , an inactive principle gets into the act of imagining these are two contradictory aspects their philosophy reflect, it is very very strange how Sripad Adi Shrankaryacharya could so complicatedly propound this philosophy of illusion, obviously it only means no ordinary person could ever sell this philosophy, he had to be someone special, he was an incarnation of lord Shiva , he and lord krishna himself could have done it ,there is an example of Advaita acharya, who was incarnation of Sadashiva Mahavishnu , to invite the mercy of being beaten up by lord chatanya dev , who was lord krishna himself and to reveal his transcendence,he taught impersonalism.Lord therefore became the defeater and the defeated, but the soul purpose of this leela was to show how mayawad phylosophy is absurd and non acceptable.Lord chatanya dev thus said “Mayawad bhasya sunile hoibe sarva nash”
Dandawats to all devotees
Dear prabhuji ,
I have actually met some staunch mayawadi follower ,although it seems they do not also even know the mayawad philosophy properly, but dresses very immaculately as we vaishnavas do in our sampradaya, with propper tilak and dhoti at all times , conversing with them, some how it is clear in their system that congregational chanting of the name of lord, rath yatra and loudly expressing the estacy of chanting is all very lower methods of spiritual practices.Exactly what the mayawad sanyasis of varanasi headed by prakasanand saraswati questioned lord chatanya ,
I gave example of Srimad bhagwatam which he said he had read several times, I told him you cannot understand Bhagwatam unless it is heard from the mouth of a pure devotee , a vaishnava , After all it is said in bhawat mahatma “srimad bhagwatam puran tilakam yad vaishnavanam dhanam” Srimad Bhagwatam is the wealth and heart of the vaishnavas declare the scriptures.If you accept it as the ultimate proof then you must accept this
IN BHAGWATAM LORD KRISHNA INSTRUCTS UDDHAVA
Canto 11. Chapter 14 Sloke 23
At highest stage of bliss,
A devotee whose speech is sometimes choked up, whose heart melts, who cries continually and sometimes laughs, who feels ashamed and cries out loudly and then dances – a devotee thus fixed in loving service to Me purifies the entire universe.
quoting quite a few examples from the sastras he was not convinced,i though he would not be interested to hear anything further so i stopped discussing , god bless him.
But i certainly can discuss it here among vaishnavas ,I remember the versed that describe lord Chaitanya’s leela for showering his mercy to the Varanasi mayawadi sanyasis , whom he converted into vaishnavism by his sweet humble nature.Something for us to learn, how we can approach atheists and mayawadi sanyasis.
Chatanya Charitamrita Chapter 25 :How All the Residents of Varanasi Became Vaisnavas From verse 66 where Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī the stalwart among mayawadi sanyasi question lord chatanya
CC Ādi 7.66: Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī then said, “I understand that Your name is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. You are a disciple of Śrī Keśava Bhāratī, and therefore You are glorious.
CC Ādi 7.67: “You belong to our Śańkara-sampradāya and live in our village, Vārāṇasī. Why then do You not associate with us? Why is it that You avoid even seeing us?
CC Ādi 7.68: “You are a sannyāsī. Why then do You indulge in chanting and dancing, engaging in Your sańkīrtana movement in the company of fanatics?
CC Ādi 7.69: “Meditation and the study of Vedānta are the sole duties of a sannyāsī. Why do You abandon these to dance with fanatics?
CC Ādi 7.70: “You look as brilliant as if You were Nārāyaṇa Himself. Will You kindly explain the reason that You have adopted the behavior of lower-class people?”
CC Ādi 7.71: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, “My dear sir, kindly hear the reason. My spiritual master considered Me a fool, and therefore he chastised Me.
CC Ādi 7.72: “‘You are a fool,’ he said. ‘You are not qualified to study Vedānta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns.
CC Ādi 7.73: “Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.
CC Ādi 7.74: “‘In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.’
CC Ādi 7.75: “After describing the potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, My spiritual master taught Me another verse, advising Me to always keep it within My throat.
CC Ādi 7.76: “‘For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.’
CC Ādi 7.77: “Since I received this order from My spiritual master, I always chant the holy name, but I thought that by chanting and chanting the holy name I had been bewildered.
CC Ādi 7.78: “While chanting the holy name of the Lord in pure ecstasy, I lose myself, and thus I laugh, cry, dance and sing just like a madman.
CC Ādi 7.79: “Collecting My patience, therefore, I began to consider that chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa had covered all My spiritual knowledge.
CC Ādi 7.80: “I saw that I had become mad by chanting the holy name, and I immediately submitted this at the lotus feet of my spiritual master.
CC Ādi 7.81: “‘My dear lord, what kind of mantra have you given Me? I have become mad simply by chanting this mahā-mantra!
CC Ādi 7.82: “‘Chanting the holy name in ecstasy causes Me to dance, laugh and cry.’ When My spiritual master heard all this, he smiled and then began to speak.
CC Ādi 7.83: “‘It is the nature of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra that anyone who chants it immediately develops his loving ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa.
CC Ādi 7.84: “‘Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.
CC Ādi 7.85: “‘For a devotee who has actually developed bhāva, the pleasure derived from dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa appears like a drop in the presence of the sea.
CC Ādi 7.86: “‘The conclusion of all revealed scriptures is that one should awaken his dormant love of Godhead. You are greatly fortunate to have already done so.
CC Ādi 7.87: “‘It is a characteristic of love of Godhead that by nature it induces transcendental symptoms in one’s body and makes one more and more greedy to achieve the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.
CC Ādi 7.88: “‘When one actually develops love of Godhead, he naturally sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes chants and sometimes runs here and there just like a madman.
CC Ādi 7.89-90: “‘Perspiration, trembling, standing on end of one’s bodily hairs, tears, faltering voice, fading complexion, madness, melancholy, patience, pride, joy and humility — these are various natural symptoms of ecstatic love of Godhead, which causes a devotee to dance and float in an ocean of transcendental bliss while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
CC Ādi 7.91: “‘It is very good, my dear child, that You have attained the supreme goal of life by developing love of Godhead. Thus You have pleased me very much, and I am very much obliged to You.
CC Ādi 7.92: “‘My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing sańkīrtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma, for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’
CC Ādi 7.93: “Saying this, My spiritual master taught Me a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is the essence of all the Bhāgavatam’s instructions; therefore he recited this verse again and again.
CC Ādi 7.94: “‘When a person is actually advanced and takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him, he is agitated and loudly chants the holy name. He also laughs, cries, becomes agitated and chants just like a madman, not caring for outsiders.’
CC Ādi 7.95-96: “I firmly believe in these words of My spiritual master, and therefore I always chant the holy name of the Lord, alone and in the association of devotees. That holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes causes Me to chant and dance, and therefore I chant and dance. Please do not think that I intentionally do it. I do it automatically.
CC Ādi 7.97: “Compared to the ocean of transcendental bliss that one tastes by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman realization [brahmānanda] is like the shallow water in a canal.
CC Ādi 7.98: “‘My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.'”
CC Ādi 7.99: After hearing Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, all the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs were moved. Their minds changed, and thus they spoke with pleasing words.
CC Ādi 7.100: “Dear Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, what You have said is all true. Only one who is favored by fortune attains love of Godhead.
dandawats
das
DO YOU SEE A PERSON WHO AS A PERFECT BRAIN AND HAS NO FORM….HOW IT IS POSSIBLE…WHY….HOW CAN A PERSON BELIEVE ON THIS MAYAVADIES…
FROM UADIPUR-RAJASTHAN-INDIA
COLLEGE STUDENT…
PRABHUJI…HARE KRISH…
just before 5 days ago i came in touch with Krishna Conciousness.now please please please advice me what should i do….how to start…i want to blast these mayavadies but please if you have time…guide me.
First you have to become very fixed and advanced in Krishna consciousness yourself. Otherwise how can you ‘blast the mayavadis…’
Dandawats to lord krishna , to all acharyas , and the vaishnavas by who mercy “mukum karot wachalam ” a person who is incapable of speaking get any power to speak, i always seek their mercy.
in the scriptures ,four pramanams are given importance
1)Shruti praman- evidence by scriptures
2)Pratakshya praman – evidence by direct perception
3)Aitham- evidence by history
4)Anunamanam- by logic
In them 3 pramanams are within the modes of material nature ,
subject to bhrama (mistakes),pramada (illusion), vipralipsa (cheating), or karanapatava (imperfect perception). While sruti is the Best praman of which bhagwat gita as it is and srimad bhagwatam is the best at they are “shastram amalam” scriptures which is beyond and unaffected by the the three modes of material nature .
When we rely on the capacity of our tiny brain the transcendental pramanam in the scriptures may be inconceivable. Knowledge or proper understanding of the Absolute Truth is obtained through the descending process (avaroha) and not through the ascending process (aroha). Aroha depends on the mind and senses, which are inherently defective and thus knowledge obtained in this way is also defective or incomplete.
