| NITAAI-Veda.nyf > Other Scriptures by Acharyas > Tattva Muktavali |
[ also known as Mayavada-shata-dushani ]
by Shrila
Sacchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura
The Pearl Necklace of Truths:
100 Refutations of the Mayavada Fallacy
Text 1
All glories to Lord Krishna, who is simultaneously the protector of the
faithful devotees and the devastating eternal time factor destroying the cruel
demon kings. Krishna, the son of Maharaja Nanda, is as splendid as a young tamala
tree. He is the source of the limitless Brahman effulgence. He is the
master of all potencies. He is decorated with a vaijayanti flower
garland, and His forehead is splendidly decorated with tilaka.
Text 2
A devotee has full faith in the words of the Puranas. Every morning he faithfully
and happily studies the Puranas, and in this way his mind penetrates the actual
meaning of the scriptures.
Text 3
A certain imaginative Vedanta commentator has presented a false theory
that the individual spirit soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one
in all respects. A devotee scholar, learned in the Puranas, rejects this
fallacy and, with expert logic, establishes the eternal distinction between the
individual spirit soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Quoting abundant
evidence from the shruti and smriti, the devotee scholar presents
many arguments to conclusively prove the difference between the individual
spirit soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Text 4
The individual spirit soul is always limited. The Supreme is always
unlimited. The difference is clearly established in the descriptions of Vedic
literature. Because the natures of the Supreme and the individual spirit soul
are so different, it must be concluded that they are eternally different
entities. They cannot be the same.
Text 5
The Mayavadis may object: "The individual spirit souls are not
different from the Supreme, just as the air in a pot and the air in the sky are
not different. Indeed, simply by citing this analogy, I have proved that the
individual spirit souls are identical with the Supreme." To this statement
I reply: "This is not a very good argument. The Supreme is unlimited and
cannot be compared to any limited material manifestation, such as the material
sky. He is not at all like the material sky and, therefore, your analogy is not
very good evidence to support your views."
Text 6
The Mayavadi commentator on the Vedanta claimed that the words tat
tvam asi are the maha-vakya, the most important statement in the
Vedas. According to this explanation, tat means "the Supreme,"
tvam means "you," and asi means "are." He
interpreted the phrase to mean "you are the Supreme" and he claimed
that there is no difference between the Supreme and the individual spirit
souls.
The Vaishnava commentator on Vedanta interpreted these words in a
different way, saying that tat-tvam is a possessive compound word (sasthi-tatpurusa-samasa).
According to his explanation, tat means "of the Supreme," and the
entire phrase means "you are the servant of the Supreme." In this way
the proper meaning of the scriptural statement is clearly shown.
Text 7
O friend, the Supreme is all-knowing and He sees everything. From Him,
this entire astonishing and variegated material cosmos has emanated. He
creates, maintains, and destroys the entire universe by slightly moving His
eyebrow. O friend, you are not like Him. You are ignorant of so many things and
your vision is limited, although you wish to see everything. The Supreme is
full of all opulences, and He is the ultimate witness who observes everyone. O
friend, the individual living entities are numerous, but the Supreme is one
only. You are stunted and impure by material contact, but He remains always
pure and free from the touch of matter. O friend, your nature is completely different
from His in these ways.
Text 8
The objection may be raised: "The Vedas say brahmaham asmi ('I
am Brahman'). The word brahman is certainly in the nominative case (prathama
vibhakti). You cannot say it is possessive (sasthi) and thus change
the meaning. How is it that you have foolishly interpreted tat tvam asi as
a possessive compound (sasthi-tatpurusa-samasa)? How can you avoid
interpreting the quote api ca so 'yam devadattah ('O Devadatta, you are
that') in the nominative (prathama) and try to make it genitive (sasthi)?"
To this I reply: "When the scriptures explain that the individual
spirit soul is Brahman, the proper understanding is that the individual souls
are like tiny sparks that have emanated from the great fire of the Supreme
Brahman. As far as the possessive compound (sasthi-tatpurusa)
interpretation of tat tvam asi: you may not like it, but it is certainly
grammatically sound. Why do you not accept it?"
Text 9
Accustomed to speak in metaphors, poets say: "This youthful
brahmana is a blazing fire," "This beautiful face is the disc of the
full moon," "These breasts are Mount Meru," or "These hands
are blossoming twigs." The charm of these metaphors lies in considering
two things, which are actually different, to be completely equal because they
have one common feature. The poetic author of the Vedas has used this device in
the phrase brahmaham asmi. The spiritual living entities have emanated
from the Supreme Brahman, but they are not equal to Him in all respects.
Text 10
Innumerable waves splash within the great ocean and, in the same way,
countless spirit souls exist within the Supreme Brahman. A single wave can
never become the ocean. O individual spirit soul, how do you think you will
become the Supreme Brahman?
Text 11
Everywhere in the Vedic scriptures pairs of opposites are described.
Spiritual enlightenment and spiritual darkness, religion and irreligion,
knowledge and ignorance are all described as different. The Vedic scriptures
also describe the Supreme Brahman and the individual spirit soul as different
in the same way. O saintly audience, how can anyone, with an honest heart,
claim that the individual spirit soul and the Supreme Brahman are identical in
all respects?
