Mayavada-sata-dusani
or
Sri Tattva-muktavali
The Pearl Necklace of Truths or 100 Refutations of the Mayavada Fallacy
Text 1
All glories to Lord Krsna, who is simultaneously the protector of the
faithful devotees and the devastating eternal time factor destroying the
cruel demon kings. Krsna, 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 sruti and
smrti, 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 Vaisnava 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 Krsna 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
niraqjana, 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
Ramanujacarya, 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 Srila 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, Sankaracarya admits the eternal
distinction between the Supreme and the individual spirit souls. In
explaining this sutra, Sankaracarya quotes the statement of the
Upanisads: 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, Sankaracarya 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 Siva 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 Krsna. Let your motto become
"Lord Krsna 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 Krsna and yourself. In this way, attain
unflinching pure devotion for Lord Krsna.
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 Krsna.
[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 Visnu at the time of cosmic
annihilation, they retain their individuality. They do not become one.
When the material cosmos is again manifested from Lord Visnu'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 Visnu s body at the time of cosmic annihilation, therefore, they do
not lose their individuality and become Lord Visnu.
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-Visnu 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
Srimad-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, Srila 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, Srila 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 Sankaracarya, 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
Krsna 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 Krsna 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 Visnu 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 Sri Narayana-bhakti-bhusa composed by
Sri 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, Sri 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.
[This article and more information at
www.stephen-knapp.com]