Avaroha means the process of receiving transcendental knowledge through the disciplic succession of self-realized souls. Such knowledge when received submissively enables one to understand the Absolute Truth.
The sound that comes to us through (disciplic succession) the process of avaroha is also calledsabda-brahma or transcendental sound vibration that is not subject to bhrama (mistakes),pramada (illusion), vipralipsa (cheating), or karanapatava (imperfect perception).
On the other hand any form of knowledge or understanding (particularly regarding the Absolute Truth) sought through the process of aroha is most certainly wrought with the four defects of bhrama, pramada, vipralipsa, and karanapatava.
If we want to know the origin of the soul or to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead we must first hear from authorities with faith (sraddha). This is called sravana-dasa, hearing from authorities with faith.
To defeat the mayawad philosophy, you do not even need the axe of scriptural knowledge, but even by the fourth axe of praman -logic it can be defeated.Today’s the mayawadis are actual promoted sahajiawadis that was ought to happen by the arrangement of lord’s time factor whicd destroys all that knowledge that are material by nature. The best of mayawadis during lord chatanyas time, stalwart mayawadis like Prakashanand saraswati and Sarwabhauma bhatta were converted into vaisnavism ,leaving behind only a residue of dirt that is left behind when one drinks a glass of sharbat.
The axe of logic goes this way, if we try and understand the activity of dreaming , then the dreaming does not manifest all by itself,the act of dreaming certainly is a residue of the activities done in the state of wakefulness , and therefore we thus dream out the favorable and unfavorable experiences of the day or our past memories in form of dream.Therefore to say that the formless all pervasive cosmic intelligence,suddenly gets covered by dream state of his various imaginations in form of the material world or what they call as illusion or maya cannot be justified ,They say” bramha satya , jatat mithya “but by logic we can see , that imaginations of a dream cannot be without a propper source, for if we imagine a rope to be a snake , as the mayawadis give a parallel example, we see that both the rope and the snake are real objects, the person imagining a rope to be a snake cannot imagine the snake even in his wildest imaginations unless he has seen the snake in his past experience .So to say the creative imaginations of the material world comes from nowhere and the soul just by chance gets covered by it has no logic,
The Vaishanav ,on the other hand by exclusive surrender to the scriptures , understand that the material world as a perishable reflection of the spiritual world , as there is the spiritual abode similarly so is the material world ,the perishable reality but certainly not illusion or maya as the mayawadis say, therefore the mayawadis stands defeated just by simple logic. What to speak of shastras, the scriptures give several example of the lords spiritual abode(WHICH ALSO THE MAYAWADIS INTERPRET IN THEIR OWN WAY) , and establishes the material world as the perishable reality and the souls perversion in understanding the material world to be his original world and place of permanent residence ,thus inviting the laws of karma in form of repeated rebirths in 84 crore species of lfe.
Today there are no proper Mayawadis to be found , they do not even read the vedant sutra or it commentary by Adi Sankracharya , called Sariraka-bhasya,which lord sankra actually and delebrately by the orders of lord vishnu , covered their verses by imaginative interpretation , if a person believes in scriptures as the ultimate proof ,respecting the scriptures as the ultimate proof, would on a given example stop arguing on in and accept his defeat , but todays maya was sanyasis are not that way, they have no understandings of the impersonalistic preachings of sankracharya also,the cannot site examples of preachings of sankracharays in their argument, a proper scriptural discussion with a vaishnava would ultimate defeat his understanding and bring him to proper faith , Todays Mayawadis cannot not even argue on the Mayawadi philosophy properly . Due to the all devouring materialistic influence of age they do not have time even read Mayawad philosophy properly, So what is their source of spiritual understanding ? Obviously the croaking of the frogs who actually are their so called gurus, who preach something that is so complicated that the listener and the speaker at the end confused , like a spider and its offspring both entrapped in their own web of understanding.
Lord Chatanya’s mission is divided into internal and external reason ,the internal reason was to spread the transcendental name the world over , the internal reason was to deliver the mayawadis,the students the voidists and the Mallechas, this was his special mercy , which he as his form of lord krishna rarely does so , He also come in the motherly mood of radha bhava ,so he mercied everyone without much discrimination, but however some unfortunate residues of mayawad were left out , who are today almost like atheists , even falling into materialistic, criminal and political activities.
The Mayavadi philosophy appears very attractive, and once one has heard it his chances of becoming a devotee are practically destroyed:
“Caitanya Mahāprabhu warns that “māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa.” Anyone who listens to the commentary of the Māyāvādī philosopher, then his fate is doomed. He is finished. He will never be able to understand bhakti philosophy. It is so so poisonous.”
dasanu das
Harekrishna devotees,
today i met an impersonality, i was really contaminated with their speculated theories, to clean this mind i spent considerable amount of time in this post, read each post carefully, thanks to all contributers. Today i realize how disastrous mayavad is.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
-tusar
Dandawats,
Scriptures say there is many relations that accrue between the soul and the supreme lord ,
1) he is the father we are the son
2) he is the creator we are the created
3) he is the enjoyer we are the enjoyed
4) he is the enjoyer of unlimited power we have limited power
5) we are ‘anu’ a marginal fraction ,he is vibhu massive and eternal
6) he is the knower of all activites , we are a partial knower that also of our own body
7) The jiva ia controlled by Maya, Lord is the owner and controller of maya
There are inconceivable difference between the jiva and the supreme lord. As i said before the mayawadis do not believe in shakti parinam vad of lord has energies , and these energies expand in various ways to expand into the Spiritual abode and the material world .while the jiva is Tathast or marginal we all vaishnavas know that .’Tat’Means the position between the land and the deep sea .The jiva and Maya are vhibhinna anksha or different energies of the of the lord , swaanksha is is own personal energy, because of his minute size he gets covered , our acharayas give a good example like a small candle light is very week in power therefore gets enveloped by darkness although generating very small light that cannot dessapiate darkness , while the sun is so big if it comes into the room the same morning there is no question of any darkness , which cannot stand against sut light.This is again a material comparison.
“achinta bhada bhed” is the understanding that our sampraday has given us is extraordinary par excellence . The jiva although being same in quality but inconceivable in difference. It is inconceivable how a small minute jiva only a fraction in size can win over such massiveness of identical father, by cords of love .here are some of the understandings our acharyas and scriptures the two bhagwats identical in understanding give us .
(Vs. 1.1.17)
Brihadaaranyakopanishhat
Yatha agneh kshudra vishhphulinga vyuchcharanty ave maeva tasmad atmanaha sarvani bhutani^ vyuchcharanti
As from fire emanates small sparks , similarly from me all souls emantes from as small sparks
Anksho nana vapadeshat
All souls are in his or her marginal position is differently related with the lord .
subala upanisad of the Yahur Veda
divyo deva eko narayano mata pita bhrata nivasah saranam suhrdgatir narayano
3.28.41
bhutendriyantah-ka ranat pradhanaj jiva-samjnitat atma tatha prthag dmsta bhagavan brahma-samjnitah
bhuta–the five elements; indriya–the senses; antah-karanat–from the mind; pradhanat–from the pradhana; jiva-samjaitat–from the jiva soul; atma–the Paramatma; tatha–so; prthak–different; drasta–the seer;
bhagavan–the Personality of Godhead; brahma-samjnitah–called Brahman.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Parambrahma, is the seer. He is different from the jiva soul, or individual living entity, who is combined with the senses, the five elements and consciousness.
11.11.5,6
atha baddhasya muktasya vailaksanyam vadami te viruddha-dharminos tata sthitayor eka-dharmini
atha–thus; baddhasya–of the conditioned soul; muktasya–of the liberated Personality of Godhead; vailaksanyam—different characteristics; vadami–I will now speak; te–unto you; viruddha–opposing; dharminoh–whose two natures; tata–My dear Uddhava; sthitayoh–of the two who are situated; eka-dharmini–in the one body which manifests their different characteristics.
Thus, my dear Uddhava, in the same material body we find opposing characteristics, such as great happiness and misery. That is because both the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is eternally liberated, as well as the conditioned soul are within the body. I shall now speak to you about their different characteristics.
suparnav etau sadrsau sakhayau yadrcchayaitau krta-nidau ca vrkse ekas tayoh khadati pippalannam anyo niranno ‘pi balena bhuyan
suparnau–two birds; etau–these; sadrsau–similar; sakhayau–friends; yadrcchaya–by chance; etau–these two; krta–made; nidau–a nest; ca– and; vrkse–in a tree; ekah–one; tayoh–of the two; khadati–is eating;
pippala–of the tree; annam–the fruits; anyah–the other; nirannah—not eating; api–although; balena–by strength; bhuyan–He is superior.