Text 12
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the foundation upon which
everything rests. He is the supreme monarch and the independent controller of
the illusory potency (maya). O individual spirit soul, you are simply a
reflection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Only one moon shines in the
sky, although innumerable reflections of that moon may appear in the water or
other places. O individual spirit soul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
like that single original moon, and the individual spirit souls are like
innumerable reflections of Him. Just as the reflections remain always distinct
from the moon itself, in the same way the individual spirit souls remain
eternally different from their original source, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. O individual spirit soul, this is the eternal distinction between you
and the Supreme.
Text 13
The Vedic scriptures say that the Supreme Brahman is immeasurable,
inconceivable, and without any material activities or duty. O individual spirit
soul, you are very easily perceivable by the material mind and describable by
material words. How is it possible, then, that you are the same as the
inconceivable Supreme Brahman?
Text 14
O individual spirit soul, your intelligence has been stolen by the
darkness of the Mayavada theory, and for this reason you continually mutter brahmaham
asmi ("I am the Supreme Brahman") as if you have become mad. I
say to you, "If you are the Supreme Brahman, where is you unparalleled
opulence? Where is you supreme dominion over all? If you are the Supreme
Brahman, where is you all-pervasiveness and all-knowledge? Your equality with
the Supreme Brahman is like the equality of a mustard seed with Mount
Meru!"
Text 15
O individual spirit soul, you are by nature very limited, but the
Supreme Lord is unlimited. You can only be at one place at one time, but the
Supreme is eternally everywhere. At one moment you enjoy, and at another moment
you suffer. In this way, your happiness and suffering is all temporary, but the
Supreme Lord experiences the perfection of transcendental bliss at every
moment. O individual spirit soul, why are you not embarrassed to speak these
words so 'ham ("I am the Supreme")?
Text 16
Glass is glass. A jewel is a jewel. An oyster is an oyster. Silver is
silver. They will never lose their nature and become each other. If one thinks
that glass is a jewel, or an oyster is silver, he is mistaken. Impelled by the
same kind of illusion, the individual spirit soul imagines he is the same as
the Supreme Brahman. Illusioned in this way, the spirit soul propounds the
Mayavada interpretation of tat tvam asi and other statements of the
Vedas.
Text 17
The Vedic statement tat tvam asi should be interpreted in the
following way: tat means "the Supreme Brahman who is like a nectar
ocean of perfect transcendental bliss." Tvam means "the
distressed individual spirit soul, whose mind is anguished by the fears
produced by continued residence in the material world." Because the
natures of the individual spirit soul and the Supreme Brahman are different in
this way, they cannot be equated. In reality the Supreme Brahman is the supreme
object of worship for innumerable universes, and the individual spirit soul is
His servant. This is the actual meaning of tat-tvam asi.
Text 18
The Mayavadis claim that when the Supreme Person is described in the
Vedic literatures, one should reject the literal meanings of such descriptions,
and instead accept them allegorically, or not in the sense conveyed by the
primary meaning of the words.
Text 19
O Mayavadis, if you insist on interpreting the Vedic description of the
Supreme in an allegorical, or indirect, sense, then please tell us why you
abandon the direct literal meaning in favor of this indirect interpretation?
Text 20
There are three reasons for rejecting a word's primary meaning and
accepting a secondary meaning instead. They are: 1. If the primary meaning
makes no sense; 2. If tradition or common usage supplants the primary meaning
with a generally accepted secondary meaning; 3. If an authorized commentary
explains that a secondary meaning should be understood. In these circumstances
one may reject the primary meaning and accept the secondary meaning of a word.
Text 21
If the primary meaning is senseless, one must find a secondary meaning
that makes sense.
Text 22
One should not accept the primary meaning if it makes no sense. For
example, the primary meaning of grama is "village," but if the
grama is described as unlimited, one must reject the primary meaning and
accept a secondary one ("multitude"). In the same way, the primary
meaning of putra is "son," but if the putra is
described as appearing without a father, the primary meaning should be rejected
and a secondary one ("that which rescues from hell") should be
accepted.
Text 23
The sentence kumbha-khadga-dhanur-banah pravisanti is an example
of the use of secondary meaning. Pravisanti means "enter" and kumbha,
khadga, dhanuh, and bana mean "pitchers, swords, bows
and arrows" respectively. The primary meaning of the sentence is
"pitchers, swords, bows, and arrows enter." This interpretation
clearly makes no sense. In these circumstances, the secondary meaning should be
accepted. If the first two words are accepted as bahuvrihi-samasas, then
the secondary interpretation "men carrying pitchers, swords, bows, and
arrows enter" may be accepted to replace the rejected primary meaning.
Text 24
The sentence gangayam ghosah is another example of the use of
secondary meaning. The primary meaning here is "the River Ganges
spoke." This primary meaning should be rejected because a body of water
cannot speak. Here the secondary interpretation "he spoke the word Ganges"
is more appropriate.
Text 25
The sentence ayur ghrtam is another example of the use of
secondary meaning. Taken literally, the sentence means, "Clarified butter
is identical with long life." In this sentence clarified butter and long
life are equated although they are not at all the same thing. In this sentence,
the secondary interpretation "Eating foods prepared with clarified butter
prolongs one's life" must be accepted if the sentence is to make sense.
