Sripada Sankaracharya a hidden personalist

Tomorrow is Sripada Sankaracharya’s appearance day

On this occasion i would like have compilation of Sripada Sankaracharya’s reasons of appearance and preaching of mayavada philosophy.

Srila Prabhupada writes ,

tāńhāra nāhika doṣa, īśvara-ājñā pāñā

gauṇārtha karila mukhya artha ācchādiyā

SYNONYMS

tāńhāra — of Śrī Śańkarācārya; nāhika — there is none; doṣa — fault; īśvara — the Supreme Lord; ājñā — order; pāñā — receiving; gauṇa-artha — indirect meaning; karila — make; mukhya — direct; artha — meaning; ācchādiyā — covering.

TRANSLATION

"Śańkarācārya is not at fault, for it is under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that he has covered the real purpose of the Vedas.

PURPORT

The Vedic literature is to be considered a source of real knowledge, but if one does not take it as it is, one will be misled. For example, the Bhagavad-gītā is an important Vedic literature that has been taught for many years, but because it was commented upon by unscrupulous rascals, people derived no benefit from it, and no one came to the conclusion of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Since the purpose of the Bhagavad-gītā is now being presented as it is, however, within four or five short years thousands of people all over the world have become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the difference between direct and indirect explanations of the Vedic literature. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, mukhya-vṛttye sei artha parama mahattva: "To teach the Vedic literature according to its direct meaning, without false commentary, is glorious." Unfortunately, Śrī Śańkarācārya, by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, compromised between atheism and theism in order to cheat the atheists and bring them to theism, and to do so he gave up the direct method of Vedic knowledge and tried to present a meaning which is indirect. It is with this purpose that he wrote his Śārīraka-bhāṣya commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra.

One should not, therefore, attribute very much importance to the Śārīraka-bhāṣya. In order to understand Vedānta philosophy, one must study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which begins with the words oḿ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ sva-rāṭ: [SB 1.1.1] "I offer my obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, who is the Supreme All-pervading Personality of Godhead. I meditate upon Him, the transcendent reality, who is the primeval cause of all causes, from whom all manifested universes arise, in whom they dwell and by whom they are destroyed. I meditate upon that eternally effulgent Lord, who is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations and yet is fully independent." (Bhāg. 1.1.1) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the real commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Unfortunately, if one is attracted to Śrī Śańkarācārya's commentary, Śārīraka-bhāṣya, his spiritual life is doomed.

One may argue that since Śańkarācārya is an incarnation of Lord Śiva, how is it that he cheated people in this way? The answer is that he did so on the order of his master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in the Padma Purāṇa, in the words of Lord Śiva himself:

māyāvādam asac chāstraḿ pracchannaḿ bauddham ucyate

mayaiva kalpitaḿ devi kalau brāhmaṇa-rūpiṇā

brahmaṇaś cāparaḿ rūpaḿ nirguṇaḿ vakṣyate mayā

sarva-svaḿ jagato 'py asya mohanārthaḿ kalau yuge

vedānte tu mahā-śāstre māyāvādam avaidikam

mayaiva vakṣyate devi jagatāḿ nāśa-kāraṇāt

"The Māyāvāda philosophy," Lord Śiva informed his wife Pārvatī, "is impious [asac chāstra]. It is covered Buddhism. My dear Pārvatī, in Kali-yuga I assume the form of a brāhmaṇa and teach this imagined Māyāvāda philosophy. In order to cheat the atheists, I describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be without form and without qualities. Similarly, in explaining Vedānta I describe the same Māyāvāda philosophy in order to mislead the entire population toward atheism by denying the personal form of the Lord." In the Śiva Purāṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead told Lord Śiva:

