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How do Dvaita-Advaita and Achintya-Beda-abeda differ from Visishtadvaita

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Haribol.

 

I have been trying to get my head around basic Vedantic philosophy. From what i understand the ultimate conclusion of Vedanta has been debated by many schools as the Shruti has verses which are both Bheda (dualistic) and Abheda (non dualistic) in nature. Shankara disregards all the dualistic intepretation of the Vedas and established Advaita (non dualism) wheras Madhva does intereprets the vedas in a purely dvaita (dualistic way).

 

Ramanuja's philosophy considers both Abheda and Bheda verses of the Vedas and explains in Visishtadvaita that the soul and god are one in a special way. That they are different but one in a relationship, like the relationship between body and soul. In summary that they is diversity in unity. Now i have been trying to understand the basics of Dvaita-Advaita (nimbarka philosophy) and Achintya-beda-abeda (gaudiya philosophy) and would seem that they are in many ways a rewrite of Vishitadvaita, that like Ramanuja, the Chaitanya and NImbarka philosophy reconcile the Dualistic and non-dualistic interpretations of the Vedas.

 

How do they differ??

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Acintya.

 

Inconceivable.

 

No attempt is made on this plane to equate the paradoxical bheda and abheda nature of the Ultimate Truth, Sri Krsna. He truly is inconceivably simultaneously bheda and abheda from and with everything and everyone. That is our inconceivable benefactor and friend.

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Interesting question...

 

I am also interesting about sampradaya of Lord Caytanya. LC take sannyasa initiation at Shankara sampradaya,isnt it? HE "took" Philosophy from Shree sampradaya(ramanuja), isn it? And his followers considered as Brahma(Madhava) Sampradaya.

 

Very very interesting :-)

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Sri Caitanya-caritamrita <a href=http://vedabase.net/cc/madhya/4/197/en target=new>Madhya 4.197</a>:<BLOCKQUOTE><CENTER><FONT COLOR=RED>ayi dIna-dayArdra nAtha he

mathurA-nAtha kadAvalokyase

hRdayaM tvad-aloka-kAtaraM

dayita bhrAmyati kiM karomy aham

</CENTER>

ayi--O My Lord; dIna--on the poor; dayA-Ardra--compassionate; nAtha--O master; he--O; mathurA-nAtha--the master of MathurA; kadA--when; avalokyase--I shall see You; hRdayam--My heart; tvat--of You; aloka--without seeing; kAtaram--very much aggrieved; dayita--O most beloved; bhrAmyati--becomes overwhelmed; kim--what; karomi--shall do; aham--I.

<B></FONT>

"O My Lord! O most merciful master! O master of MathurA! When shall I see You again? Because of My not seeing You, My agitated heart has become unsteady. O most beloved one, what shall I do now?"

 

PURPORT</B>

The uncontaminated devotees who strictly depend on the VedAnta philosophy are divided into four sampradAyas, or transcendental parties. Out of the four sampradAyas, the SrI MadhvAcArya-sampradAya was accepted by MAdhavendra PurI. Thus he took sannyAsa according to paramparA, the disciplic succession. Beginning from MadhvAcArya down to the spiritual master of MAdhavendra PurI, the AcArya named LakSmIpati, there was no realization of devotional service in conjugal love. SrI MAdhavendra PurI introduced the conception of conjugal love for the first time in the MadhvAcArya-sampradAya, and this conclusion of the MadhvAcArya-sampradAya was revealed by SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu when He toured southern India and met the TattvavAdIs, who supposedly belonged to the MadhvAcArya-sampradAya.

 

When SrI KRSNa left VRndAvana and accepted the kingdom of MathurA, SrImatI RAdhArANI, out of ecstatic feelings of separation, expressed how KRSNa can be loved in separation. Thus devotional service in separation is central to this verse. Worship in separation is considered by the GauDIya-Madhva-sampradAya to be the topmost level of devotional service. According to this conception, the devotee thinks of himself as very poor and neglected by the Lord. Thus he addresses the Lord as dIna-dayArdra nAtha, as did MAdhavendra PurI. Such an ecstatic feeling is the highest form of devotional service. Because KRSNa had gone to MathurA, SrImatI RAdhArANI was very much affected, and She expressed Herself thus: "My dear Lord, because of Your separation My mind has become overly agitated. Now tell Me, what can I do? I am very poor and You are very merciful, so kindly have compassion upon Me and let Me know when I shall see You." SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu was always expressing the ecstatic emotions of SrImatI RAdhArANI that She exhibited when She saw Uddhava at VRndAvana. Similar feelings, experienced by MAdhavendra PurI, are expressed in this verse. Therefore, VaiSNavas in the GauDIya-Madhva-sampradAya say that the ecstatic feelings experienced by SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu during His appearance came from SrI MAdhavendra PurI through Izvara PurI. All the devotees in the line of the GauDIya-Madhva-sampradAya accept these principles of devotional service.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