Text 26
A text may be interpreted in three ways: 1. The literal (primary)
meaning may be accepted; 2. One may reject the literal meaning and accept a
secondary, not so commonly used, meaning of the words, or 3. One may accept the
statements as metaphorical or allegorical. In order to establish their theory, the
Mayavadis have diligently rejected the literal interpretation of the Vedic
statements and have put forward an interpretation based on accepting the
secondary meanings of the words.
Text 27
Taken literally, the Vedic statements do not at all support the theory
that the individual spirit soul is the same as the Supreme Brahman. For this
reason, the Mayavadis have rejected the literal meaning of the texts and
concocted a figurative interpretation based on accepting obscure definitions of
words and rejecting the commonly used meanings of words. How do the Mayavadis
expect to understand the truth about Brahman if they adopt this devious policy?
Text 28
The Vedas directly state that the Supreme Brahman is the original
creator of the universe (jagat-karta). From this statement it is only
logical to infer that the one Supreme is the cause of the many living entities.
The many living entities thus have the Supreme as their creator. This is the
direct meaning of the Vedic statement.
Text 29
The sruti and smrti give abundant evidence to support this
interpretation: that the one Supreme Brahman is the creator of the many living
entities. That the Vedas describe the distinct individuality of the one Supreme
Brahman and the many individual spirit souls is confirmed by Lord Krishna in
Bhagavad-gita, where He said (15.15): vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah ("by
all the Vedas I am to be known").
Text 30
The Mayavadis claim that the Vedas say that the material world is
unreal. O Mayavadis, even if this is so, how can you infer from it that the
Supreme Brahman, who is full of all opulences and the origin of all moving and
unmoving entities is also unreal?
Text 31
The Mayavadis may say that the Vedic scriptures clearly state that the
Supreme cannot be understood by the mind or described in words.
To this I respond: "O Mayavadis, please hear my reply. This
statement means that the Supreme cannot be understood by the mental gymnastics
of foolish speculators. The Supreme can only be understood when one hears about
Him from the right source and with the proper devotional spirit. Furthermore,
because the Supreme Brahman possesses infinite and unfathomable transcendental
qualities, no one is able to completely know or describe Him."
Text 32
The Mayavadis claim that the Vedic statement avan- manasa-gocaram ("the
Supreme cannot be understood by the mind or described in words") proves
that the Supreme cannot be described or understood. To this I reply: "This
description may apply to ordinary words or thoughts, but not to the words of
the Vedas. The Vedas elaborately describe the Supreme Brahman. Please do not
think that the statements of the Vedas are like a limping cripple who cannot
describe the Supreme."
Text 33
O proud Mayavadis, you think yourselves to be great scholars although
you actually have no place in the company of the learned. The Vedas say, sabda-brahmani
nisnatah para-brahmadhigacchati ("expert in understanding the Supreme,
they who are actually learned attain the spiritual realm"). There is no
error in these words of the Vedic sages. Please do not say that no one can
understand or describe the Supreme.
Text 34
The word ghata has a specific meaning, and the word pata also
has a specific meaning. Various words indicate specific objects. In the Vedas
the words sat ("eternity"), cit ("knowledge"),
and ananda ("bliss") are used to directly indicate the Supreme
Brahman.
Text 35
Words have both primary and secondary meanings. If the meaning of a word
is ambiguous, then in the course of the conversation the proper meaning will
become clear by the context. If one enters a conversation when someone asks a
boy, "please bring the saindhava," the meaning of the man's
statement may be unclear, for the word saindhava may mean either
"salt" or "horse." However, when the boy returns with the saindhava
the person's intention will be at once understood. In the same way, the
proper meaning of ambiguous words in the Vedas become clear when the serious
student studies the entire body of Vedic literature and sees the ambiguous
statement in the proper perspective.
Text 36
By repeatedly hearing the words of the spiritual master and by
thoroughly studying the Vedic literature, the sincere student will be able to
understand the proper meaning of brahman and the other words in the
Vedic vocabulary.
Text 37
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also the supreme controller and
the supreme performer of activities and, therefore, His form is perfect and
eternal. A performer of activities always has a form. No one has ever seen a
formless performer of activities.
Text 38
If the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is also the supreme
controller, has a form and is not formless, then we may easily conclude that He
has a human-like form similar to the forms that we ourselves bear. This may be
concluded because al performers of activity have forms that are quite similar.
We do not see why the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be an exception in
this regard.
Text 39
There is a difference between the one all-powerful Supreme Personality
of Godhead and the many living entities. The living entities are continually
beset by the six waves (beginning with hunger and thirst) of material
existence. In order to accomplish something, the living entities have to work
very hard, holding shovels, plows, and scythes in their hands. In this way,
very fatigued by working hard, the living entities become morose at heart. The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is not at all like the individual living
entities in this matter. Simply by moving an eyebrow the Supreme Personality of
Godhead can attain whatever He wishes.
Text 40
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is able to effortlessly do anything,
change anything, or destroy anything. This is a very great difference between
the Supreme and the tiny jivas (individual spirit souls).
Text 41
Someone may say: "If the living entities in the material world
sometimes suffer and sometimes enjoy because of their bodies, then, if the
Supreme has a body, He must also suffer and enjoy in the same way." To
this I reply: "The conditioned living entities possess material forms
subject to six changes (growth, decay, death, etc.). The spiritual body of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, because He is the master of all opulences, is
not at all like these material forms. The Lord's spiritual body is never
subjected to old-age, decay, and death, and His happiness never
diminishes."