dvāparādau yuge bhūtvā kalayā mānuṣādiṣu

svāgamaiḥ kalpitais tvaḿ ca janān mad-vimukhān kuru

"In Kali-yuga, mislead the people in general by propounding imaginary meanings for the Vedas to bewilder them." These are the descriptions of the Purāṇas.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that mukhya-vṛtti ("the direct meaning") is abhidhā-vṛtti, or the meaning that one can understand immediately from the statements of dictionaries, whereas gauṇa-vṛtti ("the indirect meaning") is a meaning that one imagines without consulting the dictionary. For example, one politician has said that Kurukṣetra refers to the body, but in the dictionary there is no such definition. Therefore this imaginary meaning is gauṇa-vṛtti, whereas the direct meaning found in the dictionary is mukhya-vṛtti or abhidhā-vṛtti. This is the distinction between the two. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that one understand the Vedic literature in terms of abhidhā-vṛtti, and the gauṇa-vṛtti He rejects. Sometimes, however, as a matter of necessity, the Vedic literature is described in terms of the lakṣaṇā-vṛtti or gauṇa-vṛtti, but one should not accept such explanations as permanent truths.

The purpose of the discussions in the Upaniṣads and Vedānta-sūtra 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 lakṣaṇā-vṛtti, or indirect meanings. Thus instead of being tattva-vāda, or in search of the Absolute Truth, they become Māyāvāda, or illusioned by the material energy. When Śrī Viṣṇu Svāmī, one of the four ācāryas of the Vaiṣṇava cult, presented his thesis on the subject matter of śuddhādvaita-vāda, immediately the Māyāvādīs took advantage of this philosophy and tried to establish their advaita-vāda or kevalādvaita-vāda. To defeat this kevalādvaita-vāda, Śrī Rāmānujācārya presented his philosophy as viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda, and Śrī Madhvācārya presented his philosophy of tattva-vāda, both of which are stumbling blocks to the Māyāvādīs because they defeat their philosophy in scrupulous detail. Students of Vedic philosophy know very well how strongly Śrī Rāmānujācārya's viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda and Śrī Madhvācārya's tattva-vāda contest the impersonal Māyāvāda philosophy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, accepted the direct meaning of the Vedānta philosophy and thus defeated the Māyāvāda philosophy immediately. He opined in this connection that anyone who follows the principles of the Śārīraka-bhāṣya is doomed. This is confirmed in the Padma Purāṇa, where Lord Śiva tells Pārvatī:

śṛṇu devi pravakṣyāmi tāmasāni yathā-kramam

yeṣāḿ śravaṇa-mātreṇa pātityaḿ jñāninām api

apārthaḿ śruti-vākyānāḿ darśayal loka-garhitam

karma-svarūpa-tyājyatvam atra ca pratipādyate

sarva-karma-paribhraḿśān naiṣkarmyaḿ tatra cocyate

parātma-jīvayor aikyaḿ mayātra pratipādyate

"My dear wife, hear my explanations of how I have spread ignorance through Māyāvāda philosophy. Simply by hearing it, even an advanced scholar will fall down. In this philosophy, which is certainly very inauspicious for people in general, I have misrepresented the real meaning of the Vedas and recommended that one give up all activities in order to achieve freedom from karma. In this Māyāvāda philosophy I have described the jīvātmā and Paramātmā to be one and the same." How the Māyāvāda philosophy was condemned by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His followers is described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Second Chapter, verses 94 through 99, where Svarūpa-dāmodara Gosvāmī says that anyone who is eager to understand the Māyāvāda philosophy must be considered insane. This especially applies to a Vaiṣṇava who reads the Śārīraka-bhāṣya and considers himself to be one with God. The Māyāvādī philosophers have presented their arguments in such attractive, flowery language that hearing Māyāvāda philosophy may sometimes change the mind of even a mahā-bhāgavata, or very advanced devotee. An actual Vaiṣṇava cannot tolerate any philosophy that claims God and the living being to be one and the same.

(Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 7.110)

“In order to overcome the effects of Buddhist philosophy and spread Vedanta philosophy, Shripad Shankaracharya had to make some compromise with the Buddhist philosophy, and as such he preached the philosophy of monism, for it was required at that time. Otherwise there was no need for his preaching Mayavada philosophy. At the present moment there is no need for Mayavada philosophy or Buddhist philosophy, and Lord Chaitanya rejected both of them. This Krishna consciousness movement is spreading the philosophy of Lord Chaitanya and rejecting the philosophy of both classes of Mayavada. Strictly speaking, both Buddhist philosophy and Shankara’s philosophy are but different types of Mayavada dealing on the platform of material existence. Neither of these philosophies has spiritual significance. There is spiritual significance only after one accepts the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, which culminates in surrendering unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 4.24.17 purport)

Sri Uddhava’s actual life is the direct symbol of the catuh-sloki Bhagavatam enunciated first to Brahmaji by the Personality of Godhead [SB 2.9.33/34/35/36]. These four very great and important verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam are particularly taken out by the Mayavadi speculators, who construe a different purport to suit their impersonal view of monism. Here is the proper answer to such unauthorized speculators. The verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam are purely theistic science understandable by the postgraduate students of Bhagavad-gita, The unauthorized dry speculators are offenders at the lotus feet of the Lord Sri Krsna because they distort the purports of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam to mislead the public and prepare a direct path to the hell known as Andha-tamisra. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (16.20) such envious speculators are without knowledge and are surely condemned life after life. They unnecessarily take shelter of Sripada Sankaracarya, but he was not so drastic as to commit an offense at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. According to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sripada Sankaracarya preached the Mayavada philosophy for a particular purpose. Such a philosophy was necessary to defeat the Buddhist philosophy of the nonexistence of the spirit soul, but it was never meant for perpetual acceptance. It was an emergency. Thus Lord Krsna was accepted by Sankaracarya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in his commentation on Bhagavad-gita. Since he was a great devotee of Lord Krsna, he did not dare write any commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam because that would have been a direct offense at the lotus feet of the Lord. But later speculators, in the name of Mayavada philosophy, unnecessarily make their commentary on the catuh-sloki Bhagavatam [SB 2.9.33/34/35/36] without any bona fide intent.
The monistic dry speculators have no business in the Srimad-Bhagavatam because this particular Vedic literature is forbidden for them by the great author himself. Srila Vyasadeva has definitely forbidden persons engaged in religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, finally, salvation, from trying to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is not meant for them (SB 1.1.2). Sripada Sridhara Svami, the great commentator on Srimad-Bhagavatam, has definitely forbidden the salvationists or monists to deal in Srimad-Bhagavatam. It is not for them. Yet such unauthorized persons perversely try to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam, and thus they commit offenses at the feet of the Lord, which even Sripada Sankaracarya dared not do. Thus they prepare for their continuation of miserable life. It should be particularly noted herein that Uddhava studied the catuh-sloki Bhagavatam [SB 2.9.33/34/35/36] directly from the Lord, who spoke them first to Brahmaji, and this time the Lord explained more confidentially the self-knowledge mentioned as the paramam sthitim. Upon learning such self-knowledge of love, Uddhava felt very much aggrieved by feelings of separation from the Lord. Unless one is awakened to the stage of Uddhava — everlastingly feeling the separation of the Lord in transcendental love, as exhibited by Lord Caitanya also — one cannot understand the real import of the four essential verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam. One should not indulge in the unauthorized act of twisting the meaning and thereby putting himself on the dangerous path of offense.