By chance, two birds have made a nest together in the same tree. The two birds are friends and are of a simialr nature. One of them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does
not eat the fruits, is in a superior position due to His potency.
15.7
mamaivāḿśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
SYNONYMS
mama — My; eva — certainly; aḿśaḥ — fragmental particle; jīva-loke — in the world of conditional life; jīva-bhūtaḥ — the conditioned living entity; sanātanaḥ — eternal; manaḥ — with the mind; ṣaṣṭhāni — the six; indriyāṇi — senses; prakṛti — in material nature; sthāni — situated; karṣati — is struggling hard.
TRANSLATION
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.
Katha Upanishad says:
agnir yathaiko bhuvanam pravishto rupam rupam pratirupo babhuva ekas tatha sarva-bhutantaratma rupam rupam prati rupo bahis ca
Just as the element fire enters the world and takes the form of many similar fires, the Supreme Lord, the soul of all souls, enters the material world, as many jivas.
Katha Upanishad 2.2.9
That which is like the original but dependent is called counter- image or pratibimba. Though the jiva is an expansion of paramatma and thus similar, it can never become the original, being situated at a distance from the original. As the sun has particles situated in its external rays, so paramatma has the jivas as his expansions.
11.25.12
sattvaḿ rajas tama iti guṇā jīvasya naiva me citta-jā yais tu bhūtānāḿ sajjamāno nibadhyate
SYNONYMS
sattvam — the mode of goodness; rajaḥ — the mode of passion; tamaḥ — the mode of ignorance; iti — thus; guṇāḥ — the modes; jīvasya — pertaining to the spirit soul; na — not; eva — indeed; me — to Me; citta-jāḥ — manifest within the mind; yaiḥ — by which modes; tu — and; bhūtānām — to material creations; sajjamānaḥ — becoming attached; nibadhyate — one is bound up.
TRANSLATION
The three modes of material nature — goodness, passion and ignorance — influence the living entity but not Me. Manifesting within his mind, they induce the living entity to become attached to material bodies and other created objects. In this way the living entity is bound up.
srimad bhagwatam 10.87.20
sva-kṛta-pureṣv amīṣv abahir-antara-saḿvaraṇaḿ tava puruṣaḿ vadanty akhila-śakti-dhṛto ‘ḿśa-kṛtam iti nṛ-gatiḿ vivicya kavayo nigamāvapanaḿ bhavata upāsate ‘ńghrim abhavam bhuvi viśvasitāḥ
SYNONYMS
sva — by himself; kṛta — created; pureṣu — in the bodies; amīṣu — these; abahiḥ — not externally; antara — or internally; saḿvaraṇam — whose factual envelopment; tava — Your; puruṣam — living entity; vadanti — (the Vedas) say; akhila — of all; śakti — energies; dhṛtaḥ — of the possessor; aḿśa — as the expansion; kṛtam — manifested; iti — in this manner; nṛ — of the living entity; gatim — the status; vivicya — ascertaining; kavayaḥ — learned sages; nigama — of the Vedas; āvapanam — the field in which all offerings are sown; bhavataḥ — Your; upāsate — they worship; ańghrim — the feet; abhavam — which cause the cessation of material existence; bhuvi — on the earth; viśvasitāḥ — having developed faith.
TRANSLATION
The individual living entity, while inhabiting the material bodies he has created for himself by his karma, actually remains uncovered by either gross or subtle matter. This is so because, as the Vedas describe, he is part and parcel of You, the possessor of all potencies. Having determined this to be the status of the living entity, learned sages become imbued with faith and worship Your lotus feet, to which all Vedic sacrifices in this world are offered, and which are the source of liberation.
dandawats
Hare Krishna and dandawats
Material energy of lord krishna Maya ,has two forms Gayan Maya is and Avidya maya the mayawadis are under the clutches of Gayan maya ( in the mode of goodness )it is very difficult of overcome by a human , while avadia maya can be although very difficult to overcome, can be overcome by gayan maya. Therefore it is sometimes easy to convince people who are from non vedic faiths and also people in the vedic faith who do not follow the principles of vedas and only believe it as an excellent mouthpiece and perform activities forbidden in the vedas just like an atheist .
But to convince a mayawad is extremely difficult ,
There is a story our acharyas say,
Two people came to learn tabla from a guru,
Guru said ,” i wish to first know how much both of you know about tabla play”
, of the two the one who knew something about tabla playing said immediately , “guruji guruji!!i know quiet a few things about tabla .”
“Ok” the guru said” now the other person, what about you?how much you know?”
The other person said “i know nothing”.
Guruji said .”It is thus decided that i will charge the person who knows about Tabla ,rs 700 as fees, and 300 for the person who does not know anything”. The surprised person who knew something about tabla asked with surprise , “but sir this is unfair, how can you charge the person who knows nothing about tabla so less, on the contrary i must be charged less and he more ,as he does not know anything about tabla playing , there is something wrong.
Guru dev said nothing is wrong, i took this decision with proper deliberation, my justification is” the person who does not know anything about tabla playing is fresh it will be easy to teach him, while as in your case i will have to remove all that ‘kachra’ that you have learnt previously , that will take a great effort and time to remove, before you can resume learning .
this is the case with the mayawadis, To remove the dirt from their mind is very difficult, besides it is difficult to even find a propper mayawad who know anything about sciptures today.
dandawats
Hare Krishna Sanjay
You are correct Prabhu. Mayavadis are poisoned. It is almost impossible for them to understand bhakti, devotion to Krishna. And we have to be very careful with them because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu warns: Mayavadi bhasya sune haya sarva nasa — “If you hear from the Mayavadis then everything is spoiled.” So not only are they poisoned themselves they have a great potency to poison others also.
It is because the material disease, the reason we all come to the material world, is that we are envious of Krishna, we want to become god… And the Mayavadis have a ‘spiritual’ philosophy as you say in the mode of goodness, and they are very attached to performing religious ritualistic performances and at the same time their philosophy is “You are god. I am god. We are all god.” So it is too good to be true. It is spiritual and at the same time they tell you that you are god… So people like it obviously. It is a very attractive philosophy for one who does not want to surrender to Krishna…
They are very difficult to preach to, practically impossible… They are offenders to Krishna… It is very difficult for them and very difficult for anyone who hears from them…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
dandawats and hare krishna
Dear Madhudvisa dasa I cannot locate from which scriptures this sloke was derived could you help me?
Lord Siva states:
mayavadam asac-chastram
pracchannam bauddham ucyate
mayaiva kalpitam devi
kalau brahmana-rupina
“The Mayavadi philosophy is veiled Buddhism.” In other words, the voidist philosophy of Buddha is more or less repeated in the Mayavadi philosophy of impersonalism, although the Mayavadi philosophy claims to be directed by the Vedic conclusions. Lord Siva, however, admits that
this philosophy is manufactured by him in the age of Kali in order to mislead the atheists. “Actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead has His transcendental body,” Lord Siva states. “But I describe the Supreme as impersonal. I also explain the Vedanta-sutra according to the same principles of Mayavadi philosophy.”
Namaste
So, according to you..Swami Vivekananda was also a mayawadi?
because he said that brahman and atman are same.
Yes, yes, yes. Vivekananda was a big Mayavadi and you need to avoid hearing his philosophy because it is very poisonous. The atma is brahman, but not para-brahman. The atma is a tiny part and parcel of Krishna. So if you take a tiny part of anything it is still the same substance as the original thing. If you take a drop of water out of the ocean it is still salty. The quality is the same but the quantity of salt in the drop is vastly different from the quantity of salt in the ocean. So the atma is brahman in quality but it is not equal in quantity to the param-brahman, Krishna.
DANDAWATS DEAR PRABHUJI
PLEASE DO NOT DISPLAY THIS REPLY, I WAS SHOCKED , AS MUCH YOU WILL BE TO READTHIS FROM AN ISLAM SITE,
http://WWW.ALLAAHUAKBAR.NET/JAIN/RELIGIOUS.HTM
HERE THE MUSLIMS ARE TRYING TO JUSTIFY THAT AT ONE TIME IT WAS OBLIGATORY OF A HINDU IN THE PAST TO SACRIFICE A COW AND HAVE HIS MEAT, TO ADD FUEL TO FIRE SWAMI VEVEKANANDA SAID IN HIS PREACHING IT IS TRUE , WHEN THE SCRIPTURES GOES INTO THE HANDS OF UNSCROUPLOUS MEN WHO READ VEDAS WHICH IS BEYOND INTELLIGENCE, BY THEIR MATERIAL INTELLIGENCE THIS IS THE RESULT, RAMKRISHNA AND VIVEKANANDA – ARE SAKSHAD KOLI AND HIS CHALA AS WE SAY IN OUR MISSION , VIVEKANANDA MUD BE CONSIDERED A FATHER OF MODERN GODMANISM IN INDIA .A GEM IN THE HANDS OF A MONKEY , A MONKEY DOES NOT KNOW AND CAPATALISE ON ITS VALUE , SIMILARLY TRANSCENDENTAL LITRATURES LIKE THE VEDAS WHEN IN THE HANDS OF GODMEN LIKE VEVEKANANDA IS LIKE MILK TOUCHED BY A SNAKE
“THE COW IN HINDUISM: MYTH AND REALITY”
With the supporting illustrations Extracted from various Hindu scriptures. In that article we tried our best to bring out what the Hindu scriptures ordain about beef eating. Relying on the facts we reached the conclusion that the Hindu religious books permitted the beef eating. Not only this, the beef was, if we believe in the Hindu scriptures, an inseparable part of Hindu religious rites from the birth to the death and even of the ‘Shraddha karma’.