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Dwait - Adwait and devotee

 

On the third day of the first fortnight of Chaitra in Samvat year 1882, Swami Shri Sahajanandji Maharaj was seated on a well furnished cot placed under Ashoka tree in the courtyard of Mahol in Jaitalpur. He was dressed in white attires. He was profusely garlanded with fresh flower garlands. Fine strings of colourful flowers were suspended from his turban and small bunches of flowers were adorning his ears. He was playing with a lemon fruit in his hand. Saints and devotees from various places were seated before him.

 

Then Shriji Maharaj asked, ' Here in this world the debating groups have two contradictory opinions. One such argument is Dwait and another is Adwait, Now tell me, out of these two, which one should be accepted by a seeker of the absolute knowledge ?' Oh Maharaj ! In Advait school, the meditator would consider his soul as God and would act in free style resulting ulmtimately in the fall from the path of emancipation. Therefore a devotee of God should practice the path of Dwaita.' Then Shriji Maharaj posed a doubt, ' In Dwait, the soul, God and Maya have been taken as truth. Then how a soul would attain emancipation in the presence of Maya ?' Then Purushottam Bhatt said, ' He would attain Moksha (emancipation) through his good deeds.' Then again Shriji Maharaj expressed his doubt, 'There are two types of deeds - Nivrutti, (withdrawal from the deeds). Pravarutti (involvement in the deeds). Both types of the deeds merge in Maya who is in the state of Sushupti (sleep). As nobody is capable of crossing Lokaloka Parvat (a divine mountain mentioned in the scriptures) in Similar way it is not possible to go beyond Sushupati (sleep state) Maya. And Samyavastha Maya is larger than Sushupti, therefore nobody could scale through. There is only one means to cross this illusive Maya. If a soul takes refuge at the lotus feet of Shri Purushottam Bhagwan who is the destroyer of Maya, or serve the saint of Lord Purushottam Bhagwan, he becomes able to cross Maya.' Saying so, Shriji Maharaj went to have food at the Mahol.

 

There after, Shriji Maharaj came back and graced his seat under Ashoka tree in the courtyard of Mahol. Showering his divine grace through his look at the saints and devotees in the assembly, Shriji Maharaj said, ' What this soul feels when no body takes notice of it ? And his ego attains different state when hundred people beging to give importance to him, again if thousand or so follows his order's and instructions, the ego of that sould reaches a higher height. But people in million and billion if begin following him the ego becomes quite different and begins levelling himself with Brahma, Shiva or Indra depending upon the size of the support. But a person with positive thinking immediately thinks that the honour, respect and following he has received and what he is receiving at present is not due to this, but considers his soul and the companionship of the saint responsible for such rewards. Greatest like Brahma (creator) craves for the dust of the lotus feet of a saint of God. Then what is the cause behind the greatness of the saint ? The greatness of the saint is not due to wealth or estates to rule over. But such greatness of the saint is due to his devotion and meditation of God. The saint has greatness attained with his inherent power of soul consciousness. Supremacy of his consciousness has awarded him greatness amongst others. If one is not capable to think in that direction, then he should determine in heart to submit at the lotus feet of the saint of God, and should identify self-consciousness with that of the saint. Someone may pose a doubt that what about master-servent relation if a devotee merges his soul like that ? One example is enough to clerify that doubt. King Galav desired to perform sacred fire. He needed Shamkarna (with dark ears) horse for holy fire. Those horses were available only at the divine abode of Lord Varun (God of water). Galav can not reach there across the space. He, therefore, invited Garuda (carrier bird of Lord Vishnu) and reached the destination riding Garuda and brought the horses. Then in that case, has Galav lost his position as servent in relation to Garuda ? No, not at all. Therefore the identification with such self conscious and Brahmic saint helps the devotee in priercing the cover of Maya.' Saying so, Shriji Maharaj asked the devotee to stay abreast to the core of this discourse.