(SB 3.4.20 purport)

here are some songs written by Sripada Sankaracharya on his Lord Govinda proving himself to be a devotee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FUQxn4CnY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OqY_ZbIT-k

again we put labels on philosophies. Lets look at it like this. One of the ten commandments is to not idolize. The unfortunate self referential nature of life and God itself allows one to use this in any way he likes. For instance the commandment do not kill. Prabhupada was an amazing man, and I offer all my respects for him. He said...at least i believe it was him who said "thou shalt not kill," why do you take that to mean what suits you? he was referring to not killing animals. When many take it to mean not killing humans, even though it clearly just says "thou shalt not kill" According to this philosophy, any and every human being who is born in say...the backwoods of Alaska or maybe.....the Australian desert is simply doomed by karma because he can not farm, it is not available to him. Nor are cows. I personally do not eat meat. I agree with most of the things stated. It should however be noted, that those who live in those places in which meat is one if not the only accessible food, when they kill an animal they perform heavy ritual. They thank the animal who gave its spirit. They use every last bit of it. And a "natural" religion is any of oneness. Many of these people are indeed one with nature and their surroundings. They love everything that is given to them by grace and mercy of God. We also take the commandment of not making idols sometimes to mean as ive heard stated, do not make anything but Krishna God. Ok fair enough. Here is what idolization does. Concept ALWAYS procedes form. So when you create a form people start to worship the form and the qualities of that form. This is good in the respects that they are qualities to follow, wholesome thought and deed and can bring a person home. But when you idolize you take a form and claim it supreme. Now if only Krishna is supreme we then disregard everyone elses truth. Thats why he is called the personality of Godhead...its qualities we want to build. We tell Christians that Christ is not supreme. We therefor separate another group from us. Need I remind you God does not separate for he is one. Fortunately Krishna conciouse people are some of the most loving people I have met and they rarely, if at all, at least I have not seen them create war. However, the Christians, the Spanish inquisition used the FORM of Christ. The idolization to do exactly that killing millions. So do Muslims. These happen to be the two main groups that fight. Where I am in form you will be controlled. Muhammad though I dont know if a form was worshipped or not was also made as an Idol. Therefor Muhammad must be the only legitimate one to pray to, because he is an idol. Buddha in many ways too. Here we call it Krishna consciousness, there they call it Christ consciousness or Muhammad consciousness, Buddha actually was the only one realizing that everyone can be a Buddha and thus kept to the eternal truths stated in every tradition. I am the way, the truth and the life. Why would I have stated this in another incarnation? Because the way is the truth and the truth breeds the life. Living the truth. Religion is a path with truth. The truths are to be followed so each can come home. And the truth lays within you, not external to you. Some are at the stage of faith, and that is fine. Some are at the stage of knowing. When you embody the truth you become the truth. If i embody love, I am love. If someone tells you to read a poem about love. You read it, they have read it. When you talk about it, no new information can be passed on about the poem. Mentally both of your minds are one. You both understand the poem. Now maybe the teacher of the poem has experienced love and you have not. Your mental bodies are now one. But your bliss body, your emotional body are not. The student goes out and experiences love. Now no new information can be exchanged about the emotions