Text 42
Someone may object: "Every living entity attains a certain body
because of his past karma and, therefore, when the Supreme manifests a body, He
has also attained that body as a karmic reaction."
To this I reply: "The Supreme is the ultimate controller, and it is
He who awards the karmic results to us living entities. As the ultimate
administrator of the laws of karma, He is not under their jurisdiction. That is
the relationship between Him and us."
Text 43
Someone may object: "All bodies are temporary. Therefore, the body
of the Supreme must also be a temporary manifestation."
To this I reply: "No! The body of the Supreme is eternal. Just as
earth assumes various temporary shapes, although the atoms that are the source
of the earth element remain eternal, in the same way, the eternal living entity
accepts different material bodies because of his karma. The original spiritual
forms of both the Supreme and the subordinate living entities remain eternal,
although the conditioned soul may accept different material coverings because
of his karma."
Text 44
The Vedic literatures explain that under ordinary circumstances the
conditioned living entity cannot negate the results of his past karma. In order
to maintain the truth of this statement, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
who holds the Sudarsana cakra in His hand, pretends to be bound by the
reactions of past pious and impious deeds when He appears in this world
disguised as an ordinary person.
Text 45
I have heard in the Puranas that this entire universe came into
existence from the lotus flower sprouted from the navel of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Are we then to conclude that the Supreme has only a
disembodied navel and not a complete body? If the Supreme Lord has a navel,
then He must have a body complete with all limbs and senses also.
Text 46
The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
elaborately described in all the Vedas. That celebrated form is very handsome,
and it completely delights the senses of all the devotees. That transcendental
form is endowed with the six opulences of all beauty, strength, fame,
knowledge, wealth, and renunciation. The sacred Ganges river is the water that
has washed the Lord's lotus feet.
Text 47
Whenever, by the force of time, irreligion increases and religion
declines, the Supreme Personality of Godhead protects the saintly devotees and
destroys the demons.
Text 48
The Supreme Personality of Godhead manifests Himself in two features: 1.
In His original form as the source of all incarnations; 2. In His many visnu-tattva
incarnations. The many living entities may also be divided into two groups:
1. The devotees (who are free from the influence of the illusory energy); 2.
The nondevotees (who are bound by the illusions of maya).
Text 49
Some theorists claim that the individual spirit souls are actually the
Supreme, just as reflections on water are the same as the reflected object. By
simply fabricating this analogy, these foolish persons do not at all establish
the identity of the individual spirit soul and the Supreme.
Text 50
How is it possible that the individual spirit souls are reflections of
the Supreme and equal to Him in all respects? The individual spirit souls are
not equal to the Supreme. If they are equal, then why is the Supreme described
as unlimited, all-pervading, and free from material contamination? Why are the
individual living entities described as being conditioned, subject to material
illusion, engaged in the pious and impious deeds described in the Vedas, and
thus experiencing the mixed happiness and suffering of material existence? The
Supreme is niranjana, never subject to the influence of matter.
Text 51
The sun or some other object fixed in a certain place and not
all-pervading may be reflected in another place. By definition, the Supreme is
all-pervading. Something not localized, but present in every place, cannot be
reflected. Therefore the all-pervading Supreme cannot be reflected. The analogy
of reflection is completely inappropriate to describe the relation between the
Supreme and the many living entities, and by using this analogy one cannot draw
the conclusion that the Supreme and the many living entities are equal.
Text 52
Ramanujacharya, the most exalted of spiritual philosophers, has already
refuted the Mayavada theory that the Supreme and the individual spirit souls
are identical, just as the sun and his reflection. Because of his expert
refutation, intelligent readers will no longer accept the Mayavada idea, but
will simply joke and laugh at its foolishness.
Text 53
The sruti-sastra explains that the Supreme and the individual
spirit soul are like two friendly birds sitting on a tree. It is clearly
explained there that they are two, and in this way the eternal distinction
between them is established. How have the Mayavadis become so bewildered that
they now contradict the Vedic statement and say that they are both one?
Text 54
The Vedas explain brahmaivaham na samsari ("I am Brahman; I
do not belong to this material world of birth and death"). This means that
the advanced transcendentalist no longer identifies himself as a product of
material nature but understands that he is spirit, different from matter. In
this way he becomes free from all lamentation and all kinds of material
contamination. This is the proper explanation of this statement, not the false
oneness imposed by the Mayavadis.
Text 55
The Vedas explain aham eva khalu brahma ("I am
Brahman"). This means that the advanced transcendentalist gives up the
cripple-minded conception of materialism and understands his actual spiritual
identity in relation to the Supreme, but it does not mean that at any time he
will become identical with the Supreme Brahman.
Text 56
Some theorists claim that by meditating on the Supreme with fixed
concentration of the mind, the aspiring yogi becomes the Supreme, just as a
larva meditates on becoming a bumblebee and actually becomes transformed by
that meditation. To this I reply: "You have created this analogy in the
factory of your fertile brain, but it is not supported by any Vedic literature.
Just a the larva becomes a bumblebee, an individual spirit soul may attain some
of the qualities of the Supreme in minute degree, but he never actually becomes
equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Text 57
By continually worshipping intellectuals with great devotion a person
born with only small intelligence does not become an intellectual, although in
some ways he may adopt the habits of an intellectual. In the same way, by
meditating on the Supreme no one becomes the Supreme. Who will accept the
foolish statements of the Mayavadis?