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<CENTER>
Chapter Sixteen

 

 

</CENTER>

<CENTER>Bilvapaksa and Bharadvaja-tila

 

</CENTER><CENTER>All glories to Sri Gauracandra, the wanderer of Nadia's groves! All glories to Sri Nityananda, the master of Ekacakra! All glories to Advaita Isvara, the master of Santipura! All glories to Gadadhara of Ramacandrapura! And all glories to Gaura-bhumi, the essence of cintamani, where Krsna wandered in Kali-yuga.</CENTER>The son of Padma, Sri Nityananda, after crossing the Ganges and going some distance, said to the devotees, "See this attractive place named Bilvapaksa. Generally people call it Bela Pukhariya. The place known in the scriptures as Bilvavana in Vraja is situated here in Navadvipa.

"One time some brahmana devotees of Siva worshipped him by offering the leaves of his favorite tree, the bilva. or bael, tree for a fortnight's duration. Siva was pleased with the brahmanas and gave them krsna-bhakti. Amongst those worshipers was Nimbaditya, who had been very attentive in the worship. Siva spoke to him, 'At the edge of this village is a sacred bilva forest. Within that forest, the four Kumaras are sitting in meditation. By their mercy, you will receive transcendental knowledge. They are your gurus. By serving them, you will receive all that is of value. Saying this, Lord Siva disappeared.

"Nimbaditya searched and found that place. On an attractive platform in the forest near Siva, he saw the four brothers-Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanat-kumara sitting unseen by others. They were young, naked, and noble in character. Nimbarka cried out in excitement, 'Hare Krsna! Hare Krsna!'

"On hearing the holy name, the Kumaras' meditation broke. 'They opened their eyes and saw before them an ideal Vaisnava. Satisfied by this sight, one after another they embraced Nimbaditya. 'Who are you:'' they asked. 'Why have you come here? We will certainly fulfill your prayers.

"Nimbarka offered his obeisances and humbly introduced himself. Sanat-kumara smiled and said, 'The all-merciful Supreme Lord, knowing that Kali-yuga would be very troublesome, decided to propagate devotional service. He empowered four men with devotional service and sent them into the world to preach. Ramanuja, Madhva, and Visnusvami are three of these men. You are the fourth of these great devotees. Sri, Laksmi, accepted Ramanuja, Brahma accepted Madhvacarya, Rudra accepted Visnusvami, and we, meeting you today, have the good fortune to teach you. This is our intention. Previously we were engaged in meditating on the Brahman, but by the Lord's mercy that sinful act has gone away. Now that I know the sweet taste of pure devotional service, I have written one book named Sanat-kumara Samhita. You should receive initiation into its teachings.

"Seeing his guru's mercy, the wise Nimbarka quickly took his bath in the Ganges and returned. He offered obeisances and humbly said, 'O deliverer of the fallen, please deliver this low rascal.

"The four brothers gave him the Radha-Krsna mantra and instructed him how to worship Radha and Krsna filled with sentiments of great love, called bhava-marga. Having obtained that mantra, Nimbaditya resided at this sacred place and worshipped according to the injunctions of that samhita.

"Radha and Krsna bestowed Their mercy by appearing before Nimbarka. Lighting up all directions and gently smiling, They said, 'You are very fortunate. You have performed sadhana in Navadvipa, Our dear abode. Here We take on one form, as the son of Sacidevi.

"While saying this, They combined in one form as Gauranga. Nimbarka was astounded on seeing that form and exclaimed, 'Never have I seen or heard of such a remarkable form anywhere!'

"Mahaprabhu said, 'Please keep this form secret now. Just preach krsna-bhakti and the pastimes of Radha and Krsna, for I am very happy in those pastimes. When I appear as Gauranga, I will enjoy educational pastimes. At that time, you will take birth in Kashmir and tour India as a champion scholar out to defeat all opponents. Your name will be Kesava Kasmiri, and you will be celebrated everywhere for your great learning. While wandering on tour, you will come to Mayapur. The learned scholars of Navadvipa will flee when they hear your name, but I will be intoxicated with learning and take pleasure in defeating you. By the mercy of Sarasvati, you will realize My identity, give up your pride, and take shelter of Me. Then I will give you the gift of bhakti and send you out to preach devotional service again. So you can satisfy Me now by preaching the philosophy of dvaitadvaita (monism and dualism), keeping My identity secret.