If we go, back to the fifty years of India’s independence we come to know that there has been a long chain of agitations against cow slaughtering. A number of resolutions were passed against the slaughtering of cows and all-round efforts are being made to prove that in India the cow has always been venerable and not to be slaughtered. Therefore. Cow slaughtering is a heinous crime
But like facts are juxtaposite. There are a number of illustrations in ancient Sanskrit literature which prove that the cow was not only scarified in the yagyas but its beef was also served to the guests and Vedic scholars as a mark of their respect. Possibly this was why, the greatest propagator of Hinduism Swami Vivekanand said thus:
“YOU, WILL BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT ACCORDING TO ANCIENT HINDU RITES AND RITUALS, A MAN CANNOT BE A GOOD HINDU WHO DOES NOT EAT BEEF,’ (THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SWAMI VIVEKANAND, VOL-3, PAGE 536)
ON PAGE 174 OF THE ABOVE-MENTIONED BOOK THE SWAMI SAYS, “THERE WAS A TIME IN INDIA WHEN A BRAHMIN COULD NOT BE A BRAHMIN IF HE DID NOT EAT BEEF.”
There are a number of illustrations in the ancient Sanskrit literature, which suggest that the cow used to be scarified in the yagyas and its beef served to important guests and the Vedic scholars. In the Vedas, there is a detailed description of ‘Gomedh Yagya’, in which cow was scarified. Describing this yagya, an ancient and famous Sanskrit encyclopedia “shabdakalpdrum” says thus:
“YAJ VISHESHAH ATRA ESTRIGOPASHUH MANTRESHU ESTRILINGPATHET TASYA LAKSHANAM – SATPASHLATWA – NAY SHAFATWA- BHAG SHRINGATWA – KANATWA – CHHINNKARNTWA- DIDASHRAHITYAM. TASYA PRAYOGAH SARVO APEE CHHAGPASHUAWAT. YAJMAMSYA SWARGAH FALAM GOSCHA GOLOKO PRAPTEE.”
“This is the special yagya. In this yagya, the cow is sacrificed. In this ‘mantra’ the word ‘go’ is used for cow, and not for ox or calf because the verse suggests the feminine gender the cow, worthy for sacrifice in this yagya, should have seven or nine hoofs. Its horns must be intact. It should be neither one-eyed, nor ear-cropt It should be treated like a goat. The performer of ‘Gomedh Yagya’ attains heaven and the cow scarified in this yagya goes to “Golok.”
This description of ‘Gomedh Yagya’ in ‘shabdakalpdrum’ leaves no room for the opposition of cow-slaughtering I want to remind the people behind the movement against cow-slaughtering that ‘shabdakalpdrum’ Sanskrit encyclopedia is published by Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit Vidyapith, New Delhi and National Sanskrit Research Centre, New Delhi with the cooperation of Human Resources & Development Ministry, Government of India. Therefore, I request the people, who have called my article as confusing to go into the details of the facts and then decide the truthfulness of my contention on the issue. In the life of the followers of a religion, religious injunctions play very important role. If the Vedas and other Hindu religious books sanctify the beef eating. Where is the room for its opposition? Does the opposition of beef eating not show clumsiness? They must accept the truth they should go into the depth why the cow was made to be esteemed as mother, while the Vedas and other Hindu scriptures sanctify its sacrifice and beef eating. In fact, they must oppose that conspiracy, which made the Cow venerable. But unfortunately, it did not happen,
I AM QUOTING SOME EXCERPTS FROM CHATANYA CHARITAMRITA
CHAITANYA CHARITAMRITA
ADI LEELA CHAPTER 17 : TEXT 152
LORD CHATANYA SPEAKS TO THE KAZI
The Lord said, “My dear uncle, I have come to your home just to ask you some questions.””Yes,” the Kazi replied, “You are welcome. Just tell me what is in Your mind.”
The Lord Chatanya Mahaprabhu said, “You drink cows’ milk; therefore the cow is your mother. And the bull produces grains for your maintenance; therefore he is your father.
“Since the bull and cow are your father and mother, how can you kill and eat them? What kind of religious principle is this? On what strength are you so daring that you commit such sinful activities?”
The Kazi replied, “As You have Your scriptures called the Vedas and Puranas, we have our scripture, known as the holy Koran.
“According to the Koran, there are two ways of advancement–through increasing the propensity to enjoy and decreasing the propensity to enjoy. On the path of decreasing attachment [nivrtti-marga], the killing of animals is prohibited.
“On the path of material activities, there is regulation for killing cows. If such killing is done under the guidance of scripture, there is no sin.”
As a learned scholar, the Kazi challenged Caitanya Mahaprabhu, “In Your Vedic scriptures there is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this injunction, great sages peformed sacrifices involving cow-killing.”
Refuting the Kazi’s statement, the Lord immediately replied, “The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore every Hindu, whoever he may be, avoids indulging in cow-killing.
“In the Vedas and Puranas there are injunctions declaring that if one can revive a living being, be can kill it for experimental purposes.
“Therefore the great sages sometimes killed old cows, and by chanting Vedic hymns they again brought them to life for perfection.
“The killing and rejuvenation of such old and invalid cows was not truly killing but an act of great benefit.
“Formerly there were powerful brahmanas who could make such experiments using Vedic hymns, but now, because of the Kali-yuga, brahmanas are not so powerful. Therefore the killing of cows and bulls for rejuvenation is forbidden.
” ‘In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyasa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife.’
“Since you Muslims cannot bring killed animals back to life, you are responsible for killing them. Therefore you are going to hell; there is no way for your deliverance.
“Cow-killers are condemned to rot in hellish life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of the cow.
“There are many mistakes and illusions in your scriptures. Their compilers, not knowing the essence of knowledge, gave orders that were against reason and argument.”
“My dear Nimai Pandita, what You have said is all true. Our scriptures have developed only recently, and they are certainly not logical and philosophical.
“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.”
“I know that our scriptures are full of imagination and mistaken ideas, yet because I am a Muslim I accept them for the sake of my community, despite their insufficient support.
“The reasoning and arguments in the scriptures of the meat-eaters are not very sound,” the Kazi concluded.
DASANU DAS
Hare Krsna Madhudvisa dasa
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I have seen in India that now a days people throws picture of Krishna or small deity on street… or keep it near or under big tree in the night…which is very bad…and those mayavadi people give explanation that God is everywhere… and in this way they commit offences.
God is personally present in his deity form (or in picture)and that deity is Krsna himself, it is Krsna’s mercy that He is appearing in the deity form so we can worship Him – as we have imperfect eyes by which we can not see actual form of Krsna…correct me if I am wrong…
Prabhu what to do for it…because I saw while travelling (by crowded Bus) that people do not care for picture of Krsna and throw it on street and I was not able do anything…
Your Servant
Hare Krishna Chetan
It is because nowadays generally speaking most Indians are atheists. They are simply interested in sense gratification and so-called success in the material world [good education, good job, lots of money, nice wife, nice house, etc…] The Indians are of course imitating the Western world in their greed for material success. In the process they have lost the spiritual aim in life.
In one sense this is giving a little hope for the future. In India now the major portion of the younger generation has no interest in spiritual life whatsoever. They just want money and sex. So they are also not interested in hearing from the Mayavadis. So in that sense they are avoiding being contaminated by the poisonous Mayavadi philosophy. They have no interest in philosophy.
So they are actually great candidates for the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is patita-pavana gaura hair, “Lord Caitanya is the deliverer of the most fallen.” So being materialistic and sinful and fallen in every way is not a disqualification from taking to Krishna consciousness. Actually Lord Caitanya is most merciful to such fallen souls. But if one is unfortunate enough to hear the Mayavadi philosophy then mayavadi bhasya sune haya sarva nasa: his chances of taking to Krishna consciousness are destroyed, he can no longer understand God as a person. So it is good in the sense that this new generation of completely godless, completely sinful people are also not interested in hearing from the Mayavadis.