Text 58
In Vedanta-sutra Shrila Vyasadeva affirms the eternal distinction
between the Supreme and the individual spirit souls in the statement karma-kartr-vyapadesac
ca ("there are two performers of activity"). In his commentary on
this sutra, Sankaracharya admits the eternal distinction between the Supreme
and the individual spirit souls. In explaining this sutra, Sankaracharya quotes
the statement of the Upanishads : guham pravistau ("two living
entities, the individual spirit soul and the Supreme Paramatma, reside in the
heart").
Text 59
In his commentary on Vedanta-sutra 1.2.5, Sankaracharya quoted verses
from Bhagavad-gita* that clearly show that the Supreme Lord and the individual
spirit souls are eternally different entities. If Sankara did not accept that
the Supreme Lord and the individual spirit souls are eternally different, then
how could he have quoted these verses that clearly reveal their relationship as
master and servant?
* "The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and
is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a
machine made of material energy."
- Bhagavad-gita
18.61
"O scion of Bharata. surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you
will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode."
- Bhagavad-gita
18.62.
Text 60
I am subject to conditional life, where I enjoy at certain times and at
other times I suffer. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is naturally
always full of transcendental bliss and He never suffers. This is the
distinction between the Supreme and myself. How is it possible for us to be
identical if we are so different in this way?
Text 61
The Supreme is eternal, self-effulgent, always free from material
contact, supremely pure, and the sole all-pervading, all-knowing witness and
overseer of the entire universe. No reasonable person can present any evidence
that these words may also be a description of the individual spirit soul. These
words are a thunderbolt that strikes the tree of impersonalist monism and fells
it.
Text 62
In the Vedas we find the word jivatmanoh ("of the individual
spirit soul and the Supreme"). Although the obvious meaning of this word
is that he individual spirit soul and the Supreme are eternally different and
never become identical in a homogeneous merging, still, in order to keep their
theory intact, the Mayavadis reject the rules of Sanskrit grammar and foolishly
deny that jivatmanoh is a dvandva-samasa.
Text 63
In order to keep their theory intact the Mayavadis interpret the word jivatmanoh
as a karmadharaya (adjective) compound. In this way they say that
the word "individual living entity" is an adjective modifying the
noun "the Supreme," just as the word "blue" may be employed
to modify the noun "lotus flower." In this way, they reject the
obvious meaning and by grammatical jugglery try to establish their own
unfounded and fanciful interpretation.
Text 64
In Vedic literature we find the phrase annam brahma ("spiritual
food") many times. This phrase means that, when food is offered in
sacrifice to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it becomes spiritualized. In
the same way, when we find the phrase brahmaham asmi ("I am
Brahman"), these words should be interpreted to mean that by engaging in
devotional service to the Supreme the individual spirit soul becomes able to
abandon the misconception of identifying the external material body as the self
and understand that he is actually spirit (Brahman) and not matter.
Text 65
Many passages from the Vedas and Puranas may be quoted to prove that the
individual spirit souls are different from the Supreme, and many other passages
may also be quoted to prove that they are not different. Abandoning all envy,
learned spiritual philosophers have carefully considered these points and have
concluded that both the Supreme and the individual spirit souls possess eternal
distinct forms and personalities.
Text 66
O bewildered individual spirit soul, your intelligence has been stolen
away by the Mayavada illusion. Please give up this continual muttering of brahmaham
asmi ("I am Brahman") and understand that because you are
drowning in the middle of the impassable ocean of repeated birth and death,
helplessly tossed by the waves of the reactions of past actions, you cannot
possibly see the Supreme.
Text 67
The Supreme is the husband of the goddess of fortune. He is a nectar
ocean of transcendental bliss. Lord Shiva and all the great demigods serve Him.
The sacred Ganges is water that has washed His feet. Before the material cosmos
was manifested, He created everything in a moment simply by slightly moving His
eyebrow. O individual spirit soul, your continual muttering of so 'ham ("I
am the Supreme") is completely unreasonable and illogical. He is the
supreme master, the monarch who rules all existence and you are His small son,
always dependent on His protection.
Text 68
O foolish individual spirit soul, how is it that you are saying, "I
am the Supreme who pervades the entire universe"? O individual spirit
soul, who has placed you within this material universe? From where have you
come? Why are you forced to suffer so greatly within this world? O individual
spirit soul, please honestly reflect within your heart and try to understand
what is the actual truth. Please give up this illusory path of the Mayavada
theory.
Text 69
O individual spirit soul, please give up this muttering of so 'ham ("I
am the Supreme"). Know that you are the eternal servant of Lord Hari,
engage in His pure devotional service and thus become qualified to enter the
eternal spiritual world. If you reject the service of Lord Hari, you will fall
down into the wombs of mothers from may different species and you will suffer
great anguish as you wander among the hells and heavens of the material world.
Text 70
O individual spirit soul, you have made a great mistake by accepting the
motto so 'ham ("I am the Supreme"). Please reject this
illusion and engage in pure devotional service to Lord Krishna. Let your motto
become "Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supremely
powerful and opulent master of the three worlds, and I am His eternal
servant." Give up the Mayavada fallacy and understand the eternal
distinction between Lord Krishna and yourself. In this way, attain unflinching
pure devotion for Lord Krishna.