"'Later, when I begin the sankirtana movement, I Myself will preach the essence of the four Vaisnava philosophies. From Madhva I will receive two essential items: his complete defeat of the Mayavada philosophy, and his service to the Deity of Krsna, accepting the Deity as an eternal spiritual being. From Ramanuja I will accept two great teachings: the concept of bhakti unpolluted by karma and jnana, and service to the devotees. From Visnusvami's teachings I will accept two main elements: the sentiment of exclusive dependence on Krsna, and the path of raga-bhakti And from you I will receive two excellent principles: the necessity of taking shelter of Radha, and the high esteem for the gopis' love of Krsna.' "

"When Gauracandra disappeared, Nimbarka wept out of love. After worshipping the feet of his gurus, he left for preaching krishna-bhakti."

Nityananda then pointed out to Jiva in the distance, Ramatirtha, where Lord Balarama killed the Kolasura demon and then took bath with the Yadus. This place is now known as Rukmapura, and it is situated on one end of the Navadvipa parikrama. During the month of Kartika this place is especially glorious.

Leaving behind Bilvapaksa, Nityananda Prabhu and the devotees went up to Bharadvaja-tila village. Nityananda explained, "After seeing Ganga-sagara, Bharadvaja Muni came to this place. The great muni stayed here for some days and worshipped Lord Gauracandra.

Satisfied by the worship, Lord Visvambhara mercifully appeared before the muni and said to him, 'Your desire will be fulfilled. When I advent, you will see Me.'

"After speaking these words, the Lord disappeared and Bharadvaja fainted in great ecstasy. After staying on this hill for some days, the muni departed to see other tirthas. The common people call this place Bharuidanga. The scriptures consider this a major tirtha."

While speaking these topics, they returned to Mayapur, where Isana Thakura came forward to welcome them back. Nityananda Prabhu, in unprecedented prema, danced and sang amongst the devotees. That day, in the house of Jagannatha Misra, the best of all holy places where Gauranga appeared with the holy name, the Lord`s own mother fed the Vaisnavas. How to describe the bliss at that place? The sound of the kirtann resounded loudly.

Desiring the shade of the feet of Nitai and Jahnava. Bhaktivinoda sings these pastimes of Navadvipa.

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[*Endnote 1 – Acintya bhedabheda:

"The whole material creation, therefore, is one with and different from Narayana, simultaneously, and this supports the acintya-bhedabheda-tattva philosophy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Being an emanation from the glancing potency of Narayana, the whole material creation is non-different from Him. But because it is the effect of His external energy (bahiranga maya) and is aloof from the internal potency (atma-maya), the whole material creation is different from Him at the same time.

"The example given in this verse very nicely is that of the dreaming man. The dreaming man creates many things in his dream, and thus he himself becomes the entangled seer of the dream and is also affected by the consequences. This material creation is also exactly a dreamlike creation of the Lord, but He, being the transcendental Supersoul, is neither entangled nor affected by the reactions of such a dreamlike creation. He is always in His transcendental position, but essentially He is everything, and nothing is apart from Him. As a part of Him, one should therefore concentrate on Him only, without deviation; otherwise one is sure to be overcome by the potencies of the material creation, one after another. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.39 Purport)

"This philosophical truth of simultaneous oneness and difference was propounded by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and it is known as acintya-bhedabheda-tattva. Brahma, Narada and all others are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from the Supreme Lord. We are all one with Him, just as the gold ornaments are one in quality with the stock gold, but the individual gold ornament is never equal in quantity with the stock gold. The stock gold is never exhausted even if there are innumerable ornaments emanating from the stock, because the stock is purnam, complete; even if purnam is deducted from the purnam, still the supreme purnam remains the same purnam. This fact is inconceivable to our present imperfect senses. Lord Caitanya therefore defined His theory of philosophy as acintya (inconceivable), and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita as well as in the Bhagavatam, Lord Caitanya's theory of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva is the perfect philosophy of the Absolute Truth." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.6.13-16 Purport)

"This is Krsna, who is understood by acintya-bhedabheda-tattva philosophy. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate: Krsna is always complete, and although He can create millions of universes, all of them full in all opulences, He remains as opulent as ever, without any change (advaitam). This is explained by different Vaisnava acaryas through philosophies such as visuddhadvaita visistadvaita and dvaitadvaita. Therefore one must learn about Krsna from the acaryas.(Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.19 Purport ]