associated with the poem, nor can any mental information. You now are one in emotion and mental knowledge of the poem. Then So the student feels the poem and understands the poem. Next he sees the teacher embodies the poem, he lives it and acts it. The student then has to go out and act it, express it and live what his mental knowledge and emotional knowledge have found, his expression will be slightly unique due to material contamination. Now the three bodies are one. No new information can be exchanged about the mental knowledge of the poem. The emotional aspects of the poem or the life of the poem. Teacher and student become one. No new information can be exchanged. These are also the three bodies of buddha. This is also the point of the teacher, or the God-Head. When you Know the teachings, emotionally experience the teachings and live the teachings no new information is gathered. The truths are the eternal aspect. The concept. The concept that builds into form. These forms, these idolizations are in fact what separates people in their religions. Even an atheist embodies something, usually the form of materialism. These forms separate, they also lead to control. For one who is a master of using the form can control all those in worship of it. I do not hate or disregard any religion. For I am no religion and I am all religeon. My religion is the spirit within me and it is God. People must conceptualize God for themselves. And I am everything. Everything, period. It is not about who is right and wrong about whos God is correct and who's is not. This does not build unity, this does not show our interconnectedness and does not build true love for God. Love for God is in fact love for all those who surround you. All these masters and Gurus were experts in their field. This field is Bakti-devotion in particular. Through taking a bonified path one can and usually does awaken that which is within them. But it is within them. For if i present you with a statue mother mary. What will it mean to you. To you one thing, to an athiest something else, to a Krishna conscious individual something totally different. What inherent value does this statue hold? it holds no value, but the value projected by your mind and or your devotion within that mind. The masters say, FOLLOW ME AND MY WAYS, do not worship me. Krishna in other words is God, Worship God. The one within and the one throughout. There are many expressions of this Godhead. Different roles and different knowledge. Fully potent avatar or not is not the point. The true point is to develop devotion within oneself and love for oneself as divine and then to be able to see another in that same light. The end goal is to be able to bestow onto others. To love and accept others, fully and truly and to live that way. The personal and impersonal are not two different aspects. THe pure dharma. The pure path is that there is no path, you yourself are the true path. Your experiences that teach you. It is all for you to look within yourself. When i hear of Krishna that part of my ego drops. I can not lift mountains, that is not my gift nor my purpose. But my path was not solely through Krishna. If a person loves and helps another person from his heart. What religion would say this individual is wrong? none. Because that is in fact the Pure Dharma. To be one. To service and to Love. Forms come and go. Truth does not. And if anyone wishes to understand the abrahamic faiths, they can not look to the surface texts they must read the Kabbalah. Which incidentally simply shows different qualities of God...qualities. And each has their own subjective paths in order to reach these qualities. The kabbalah is also known as the tree of life, and it is unique to each individual. Nobody can teach another their tree of life. This is truth. And I love you all equally. And i always will. The minute i refer to myself in any name I immediately become one step removed from who I actually am. And very few indeed know who I am. I am stillness. My name is Adam. And I am so close within your reach you needn't look any further then yourself.