Text 71
The eternal distinction between the Supreme and the individual spirit
souls is clearly described in the Narada-pancaratra and all other Vedic
literatures. Still, because their intelligence is devoured by the demonic
Mayavada theory, many great scholars have become stubborn and impious. They are
now unable to understand the difference between the Supreme and the individual
spirit souls.
Text 72
They who are afflicted with jaundice cannot taste the sweetness of sugar
and, indeed, to them sugar is very bitter. They whose eyes are diseased cannot
see the whiteness of a conchshell, because they see everything to be yellow.
Those whose minds are always disturbed by frantic plans to attain sense
gratification cannot understand spiritual purity. In the same way, they who are
afflicted with the Mayavada disease cannot perceive the happiness in
worshipping and glorifying Lord Krishna.
[There is no Text 73]
Text 74
By the Supreme Personality of Godhead's mercy, the individual living
entities are endowed with a tiny fragment of consciousness. O rascal Mayavadi,
do not, on this account, arrogantly proclaim, "I am actually the
Supreme." By saying this you have become like a criminal-minded persons
who obtains elephants, cavalry, and infantry from the king on the plea of
begging for protection during a journey and then decides to use all these
soldiers as his own personal army of bandits to plunder the king's property on the
royal roads.
Text 75
The powerful illusory material potency, who bewilders the three worlds
and is known as Maya, is the submissive servant of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who is the ultimate controller, the master of all transcendental
opulences, eternal, and full of all knowledge and bliss. The individual living
entities are strictly subject to the control of that illusory potency, and for
her they are like domestic animals led about by a ring in the nose. Please
consider for a moment. This is a very substantial difference between the
Supreme and the individual living entities.
Text 76
After carefully studying the six schools of philosophy (Kapila, Kanada,
Gautama, Patanjali, Jaimini, and Bhatta Bhaskara), intelligent persons raise
the question: "What is the conclusion? Are the Supreme and the individual
spirit souls different? Are they the same? Is it possible for them to be one
and different simultaneously?"
Text 77
In many places in the Vedas, Puranas, and Vedanta-sutra I have read that
the Supreme and the individual spirit souls are eternally different. Then
again, in many places of the same scriptures I have also read that they are the
same. We must therefore conclude that the Supreme and the individual spirit
souls are simultaneously one and different. This is certainly very astonishing.
Text 78
The Supreme is described as the supremely independent creator and
controller of the entire universe. The individual spirit soul is described as
always dependent on higher forces. How is it possible that these two radically
different descriptions apply to the same person? They must describe two
distinct beings.
Text 79
Different medicinal plants and herbs manifest different flavors. Some
are bitter, some sweet, and some a variety of complex tastes. They are not all
one. If they were all one, then why are specific herbs useful for curing
specific diseases and not others? Even if the herbs are mixed together to form
a medicine, each herb still retains its specific powers within the mixture. In the
same way, when the individual spirit souls merge into the body of Lord Vishnu
at the time of cosmic annihilation, they retain their individuality. They do
not become one. When the material cosmos is again manifested from Lord Vishnu's
body, the individual spirit souls also emerge and again enter various material
bodies according to the pious and impious deeds they performed in the previous
cosmic manifestation. When the individual spirit souls enter Lord Vishnu's body
at the time of cosmic annihilation, therefore, they do not lose their
individuality and become Lord Vishnu.
Text 80
Ocean water is salty and river water has no salt. By observing their
different qualities, the difference between the river s and the oceans may be
perceived. The difference between the individual spirit souls and the Supreme
Personality of Godhead may be seen in the same way: by becoming conscious of
their different qualities.
Text 81
Although the waters of the rivers flow into the ocean from all
directions, the rivers and oceans do not become one in all respects. The ocean
water remains salty and the river water remains fresh. They do not lose their
natures. In the same way, milk and water are also very different. They also do
not lose their natures even when they are mixed together.
Text 82
When water and milk are mixed together, an ordinary person cannot
distinguish where is the milk and where is the water, although a swan can
separate them in a moment. In the same way, when the individual spirit souls
enter the body of Lord Maha-Vishnu at the time of cosmic devastation, the
Mayavadis cannot distinguish where are the individual spirit souls and where is
the Lord, although the devotees, who understand everything through the
instructions of the bona fide spiritual master, can distinguish them
immediately.
Text 83
A quantity of milk may be mixed with some milk and a quantity of water
may be mixed with some water. Even though the substances are the same, the
smaller quantity does not become one in all respects with the larger quantity.
Rather, the difference of volumes remains. In the same way, by engaging in yoga
meditation, one may appear to merge into the Supreme. The yogi does not
actually become the same as the Lord, because the yogi remains tiny and the
Lord remains all-great. This is the description given by transcendentalists who
are pure at heart.
Text 84
There are some scholars who, although they carefully follow the wrong
path and are actually drowning in the great ocean of faulty logic, are
nevertheless very expert at flowery speeches and debate. These persons are
filled with hundreds of faulty theories and they expound their ideas in many
words, proclaiming: "I am the Supreme Brahman" and "Everything
visible is nothing but the moving and non-moving Supreme." In this way,
they have cheated and misled the entire world. In this way, they have openly
exposed to view the very sinful desire that pollutes their hearts.