[*Endnote 2 – Kevaladvaita:

"The purpose of the discussions in the Upanisads and Vedanta-sutra is to philosophically establish the personal feature of the Absolute Truth. The impersonalists, however, in order to establish their philosophy, accept these discussions in terms of laksana-vrtti, or indirect meanings. Thus instead of being tattva-vada, or in search of the Absolute Truth, they become Mayavada, or illusioned by the material energy. When Sri Visnusvami, one of the four acaryas of the Vaisnava cult, presented his thesis on the subject matter of suddhadvaita-vada, immediately the Mayavadis took advantage of this philosophy and tried to establish their advaita-vada or kevaladvaita-vada. To defeat this kevaladvaita-vada, Sri Ramanujacarya presented his philosophy as visistadvaita-vada, and Sri Madhvacarya presented his philosophy of tattva-vada, both of which are stumbling blocks to the Mayavadis because they defeat their philosophy in scrupulous detail. Students of Vedic philosophy know very well how strongly Sri Ramanujacarya's visistadvaita-vada and Sri Madhvacarya's tattva-vada contest the impersonal Mayavada philosophy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, accepted the direct meaning of the Vedanta philosophy and thus defeated the Mayavada philosophy immediately. He opined in this connection that anyone who follows the principles of the Sariraka-bhasya is doomed." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 7.110 Purport)

"The philosophers known as kevaladvaita-vadis generally occupy themselves with hearing the Sariraka-bhasya, a commentary by Sankaracarya, advocating that one impersonally consider oneself the Supreme Lord. Such Mayavada philosophical commentaries upon Vedanta are simply imaginary, but there are other commentaries on Vedanta philosophy. The commentary by Srila Ramanujacarya, known as Sri-bhasya, establishes the visistadvaita-vada philosophy. Similarly, in the Brahma-sampradaya, Madhvacarya's Purnaprajna-bhasya establishes suddha-dvaita-vada. In the Kumara-sampradaya, or Nimbarka-sampradaya, Sri Nimbarka establishes the philosophy of dvaitadvaita-vada in the Parijata-saurabha-bhasya. And in the Visnusvami-sampradaya, or Rudra-sampradaya, which comes from Lord Siva, Visnusvami has written a commentary called Sarvajna-bhasya, which establishes suddhadvaita-vada. "A Vaisnava should study the commentaries on Vedanta-sutra written by the four sampradaya-acaryas, namely Sri Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnusvami and Nimbarka, for these commentaries are based upon the philosophy that the Lord is the master and that all living entities are His eternal servants. One interested in studying Vedanta philosophy properly must study these commentaries, especially if he is a Vaisnava. These commentaries are always adored by Vaisnavas." (Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 2.95)

"Mayavadis do not discuss these philosophies, for they are firmly convinced of their own philosophy of kevaladvaita, exclusive monism. Accepting this system of philosophy as the pure understanding of the Vedanta-sutra, they believe that Krsna has a body made of material elements and that the activities of loving service to Krsna are sentimentality. They are known as Mayavadis because according to their opinion Krsna has a body made of maya, and the loving service of the Lord executed by devotees is also maya. They consider such devotional service to be an aspect of fruitive activities (karma-kanda). According to their view, bhakti consists of mental speculation or sometimes meditation. This is the difference between the Mayavadi and Vaisnava philosophies."]

[*Endnote 3 – Sri Ramanuja:

He is one of the four Sampradaya acaryas. He is the leading precepter of the Sri (Laxmi) Sampradaya]

[*Endnote 4Visistadvaita:

"Thus Krsna should not be thought of as being alone but should be considered as eternally existing with all His manifestations, as described by Ramanujacarya. In the Visistadvaita philosophy, God's energies, expansions and incarnations are considered to be oneness in diversity. In other words, God is not separate from all of these; everything together is God." (Caitanya-caritamrta, Introduction)

"Thus although the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead interact within the cosmic manifestation, each keeps its separate individual existence. Merging in the material or spiritual energies, therefore, does not involve loss of individuality. According to Sri Ramanujapada's theory of Visistadvaita, although all the energies of the Lord are one, each keeps its individuality (vaisistya)." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 7.121 Purport)