So there needs to be some real preaching of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement and all these sinful rascals can be saved by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But unfortunately ISKCON is currently also infested with Mayavadis and is preaching in a covered way the Mayavadi philosophy. So today’s ISKCON does not have the potency to deliver the pure messages of Krishna and Lord Caitanya to anyone, they only have the power to poison anyone who hears from them.
So a real ‘International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ is required which must be comprised of devotees who are actually surrendered to and servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and who are actually following the preaching process chalked out by Srila Prabhupada which is very simple. It is sankirtan. Chanting the Hare Krishna mantra congregationally and distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. But this sankirtan can only be performed by devotees who are engaged in pure devotional service. That is why Srila Prabhupada so much stresses the absolute necessity of all his disciples strictly following the four regulative principles: No Illicit Sex, No Meat Eating, No Gambling and No Intoxication and chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily.
So the purity is essential. The purity is the force, without the purity there can be no successful preaching work.
So for the time being at least we can individually become pure and individually serve Srila Prabhupada and preach to the best of our ability and pray to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna that a real international society of disciples of Srila Prabhupada who are actually surrendered to and following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions can come into existence and that this society can act as an instrument in the hands of Srila Prabhupada and in this way spread the sankirtan movement of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to every town and village…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Prabhuji,!I’m 8yrs old n I want to understand that v have so many spiritual leaders here in India,, so many great sages n great body’s Our SSupremo My beloved Lord KRISHNA is in VRINDAVANA still why is our country so poor n depressed as other western countries,.will u reply my question please??
Hare Krishna
The people in India are not happy now because they are not actually following the Vedic culture at all. Generally speaking these days the people in India are just as materialistic as the people anywhere else in the world. Maybe they are even more materialistic than the Western countries.
So naturally they will suffer. Because suffering is the result of materialism.
You seem to equate money with happiness and poverty with depression. But money has nothing to do with it actually. Happiness can only come if we are situated in our eternal constitutional position as servants of Krishna–it has nothing to do with money or material success.
So Indians are now so mad about money and material success–they have forgotten the Vedic culture.
And the so many gurus and so-called sadhus you see in India today are practically all cheaters. Real guru is heavy. Real guru will tell his disciples that if they want to make spiritual advancement they have to perform some tapasya, austerity. But the people don not want to perform even the most simple forms of tapasya like following the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication] and they refuse to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily. So there are now unlimited cheating gurus and sadhus who will bless their disciples if they simply give them money… This is cheating.
And the underlying big problem as I have tried to explain in this article is the poisonous Mayavadi philosophy originally propounded by Sripad Shankacharaya which is ‘spiritual’ because it uses the Vedanta Sutra as it’s authority–but which distorts and perverts the actual meaning of the Vedanta Sutra and claims that ultimately Krishna does not exist–He is simply a temporary manifestation of the eternal unlimited impersonal brahman, according to the Mayavadis the form of Krishna is maya and will cease to exist as soon as He again merges into the brahman… This philosophy has so much poisoned India and the whole world that so many people can no longer actually believe in Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And with no personal god the only thing left for them is sense gratification.
So this ‘preaching’ of the Mayavadis indirectly causes the godless, hedonistic and demonic natures we see in the people and the world around us…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
The answer to the Mayavadis and the Voidists is that : If God has an
Intelligence , then he must have a Personality . One can’t go without the
other . They’re both avoiding the issue . ( Pardon the pun ) .
SOME DAYS AGO I READ A VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING PRINT ON A T SHIRT , “PREVIOUSLY I WAS AN ATHEIST …….NOW I COME TO KNOW THAT I AM GOD ” THIS IS WHAT DESCRIBES THE STATE OF THE MAYAWADIS. WHEN WE DO NOT WANT TO UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURES FROM THE LORD’S AND THE MAHAJAN’S POINT OF VIEW .LORD ARRANGES FOR A GURU EXACTLY CORRESPONDING TO OUR MENTAL DESIRES , WHO WILL SAY EXACTLY WHAT WE WILL LIKE TO HEAR , BUT ACTUAL MEDICINE THAT CURES MIGHT ACTUALLY BE BITTER , BUT IT ACTUALLY IS THE PROPER SOURCE TO CURE SO ARE THE VAISHNAVAS , THE PROPER GURU, WHO OFFERS YOU AS AN ETERNAL SERVANT OF THE LORD AND CONNECTS YOU WITH LORD ETERNALLY IN SELFLESS SERVICE AND THIS IS THE HIGHEST FROM OF BLISS SO DOES ALSO THE SCRIPTURES SAY.
Hare Krishna Madhudvisa dasaji,
It was really enlightening to go through your views on this particular topic. I used to always wonder as to why there was so much critisism of Mayavadis, when the same time and effort can be put to better use in remembering and chanting Lord Krishna. But now I can understand that for people to see clear reflection in the mirror it is the most important thing to clear the dust on the mirror similarly for someone to progress in Krishna Conciousness it is of atmost importance to clear the conciousness of the dirt of misinformation from other sources. Hence this is the first and the basic step on the path of Krishna Conciousness.
I have certain views or thoughts,which I would like to present before you for your kind perusal(though it will be a bit long)? Can I?
Hare Krishna,
Kamlesh.
Hare Krishna Kamlesh
Krishna.org is not for presenting your thoughts. It is only for presenting the philosophy of Krishna consciousness as presented by Srila Prabhupada. So if you have any questions about the articles we have posted or any aspect of Krishna consciousness I can answer the questions for you.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna,
Madhudvisa dasa
I was a Buddhist for some years. At first, the preaching was beautiful. Buddhism is reason. I admire the teaching but later on I realized it is not only a deadlock but It is a bogus and show off of one man and his ego. You have one president for life; he presents himself greater than God and everyone should follow his rules and regulations without questioning. He is in charge of giving orders for everything. He put his son as a second in line, at the cost of many who have worked in the organization for decades or since its inception.
People inspired by God are worthless when compared to people who beleives in Buddhism without God. The existence of God is made up by humans.
The organization can’t tell the orgin of the chanting. However, every one has to chant daily in order to get material benefit in this life or next. There is no liberation from the maya or ascension. There is no teaching of the soul, or orgination of the soul. Everything is about matter.
You dare to criticize or say any thing contrary to the preaching of the president. Every one will bark at you as you are the sinner.
There is a fear that if you leave the organization, you will not get material benefit and you are doomed to poverty, illness, etc. Few may have these fear and prefer to stick in the organization and not follow their hearts.
I am speaking only my experience in Buddhism not for Buddhist organizations who beleive in God as the Absolute Godhead who is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient.
Lets pray for our brothers and sisters who are under the control of Mayavadis to come to their senses and follow Lord Krishna.
Hare Krishna,
Sara
Guru shankaracharya is considered to be an avatara of lord shiva,if it is true then how can a godly person expound a false philosophy,and how can great people like swami vivekananda follow the advaitha philosophy?I am a madhva brahmin,i agree that dvaitha is right,but how can you justify the postulations of adi guru shankaracharya as false when he is an incarnation of god …..why did lord siva try to mislead people?
Hare Krishna
“The Lord further added that the Māyāvāda philosophy taught by Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya is an imaginary explanation of the Vedas, but it had to be taught by him (Śaṅkarācārya) because he was ordered to teach it by the Personality of Godhead. In the Padma Purāṇa it is stated that the Personality of Godhead ordered His Lordship Śiva 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 Śiva said to Devī: ‘In the Kali-yuga, I shall preach the Māyāvāda philosophy, which is nothing but clouded Buddhism, in the garb of a brāhmaṇa.'”
So Lord Shiva says: ‘In the Kali-yuga, I shall preach the Māyāvāda philosophy, which is nothing but clouded Buddhism, in the garb of a brāhmaṇa.‘.
Shiva is also serving Visnu, Krishna, so this is all part of Krishna’s plan…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
never heard of a maya-whatever philosohpie. Philosophies make no place in my mind or heart. Thank you for making knowen this stumbling block to all for seeing.I guess the prefix of maya is enough to keep me from prying. Devotion to Krishna
Hari Krishna,
Is it possible to be initiated by an Iskcon Guru after one has already been initiated by a Guru outside of Isckon? And it seems that chanting 16 rounds is too much for a beginner. Is it alright to start with one round or a few rounds of the Maha Mantra?
Hare Krishna Cap
Chanting 16 rounds and following the four regulative principles is the beginning and you can not imagine taking initiation until you are fixed up in doing this for at least 6-12 months.
Of course anything you can do in Krishna consciousness is good. But really one round? If you can only chant one round, if you are only prepared to spend 10 minutes out of 24 hours chanting Hare Krishna then how can you expect to make any significant advancement.