Text 85
O Mayavadi friend, if you, I, and everyone and everything else are all
actually the same Supreme Brahman and there is no real distinction between us,
then we are actually all one. If this is true, then your wealth, children,
wife, and all your possessions are actually also mine. I claim them all now.
Give them to me at once.
Text 86
O Mayavadi friend, if we are actually all the Supreme, then the
divisions of the varnasrama system have no meaning, and the orders and
prohibitions of the Vedas are also without meaning. You claim to base your
theory on the Vedas, but your theory leads its followers to ultimately reject
the Vedas. What is the difference between your theory and atheistic Buddhism?
If the Buddhists are heretics and offenders for rejecting the Vedas, why are
you also not heretics for the same reason?
Text 87
O Mayavadi friend, please listen. In the Third Canto of
Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Lord Kapila carefully explained to His mother that the
Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally different from the five gross
material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence, the false
ego, and the individual spirit soul. He carefully explained the eternal
difference between the individual spirit soul and the Supreme.
Text 88
Some meditate on the void described by their teacher. With an empty
heart and mind, they see everything as empty and they conceive of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead as a void that cannot be described. The actual void is
in their intelligence, and they receive nothing as the result of their labors.
Text 89
In the Mahabharata, Shrila Vyasadeva criticized the voidists by saying,
"They who believe that the Supreme is a void stand in the darkness of
ignorance. Now and in the future they stand in the dark."
Text 90
In the Mahabharata, Shrila Vyasadeva has refuted the impostor Kapila's
theory that the Supreme is an empty spiritual effulgence.
Text 91
Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead is like an ocean of
auspicious transcendental qualities, the Mayavadis, like a flock of sheep
blindly following Sankaracharya, claim that the Supreme has no qualities.
Misinterpreting the words of the Vedanta-sutra, they mislead their unfortunate
followers.
Text 92
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the unlimitedly powerful original
creator of everything, and He is full of all opulences and transcendental
qualities. How can the Mayavadis be so foolish that they say He has no
qualities? The Mayavadis are heretics who refuse to accept the words of the
Vedas.
Text 93
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of knowledge. He is the
enjoyer of a host of transcendental pastimes. His every desire is immediately
fulfilled without His endeavor. He is full of all transcendental opulences and
auspicious qualities. Where do the Vedas say that He has no qualities or
opulences? O friend, why have you become silent? Why will you not say anything
to describe the lack of auspicious transcendental qualities in the Supreme, who
is like an ocean of transcendental qualities? O friend, please consider all
these points within your heart and mind. Try to understand what is the actual
truth.
Text 94
Something that exists but has no qualities has never been perceived,
either in anyone's direct experience or in the transcendental revelation of the
Vedas. This conception of a qualityless substance is a phantasmagoria that
exists only in the mind of the Mayavadis. It is like a great flower imagined to
float in the sky. O friend, if by juggling words you think you have found a
scriptural quote describing this mythical qualityless substance, then I say no
intelligent person will believe you. You will search the Vedas in vain for this
description.
Text 95
The Vedic texts explain that just as when a Vedic sacrifice is completed
the performer of the sacrifice may become inactive for a moment, in the same
way, the Supreme may sometimes be described as qualityless for He sometimes
declines to display His transcendental qualities.
Text 96
When the Vedas explain that the Supreme is without qualities, they mean
that He has no material qualities imagined by a fanciful worshiper.
Text 97
O friend, although you say the Supreme has no qualities, the Vedas will
not support your view. The Vedas say, sa satya-dharmah ("the
Supreme is full of auspicious transcendental qualities").
Text 98
One can only conceive of a thing by understanding its qualities. If one
does not properly understand the qualities of something, then he misunderstands
it. For example, a glittering oyster shell looks like silver and one may easily
mistake it for silver. Such an illusion arises from misunderstanding the
qualities of the two objects. As one may mistake an oyster for silver, in the
same way, one may mistakenly think that the Supreme has material attributes.
The attributes of the Supreme are perfectly spiritual.
Text 99
The Vedas explain, yato va imani bhutani jayante ("the
entire cosmic manifestation has emanated from the Supreme"). Some foolish
theorists claim that the material cosmos is simply a transformation of
ignorance and does not have the Supreme as its creator. No intelligent person
will accept this foolish idea.
Text 100
It is not logical to say that this material universe is manifested of
ignorance. This world cannot be simply ignorance, for the Supreme Lord Krishna
enacts His eternal transcendental pastimes here.
Text 101
The Mayavadis compare material existence to a dream, but in truth it is
not at all like a dream. The dreaming condition is full of many faults. In a
dream one may eat and drink unlimitedly, but he will never became satiated,
although in the waking condition one quickly becomes satiated by eating and
drinking. The use of this analogy by the Mayavadis is a great blunder, for the
waking condition is not at all like a dream.
Text 102
If this material world is an illusion, as you say, then why do you
perform different activities for material and spiritual elevation? Just as an
earthen pot is useful for carrying water, in the same way, this material world
is useful to the individual spirit souls. It may be temporary, but it is not
unreal.
Text 103
If the material universe is simply created from illusion and is false,
then all religious principles and penances described in the religious
scriptures are meaningless. If this world is an illusion, then why should pious
kings punish thieves and criminals? Because the Mayavadis are full of dirty
material desires, they are very fond of saying that this material world is
false. In this way, they seek to become free from all moral restraints.