"Vaisnava mahatmas have explained the aphorism sarvam khalv idam brahma in this manner: The philosophical school known as Visistadvaita propounds the idea that the Supreme Lord eternally exists with His two principal potencies: the cit-sakti, or spiritual potency, and the acit-sakti, or material potency. Though the Lord is one nondual entity, He exists dynamically, manifesting His multifarious energies under the main headings of the cit and acit potencies, which He absolutely controls. Although He is the source of unlimited potencies, He eternally exists in His transcendental, personal form. This form manifests in three aspects, namely, as He sees Himself, as a loving devotee sees Him, and as He is seen by His competitors and enemies. The Sri Vaisnava disciplic succession, headed by Sri Ramanujacarya, cites the same text we have cited above to explain the situation of the Lord and His energies:

"A fire radiates light all around although remaining in one spot. Similarly, the Supreme Brahman radiates energy everywhere, which is manifested as this material world." (Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.3)]

[*Endnote 5Suddhadvaita:

When Sri Visnusvami, one of the four acaryas of the Vaisnava cult, presented his thesis on the subject matter of suddhadvaita-vada, immediately the Mayavadis took advantage of this philosophy and tried to establish their advaita-vada or kevaladvaita-vada. To defeat this kevaladvaita-vada, Sri Ramanujacarya presented his philosophy as visistadvaita-vada, and Sri Madhvacarya presented his philosophy of tattva-vada, both of which are stumbling blocks to the Mayavadis because they defeat their philosophy in scrupulous detail. Students of Vedic philosophy know very well how strongly Sri Ramanujacarya's visistadvaita-vada and Sri Madhvacarya's tattva-vada contest the impersonal Mayavada philosophy. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, accepted the direct meaning of the Vedanta philosophy and thus defeated the Mayavada philosophy immediately. He opined in this connection that anyone who follows the principles of the Sariraka-bhasya is doomed. (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 7.110 Purport)

And in the Visnusvami-sampradaya, or Rudra-sampradaya, which comes from Lord Siva, Visnusvami has written a commentary called Sarvajna-bhasya, which establishes suddhadvaita-vada. (Caitanya-caritamrta Antya-lila 2.95 Purport)

[*Endnote 6Sakti-parinamavada:

"In his Vedanta-sutra Srila Vyasadeva has described that everything is but a transformation of the energy of the Lord. Sankaracarya, however, has misled the world by commenting that Vyasadeva was mistaken. Thus he has raised great opposition to theism throughout the entire world. According to Sankaracarya, by accepting the theory of the transformation of the energy of the Lord, one creates an illusion by indirectly accepting that the Absolute Truth is transformed. (Caitanya caritamrta Adi-lila 7.121

"Transformation of energy is a proven fact. It is the false bodily conception of the self that is an illusion. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is opulent in all respects. Therefore by His inconceivable energies He has transformed the material cosmic manifestation. Using the example of a touchstone, which by its energy turns iron to gold and yet remains the same, we can understand that although the Supreme Personality of Godhead transforms His innumerable energies, He remains unchanged. "Although a touchstone produces many varieties of valuable jewels, it nevertheless remains the same. It does not change its original form. Although a touchstone produces many varieties of valuable jewels, it nevertheless remains the same. It does not change its original form." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 7. 120-127)] [Endnote 7 – Why study so much siddhanta:

"There are many students who, in spite of reading the Bhagavad-gita, misunderstand Krsna because of imperfect knowledge and conclude Him to be an ordinary, historical personality. This one must not do. One should be particularly careful to understand the truth about Krsna. If because of laziness one does not come to know Krsna conclusively, one will be misguided about the cult of devotion, like those who declare themselves advanced devotees and imitate the transcendental symptoms sometimes observed in liberated souls. Although the use of thoughts and arguments is a most suitable process for inducing an uninitiated person to become a devotee, neophytes in devotional service must always alertly understand Krsna through the vision of the revealed scriptures, the bona fide devotees and the spiritual master. Unless one hears about Sri Krsna from such authorities, one cannot make advancement in devotion to Sri Krsna. The revealed scriptures mention nine means of attaining devotional service, of which the first and foremost is hearing from authority. The seed of devotion cannot sprout unless watered by the process of hearing and chanting. One should submissively receive the transcendental messages from spiritually advanced sources and chant the very same messages for one's own benefit as well as the benefit of one's audience." (Purport to Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 2.117)]

 

http://bvml.org/SBNM/lectures/20050615-2wapsk.html

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