So somehow you have to come to the point of chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and strictly following the four regulative principles [no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication]
It is not difficult, chanting 16 rounds. You just do it. You just decide to do it and do it, that’s all..
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
hare krishna and dandawats to all
hari bhakti vilas-sanatan goswamy
first vlias Text 53
PADMA PURAN
maha-bhagavata-shreshyho brahmano vai gurur nrinam sarvesham eva lokanam
asau pujyo yatha harih
In the Padma Purana it is said:
“A devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the spiritual master of all human beings. Everyone should worship him as if he were Lord Krishna Himself.
Text 54
maha-kula-prasuto ‘pi sarva-yajneshu dikshitah sahasra-shakhadhyayi ca
na guruh syad avaishnavah
“However, a person born in an aristocratic family, initiated in all yajnas, and learned in a thousand branches of the Vedas, but not a devotee of Lord Vishnu, cannot be a genuine spiritual master.
Commentary by Shrila Sanatana Gosvami
In the Pancaratra it is said:
avaishnavopadishöena mantrena nirayam vrajet punash ca vidhina samyag
grahayed vaishnavad guroh
“By chanting a mantra given by a spiritual master who is not a devotee of Lord Vishnu, one goes to hell. Such a disciple should be initiated again, this time by a spiritual master who is a devotee of Lord Vishnu.”
Text 55
grihita-vishnu-dikshako vishnu-puja-paro narah vaishnavo ‘bhihito ‘bhijnair itaro smad avaishnavah
“A person who has accepted initiation in the worship of Lord Vishnu and who is devoted to the worship of Lord Vishnu is called a devotee of Lord Vishnu by the wise. One who is not like him is not a devotee of Lord Vishnu.”
Padma puran
sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah avaisnavo gurur na syad
vaisnavah sva-paco guruh
“A scholarly brahmana, expert in all subjects of Vedic knowledge, is
unfit to become a spiritual master without being a Vaisnava, or expert
in the science of Krsna consciousness. But a person born in a family of
a lower caste can become a spiritual master if he is a Vaisnava, or
Krsna conscious.”
(Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya 8.128)
TEXT 128
kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei ‘guru’ haya
TRANSLATION
“Whether one is a brahmana, a sannyasi or a sudra–regardless of what he is–he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Krsna.”
In the Padma Purana it is said:
na sudrah bhagavad-bhaktas te ‘pi bhagavatottamah sarva-varnesu te sudra
ye na bhakta janardane
One who is actually advanced in spiritual knowledge of Krsna is never a sudra, even though he may have been born in a sudra family. However, even if a vipra, or brahmana, is very expert in the six brahminical activities (pathana, pathana, yajana, yajana, dana, pratigraha) and is also well versed in the Vedic hymns, he cannot become a spiritual master unless he is a Vaisnava. But if one is born in the family of candalas yet is well versed in Krsna consciousness, he can become a guru. These are the sastric injunctions, and strictly following these injunctions, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as a grhastha named Sri Visvambhara, was initiated by a sannyasi-guru named Isvara Puri. Similarly, Sri Nityananda Prabhu was initiated by Madhavendra Puri, a sannyasi. According to others, however, He was initiated by Laksmipati Tirtha. Advaita Acarya, although a grhastha, was initiated by Madhavendra Puri, and Sri Rasikananda, although born in a brahmana family, was initiated by Sri Syamananda Prabhu, who was not born in a caste brahmana family. There are many instances in which a born brahmana took initiation from a person who was not born in a brahmana family. The brahminical symptoms are explained in
Padma Purana
Srila Sanatana Gosvami has advised us to hear about Krsna from a Vaisnava. He has explicitly forbidden us to hear from an avaisnava.
avaisnava-mukhodgirnam putam hari-kathamrtam sravanam naiva kartavyam
sarpocchistam yatha payah
Taking initiation from a non vaishnav and taking advice from such person,such initiation and instruction is like a cup of milk touched by a snake
scriptures also say sampradaya vihina mantra nisphala smrita
also here is the caution of taking innitiation from a propper vaishnav, not any tilak dhari vaishnav , there had been also a phase in gaudia sampradaya where vaishnava sampraday preaching s was almost destroyed by
apara vaishnav sampraday posing as vaishnav sampradaylike baul etc, until there was the prakatya or appearance of bhakti Binod Thakur , Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Prabhupad and bhakti vedanta srila prabhupad , all appeared to seperate the clean and propper vaishnav sampradaya from the contaminated
and fought a great philosophical battle , by tutoring and self practice
it bring me tears in my eyes to think of their sacrifice.
Perhaps Madhudvisa dasa will also explain you what sampradaya is, i am a working person but office is a very disturbing place,devotees like Madhudvisa dasa are the right people to guide us,we should look forward for his mercy, i will aso try and share the preachings of vaishnavas i have with me as a treasure and jut keep adding their words as their parrot.
Madhudvisa dasa is right in saying that one must chant 16 rounds, it is not difficult when you think of the enormous time we have in travelling ,
Think also of the time we spend in company of people who are not only not beneficial in spiritual point of view but are also useless in materialistic point of view , think how much time in a day we waste just for no reason.
dasanu das sanjay
I just want to say: There is God and He is Personal. He has the Real Form. We (mankind)are only copied from Him. He has His Own Personality.
Lord Sri Krishna is Maha Purusha, the Supreme Enjoyer. “Ishwara parama Krishna sat chit ananda vigraha.” Translation: ” The Supreme Lord is Krishna, and His form is eternal , full of knowledge and bliss.”
We are here in this material world because we are opposed to the fact that Krishna is God and we are His eternal servants. Therefore we must suffer in this endless cycle of samsara, birth and death. The mayavadi or impersonal concept of God is there to accommodate those who are in opposition to the understanding that we are eternally Krishna’s servants. Therefore they assert that we need not worship Krishna, because we are all God. Although dressed in the appearance of a sadhu, in actuality they are enemies and opponents of Krishna. They want to remove Krishna, who is putting every morsel of food into their envious mouths. In other words, they are making it their life’s work to compete with Krishna for the position of being God, and therefore mayavadis are in fact demonic.
It is one thing to be misled. But when so much shastric evidence is presented indicating the supremacy of Lord Krishna as the “sarva karana karanam”, the cause of all causes, and they still reject this, then such holders of impersonal philosophy are actually demons. One has to understand this. In Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains that He is in everyone’s heart supplying intelligence according to the desire of the individual soul. It one wants the Supreme Truth, Krishna will help him to become a Krishna bhakta. Therefore we can judge the person in terms of their spiritual orientation. About such things one cannot be sentimental. Such persons are simply wolves in the clothing of sheep – ashuras in the clothing of sadhus.
Ravana, Hiranyakashipu, and so many other great demons, were against the supremacy of Krishna. The mayavadi impersonalists are in the same boat, but disguised as spiritual teachers.
Why are “Mayavadis” (Corrupt Politicians & their collaborators)dominating in India looting the wealth of the country while poor are suffering? Will Krishna ever punish them?
Hare Krishna Hemant
Everyone gets what they deserve according to the law of karma so yes, the corrupt politicians will have to suffer the reactions for their sinful actions. The people in India and all over the world are also suffering for their sinful actions.
A devotee does not blame the person who appears to be causing them suffering for the suffering. He knows the people who appear to be causing him suffering like the corrupt politicians are simply acting under the direction of the three modes of material nature. They are being forced to act in a particular way because of their past karma and because of your past karma. This is the apparent cause of the suffering of the Indian people–the corrupt politicians–but the actual cause of the suffering of the Indian people is that they have given up their culture of Krishna consciousness and taken on very sinful lifestyle of the western world. So Krishna is punishing the Indian people for this now and of course He will punish the Mayavadis also.
It is not actually Krishna punishing us. It is the laws of material nature. We are being punished by the material energy as the reaction to the sinful activities we have performed in the past. So we can not blame anyone else for our suffering. Even though our suffering appears to be inflicted upon us by our enemies they are not the actual cause of our suffering. Our enemies are being forced to act by the material energy, the three modes of material nature, which make sure that everyone gets the reactions to their past sinful and pious activities.
So the Indian people are suffering as a result of their sins, that is the real reason, it is not actually the fault of the corrupt politicians. Even if there were no corrupt politicians the people would still suffer in some other way because it is their karma to suffer.
The only way this karma can be changed and the suffering stopped is if the people take to Krishna consciousness by chanting:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Mayawad Phylosophy which is based of Sankaracharaya’s Adwaitwad , is based on vivarthawad – Bramhan is impersonal and that bramhan or cosmic intelligence is covered up by maya or illusion and trapped inside , like akash or sky is eternal and massive but if arrested within a pot is called ghat akash , arrested within the confines of the pot.Once the pot is broken it unites with the all pervasive sky , similarly when the illusion or maya in form of the body ,here compared with the pot, is destroyed by gayan or knowledge, unites with the all pervasive bramhan .