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Comments

adam steinberg May 4, 2014 at 12:49am

again we put labels on philosophies. Lets look at it like this. One of the ten commandments is to not idolize. The unfortunate self referential nature of life and God itself allows one to use this in any way he likes. For instance the commandment do not kill. Prabhupada was an amazing man, and I offer all my respects for him. He said...at least i believe it was him who said "thou shalt not kill," why do you take that to mean what suits you? he was referring to not killing animals. When many take it to mean not killing humans, even though it clearly just says "thou shalt not kill" According to this philosophy, any and every human being who is born in say...the backwoods of Alaska or maybe.....the Australian desert is simply doomed by karma because he can not farm, it is not available to him. Nor are cows. I personally do not eat meat. I agree with most of the things stated. It should however be noted, that those who live in those places in which meat is one if not the only accessible food, when they kill an animal they perform heavy ritual. They thank the animal who gave its spirit. They use every last bit of it. And a "natural" religion is any of oneness. Many of these people are indeed one with nature and their surroundings. They love everything that is given to them by grace and mercy of God. We also take the commandment of not making idols sometimes to mean as ive heard stated, do not make anything but Krishna God. Ok fair enough. Here is what idolization does. Concept ALWAYS procedes form. So when you create a form people start to worship the form and the qualities of that form. This is good in the respects that they are qualities to follow, wholesome thought and deed and can bring a person home. But when you idolize you take a form and claim it supreme. Now if only Krishna is supreme we then disregard everyone elses truth. Thats why he is called the personality of Godhead...its qualities we want to build. We tell Christians that Christ is not supreme. We therefor separate another group from us. Need I remind you God does not separate for he is one. Fortunately Krishna conciouse people are some of the most loving people I have met and they rarely, if at all, at least I have not seen them create war. However, the Christians, the Spanish inquisition used the FORM of Christ. The idolization to do exactly that killing millions. So do Muslims. These happen to be the two main groups that fight. Where I am in form you will be controlled. Muhammad though I dont know if a form was worshipped or not was also made as an Idol. Therefor Muhammad must be the only legitimate one to pray to, because he is an idol. Buddha in many ways too. Here we call it Krishna consciousness, there they call it Christ consciousness or Muhammad consciousness, Buddha actually was the only one realizing that everyone can be a Buddha and thus kept to the eternal truths stated in every tradition. I am the way, the truth and the life. Why would I have stated this in another incarnation? Because the way is the truth and the truth breeds the life. Living the truth. Religion is a path with truth. The truths are to be followed so each can come home. And the truth lays within you, not external to you. Some are at the stage of faith, and that is fine. Some are at the stage of knowing. When you embody the truth you become the truth. If i embody love, I am love. If someone tells you to read a poem about love. You read it, they have read it. When you talk about it, no new information can be passed on about the poem. Mentally both of your minds are one. You both understand the poem. Now maybe the teacher of the poem has experienced love and you have not. Your mental bodies are now one. But your bliss body, your emotional body are not. The student goes out and experiences love. Now no new information can be exchanged about the emotions associated with the poem, nor can any mental information. You now are one in emotion and mental knowledge of the poem. Then So the student feels the poem and understands the poem. Next he sees the teacher embodies the poem, he lives it and acts it. The student then has to go out and act it, express it and live what his mental knowledge and emotional knowledge have found, his expression will be slightly unique due to material contamination. Now the three bodies are one. No new information can be exchanged about the mental knowledge of the poem. The emotional aspects of the poem or the life of the poem. Teacher and student become one. No new information can be exchanged. These are also the three bodies of buddha. This is also the point of the teacher, or the God-Head. When you Know the teachings, emotionally experience the teachings and live the teachings no new information is gathered. The truths are the eternal aspect. The concept. The concept that builds into form. These forms, these idolizations are in fact what separates people in their religions. Even an atheist embodies something, usually the form of materialism. These forms separate, they also lead to control. For one who is a master of using the form can control all those in worship of it. I do not hate or disregard any religion. For I am no religion and I am all religeon. My religion is the spirit within me and it is God. People must conceptualize God for themselves. And I am everything. Everything, period. It is not about who is right and wrong about whos God is correct and who's is not. This does not build unity, this does not show our interconnectedness and does not build true love for God. Love for God is in fact love for all those who surround you. All these masters and Gurus were experts in their field. This field is Bakti-devotion in particular. Through taking a bonified path one can and usually does awaken that which is within them. But it is within them. For if i present you with a statue mother mary. What will it mean to you. To you one thing, to an athiest something else, to a Krishna conscious individual something totally different. What inherent value does this statue hold? it holds no value, but the value projected by your mind and or your devotion within that mind. The masters say, FOLLOW ME AND MY WAYS, do not worship me. Krishna in other words is God, Worship God. The one within and the one throughout. There are many expressions of this Godhead. Different roles and different knowledge. Fully potent avatar or not is not the point. The true point is to develop devotion within oneself and love for oneself as divine and then to be able to see another in that same light. The end goal is to be able to bestow onto others. To love and accept others, fully and truly and to live that way. The personal and impersonal are not two different aspects. THe pure dharma. The pure path is that there is no path, you yourself are the true path. Your experiences that teach you. It is all for you to look within yourself. When i hear of Krishna that part of my ego drops. I can not lift mountains, that is not my gift nor my purpose. But my path was not solely through Krishna. If a person loves and helps another person from his heart. What religion would say this individual is wrong? none. Because that is in fact the Pure Dharma. To be one. To service and to Love. Forms come and go. Truth does not. And if anyone wishes to understand the abrahamic faiths, they can not look to the surface texts they must read the Kabbalah. Which incidentally simply shows different qualities of God...qualities. And each has their own subjective paths in order to reach these qualities. The kabbalah is also known as the tree of life, and it is unique to each individual. Nobody can teach another their tree of life. This is truth. And I love you all equally. And i always will. The minute i refer to myself in any name I immediately become one step removed from who I actually am. And very few indeed know who I am. I am stillness. My name is Adam. And I am so close within your reach you needn't look any further then yourself.

This reply was deleted.