Text 104
O Mayavadi friend, you say that this material world is unreal, just as
when a garland of flowers is mistaken for a snake in the dark, the imagined
snake has no actual existence. This is a poor analogy. In this analogy one
thing is mistaken for another, but still the garland exists. This analogy does
not at all show that the material world has no existence. In truth, the
material world exists eternally, although is constantly changing.
Text 105
This material world is created by the real Supreme Personality of
Godhead, the husband of the goddess of fortune. Because the real Lord has
created it, and because He is present as the Supersoul within every atom of His
expanse, this material world is reality. Indeed, when the productions of this
world are offered to the Supreme Lord with devotion, these material products
become spiritually pure, just as ordinary bell metal becomes gold by the touch
of a sparsamani ("alchemist's stone").
Text 106
Pure devotional service to Lord Krishna bears no relation at all to the
enjoyment or renunciation of material objects. The devotee accepts all
conditions of his life as the great mercy of the Lord. He does not consider his
own sense gratification, but only the Lord's service.
Text 107
When one is intent on enjoying material sense objects, he is called a visayi
"materialist"). Rejection of that enjoying spirit is called viraga
("renunciation").That renunciation makes one eligible to attain
the supreme goal of life (pure devotional service).
Text 108
In the company of saintly devotees, we repeatedly hear the description
of the transcendental pastimes of the supremely opulent and powerful
Personality of Godhead, and in this way the lake of our hearts has become
overwhelmed by great tidal waves of pure love and devotion. We reject the false
Mayavada theory of impersonal monism, and we accept the truth that the Supreme
Personality of Godhead is eternally distinct from the many individual spirit
souls. Fixed in this truth, we worship the two lotus feet of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the husband of the goddess of fortune.
Text 109
In the ordinary affairs of this world, the king's representative is
often called "king" or "his majesty," although the person
is not the king himself but only his representative. In the same way, the Vedic
literatures describe the individual spirit souls as "brahman,"
not because they are the Supreme Brahman, but because of their eternal
relationship with Him.
Text 110
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source from whom the sun,
moon, all the planets, and the entire cosmos has arisen. At the time of cosmic
devastation, everything enters the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Even the demigod Brahma is not able to describe the Supreme Personality of
Godhead by speaking the Vedas. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the
supreme controller of everything. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond
the touch of the three modes of material nature. O Mayavadi teacher, why do you
teach the slogan so 'ham ("I am the Supreme")? I do not show
any signs of supremacy at all. In fact, I am very weak, unlucky, and bereft of
all opulence.
Text 111
Just as a troop of insects resides within a ripe udumbara fruit,
all the material universes, composed of subtle and gross material elements and
populated by innumerable spirit souls, rest within the form of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead during the time of cosmic devastation, and then emerge
at the time of cosmic creation. At that time they do not rest within the Lord.
In truth, they remain always separate from Him. O Mayavadi teacher, I am not as
great as He. How is it possible or sensible for the slogan so 'ham ("I
am the Supreme") to come from my mouth?
Text 112
By the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a dumb man can
become an eloquent orator, a lame man can leap over mountains, and a man blind
from birth can attain a pair of beautiful lotus eyes. I offer my respectful
obeisances to the moon-faced Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the son of
Maharaja Nanda and a cintamani jewel for His devotees.
Text 113
Devotional service to Lord Vishnu brings a great and eternal result. In
addition to attaining that result, I shall also become famous in some circles
for some time on this earth as result of having written this book.
Text 114
I have carefully studied the book Shri Narayana-bhakti-bhusa composed by
Shri Narayana Bhatta, the best of scholars, as well as many other similar
books. By the mercy of the devotees, I have been able to understand the
confidential truths of devotional service, which I have described in this book
of one hundred verses, Shri Tattva-muktavali, a description of the truth of the
eternal difference between the individual spirit souls and the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
Text 115
If in the course of writing this book we have become bewildered and made
some mistake, we beg the expert scholars to please correct all the mistakes.
Just as a baby crawling on his hands and feet may sometimes stumble and fall
down, the speaker of this discourse may have become bewildered and spoken
something against the revelation of scripture.
Text 116
An envious person will search for some small defect in the poetry of a
saintly devotee and will ignore all the good qualities in his poem. He is like
a person who searches for an ant hole in a great palace bedecked with jewels.
Such a person will never see the good in anything.
Text 117
Let they whose intelligence has been destroyed by envy find fault with
my verses and refrain from seeing any good in them. They who know how to see
the good in others will see only good and no faults in my poem. Let that
saintly audience delight in this book.
Text 118
O most exalted devotees of the Lord, if you wish to attain in your
hearts pure devotion to the Lord, then please hear and read this book,
Tattva-muktavali, written by a poet who is now filled with happiness. This book
is very pure and is full of very beautiful poetry. It is very auspicious
because it carefully distinguishes truth from illusion. It describes the truth
of pure devotional service and reveals the eternal difference between the
individual spirit souls and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Text 119
This book is filled with many poetic ornaments. Its verses are very
sweet. It is very charming, splendid, and beautiful. Its words are like nectar.
It is a pleasure garden where the intelligent devotees enjoy many pastimes. It
is full of all good qualities and free from the slightest fault. May this book,
Tattva- muktavali ("The Pearl Necklace of Truths"), always rest upon
the neck of the devotees.