“bramha satya jagat mithya , atman bramhan eiva na para “.
Example here is given of a rope imagined to be a snake , how is it scientific or logically possible? both rope and a snake , are experiences of reality , if someone imagines snake superimposed on a rope , which means the person who imagines so has seen both in reality and seen them personally , or else could’nt have imagined them even in his wildest imagination. If that is the case then how can the soul get trapped into such self imagined illusion in the variegatedness of the material world, where does his imagination come from what is its source ? It cannot be a source by itself as all sourse is based on some experience of reality .Avaidwad of monoism does not answer these questions , therefore falls apart .
While what the shastras says,and vaishnavas understand is based on the science of shakti parinamwad , lord form is spiritual and eternal,so is his name form, his activites , his abode and devotees some are which nitya siddha .
shakti parinam wad can be easily understood by material example also, as matter is a perishable reflection of the spiritual world , take for example a fruit for example a mango , mango also means the seed, also means the pulp, which also means the peal ,which means the fiber inside the fruit , these are variegated aspects of fruit, but seed is the cause, similarly although every thing is the body of the supreme lord, he has variegated energies, and his energies expand in various different multiples into spiritual and material varieties, for example mango pulp jam is produced , and from the peal jelly is produced ,similarly from his spiritual energy his spiritual eternal abodes are maintained and by his material energy or maya the material world expands in varities ,with the lord is the controller and owner of all his energies , his energies act in variegated different ways in perfect control by the lord , his spiritual energy, his marginal energy, his material energy all in service of god.Therefore scriptures says maya is the perishable energy of the lord which is constantly is a state of flux, sristy creation and pralay destruction.Illusion or maya refers to the soul or the marginal energies romance with matter , like a person looking into the reflection of a world
in a pond and thinking it to be real , while the read world producing the reflection is on top.similarly the soul entrapped in this material varieties and his body imagines them to be is real self , and is trapped in the enjoyment of the body a curing suffering sorrow and happiness by means of karma , while hiS Constitutional position as lords eternal servant the source of eternal bliss which is the character of the soul gets covered.
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
Regarding the discussion about Mayavadis philosophy, I came to know that it was introduced by lord Shiva(Sankarcharya) himself with the permission of Lord Krishna. It is correct that Krishna is both formless and having form. The formless part of Lord is called Brahma jyoti as we know this. And now my question is….
1) Why Lord Himself create Mayavadi and wants His devotees to fight against them?
2) Is it Lord’s plan to distinguish His pure devotees and His contaminated devotees who wants to be called as Krishna bhakta but wants to enjoy sense gratification?
3) Is it to make level of God realization……first a person will realize about the impersonal form of God and as he goes on perfection he will realize the personal form of the Lord?
Hari bol
Your Servant’s servant
Devanand Uchoi
Hare Krishna Devananda
I have explained this in the “Four Philosophies” article and of course Srila Prabhupada explains it in many places in his books.
Yes, Shankacharaya is an incarnation of Lord Shiva and he appeared to preach ‘covered Buddhism’ in the form of the Mayavadi philosophy at the request of Lord Krishna.
It was necessary at the time. The situation, as I have already explained, was that Lord Buddha had appeared about 1000 years earlier at a time when most of the population of India had become meat-eating atheists but they were claiming to be followers of the Vedas and were misinterpreting the sections of the Vedas mentioning animal killing to support their animal killing and meat eating. So a meat-eater or an animal killer has no ability to understand spiritual knowledge. Therefore Krishna appeared as Lord Buddha with the purpose of stopping the animal killing in India. So the people were atheists–they did not believe in God. So there is no point of Krishna appearing as God because atheists do not believe in or accept God. So Krishna was very tricky. He appeared as Lord Buddha and told the atheists that there is no God and they can all become the Buddha and he preached ahimsa parama dharma–“Non-violence is the highest religious principle.”
So the atheists of the time in India liked the philosophy that Lord Buddha concocted for them and therefore followed his teachings of non-violence and gave up animal killing and meat eating. But to achieve this Lord Buddha had to decry the Vedas because it was the Vedas that they were using as their justification for the animal killing / meat eating. So Lord Buddha also preached that any scripture that condones animal killing must be rejected. So the people also rejected the Vedas and simply followed the concocted philosophy of Buddhism.
So Lord Buddha achieved his mission. He stopped the animal killing in India. But also the people rejected the authority of the Vedas. So that is not a very satisfactory situation for the long run. Therefore after about 1000 years Krishna had Lord Shiva appear in Indian as Shankacharaya and he presented a far superior philosophy than Buddhism based on the Vedas but still the people were athiests, now vegetarians following Buddhism, but still not ready to surreder to God. So Sankacharya presented the Mayavadi philosophy which misinterprets the Vedanta Sutra and attempts to eliminate the personal aspect of the Supreme Lord.
So this allowed Sankacharya to preach to his followers that “everyone is God.” So it is really athiesm also–it is called covered Buddhism–because there is no God–just the Brahman effulgence. According to the Mayavadis that is all there is in the ultimate issue–everything else is Maya. So they accept Krishna, and they will say also that Krishna is God, and they will chant Hare Krishna also but ultimately they believe that the person Krishna is simply a temporary manisfestion of the impersonal Brahman and He will again merge into the Brahman effulgence and we will also merge into the same brahman effulgence so we will all become one and there is no more individuality and no more Krishna… So that is why the Mayavadis greet each other with namo narayana, “I offer obeisences to you Narayana.” They address each other as the supreme lord…
So in this sense Sankacaraya’s misinterpretation of the Vedanta-sutra is very attractive to the athiests and it is a far better philosophy than Buddhism as it is based on the Vedas.
So Sankacharya’s mission was to restablish the authoity of the Vedas and drive the Buddhists out of India which he did. But he left the Mayavadi philosophy…
So then there was a string of Vaisnava acharyas starting with Madhvacharaya and culminating in the appearance of the Supreme Lord Himself as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who presented the topmost philosophy of Krihsna consciousness.
Certainly the impersonal realization of God is not complete and in the history many impersonalists have gone on to become Vaisnavas, personalists. Even great devotees like the Four Kumaras and Sukadeva Goswami were impersonalists in the beginning. But one does not have to be an impersonalist before he becomes a personalist. Best to just directly take to Krishna consciousness. Actually if one hears the Mayavadi philosophy of Sankacharya then he is spoiled and it will be very difficult for him to ever take to Krishna consciousness. So we should be very careful to aviod the Mayavadis and not hear their philosophy. It is poisionous.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thank you prabhu and our spiritual masters who had imparts such clear vedic knowledge to all shunyavadis like me………..Hari bol
bhaja govindam bhaja govindam govindam bhaja moodamathey.
Sankacharya was not actually a Mayavadi. But he preached the Mayavadi philosophy which he himself called ‘covered Buddhism’. So of cause Sankacharaya himself as Lord Shiva knew that his foolish disciples should just worship Govinda. But his foolish disciples had no interest in just worshiping Govinda. That is why here Sankacharaya is calling his followers ‘mudhas’, fools. They were fools then, even confirmed by Sankacharaya himself, and they are still fools today, and they are still not interested in just worshiping Govinda…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna
dear Madhudvisa
I want you to ask a question…What is the source of all these Mayavads?And I don’t know much about Mayavads’ philosophy but I do know that they believe God is veiled with Maya so He is illusory and how could the concept of an impersonal God be so attractive when is much easy to worship God with form why are people so attracted to it???
Because people are envious. They want to be the supreme person themselves. They do not want to think that there is any person who is above them. They do not want to surrender. So the Mayavadis say that there is no god above us, there is no authority to surrender to, just an impersonal energy and you can merge with that. And they say everyone is god. So everyone wants to be god. That is why the Mayavadi philosophy is so popular, because they tell everyone they are god themselves and they don’t have to surrender to anyone…
Why we criticize Mayavadis?
Hare Krishna Prabhu, Dandavat Pranaam at your feets !
PAMHO !!!
AGTSP !! AGTSG!!
It is great to read this mail and you have done wonderful job by sending this mail to eassily understand our mission’s mission. Koti Koti Pranaam at your feet for sending this mail.
Your humble Servant
Tribhanga Gopala Dasa
Balarama Desh – Bahrain – Middle East
Dear , to even know the beautiful name of Krishna, to hear the beautiful name of Krishna, to be aware of Krishna, and Radha , this is all I need, in this world. My heart is full of Love this day. I hope it is tomorrow.
I can only visit the Temple maybe once a year. To be in The Hare Krishna /Radha Temple in London or Los Angeles, to feel the warmth , the JOY, The Love of God there, this is all things to me.
I apologise I have never read much of the books. I love the picture of Krishna. I gaze upon it , more and more , and The Lord has stolen my heart. As He is the “Stealer of hearts”. I bless you all and Devotee’s everywhere , I Bless you and I’m so thankful that His Divine Grace came to America, I’m thankful for you , and I’m so thankful for all things. I’m seriously in love with Radha. She is most beautiful. I’m like a lover in love with Radha , and Sri Krishna. And my Lord Jesus and God and all the demi gods and goddesses. THIS LOVE was begun again in 1977 , when I was so politely offered some fresh vegetarian food on a Sunday in Venice Beach , California. It was a most memorable day. Now it is 2011. And I’m more in love with Krishna than before. And I’m seriously in Love with Radha. She is most beautiful. Yes I’m 59 almost 60 and very goofy in divine Love with Krishna. I apologise I have not read much of the books, ask everyone to rejoice in Krishna’s Divine Love and Joy.
All things will be provided.
I love you, Hare Krishna
again, I’m seriously in Love with the beauty of Radha and Krishna and Radha.
I may have a serious love affection with Radha…….. I know I’m old and goofy.
It is 4 a.m. this tuesday morning. I amd sober 20 years and “clean” 11 years.
Krishna helps me. He has always helped me. I hope he always helps me.
Hare Krishna
Davy
I’m seriously in love with Radha, she is most beautiful : ] Davy
OM world Love Krishna
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
Thank you for your email.
Currently im having a discussion with Madhwa Brahmins of Udipi. Though they follow the instructions of the Principal acarya of the Sampradaya but they have a wrong notion about Gaudiya Sampradaya and truly reject the incarnation of Sri Radhika as a Bogus Deity and Lord Caitanya as an Fictious character. Often it is seen in Sri Vaisnava sampradaya that they worship the demigods and does not have a standard understanding about Shudda-Bhagavat Tattva.
So here it stands that Mayavada philosophy is not only practically talks on the Formless of GOD but also rejecting the Forms of God due to lack of Spiritual Intellect. Surely this planet holds the 95% of Mayavadis who have the wrong understanding about Bhagavan and Sastra.
Unless one is in Guru-Parampara is surely difficult to get the real knowledge & understanding which is coming from the previous acaryas of the Sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada perfectly delivered the Teachings of Lord Caitanya to establish a proper system of understanding about God Consciousness which includes everything.
I pray to Lord Gauranga-Krsna that his teachings reach the every living entity and engage in devotional service of the Lord.
May i always remain your Servant,
Haridas Das
Hare Krishna Prabhuji,
PAMHO !!!
AGTSP !! AGTSG!!
Krishna is the Supreme personality of Godhead. Since He is the supreme Personality, He knows the past, present and future.
In that case He should be knowing the future of a living entity as well. Hence He will know if a person will attanin gods abode, or he/she will do devotional service in this life time or not.
that means every thing are pre determined or known to Krishna about a living entity.
then is there any thing we can do abt future of a living being ? if yes How?
Kindly explain prabhuji, if one can change his destiny by performaning Devotional Services ? will it not contradict that Krishna is the knower of all including Future of a living entity as well as his position as Supreme Personality ?
Looking forward to your reply as this is a common obection raised by lots of people whome approach with KC.
Your Servent
BhaktaValsala
Hare Krishna Bhakta Vatsala Prabhu
This is a very common misunderstanding.
Yes. Krishna knows everything: past, present and future. But because He knows the future that does not mean He is making it happen. The living entities are using their limited independence and making choices and that is creating the future. Krishna may know what they will choose because he can understand everyone’s mind–but Krishna is not making the decisions. The individual living entities are deciding if they are going to serve Krishna or if they are going to serve maya.
So absolutely certainly one can change his destiny by performing devotional service. That is really the only choice we can make: serve maya or serve Krishna, and if we choose to serve Krishna then that will change our destiny. Generally it becomes possible for us to change our destiny like this only by the mercy of a pure devotee of Krishna. So if we take advantage of the unlimited mercy flowing from Srila Prabhupada and accept his instructions and surrender to him and serve him then by Srila Prabhuapda’s mercy our destiny will be changed for sure.
These things are not predetermined but still Krishna may know them because He knows everything. There are many examples to illustrate this point. If there was actually some expert meteorologist and through science he was able to predict what the weather is going to be like tomorrow [although they do not seem to be very good at doing this…] then he may know what the weather is going to be tomorrow but that does not mean he is causing the weather.
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Guru Ji
While returning home everyday i pass by a butchers shop. I am bereaved by the death cries of the chicken. I have stopped eating meat for periods of maximum 1 month. And at work I can feel SriKrishna helping me keep calm when a strong feedback is given to me. It is difficult as I am unable toconvince other members of my family and put more pressure on my mother who is old to cook veg dishes for me . But i will keep trying till my death.
Cook yourself and offer to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. That is the only solution. Even if you could convince your mother to cook vegetarian food you can not offer this to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna unless your mother is a devotee.
So the answer is to cook yourself. What is the problem? It is so easy to make a small pot of kitery or rice and vegetables or anything nice and offer to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. That is what I do. I cook for Srila Prabhupada, offer it to Srila Prabhupada and then I get to respect the Krishna prasadam. And I suggest that is what you do. Cook for Prabhupada yourself.
If food cooked by a non-devotee cant be offered to Krishna then how is it that accpetance of money towards temple and Krishna acceptable?
Why would Krishna be biased towards a vegiterian who is not a devotee?
Thank you
Hare Krishna Kiran
If someone goes to a temple and offers money to Krishna in the temple he is a devotee, not a non-devotee.
Devotees do not want to take money from non-devotees. That is why Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON on the basis of selling his books. We do not ask the people for donations. We sell them Srila Prabhupada’s books. We give them a book and they give us a contribution to help cover the printing costs. So he is not giving a donation. He is paying for the books.
So acceptance of money from non-devotees is also generally not acceptable. That can also implicate the devotees who are collecting in this way in all sorts of sinful reactions.
Of course an actual pure devotee of Krishna can take anything from anywhere and engage it in the service of Krishna. But we are not on that platform of pure devotional service. So we have to be careful.
Krishna is not biased towards anyone. Krishna is equal to everyone. He reciprocates according to the surrender of the devotees.
Being vegetarian or non-vegetarian is not the point. If we eat anything that is not first offered to Krishna then we are eating only sin. So vegetarian food that is not cooked by a devotee and not offered to Krishna is only sin.
As devotees we only accept the food that has been first offered to and enjoyed by Krishna. That is the point. It is not that we are vegetarians. We are prasadarians. We only accept Krishna prasadam, nothing else. It just so happens that Krishna only accepts offerings of foodstuffs in the mode of goodness: milk products, grains, fruits and vegetables, so prasadam is made from these four food groups only. So not that we are vegetarians, we are prasadarians…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Madhudvisa, I have read the Bhagavita many times. The issues in my case is alittle unique. On the christian side the bible makes. clear that no man can see God and live. No one has seen God, not even the prophets Madhudvisa! What culture. can claim God? Krishna does not adress the mark of the beast not even the anti christ! What if the Mayavidya could be right! Help me out here!
Hare Krishna Marvin
It does not matter what the Bible says, what the Koran says, what the Jewish scriptures say, etc. These are all scriptures of the meat eaters and as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says the scriptures of the meat eaters are contradictory. So you will never get anywhere unless you are prepared to read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is with at least the theoretical acceptance that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and therefore what Krishna is saying in the Bhagavad-gita is correct.
We can see God, we can see Krishna. Very easily. And we can live after seeing Krishna. So if the Bible says no man can see God and live then the Bible is wrong in this regard. Mostly the Bible is not wrong but it is incomplete. Lord Jesus Christ knew a lot more, he could have instructed his followers a lot more, but he lamented “There are so many things I have not told you because you could not bear them…”
So that is the limitation of the Bible. It was presented to some primitive fishermen living in a desert who were not able to appreciate very much philosophy. And Jesus only had about 2 years to preach anyhow. And nothing was recorded at the time. The Bible [new testament] is just memories of his prominent disciples and others and they were not written down generally for thirty years or more after Jesus died.
So the Bible is nothing in comparison to the Bhagavad-gita which is the direct words of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So just accept that Krishna is God and that His words are correct, at least theoretically, and read the Bhagavad-gita As It Is in that spirit and this time you will get so much more out of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Thanks u a lot. I want to see Lord krishna. Thats why he help me as ur email.
Krishna knows everything, but you have to try. That responsibility is always there. If we use this kind of thinking, that Krishna already knows therefore why should I try, then that is not intelligent. Srila Prabhupada has said, “You make your plan, I make my plan, and Krishna has His plan. But you have to make your plan.” If you fail to plan, that is a plan to fail.